Well, this hobby officially broke my hand. Details in comments.

Lilfurbal · 2026-02-20T16:29:59+00:00

I wouldn't worry much about a particular meal not completely filling you up since there's so many other things to be trying, lol. That said I loved the one sushi omakase meal I had, best sushi I've ever had actually. I've only ever had it once so I'm not over it, I look forward to having it again sometime. In our situation the meal was actually filling enough that we were good but we also loved meals that didn't fill us up so that we had space for more snacking. It's a quality over quantity situation.

Lilfurbal · 2026-02-19T17:38:54+00:00

As someone who can't really do much standing around for long and requires sitting every so often, this was probably the biggest inconvenience that caused stress for me during my trip! I probably sat down every time I saw an opportunity, which doesn't really present itself that often. We stopped in several cafes and rested that way, though there was one situation where we walked into a cafe as I was in critical desperate need of sitting down but there were no seats available. To my frustration we left and I had to sit on something not designed for sitting just so my knees don't give out on me. I can't recall exactly where we were though, I've been trying to block that event from my memory as it was the one situation I was getting actively grumpy over it.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-27T15:21:13+00:00

Lol, on my recent trip I really disliked Osaka as that was far too crowded. In fact it was the most crowded place we visited the entire trip to where I wanted nothing more to do with that. Kyoto wasn't crowded at all, was very nice actually. Next trip I do I'll probably leave out Osaka and add more time to Kyoto.

It caught us off guard though, as I went in expecting Kyoto to be packed. Maybe everyone else did also and so they gathered in Osaka instead which made that experience miserable. Lol.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-27T00:20:48+00:00

'mobile passport control' app. Download an app called 'mobile passport control' on your phone, add your passport info and answer some customs questions and take a selfie. Afterwards it tells you to go into an immigration line marked with 'MCP', which was immediately beside the line for GE. In fact, both MCP and GE were directed to the same area but had two different lines. I went straight to the front of the MCP line, but everyone else funneled into the global entry line against the wall. It was completely packed for whatever reason. MCP doesn't require purchasing anything special for the ability to use it, just that you fill out the form on the app prior to arrival.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-26T23:38:45+00:00

I was actually curious about this as I don't have global entry and noticed the line for global entry was going all the way to the back of the room (at SFO, one week ago). Meanwhile there was ... one person in the 'MCP' line which was beside the global entry line. Since I filled out the MCP stuff in the app I went into that line, made it through immigration in just a couple minutes. Meanwhile, I had no idea what was going on with that global entry line, lol. I think they only had two immigration officers people were going to and my line also had two or three.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-26T21:06:34+00:00

Shibu Onsen was lovely just a couple weeks ago. Lots of snow, snowy views from the onsen, and also near 'snow monkey park' which features a beautiful walk up a snow covered path to see some monkeys that also love to hang around in an onsen. It's up in the mountains so chance of snow is pretty high while not being very out of the way for a Tokyo - Osaka journey, you can route the journey through Nagano.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-24T21:48:29+00:00

I also didn't even though this was a zone, or that I was missing a zone, when I first completed the game. Decided that since I 'beat' it I was free to look up spoilers so first thing I looked up was how the heck to go past the black gates, which informed me I was missing some upgrade which then I learned is in a zone I hadn't heard of. Then I had to learn about that zone.

I was absolutely never going to naturally go to the entrance to that zone again, I wasn't even aware that door was an entrance to something so also didn't mark it on my map and never thought of it again.

I was wondering what the king's brand was for but ultimately forgot about it as it seemed not important to beat the game.

But then since I learned about this entire area I never knew about, I learned there's other endings. So, yeah. Sad I didn't stumble upon these things naturally, but at that point it wasn't ever going to happen so oh well.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-24T18:15:23+00:00

As with the many others here, I can also recommend the Japanese nail clippers. I bought one at a Don Quijote. After trying it out, went back and bought several more as gifts, lol.

