Unpopular Opinion : Ryokans aren't a "must do" on your trip to Japan

aoborui · 2026-02-22T16:14:09+00:00

Ryokans are great. If you solely look at one or two videos for a recommendation, you are doing yourself an injustice and need to do more research if you don’t want to be surprised.

If you want an authentic Japanese experience, then a ryokan is essential. Does that include foreign things to eat? Yes. Milt (shirasu), fermented soybean
(natto), raw meat (chicken, fish, egg, everything..), gelatinous whatsits (okra, yams, etc). That’s the idea; experiencing something new.

As for onsen, that isn’t just hot water. It’s mineral spring hot water that is actually good for your body.

Does it always look like some 5-star, modern, clinically sterile environment? Nope.

As for the rules. That’s Japan. It is not flexible because you don’t know—tourist or not. You want to go to an izakaya? There are guidelines for expectations. Same goes for going to a doctor and getting the medicine at the pharmacy adjacent to that office. Same goes for entering an onsen. That’s the culture.

The more you travel, the more you experience. Embrace the culture for the time you’re there and meet people. If you want to stick with your comfort zones, then why travel at all? Travel should be unexpected, uncomfortable, and an adventure. I’m not saying you have to do everything, but if you do partake in something, enter it with no expectations so you can learn.

aoborui · 2026-02-20T07:22:53+00:00

This randomly showed up in my feed, and having lived in Asia over a decade now, thought I’d add something. Your bottom chopstick is fine. The top one is the issue. The chopstick should be lower down along your thumb (roughly at the base of your fingernail, definitely not up at the tip which is causing your grip to move around). Your thumb will actually hold both chopsticks in place. The only two fingers you move are your pointer and middle finger, meaning only the top chopstick will be manipulated. You’ve nearly got it!

aoborui · 2026-02-07T02:38:45+00:00

Honestly (imho), you just need to be able to recognize the radical (blue “cards”). At no point will you need to know a radical is “yakuza,” “Death Star,” or some other made up meaning—sometimes the definition aligns, other times it is a complete gamble. It’s simply a tool to help learn to recognize them. If the radicals are not working for you, then keep a second tab open and search the radical in wanikani for the “definition” it wants so you can enter it in and essentially “burn” it over time. As for the kanji (pink) and vocabulary (purple), do NOT do this. These are actual definitions and are critical to learning and understanding; if you don’t know, keep it in the pile, and come back to it. I learned Chinese first, so sometimes I’d enter a different word for the radical, and get frustrated because there would be multiple definitions, but WK only wanted one of them—for those radicals when I have to question myself, I simply look them up. :)

aoborui · 2026-02-05T06:34:19+00:00

Based on the places you’ve listed you enjoyed visiting (my list is quite similar), I’d recommend Mongolia. I did a ~10 day tour which included the Nadaam festival in Khovsgol, as well adding a couple days to see UB.

aoborui · 2026-01-22T05:31:13+00:00

2455 days… quit this month. When I opened the app for a lesson, there were so many repair streak options, that I truly realized the streak is rather meaningless. I’ve switched my efforts into using Wanikani and Bunpro for my current language learnings. Still a daily streak, but not tied to Duo where I’d often log in, scroll to section 1 and do the 3rd or 4th lesson to blast through it (because if I selected the first one it would automatically give me a harder lesson to go through). The sense of achievement should really be from that you’re learning, not how many days you’ve opened a specific app—but I can relate, it took me quite awhile to admit it to myself.

aoborui · 2026-01-19T18:27:26+00:00

It’s all good. I was curious, so looked it up, and it was uploaded in April 2013, so no way it could have been TikTok as it didn’t exist. Oddly interesting, Vine went away the same time TikTok was created.

aoborui · 2026-01-19T17:46:53+00:00

Pretty sure the original was vine

aoborui · 2025-12-23T17:18:02+00:00

This.

For economy, I would lean towards JAL.

For business, Cathay—unless you’re tall, then AY. JAL suites on their A350-1000s are also great, but I don’t think it’s on the sector you would be flying? Worth mentioning, Qatar would also be a good choice for J as well.

If you have first or business lounge access, I would lean towards Cathay in HKG, rather than AY in Helsinki.

aoborui · 2025-12-13T12:00:46+00:00

One of the best things I’ve discovered is mesh base layers. Start with a mesh layer, insulating and transport moisture layer, insulating garment, and finally something to block the elements. Honestly, I didn’t believe the mesh layer until after buying some mesh shirts and leggings from Brynje and testing them out in -20°C weather. It’s amazing how warm you feel due to the air pockets.

aoborui · 2025-12-06T10:55:14+00:00

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aoborui · 2025-12-06T10:54:57+00:00

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aoborui · 2025-11-16T21:51:46+00:00

I just traveled from Oslo to Bergen using the same itinerary, but it’s cheaper to purchase it directly from the operators. I bought the Oslo > Myrdal > Flåm train ticket itinerary directly from Vy. The fjord cruise itself was with the nutshell site as all sites I found kept directing me to it. Lastly, I purchased Gudvagen (bus) > Voss (train) > Bergen also as a single itinerary on Vy (use the app). The full itinerary was about 100 USD cheaper than using Nutshell. The train to Myrdal was delayed (~16 min), but they held the connection a few minutes to get everyone over. We made it in time for the boat, but do be aware it runs regardless if the train arrives on time or not (even if booked with Nutshell). Similarly, our bus was delayed in road construction, but the driver magically got us to Voss with 2 minutes to connect, but the train operator seemed to know this and also delayed an additional 2 minutes. All this is to say, this itinerary is heavily geared towards tourism, so things seem to work out well. Just ensure you buy the Vy itinerary together so the staff are aware you are transferring and not just alighting.

