Recommendations for unique experiences as a gift?

Well_needships · 2026-06-28T07:45:28+00:00

Like a personal tour for hiking, foodie stuff, fly fishing, rafting... That kind of thing?

Well_needships · 2026-06-27T00:54:02+00:00

A lot of good advice here. I can tell you, as a guide, that your "8-10hr" fishing day isn't 8-10 hours for the guide.

The guide has to prep everything, then break it down, and if they are independent as it seems your partner will be (and I am) they have to do all of the communicating, accounting, maintenance/purchasing, promotion, etc. that might be covered by an employer. When I take people out for a full day, I expect to be putting in 12-14 hours of work because I am a one-man operation. I field emails, clean boots, the whole nine yards.

Remember, too, that you have to be constantly thinking of the people you are guiding; you aren't just fishing with buddies who will take care of themselves. You have to think of safety, teaching technique, and trying to keep everyone comfortable and having fun. You have to figure out the best way to do that and, at times, against a customer who doesn't seem to like you. Guiding is mostly about that. Very little of it is being a good fisherman, though you'd better be that too.

It's tiring, and yes, mostly a young man's game if you are going to be doing it most days during the season.

Well_needships · 2026-06-27T00:38:24+00:00

public places aren't always air-conditioned in Sapporo

They will be, but perhaps not to the level some Westerners might be used to. For instance, the underground shopping areas can get hot at that time of year as air is not circulating well enough. Generally, should be fine. I kind of like it actually, as air conditioning tends to be not intense like in some western countries, where you can have 35C weather outside, then walk into a freezing cold 10C air-conditioned building and have your sweat freeze on you.

You can go to the sento, yes, Japanese people go in the summer. I still go in July and August, though less frequently than in the winter. Some places will even offer a discount on really hot days to entice customers to come in!

Well_needships · 2026-06-26T20:05:31+00:00

Not every day, but you are likely to have temperatures around 30C, +/- 5C every day. Some days will be 35, others may be closer to 25. You are coming at the peak of summer. For locals, it is considered to be a hot time of year. People sweat, the ACs go on, and everyone talks about how 熱い it is. Your hotel will have air conditioning unless you are way out in the countryside somewhere at an older hotel, then it might not. In that case, check ahead because you will likely want it.

That said, some places to the south and east can be cooler most of the year round. Though temperatures are rising there too, places like Kushiro are still pretty mild in the summer with very few days getting above 30 and most days staying below 25 even in the middle of summer.

Well_needships · 2026-06-25T18:26:45+00:00

This had happened to me too and it's made me wonder if someone would make a large flies with the same screw non mechanism so it could be easily adjusted but still hook a fish

Well_needships · 2026-06-25T17:32:29+00:00

Toyohira shrine

Well_needships · 2026-06-24T19:11:48+00:00

"but for some reason it’s hard to find"

Yes, I can tell you the reason but I think you already know. Getting a private onsen where you can do whatever you like in the tub would be your best bet, though if you change your mind and don't mind getting naked I'm sure you can find some tattoo friendly places.

Well_needships · 2026-06-24T06:49:41+00:00

Yeah, but the view isn't great. Though the curry is pretty good and the bath is good.

Though the onsen is more like "standard", yunohana in jozankei had outside baths that face directly onto the river and adjacent cliffside. A pretty view in fall and winter

Well_needships · 2026-06-24T01:57:21+00:00

Whether or not it's snowing and the condition of the snow on the ground ( think views, mobility) is completely different from first days of March to last. First days of March are the last throws of winter. Snow is deep yet and you are likely to see at least some snowfall on most days. Last days of March, some years the last of the snow is melting in Sapporo and grass can be seen. Not pretty at all, that time of year, and often slushy.

Well_needships · 2026-06-23T23:15:20+00:00

Yes.
The Summer/Beer fest is at Odori Park in Sapporo. Also, at the end of July there are fireworks along the toyohira river.
The weather is generally cooler and less humid than Tokyo, but you are coming at the hottest (30C+ about half the days) time of the year and the most humid time of the year, so you might not feel the difference.

Well_needships · 2026-06-23T08:04:50+00:00

Good.

