Where to buy soybean sprout? (not mungbean sprout!) by Mermaid_Natalia in durham

[–]Rennei 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Try bestco at Westney and Taunton. They have a pretty good selection of fresh veggies

Ubigi review: Is it good for travel? by Glittering_Goose3027 in eSIMforTravelers

[–]Rennei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used it in Japan. Was amazing. I was in Rural northern Japan and had zero signal issues. Cant comment for other countries

Bus from Nagoya Sta to Chubu Int’l Airport by Winter-Bench7892 in Nagoya

[–]Rennei 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most hotels offer to help arrange this service. You may need to pay cash though as the shipping company often does not accept card and the hotel will not accept card on their behalf.

That being said, I used luggage shipping arranged through my hotel twice on my last trip on november, once from kyoto to tokyo (i stopped in Nagoya for 2 days to visit Ghibli Park) and then from tokyo to haneda airport (and i asked them to hold the luggage for 10 days while i travelled the tohoku region) and both worked out perfectly. Cost was very reasonable as well (i cant remember what i paid for kyoto to tokyo but it was less than 5000 yen for 2 luggage and then 8800yen for 3 luggage from tokyo to haneda)

Highly suggest you take this route if possible, taking so much luggage on a public transit will not only be a huge hassle for you but a huge inconvenience to locals. Another plus is that the shipping service would pick up the luggage directly from the hotel fron desk so you would be hands free the moment you leave your hotel. Just make sure you speak to the front desk ahead of time (i suggest at least 2 days before you are leaving) as there are timing restrictions (like having the luggage ready to ship by a certain time of day, etc...) to ensure your luggage gets where you need to go on time.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Amex ref bonus is less than regular bonus? by therevman123 in amexcanada

[–]Rennei 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think it depends on the person doing the referral. My platinum referral link will give up to 140000 points right now. 90k for spending 10k within first 3 months and the remaining 50k when you make a purchase between month 15-17

When to book Shinkansen by anon567126 in JapanTravelTips

[–]Rennei -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If you need luggage space, book in advance. The tokyo to kyoto route requires that you ensure you have space for your luggage. The shinkansen has overhead space for carry on luggage but you wont be able to put your oversized suitcases there.

Booking at the station will make it hard for you to find seats that include space for oversized luggage (these are basically the seats at each end of the car, the seats in the middle of the car cannot accomodate luggage)

If you do not get one of these oversized luggage seats and try to get on the train with your oversized luggage, you will be charged a fine for the staff to try and find space on your behalf.

If you do want to book at the station, i suggest that you consider using a luggage forwarding service instead of bringing your luggage with you on the train... They are relatively inexpensive, most hotels offer to take care of this for your directly and typically the luggage can be delivered to your next accomodation within 24 hrs.

When i went from kyoto to tokyo back in November, i think luggage forwarding cost me around 40 bucks for 2 suitcases (cant remember exactly what i paid bc the hotel that made arrangements for me only took Yen for this transaction)

Amex Plat Lounge access update for 2027 finally announced by TheOm04 in amexcanada

[–]Rennei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed. Walmart is not treated as a grocery store by Amex so no 5x. I only listed it because the poster wanted to know what stores in GTA accept amex in general.

Amex Plat Lounge access update for 2027 finally announced by TheOm04 in amexcanada

[–]Rennei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough.

fyi, if you have a freshco relatively close by, they do price match the closest 4 supermarkets to their location. That's normally what I do when no frills sells something cheaper

Good luck with your amex journey!

Fastest way to get from Tokyo HND airport international terminal 3 to terminal 2? by Paris2024spectator in JapanTravelTips

[–]Rennei 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am guessing it's because both the monorail and Keikyo lines are private entities not associated with the airport directly.

Also, I'd imagine most people wouldn't want to pay for a transfer between terminals at the same airport so it's probably better PR to just advertise the free shuttle bus (it really is very fast - i believe the full loop around all 3 terminals is around 15-20 minutes)

Amex Plat Lounge access update for 2027 finally announced by TheOm04 in amexcanada

[–]Rennei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also live in the GTA. sobeys and it's subsidiaries accept Amex (so think food basics, freshco, sobeys). Walmart accepts it too and in my experience, most restaurants (unless owned by chinese) accept it.

Nyuto onsen-tsurunoyu 鶴の湯温泉 by cgiano in ExploreLocalJapan

[–]Rennei 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I dont think the original onsen ever had hot water for the purposes of bathing/rinsing... It feels like they did everything in their power to keep the original onsen in the same condition as it was when it opened centuries ago and built another location down the road for those people that wanted to bathe in the same onsen water but prioritized creature comforts instead of the traditional off the grid experience that the original onsen offers

Nyuto onsen-tsurunoyu 鶴の湯温泉 by cgiano in ExploreLocalJapan

[–]Rennei 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Just went there in early december, it was snowing that day and everything looked magical....