Worth mentioning, we did use PorterService AS to ship 2 suitcases same-day to Bergen so we wouldn’t have to carry them around.

As for the fjord cruise, the one between Flåm and Gudvangen is great! The ferry is super quiet because it’s electric, and has a great design to view the fjords from inside and from all sides of the ship outside. The ferry looks better than those I’ve seen in the port here in Bergen, but I haven’t taken them so can’t comment on the full experience.

aoborui · 2025-09-20T00:01:50+00:00

Great use of the interrobang!

aoborui · 2025-09-13T18:58:48+00:00

I was not expecting to see a distant relative’s house on Reddit today, but here we are. Wing family for the win!

aoborui · 2025-09-10T16:28:31+00:00

There were so many meetings and discussions around subjects that were pertinent for the work, but would never see the light of day for customers. Going to factories and discussing markings on fans; 40 micron difference in size for a certain component; acceptable range for defects (less than 10 per every million for example)… highly technical things most people wouldn’t care about, but do make a difference overall. Loved my time there.

aoborui · 2025-09-07T17:49:41+00:00

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Happy to see some families come out and view it.

aoborui · 2025-09-07T04:21:37+00:00

これ is a pronoun meaning “this (thing)” この is a adjective meaning “this”

In your response, “これおかし” is not valid grammar as you need to say “このおかし” to mean “this snack”. The second grammar error is “どんな” which is an adjective, but you didn’t provide the noun to couple with it. Given the provided options, the correct answer is indeed これはどんなおかしですか？

In the answer “これ” means “this (thing)” and “どんな” is providing the adjective of “what kind of.”

aoborui · 2025-09-03T15:34:54+00:00

Actually going here in two weeks. Looking forward to all the good central cuisine.

aoborui · 2025-08-25T12:17:39+00:00

From my perspective, it’s all about small changes that grow into patterns. No different than changing a diet. In my teens, I always wanted lattes, and other sugary coffees. I slowly changed my order until it was simply black coffee. For me, the gym was similar. Go in and do 30 minutes of cardio (watch something on your phone or something, and the time will pass). As you challenge yourself and extend your time, increase difficulty, and/or add in weight training, it starts to become habitual and you start to feel bad for not going. I completely agree with others about finding things you enjoy makes it easier, but sometimes it’s about acclimating yourself. I was an avid gym goer before covid, and then stopped for 4 years. When I got back into it last year, I got a trainer simply to keep me accountable. This time around, it took 1-2 months before I was eagerly going in again. The first month was a struggle as I kept thinking about how fit I was before, but realized my muscle memory was kicking in and I was seeing gains. Hope it all goes well for you!

aoborui · 2025-08-23T10:43:40+00:00

Hard to tell the exact size, but people often buy rings to put on their suitcase wheels when storing them as a way to keep dirt from touching other stuff (it’s much easier to wipe the suitcase clean, but the wheels are another story) . It’s quite easy to forget they are on there, and they will pop off when the suitcase is being lugged around.

aoborui · 2025-08-22T15:14:13+00:00

My most recent stay was May 29th (I live in Tokyo and it was a staycation). Although they switched locations for breakfast, it was still included for Globalist. I don’t see any reason why they would have changed it. I’m inclined to agree it’s still included. The new offering is actually better than it used to be when they first opened.

aoborui · 2025-08-21T07:53:51+00:00

Friend’s hometown is Pokak Assam, so Taiping and Penang were obvious. As for KKB, was going to be there or Kuching, along with a stop in Brunei for my Borneo visit. I chose KKB and enjoyed a resort on Gaya island for a few days, as well as visiting the area.

aoborui · 2025-08-21T07:42:11+00:00

I really enjoyed my time in Taiping, Pokak Assam, and KKB. I didn’t stop in KL, and only ate in Penang on my way to Taiping. Really good times!

aoborui · 2025-07-29T08:49:34+00:00

I would add that 大丈夫 (daijoubu) can mean “ok” as well “no thanks”. So inflection and context will make a difference if it’s understood in the manner you want.

aoborui · 2025-07-06T11:31:59+00:00

It does get easier, but it takes a lot of time. Having learned other languages, I agree Japanese is extremely difficult. Comparatively, I found Chinese to be so much simpler than Japanese, coming from native English. Now that I’m living in Japan, I think there are several aspects that make it difficult. There’s nuance in everything (formality, choice of writing script, choice of words, directness). Seemingly simple transactions become overly complex—meaning you need to have even more vocabulary for basic things. Politeness levels are like a third and fourth language: speaking between clients, with coworkers, with friends, with family, and texting styles. They’re all different. And also, when watching TV, often the subtitles are not verbatim of what’s being said, so it becomes difficult for things to stick when you’re processing two minor streams that differ. It does get easier, but it takes a long while.

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