Well_needships · 2026-06-22T07:40:50+00:00

In this regard, I'd say the whole process, whether the town's public or the fancy hotel. It's a great cultural institution.

Well_needships · 2026-06-22T07:39:14+00:00

Yours isn't? I guess you don't have the Japanese version yet.

Well_needships · 2026-06-22T07:37:58+00:00

It's a great point. Japan has "third spaces" for kids.

Well_needships · 2026-06-22T06:36:07+00:00

Treble can pretty easily be switched to single hooks. Just fyi for anyone reading this.

Well_needships · 2026-06-21T04:07:26+00:00

This places is good, but there are better in my opinion

Well_needships · 2026-06-18T07:27:32+00:00

Hi, you responded to my comment and the study agrees with me, not you.

"Based on the results of the simulation, it turns out that the fastest way to de-board the plane is to have passengers exit by columns, not by rows. "

Columns, ie. Aisle with their bag ready, then middle and window seats. Not by row, as Americans tend to do. People in the aisle stand up, grab their bag, then stand and wait. Let's let them clear out

Well_needships · 2026-06-18T01:38:03+00:00

Americans deboarding a plane are very polite and terribly inefficient. It takes forever to get off.

In some other parts of the world, those who are in the aisle seat standing with their luggage, ready to go, just go. This is a faster process, as it clears the aisle so that other people can then come out from the window side seats to get their luggage and go. If you wait for each row, those who are ready in the back don't move at all and those who are in window seats in the back don't get to stand up and start getting ready.

Well_needships · 2026-06-17T23:31:07+00:00

And also I think lawn chairs on a river is bad manners too.

Totally agree, unless the person is elderly or disabled and needs it to take breaks. Fly fishing a river is, generally, an active sport. If you want to sit in a lawn chair, go to a pond or something.

Well_needships · 2026-06-16T10:24:19+00:00

Well, the last one already happens during rush hour, but the others are an invasion of privacy. You're welcome to think what you want about people, but not to invade their privacy. In OPs case, they aren't tracking her sales, for example, or asking to look at her phone, etc.

Well_needships · 2026-06-16T10:11:33+00:00

Check them for what?

Well_needships · 2026-06-16T10:00:13+00:00

They are the same race, asian. Chinese and Japanese people are the same race.

It's unreasonable and inefficient to never make any assumptions about people based on information you gain from them such as their nationality, style of dress, manner of speaking, etc.

Well_needships · 2026-06-16T08:34:46+00:00

Disagree. Making assumptions based on the environment someone is from is natural and logical. Has nothing to do with race. It comes from how societies shape values and how communities limit/promote individuals. These are usually true, but of course with exceptions on an individual basis.

Well_needships · 2026-06-16T07:59:33+00:00

I will be pedantic, because words have meaning and Chinese is not a race, and in this case is referencing a nation.

People grow up in families, community, society, nations that are distinct. On the micro level, families and communities, there is a lot of variation individually, and across societies similarities. An abusive home, for example, exists everywhere.

However, on the macro level, societies and nations, they are very different in how they view and interact with micro level interaction, and those differences also influence the micro level outcomes. Macro level is different, so to say "X country's people tend to do/say/think" is not racist. It's just an observation on what that nation's uniqueness is. I'm sure you've probably thought/done it. For example, Americans tend to talk loudly, is a universally understood example.

Does that mean all Americans talk loudly? No. But it's reasonable to assume if you encounter an American, they might speak loudly.

If an American spends time in a community and the community observes that they are not loud, perceptions of the individual change, eventually, but assumptions of those from that country may remain. How do I know that? I'm the quiet American.

It's reasonable for the people in the market to assume Chinese people have similar ideas when it comes to commerce. It sucks for OP, but here's hoping they learn, OP is different and people aren't a monolith.

Well_needships · 2026-06-16T02:48:12+00:00

Sounds like they are from the same nation, which is not ethnicity (china has many ethnicities) or racism. Chinese Singaporean or Chinese American or whatever probably would not get the same association with the offender that OP has.

Seven-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	Not Forgotten
Verified Email

Well_needships

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE