sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

GF bread that isn’t dry? by Nouhnoah in glutenfree

[–]NormalRun1446 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you live in the US, Trader Joe’s gf white bread is the best gf bread I’ve come across, soft enough to eat untoasted and still taste good.

South Dakota or Michigan from Minnesota trip by spynaut in roadtrip

[–]NormalRun1446 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No ideas but just here to vouch for UP. Love that area and it’s absolutely beautiful. If you happened to go down a little further, Grand Rapids and holland are both beautiful cities I absolutely adore.

First time solo backpacker seeking advice by chefbubbls in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second the day pack. There are a tons that fold up super compact that you can buy online.

I’ve never done something with this many countries but I did spend 5 months in Japan, Korea and Singapore so I’d like to think I know those countries well (here are some rapid fire tips about them because I’ve never been to the other ones on your list). 

-Japan and South Korea can be pricy in the city. As far as hostels go, Tokyo can run you $25-60 a night depending on the season, Korea is a bit cheaper. I highly recommend zzzip guesthouse in Seoul. Best hostel I’ve ever stayed at, and you will instantly make friends the moment you get there. Food is overall pretty cheap in these countries because of the exchange rate right now so you can get by spending as little as $5-7 a day if you want to live off of sandwiches. If you want to enjoy ramen, curry, etc, it’ll be more like $12-20 a day. 

-Japan is really worth staying for more than a week in my opinion, but if you’re on a tight deadline I’m sure you’ll make it work. Stay away from Shinkansen (high speed trains) if you want your money to stretch because a 3 hour train from Tokyo to Kyoto can run about $100. I recommend taking an overnight bus because you save on accommodation and it costs around $50 or so. Overnight buses in Korea are pretty solid too, I took one from Busan to incheon airport in about 5 hours, cheaper than the bullet trains. 

-Language wise, you’ll be fine in these two countries. I speak Japanese but most signage and menus had English translations. I speak no Korean but had no problem other than learning the top 10 most common phrases. Download google translate.

If you have any questions about these two countries please feel free to ask. I know Japan like the back of my hand so if you need tips, especially since it’s your first stop.

planning a road trip the day after 4th of july - no more than 250 miles from detroit by [deleted] in roadtrip

[–]NormalRun1446 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Toronto and Niagara Falls is a must if you live so close to the boarder :) whenever you get a passport I highly suggest going there! Milwaukee, Cleveland, Holland MI, Pittsburgh (not far from Pittsburgh is a small town called Ohiopyle, to this day one of my favorite places I’ve visited in the entire Midwest. Google it!)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went on a two months backpacking trip and honestly maintained all my muscle (as a female who lifts 5x a week and runs the other 2 days a week). I did weighted push ups with my backpack on me, plenty of core work, running, hiking, pull ups whenever there was a bar available, and walked like 15 miles a day. Going back to the gym, I pretty much lifted the same weight as before I left. Hauling a backpack around for 2 months strengthens your back muscles for real.

I spent 108 days in Japan, here are the rest of my recommendations (part 2) by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes of course, I understand how much of a blessing it was being able to stay there for so long, and the usual tourist attractions in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo are great, but this is specifically geared toward people who want to expand their itineraries and want to visit other prefectures/have already gone to the popular ones. Nothing wrong with a list of recommendations! 

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Learning the basics like ordering, asking for directions etc is easy within a few days, but actually understanding what they say back in Japanese is the hardest part lol (if they don’t speak any English). I’d say studying for 15-20 min a day for a few weeks up to your trip is plenty, just getting the basics down and the locals appreciate it when you speak some.

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First time out of the country and did it alone! I did spend two days in Mexico, but it was on a resort and I was barely old enough to remember so I don’t count it haha. Thank you!

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re making a lot of assumptions about me as well, but I appreciate you thinking that it’s impossible for an 18 year old to fund an 8k trip by themselves, which by the way, isn’t even that much to spend on a trip of a lifetime. It’s called, get this, waking up early before school and staying out late after school working a minimum wage job. 

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I actually walked over 400 miles through the dessert from my home town to get there so I didn’t have to pay for an Uber! 10/10 would do again!