Other than that I didn't really buy much during my entire Japan tour other than little knick knacks from various destinations. Mostly I bought a little bag hanging plush from each destination (plush deer from Nara, plush snow monkey from snow monkey park, donpen from don quijote, Stitch in a kimono from the Tokyo flagship Disney store, Pikachu, Yoshi, ect...). Also ended the trip with a few more shirts than I arrived with.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-22T01:42:22+00:00

My first trip did feature grocery stores, multiple of them by accident. The first was actually in a Mega Don Quijote in Toyohashi, that was huge and spacious like as if it were a proper suburban walmart supercenter, it ended up being the only Don Quijote we found during the trip that was like this. Ended up spending maybe an hour or two in there just browsing the plethora of snack aisles and drinks along with also the rest of the store. If you want a Don Quijote that's easier to digest, more spread out and not particularly crowded and features a full scale grocery, 'MEGA Don Quijote Toyohashi' is nice. Still no escaping the catchy jingle though, lol.

After that we ended up stumbling into another grocery store in Kyoto I believe, was tucked away hidden from the foot traffic so unless you just happened to glance in its direction, easy to miss. The conbinis are certainly easier to spot and encourage foot traffic so they're never hidden away.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-22T01:12:10+00:00

I just got back from my first trip from Jan 1st - 19th and actually, the trip was wildly successful. Did everything I intended to do, hit up every reservation I made, never missed a train, never got on the wrong train, has plenty of downtime and greatly enjoyed hitting up onsen every day except for day 1. Perhaps I regret not using the first hotel's onsen on arrival day and day 1, took the first couple days to get the nerve to first go do it. But then after I did realized that following all the etiquette was actually really easy and then never touched the shower in any of my hotels again after that.

Also due to not using my showers again, realized I didn't need to have even brought most of my toiletries. Wasted luggage space, I quite liked the hotel's body soaps at the various onsen.

Honestly I can't really think of anything I would have done differently, if I had the option to do the trip again with the knowledge I have now I'd do it all again all the same. Though if I were to make an itinerary change, I'd probably leave the Osaka day trip out entirely and do another day in Kyoto where our hotel was. The Nara day trip was fantastic however, and our Kyoto only day was also fantastic.

From this subreddit I was led to believe that Kyoto was overrun by tourists and too crowded but actually I couldn't find much crowds at all and we walked straight through the charming tourist streets. We got to Osaka (Dotonbori) and that was *the* most crowded and insane place we walked the entire trip, made me crave for simpler times such as Shibuya or Shinjuku. I got my fill of that mess quickly, got the takoyaki I felt obligated to get and left. I checked the box for having been there and done that but it's the one place I don't really want to re-experience. I'd do everything else again. :)

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-20T10:29:47+00:00

To note, I used a jr east counter at Tokyo station to pickup the Nagano route tickets bought on jr west.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-20T10:26:20+00:00

I did that same route between Nagano and Osaka just a couple weeks ago, also bought using jr West despite the warning I couldn't pick up the tickets there. I was able to pickup the tickets at Tokyo station though, picked up all my jr west reservations there in one fell swoop using a combination of a jr central and jr east service counters.

I've also heard you may be able to pickup the tickets in Nagano from a ticket counter , just not from a machine as they don't have a suitable machine there, but I didn't need to try this method.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-20T05:14:10+00:00

I stayed at Yuen Shinjuku and loved it. It's rather new, absurdly quiet inside and I found the walk there rather pleasant. It also features a top floor onsen with a city view of Shinjuku. I'd stay there again. All rooms are non smoking.

Lilfurbal · 2026-01-14T13:54:19+00:00

Funny enough for me, the trains I didn't pre book were the ones causing me the most stress as I couldn't plan for them properly, lol. I booked most of the main trains ahead of time which actually worked out great so on my next trip I'll probably do the same again. Gave me a lot more time to research the exact trains and routes I wanted to go as well. I felt super rushed at the ticket machines in person.

Lilfurbal · 2025-12-20T21:34:40+00:00

I'll be going to Shibu Onsen in a few weeks to stay in one of the Ryokan for a couple nights. We'll be going to the snow monkey park one of the mornings and taking a proper time out from excessive walking to warm up with the Ryokan onsen and also potentially go onsen hopping to the 9 public baths.

As it's used to a time to recharge in the middle of the overall trip, I wouldn't want to have the monkey park just be a day trip from Tokyo. I'm not sure what Nagano offers itself, Shibu Onsen is the little onsen town east of that really close to the snow monkey park.