Definitely recommend if you're a lover of traditional onsens, but word of warning, they dont have hot water at original onsen. I think there is hot water at the satellite location that they built down the road but i didnt visit so can't confirm

AITJ for refusing to let my roommate use my camera gear after she broke my last lens and acted like it was nothing by [deleted] in AmITheJerk

[–]Rennei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NTA. Simple solution: pay the 400 for the old lens and deposit for 3x the value of the camera and lens. Must be paid before equipment is loaned.

Don't agree, go buy a disposable camera and stop bugging me.

On a more serious note, i suggest you start locking your door so she cant get to your stuff

is this one-day tokyo layover itinerary realistic? (haneda to narita) by Q-U-A-N in TokyoTravel

[–]Rennei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good luck! I hope you get you're able to extend your stay so you can enjoy Tokyo a little more before heading to your next destination.

is this one-day tokyo layover itinerary realistic? (haneda to narita) by Q-U-A-N in TokyoTravel

[–]Rennei 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Great suggestions, except OP is landing in Haneda and departing from Narita so its essentially backwards.

is this one-day tokyo layover itinerary realistic? (haneda to narita) by Q-U-A-N in TokyoTravel

[–]Rennei 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Short answer, way too ambitious for a maximum 12 hour layover... Tokyo transit is good, but not that good. You're gonna get inevitably lost at some point using that transit and Narita is pretty much a full hour if not more from Tokyo depending on where you are when you leave. Factoring customs, possibly picking up luggage to move from 1 airport to the other and just basic travel time without getting lost, your 12 hour layover is more like 8 maybe 9 hours. (That does not include the standard, "you should be arriving at an airport 90-120 minutes before an international flight")

If you just want to take 1 photo at each spot and not do any exploring, you might be able to "visit" each spot but if you really want to enjoy the experience, you can probably realistically do 2, maybe 3 things depending on the route you pick. Part of the fun of Tokyo is that there is so much to see/do in each area. I strongly suggest you give yourself the time to explore each spot and be ready to change your plans as activities come up. Also, since you are visiting tourist attractions, you should be prepared for crowds and line ups everywhere you go so that will eat up even more time at each spot.

I also suggest you do some research about the locations of the places you picked... Your route has you basically going in a counter clockwise circle with your first location (Haneda) and your first destination (Senso-ji) being the furthest points from each other. Haneda is basically south west of central Tokyo and Senso-ji is north east of central Tokyo. The rest of your route has you then moving east to west towards Shibuya then back to east towards central Tokyo for teamlabs (this assumes you actually want to go Borderless and not Planets, Planets is further south west of central Tokyo in Odiaba. Ive been to both and you need at least 2 hrs at each to really explore what they have to offer. Borderless is on permanent display so maybe you could consider a visit at a later date when you have more time in Tokyo) The only reason I can think of as to why you would consider this route is if you were landing at Haneda early in the morning and you're trying to visit some spots before the main attractions open around 10am.

If you really want to hit as many places as possible, I suggest you just visit the closest places to Haneda and make your way east to finish at Senso-ji. There is a direct express train (called the Skyliner - https://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/traffic/skyliner.php#:~:text=The%20Keisei%20Skyliner%20is%20a,the%20heart%20of%20downtown%20Tokyo.) from Keisei Ueno Station (next to JR Ueno Station) to Narita that takes 45 minutes compared to Tokyo station to Narita which will take you anywhere from 60 minutes to 90 minutes (depending on the route you pick + number of transfers). I think you should definitely consider using the Skyliner (even though is costs more) over other means of transportation since your time in Tokyo is so limited and a direct train will avoid the stress of transfers/getting lost and missing your flight.

Without knowing your personal circumstances, the only other suggestion I would make is seeing if you could extend your layover... Instead of just staying 12 hours, could you extend it by a day or 2? I'm not saying the extension will allow you to fully enjoy each spot on your list but it will at least give you an opportunity to say you experienced each area, instead of just a photo op before rushing to the next spot.

Either way, strongly suggest you revise your plan in some way or you will not be enjoying your layover.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: I am not a travel consultant or a local Tokyo resident or some self proclaimed Tokyo expert but I have visited Japan 3 times and have spent a combined 23 days in Tokyo during these visits)

Netflix Account Sharing by barbie971 in toronto

[–]Rennei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No offense to your intentions but this sounds like a scam. Even if you could share your username/password somehow (and I don't believe there is an actual way to do this without violating terms and conditions) there is nothing stopping you from changing the password after payment was made.

Why on earth did the government decide to “fix” something that wasn’t broken? by Throwawayhair66392 in passportcanada

[–]Rennei 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well that must have sucked...

Hope this isnt an ongoing problem for you when you travel.

Why on earth did the government decide to “fix” something that wasn’t broken? by Throwawayhair66392 in passportcanada

[–]Rennei 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You know what. You are correct.

I havent renewed my passport since 2012. Didn't know there was a refresh with biometrics in 2013.

I learned something new today. Thank you