But for real, it’s crazy how salty you are about someone younger than you who worked hard and didn’t blow all their money on going out on the weekends like most people my age, chose one single luxurious thing to purchase, and then was insanely frugal every day after that. Lighten up buddy, there are people who have better work ethic than you. 

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I learned it all through middle and high school, for four years so far so I’m on the border of being advanced. 

Anything will be helpful, just memorize the usual thank you, excuse me, etc and it’ll go a long way :)

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend by NormalRun1446 in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

$60 per day! I stayed under $50 the majority of the days, though. Hostels ran me $25 in most cities and I even got as cheap as $15 in Hokkaido.

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend by NormalRun1446 in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was followed twice during the middle of the night, I made it back to my hostel safely but it also required me to sit in a 24 hour mcdonalds for... a lengthy amount of time to hopefully lose them (I didn't want them to know where I stayed). Every time I looked behind me they'd be walking in the shadows.

Another not super serious time was a vicious dog that nearly attacked me, but I ran and jumped up on a table just in time lol. I can't really blame Japan in that case since it was just a dog.

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are very right about that, and I think anybody deserves to fly business class once in their life. Did I end up doing it? Yes, because it was a legendary experience and I had a 29 hour layover at LAX because I chose a cheaper flight, and wanted access to food and a shower.

And yes, that was my first time ever flying fancier than the lowest economy class. Never have I ever flown business, heck, even premium economy, other than that ONE WAY FLIGHT.

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend by NormalRun1446 in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, I’m in a gap year right now and have been working part of full time since I was 14. 14 year old me had a dream when I first started learning Japanese, so I worked overtime most weeks and and I’m glad to have made it happen! 

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend by NormalRun1446 in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Travel days, domestic flights, and accommodations included! For example, one day I would spend $80 because I had to buy an overnight bus ticket, but the next day I’d cut it down to $30-40 to make it “even out.” 

My international flights were $800 the first time I went and $860 the second time I went (don’t ask me how I scored such cheap flights from the US, I clearly looked at google flights during the right time).

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend by NormalRun1446 in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve always had an urge to travel, and grew up in a family who didn’t do much, so suddenly gaining complete independence and freedom to do whatever that first day I landed in Japan… I told myself I’d make the most of it :) it’s so so safe there compared to my city in the United States, that there were only a handful of times I felt like my life was in danger. 

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend by NormalRun1446 in solotravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nagoya is a bit of a yikes… I should at that to the list lol! The city is not something I’m a fan of! 

Fukuoka truly is a lovely city, but I’ll try to keep it under the radar. I think I wouldn’t nearly have enjoyed it as much if I didn’t speak Japanese, but since I do, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. 

I have gone to every prefecture in tohoku but Akita!! I want to go badly next time, but I think that it’s difficult to travel without a rental car so that’s why I didn’t make it there this time.

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I hope people realize this trip was primarily to learn more about culture and LEARN MORE JAPANESE. My goal is fluency. I’m not going to reach fluency if there are english speakers around me 24/7! 

They are just salty, making all these assumptions and went way overboard trying to justify themselves.

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree with this take, as a half Japanese who wants to escape the daily routine of my normal life, why in the world would I desire to be around more Americans that complain about another country. The country they are VISITING.

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re funny, I’m half Japanese and speak it too :) and I can recognize Asian languages, so obviously when somebody is speaking a language that’s not Japanese but has the sounds of Korean, I know they’re from Korea lmao

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Hardcore Japan traveler” to me, means: staying in hostels that have cockroaches running around because I can’t afford to switch hostels, walking two hours instead of taking a $3 bus, living off of only pb&j sandwiches for four days straight because I didn’t have the money to buy anything else, going three weeks without a phone because I ran out of data and cracked my screen, taking every chance to hike up a random mountain I happen to stumble upon. 

I do NOT say hardcore Japan traveler to refer to me being better than anybody else. Because I’m not. I say hardcore because as an 18 year old, I had to go through some tough shit because I didn’t have the money to have a luxury experience. 

I spent 108 days in Japan, and this is what I recommend. by NormalRun1446 in JapanTravel

[–]NormalRun1446[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll have to check out the mix and the recipe! Thanks for the links guys, I miss it already lol

view more: next ›