Curious Customs: Tips for Visiting Japan, Part 2

Advantages: A great adventure
Disadvantages: Leave that handkerchief at home!

...finished bathing you leave the water for other members of the household to use. Just like the sentou, the household bath is a place to relax and wind down at the end of the day, which is why the Japanese take their bath just before going to bed. As a visitor, remember the golden rule - strictly no soap in the bath! **Onsen** Japan is a volcanic country and there are numerous natural hot springs in many areas. Like the sentou, the onsen is a type of public bath but there the similarity ends. Onsen can be indoors or outdoors, natural or artificial, but the best ones are the outdoor onsen fed by natural hot spring water. These are generally found in the countryside in beautiful, natural settings. They may be beside a tree-lined river, on the cliffs overlooking the ocean or high in the mountains. They are often like spa resorts with hotel...

Mitsudan 22.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Customs (Japan)

Konnichiwa! Tips for Visiting Japan Part 3

Advantages: Successful communication feels like an achievement
Disadvantages: It pays to invest some time and effort

... <10> Communication Welcome to the third and final part of my top ten tips for visitors to Japan. Having looked last time at the potential pitfalls for gaijin (foreigners) in blowing their noses and taking a bath amongst other hazards, this time I'm dealing with the biggest minefield of the lot - the all-important business of communication. So here is tip number 10. The Devil's Language? The brick wall up against which most foreign visitors come in Japan when trying to communicate is of course the Japanese language itself. It's said that in the sixteenth century the missionary St Francis Xavier, on discovering the difficulty westerners had in deciphering a single word spoken or written by the Japanese people, concluded that Japanese had been devised by the devil to prevent Christian missionaries from doing their good...

Mitsudan 25.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of General: Japan

Japan delivered to your door

Advantages: All things Japanese for the discerning British shopper
Disadvantages: In store labelling/signage isn't the best

...*Japan is now apparently in the centre of London!* Japan Centre is a series of businesses based in London Piccadilly, with the stated aim of having Japan 'delivered to your door'. It's an absolutely wonderful idea for a diverse range of people: from someone looking to take their first tentative steps towards trying sushi, or for crazed Japanophiles who can't cope without a weekly supply of edamame, sake and good quality sushi rice. All under one roof you can find a retail store, a popular website for ordering Japanese goods, a restaurant, sushi classes, Japanese recipes (in English), a user forum and a bilingual recruitment agency. Much as I love Japanese cuisine I can't speak more than ten words of Japanese, so this review will focus on the retail and online stores and some of the added extras offered on their site (www...

edinburgher 14.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Japan Centre

A great airport hotel

Advantages: Cheap as chips, great quality
Disadvantages: Funky bathroom smell

...Well, some of the more observant of you may of noticed that I tend to travel a far bit. In fact, going through my old reviews from 2000 / 01, it appears that I have some review updating to do also! However for now, I'll concentrate on my recent experiences. I'm what you would call a mileage whore. Before you all go off complaining the Ciao that there is a sex pest in your midst, the term is used widely in the US, and means a person that is brand loyal for the benefits you get off the company you are loyal to. I'm certainly very loyal to the Hilton chain, as you may see.... So, I've spent some time in Korea, and, as I was flying Virgin from Tokyo, spent a night at the Hilton Narita.... From the airport..... -------------------------- Well, as with many hotels close the airports, there is a courtesy bus from the airport. Whilst...

pefidler 25.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hilton Narita New Tokyo International Airport, Narita

Kyoto, the OLD capital of Japan.

Advantages: Cheap area, gorgeous attractions and temples, good for short visits!
Disadvantages: Limited activity so best for -5 day visits.

...I visited Japan at the end of this July, and have only just returned. I must say it was the holiday of a lifetime. Flights cost £900 each via British Airways. We visited Kyoto for 3 days. We got there via Shinkansen from Tokyo, and stayed at the New Miyako hotel, just over the road from Kyoto station. Kyoto was absolutely gorgeous and very easy to navigate around. You can get just about anywhere you want to from Kyoto Station. There are buses, subway trains etc. 220 yen is all you need for a bus ride to anywhere along the Kyoto bus lines. That works out at around £1. You just hop on the bus and pay when you get off. We visited Toei movie land which was a bit of a dissapointment. www.eigamura30.com. Looking at brochures we expected amazing movie scenes etc but it left a lot to be desired. A lot of it was shut off, and most...

