Ye Olde Japan Thread

[JC]

Ah, so life struck him. Seems to happen. People always disappear from forums and I'm always curious to know what happened to them. The most curious disappearance is FamicomJL.

[manuel]

Thanks guys for asking for me. 

I have not abandoned FW. I WILL BE BACK.  It just might take some more time.

What happened the last few weeks?

Our son grows and grows. He is so active and lively (good thing, basically), that both my wife and I have spare all of our free time to play with him. After a hard day I always just don't find the time to check here.

When I have some free time I now don't feel like hanging around on the internet, but actually playing Famicom and Super Famicom for a change. I played Rockman 5 and 6, Don Doko Don 2, Chuugoku Senseijutsu, Sutte Hakkun, Seiken Densetsu 2 and many more...

After the last big festivals I felt quite exhausted ad took some days off. Needed to edit my video footage and make some slideshows from the photos.

When our son caught a little cold we took him to the doctor, who said that it was nothing to worry. The next day I had a fever and was in bed for a week. Those damn coughing kids at the doctor's. 
After that ended I somehow had headaches every day from the morning till the night for 2 weeks, so I went to see a doctor and he gave me some pills. That was 4 days ago. I hope it's better now.

Oh yeah, and my old laptop screen went AWOL. The backlight slowly died over a span of 4 days. We were lucky that a new big electronics store opened in the neighbour city and they sold an 1800$ Toshiba laptop for half the price. I stood in line for 2 hours to get one of the ten discounted machines. Yay.
It's the Qosmio F40/86FBL with Intel Core 2 Duo processor at 2.1GHz, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD, Label Flash Super Multi DVD drive, built in Digital TV tuner... and it has harman/kardon speakers! Those tiny things sound awesome!
http://dynabook.com/pc/catalog/qosmio/080417f4/index_j.htm

I still mostly live on savings. Didn't have much time or energy for looking for translating work.
If anybody knows people who need some Japanese translations (and are willing to pay  ), please refer them to me.


That was my update for now.
Thanks guys for caring.

I'll be back in a few days/weeks, can't say for sure. Please do wait for me. 

Bye then,

manuel

[JC]

Glad to hear things are OK, despite the illness. Have a good one. Hope you get a chance to check in once in a while.

[manuel]

So, JC, do you plan to go to Japan in Fabruary?
Any plans already?
What type of sights (for sightseeing  ) are you interested in?

[JC]

Ah, I see you've moved the conversation...

Yes, I'm planning to visit Japan, Korea and Taiwan in February. It's not final, but very likely. I've spent the last few days looking at flights and I've got a friend getting out a college in December who plans to join me. I'm looking at spending about a week in JP, and then dividing up a week and a half (may turn into two weeks) in Korea and Taiwan. I know I won't get out to East Asia much, so I'm gonna hit a few countries, with plenty of time in each. Plus, being unemployed, I don't have to worry about taking leave from a job.

You know, I'm the type of traveler who doesn't make too many plans. I just go...preferring to explore, see what I run into (sometimes problems, but usually "off-the-beaten-path" kinds of stuff). But that doesn't mean I won't hear out your tips. I know very little about Japan, what's a must see or must do. I read a news article recently on the proper etiquette for hot springs.

BTW...I'll expect my cake.

[manuel]

If you come to my place on your birthday, you'll get a nice piece of cake. Promised. 


There are a lot of must-sees and must-dos.
For a starter, as you are a gamer, you'll have to explore used-game shops in the big cities, like Tokyo (not necessarily Alihabara) or Osaka. You'll find plenty of Famicom stuff. And by plenty I mean a lot. 

For non-gaming attractions, there's the famous "Three Views of Japan", which are Matsushima, Amanohashidate and Itsukushima Shrine. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Views_of_Japan)
And Mount Fuji of course. Also interesting are the Gion district in Kyoto (Geishas and Maikos), Nagasaki, Matsue (Izumo Shrine), Ise (Ise Shrine),... Maybe it's best to get a recent guidebook and pick the places you'd most like to go.

If you plan to travel by train a lot, you should definitely get the japan Rail Pass.
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html

Apart from sightseeing you have to try as much Japanese food as possible. Just look for small restaurants and ask for locla specialties. And if you have the time, a visit to some hot springs is very nice, too.

I have so many recommendations, you'd probably need a year to do it all. 
If you have more specific questions, you know who to ask. 

[JC]

Damn, I'll likely be in Japan a week or so after my birthday. So no cake, I guess.

And thanks for the info, especially about the train. I have no clue how I'll travel once in-country, but it's nice to know that option. I may have more questions soon, but I've just been focused on dates and the flight. Not cheap to fly these days, it seems. Once I get my flight, I'll have an idea about what's left for food, rooms, misc. travel, etc.

[manuel]

Train is best for traveling. It adds up pretty quickly, so you'll definitely make a good deal with the Rail pass.

[JC]

Ah, the frustration of small towns...I had my flights ready to purchase...hit purchase, and my debit card was rejected. I have my money stashed away in a small local bank and it seems they don't allow purchases over $1,000 without special authorization. Damn it. I'll be making some phone calls in the morning. Same thing happened when I bought my laptop. I really ought to find a new bank.

[manuel]

That sucks.

So for when did you plan/book your flight?
Just because i'm curious, what airline do you plan to use?

[JC]

Well, assuming everything (price, time) remains the same tomorrow as today, I'd be flying Korean Air. I'll be heading out of the US on Feb. 2, arriving in Tokyo on Feb. 3, staying in Japan until Feb. 10, when I fly to Seoul, stay there until Feb. 15, then head to Taipei until Feb. 22. Gonna be awesome!

[manuel]

That sounds awesome indeed. I'm already jealous.

Korean Air is quite good. My wife flew with them once.

[JC]

Yikes! I had a dream last night that I was flying out of some big airport and the jetliner I was in didn't get high enough in the air, so it hit an embankment, crashed and rolled over...everyone was safe. Doesn't beat a dream I had a few years ago where a jetliner came in for a crash landing next to my house, plowing through my neighbor's house and bursting into flames...wreckage was strewn everywhere, and just about everyone died. I took pictures.

I don't have a fear of flying, but Korean Air better be good.

EDIT: Just got my flight! Same as I said...

[ericj]

Sounds like an awesome trip! 
You'll have to post some pics upon your return.
Are you traveling with anyone or going alone?

[FamicomFreak]

FamicomFreak is going in JC suitcase wekekekkekekeke