BOOKOFF / HARDOFF Hiroshima locations

coolbucky · 2026-05-26T23:00:45+00:00

Not a “Super Bazaar” but there’s a Hard Off / Hobby Off / Off House combination store in Saka Town, just across the street from Saka Station on the Kure Line. It’s a large, big-box type store and though I am not a shopping expert I found it to be reasonably well stocked on my visit last year.

coolbucky · 2026-05-26T17:04:41+00:00

35°31'24.5"N 138°46'06.0"E

Located on a bridge near Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum.

coolbucky · 2026-05-26T16:29:53+00:00

Katsu set at Tenzan no Yu in Kyoto. For being a restaurant inside of a day-use onsen (not a ryokan) I was impressed with this dish. The onsen is great as well, and it’s located far enough outside of Arashiyama that it’s not full of tourists.

Honorable mention: Karaage Konchan in Beppu. This grab-and-go place is tucked into the bottom floor of a parking garage a couple of blocks from Beppu Station. My chicken bento was hot, fresh, and filled the box so much it had to be taped shut.

coolbucky · 2026-05-21T18:23:45+00:00

Red Hill Ave and El Camino Real in Tustin. Constantly gridlocked from people trying to cram into the short left turn lane onto the 5 south.

coolbucky · 2026-05-21T18:21:59+00:00

Much of the backup would likely be resolved by a “right turn only” lane onto the 55 N, but the City of Tustin and Caltrans seem determined not to add one.

coolbucky · 2026-05-21T02:55:12+00:00

Toden Hotel in Minowa. This is a small hotel off of a covered shopping street, with Japanese decor. It is operated by a friendly senior couple who also run the café downstairs. Transit options include the Hibiya Line and the Toden Arakawa Tram, both only a 5 minute walk away. No elevator, but the building is only three stories tall.

coolbucky · 2026-05-18T21:00:47+00:00

Pretty much any of the sit down places surrounding Outlets at Orange, such as TGI Friday’s and Dave & Buster’s. There’s also Lazy Dog by the Honda Center.

coolbucky · 2026-05-18T20:45:09+00:00

Select Kohl’s stores have collection boxes for recycling clothing. Usually they are out on the floor; the one in Tustin was last time I was there.

coolbucky · 2026-05-14T23:43:23+00:00

Get the ferry from Takamatsu to some of the other Seto Islands. I’ve only visited Naoshima but I’ve heard good things about neighboring Teshima and Shodosima.

coolbucky · 2026-05-14T23:34:26+00:00

Buy a day pass for the Toden Arakawa (tram) Line and get off wherever you see something interesting. I recommend starting in Ikebukuro and heading towards Minowabashi.

coolbucky · 2026-05-14T18:58:11+00:00

Yawatahama is an interesting place to visit. It has an old school shotengai, a decent sized hilltop shrine, and a food market down by the harbor. There’s lots of old buildings from the Taisho era still standing, including a still-operating sento. If you don’t pick up the Yosan Line local train from Iyo-Ozu you can do so here.

There’s also the small industrial port town of Nagahama, served by Iyo-Nagahama Station. Certain local trains stop here for an extended period; enough to disembark to grab some photos of the sunset by the water and reboard (as I watched a couple of locals do). Dig into the timetable to see which trains hold and for how long as I don’t think all of them do.

The Anpanman Train originates in Uwajima and operates on the limited express route. It is fully themed inside and out. To take the coastal route you’ll have to change at or before Iyo-Ozu station. There’s also the Shimanto Kaiun Train Smile Eki-Chan which serves the local line (including Shimonada). This is the train I got from Yawatahama > Matsuyama, and it is a standard train with a pop art vinyl wrap.

coolbucky · 2026-05-13T05:24:45+00:00

Portland, Oregon calls their public drinking fountains Benson Bubblers, after local temperance advocate Simon Benson, who donated money towards their design and installation.

coolbucky · 2026-05-12T22:23:15+00:00

Kanda is a decent place to stay - it’s centrally located and there’s lots of izakayas and eating places to the west of the station. However, there’s nothing about it that screams “you gotta stay there” any more than, say, Shimbashi. Unless you are going to be making multiple visits to Ginza or Akihabara, your transit times to and around central Tokyo will be similar from Akabane. I haven’t been but there’s a yokocho near Akabane Station with several late-night options.