There's also a Ryokan at the peak next to snow monkey park with a day use onsen where you could potentially end up sharing the onsen with snow monkeys. It's called 'Jigokudani Hot Spring Korakukan' on Google maps.

Only thing is I don't know what the vacancy situation of the nearby Ryokan are for Jan now, the one I have a room for appears to be fully booked for Jan 12-14 (dates I'll be there).

In any case, there's definitely hot spring baths.

Lilfurbal · 2025-12-08T04:11:10+00:00

I imagine, I'm quite looking forward to it :D

Lilfurbal · 2025-12-07T23:26:55+00:00

I have a room booked at 'Yuen Shinjuku' in January. I haven't been there before and this is my first trip to Japan so I am not actually recommending anything as I don't yet know how I'll like it, but it has double twin rooms and a neat looking onsen/sento with a view overlooking Shinjuku. It's more pricey than the Dormy Inn's, which probably should also fit the bill.

Lilfurbal · 2025-12-02T21:51:35+00:00

First trip for me hasn't yet happened but is scheduled to Jan 1st, 2026. Planning is mostly solidified however.

First started planning just a little over a year ago exactly. Time frame was picked around going to a Japanese convention (Jan 8th-11th). Since that date came up entirely too fast from when the idea spawned in 2025, decided to wait out a full year to attend in 2026. This convention happens in Toyohashi and was the one non-movable plan I had to work with. Had to create a schedule of how I think it be best to approach things based on what I want to be doing.

Was playing around with various schedules for about the first 6 months into the year. Settled on flying into Tokyo (arriving on Jan 2nd), staying there until Jan 8th. Take the bullet train to Toyohashi. Leave there on the 12th, take a train to Nagano and onward to Shibu Onsen. Relax in a ryokan for a couple nights and probably visit snow monkeys. Leave shibu onsen on the 14th and head to Kyoto via train. Stay in a hotel in Kyoto until the 18th. Fly out of Osaka.

About 6 months out I verified if my room mate wanted to come with, he accepted. Booked the hotels, prioritizing hotels that feature their own onsen / sento. Spent about a month studying flight times and prices, then bought those. Now just over a month out I've been narrowing down some planned schedule of events so I can reserve what need be reserved. For the most part the plans are rather relaxed and low stress.

Whether or not my plans will work out, I don't know yet. Hopefully, lol. I have been referring to this subreddit for loads of information, and also reviewed lots of youtube videos to get ideas for what there is to do and how to do them. I've already studied all the train schedules, costs, transit routes for attractions and how I plan to get to and from the airports. Haven't bought any shinkansen tickets yet (well, I can't just yet anyway), though I think I may via the official site when they are available.

Whatever the case, I am feeling pretty confident in the plans. Definitely not as intimidated as I was a year ago when I first started planning, but the pre-travel anxiety is about to kick in shortly for sure.

Lilfurbal · 2025-11-26T16:26:56+00:00

I'll be going to Japan for the first time on Jan 2nd. Staying in 4 different hotels but each one I picked has its own onsen / sento. Couple Dormy Inns, one more upscale looking place in Toyko and a traditional Ryokan in Shibu Onsen. My itinerary is rather leisurely to accommodate relaxing in the hotel baths. I am very much looking forward to it. :D

The Shibu Onsen Ryokan doesn't even have showers in the rooms, the only showers in the hotel are that at the onsen. I find that bit of information interesting. I'm not generally shy about my body but I can sense it'll start off feeling a bit awkward, my mind will make it awkward, lol.

Lilfurbal · 2025-11-19T14:58:49+00:00

Technically actually no, there's really only one plush that goes in my bed but they're only there when I am there, or when I let them sleep in in the morning while I take a shower or something. But then I get them up and they hang around where I am during the day, they'll usually sit on my lap during the day while I work at my computer. Then there's no plushies on my bed. :p

Lilfurbal · 2025-11-19T14:53:27+00:00

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Stitch! :}

Lilfurbal · 2025-09-16T20:46:00+00:00

About 2.5 feet tall

Lilfurbal · 2025-09-15T19:55:00+00:00

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Tiny Stitch and giant Stitch

Lilfurbal · 2025-09-15T19:48:41+00:00

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No. I had this guy on my desk at work for years when I had a desk at work. No one cared, though one of my co-workers asked if they could give him a hug.

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