Jellypigs 18.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Kyoto (Japan)

Recommended places to visit in Japan

Advantages: Great places to visit, many things to do, new technologies
Disadvantages: some things are pricey especially the latest technologies, jet lag

...hotels. If a picture of a room was illuminated this meant that this particular den was free. There were all sorts of weird and wonderful rooms in which to make beautiful music - ones with water or mirrors and even the more bizarre ones. Apparently, as many Japanese apartments are overcrowded, the Love Hotels also act as a sanctuary for parents who want some special time together away from their children. I needn't draw pictures. Most amusing of all was the fact most couples used one door to enter the hotel and another to exit. When you see a couple coming out of a door in the middle of a wall into the street with wet hair busy tucking their tops in - then it didn't take Einstein to guess where they had been. These Love Hotels obviously well suit Japan's amorous populous, yet given the fact that the population growth is slowing in Japan...

rambo 01.05.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Japan

The Strand Palace Hotel

Advantages: Central location, clean
Disadvantages: Food, rooms

...We stayed at this hotel in London a little over a month ago now for two nights, we chose this hotel mainly because of the central location and because it was only a ten minuite walk from the show we had booked to go too. Check in was very quick - About ten minuites and the staff at the reception seemed very friendly. My first thoughts on the hotel was that it looked really clean and that it was nicely decorated and it looked modern. I was a little dissapointed with our room as it was very small and basic, our room had a double bed, tea and coffee making facilities, a tv with satellite and a small, basic en suite bathroom with a shower. The views from our room very very poor - A block of offices which made our room dark as they were so close. The hotel has two bars and two resturaunts, the bars were again nicely decorated...

kate44 03.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Strand Palace Hotel, London

Hotel International

Advantages: Location, breakfasts
Disadvantages: Poor rooms

...I recently went on a cultural girlie trip with a friend to Paris. I was left to do all the booking. I was looking for a reasonable hotel, near a metro stop, which included breakfast. I came across the Hotel International on various travel sites and it seemed fairly highly rated so I booked us in for three nights. LOCATION: The hotel is located 6 Rue Auguste Barbier in the 11th Arrondissement. The nearest Metro stop is Garcourt which was a two minute walk away and it was a five minute walk to Republique which gives good links to other lines. It's not really central enough to avoid the Metro and walk to the attractions but it was located so close to a stop that it seemed ideal. PRICE: Prices vary depending on size of room and season. There are singles, doubles and triples available. We paid Euro254 for the whole time...

tartlette83 17.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hotel International, Paris

Easy travel in Japan!

Advantages: easy to use, use as many time as you want during valid day
Disadvantages: limited location to exchange voucher

...Traveling in Japan is quite costly. So having a Japan Rail (JR) Pass is an excellent way for the foreigners to see Japan. However, you want to evaluate your situation before purchasing the JR pass as if you do not use it, there will be about 20% service fee for unused ticket refund or not getting full value for the money. Confusing? It could be... but it is fairly simple. JR pass: (quick overview) 1* pre-purchased Exchange Order (voucher) outside Japan for the foreign travelers on temporary visitor status (include nationals living in foreign country) 2* JR Pass allows you to travel free on any "Japan Railways" trains (but NOT private rail lines) including well famous Bullet Train (Shinkansen - Hikari and Kodama, NOT Nozomi). Also some JR bus systems. 3* 2 types of pass: GREEN and ORDINARY. Green is more costly than Ordinary...

mckey 21.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Japan Rail Pass

An introduction to bizarre Japan

Advantages: Despite things being bizarre they're strangely enjoyable
Disadvantages: Everyone else thinks you're weird for liking them

...Okay I have a theory. ALL JAPANESE PEOPLE ARE INSANE. I`m yet to be proven wrong. One advantage of this is though that they do create some of the most bizarre and wonderful things. So lets forget about the temples and castle these are the things you`ll really remember about Japan. 1.VENDING MACHINES Not bizarre in themselves but they are actually every where, millions of them. Most sell just drinks and cigarettes, some sell alcohol(now be honest would that work in Britain, can you imagine how many drunken 12 year olds there would be lying about on the streets). They get slowly more unusual and bizarre, newspapers, pot plants, fast food. The most bizarre are the legendary vending machines that sell used school girls knickers, having not seen one I can`t guarentee that they still exist. Strangely though I haven`t found a single one...

randymutley 29.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of General: Japan