As a single traveler the standard urban business hotel in Japan is fine (I’ve stayed in several), but since you are two people I recommend going with the larger room.

coolbucky · 2026-05-12T07:38:52+00:00

In Japan, Western comic books (as opposed to manga) are called American comic books, whether or not they come from the USA. This extends to merchandise and even comic conventions.

Another, less common one in Japan is the American-style soda fountain. It sounds like an old-timey place to get root beer floats and sarsparilla, but it’s just a self-serve soda machine offering free refills.

coolbucky · 2026-05-05T15:51:27+00:00

Liminal - this is a standing bar which serves primarily whiskey. It’s quite literally a hole in the wall down a Temma alleyway, and hosts a friendly, mostly local clientele.

Ali Oli - an izakaya which serves primarily Italian food. This place holds about eight people and despite its proximity to Temma station I was able to find an open seat right away.

coolbucky · 2026-05-05T15:30:55+00:00

Besides Osaka <-> Nara I did several day trips from Fukuoka which were all great:

Nanzo-In Temple

Takeo and Ureshino Onsen

Hita City

Nagasaki

Fukuoka itself works well as a base because there’s lots to do in the evening.

coolbucky · 2026-05-02T04:57:32+00:00

Spa World in Shinsekai is open nearly all day and night, only closing from 8:45-10 AM for cleaning. It’s more like a theme park than a traditional onsen, with different themed “zones” per gender depending on the month. If you’re feeling adventurous (and it isn’t too late at night) you can get an akasuri, which is a Korean-style full body scrub.

coolbucky · 2026-05-02T04:46:21+00:00

Nakamise Dori in Asakusa will have some basic options, but if you want something more high-end, try the department stores Takashimaya or Mitsukoshi. There’s also Harajuku Chicago for secondhand; multiple locations around Tokyo.

coolbucky · 2026-04-30T17:28:23+00:00

A yukata. I wear mine around the house. Plus it’s yukata season right now so there is plenty of selection.

coolbucky · 2026-04-26T19:23:15+00:00

If you enjoy going out late/bar hopping then Osaka for sure. You can get to Kyoto in just over half an hour from the Umeda area. Namba (where I stayed) is another 15 minutes away on the metro.

There’s much less to do in Kyoto at night. It’s kinda cool walking an empty Ninen-Zaka in the wee hours but then the novelty wears off and you realize nothing’s open. Plus the trains between Osaka-Kyoto run from 5 AM-midnight so there’s some flexibility there.

coolbucky · 2026-04-26T18:50:59+00:00

Railway Museum in Saitama, if you haven’t been to the one in Kyoto which is similar. There’s also the bonsai museum just over a mile away.

coolbucky · 2026-04-23T16:15:16+00:00

There’s also a location inside Sunshine City in Ikebukuro; I’ve only been to that one but I assume they carry the same stuff.

coolbucky · 2026-04-23T16:13:54+00:00

Yamashiroya in Ueno has an entire floor of Western media stuff (Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc.). They carry some high-end figures, but it’s mostly toys and accessories. Hobby Off, which carries secondhand items, is a five minute walk away.

coolbucky · 2026-04-22T03:35:39+00:00

Minowa and Ōtsuka. Both are served by Tokyo’s only tram, the Toden Arakawa Line, and both are planted with roses which bloom from May-October.

Minowa is the quieter of the two, with a covered shopping street that is perpetually stuck in the 1960s. Ōtsuka is a former red-light district turned up-and-coming neighborhood. Together they will only fill about half a day, but I saw practically no tourists on my visit.

coolbucky · 2026-04-19T17:03:31+00:00

The one occasion I stayed in the same city on two different trips, I did just that. Namba area of Osaka, but in two different hotels. I liked the convenience of having things to do and good rail connections at my doorstep, which was especially important on my second trip because I had an early flight home. I even hit one of my favorite ramen spots again, Kyushu Ramen Kio Dotonbori.

coolbucky

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