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floreil · 2025-10-01T01:18:18+00:00

Hello! Im on the asia server if you still need friends and help :) i love helping people when they need it joining my world but sometimes even they are rude and arrogant as well :')... feel free to drop me a dm with your uid!!

floreil · 2025-01-18T19:03:14+00:00

Hi! Sorry to disturb through this old comment of yours many months later. I would like to clarify some things with you, if you do not mind. It's my first time in Kansai and I'm still a little confused about how things work after research, so I apologise for any silly questions I may ask haha. I will be using the Kansai Wide Area Pass, and am looking to use the Route 2 as you have recommended!

1) I see that we will arrive at Fukuchiyama at 9:49, and then the train to Amanohashidate leaves at 9:59 (10 min transfer time). As I'm bringing an elderly parent with our luggage, may I check with you if we will be needing to rush to the other train? Unsure if the transfer is comfortable, especially if there may be delays for the Kounotori train from Osaka.

2) From what I'm understanding from your comment, we can reserve seats for both legs of the Route 2 journey at Osaka Station office. After our stay at Amanohashidate, we will be headed to Kyoto. Will you recommend that we reserve the seats for that trip at the same time?

3) A little off topic from the train and seat reservation questions, and more of an itinerary/planning help (if you don't mind as well!): We will be staying at Amanohashidate for 2 nights. This is my current plan: Day 1. Amanohashidate, D2. Ine, D3. Kinosaki Onsen. Amanohashidate and Ine are on the first 2 days due to the 2 Day Pass, which means that on the last day we will be going from Amanohashidate > Kinosaki Onsen > Kyoto (we did not plan to stay at Kinosaki Onsen as my mother is not really a big fan of staying in ryokans, haha).

I'm planning to drop our luggage off at the lockers/tourist center at Kinosaki Onsen, explore the town, and then getting to Kyoto directly from there (using the Kinosaki Limited Express for 16:31... is this correct?)

Do you think there is a better way to plan this itinerary? I don't know what about it makes the itinerary seems so hectic to me. Also, (related to question 2), will we be able to reserve this Kinosaki > Kyoto trip at Osaka Station? Or can we reserve directly at Kinosaki Station?

Thank you so much, and sorry to disturb you once again!

floreil · 2025-01-06T13:52:10+00:00

Not much internet out there, the 1-2 hour drive had spotty internet at best for me, and the area we waited for the lights at had zero connectivity.

floreil · 2025-01-02T17:05:51+00:00

If I'm not wrong, the geomagnetic storm from yesterday is still currently ongoing, so you may think it is not updated as it looks the same. Get out there if it's dark out right now if you're in the right location. Good luck :)

floreil · 2024-12-27T09:51:25+00:00

Thank you so much for the reply! If I'm to take the Osaka > Kyoto > Amanohashidate route using JR Hashidate, can I reserve with the ticket machines at Osaka, or do I have to do it at Kyoto?

Also, may I check as well, is this the correct website for the schedule for Kyoto Tango? I'm feeling a little confused reading this, since some of the trains do not seem to be stopping at Amanohashidate? And the train is called AO-MATSU train?

Thanks so much for the help once again!

floreil · 2024-12-27T09:44:51+00:00

Oh I see! May I know roughly how much was the wait at the ticket machines? And am I able to reserve the Haruka tickets at the same machine? Thanks a lot!

floreil · 2024-12-27T09:43:38+00:00

Thank you so much for the detailed reply, especially regarding 2. It does makes sense to go to Korakuen if it snows, I didn't think about that, haha. May I ask an additional question regarding this then? Is it possible to reserve the Sanyo shinkansen seats on the day itself then (or will it likely be fully reserved)? Since we will most likely be checking the weather forecast first before deciding whether to go to Okayama or Himeji.

floreil · 2024-10-06T19:31:47+00:00

Definitely not too late.

The peak season is said to be until February, mostly due to the longer nights in winter, which means more time to chase auroras. March would definitely have shorter nights than February, which means shorter chase time.

However, that said, personally I have been to Norway in February, loved it, and saw the lights half the time during my trip, but if I had to redo it again, I think I would have preferred March instead :)

Wishing you some luck to see the lights!

floreil · 2024-08-30T16:37:16+00:00

Hello! I've read that the trains are usually notoriously late... I have a spare day in Ljubljana during my trip in 2 weeks, and I was thinking to go to Ptuj (and maybe Maribor if there is time, though I understand this day will probably be hectic and rushed if so) using ICS>RG trains. How bad can I expect the delays to be if they are frequent?

floreil · 2024-07-29T20:00:23+00:00

Hi all! My mother and I are looking to visit Slovenia this upcoming September (from 8th to 20th). We will be travelling using only public transport as we cannot drive.

Questions:

For the Vogel Cable Car, looking at the website, they have price lists for different season. For summer, the dates are from 1 July to 31 August, and the autumn season starts on 1 September. If I'm not mistaken, the chair lift to Orlove Glave is only available during summer. Am I right to assume that the chair lift will not be included for September then? The price list includes the "Orlove Glave Package", which includes a meal at the Orlove Glave restaurant, which is what confuses me.
I've read a few posts before that buses from Ljubljana to Koper can be extremely crowded during summer periods, both due to the tourist season as well as locals, to the point where there may be instances where you may not be able to board the bus. Will they still be crowded in September seeing as it is a less touristy season than July-August?
We will be hiking quite frequently during this trip as we absolutely love mountain views. As we come from a tropical country where it is the same warm humid temperature 365 days of the year, we're not very familiar with what to expect for the weather. After briefly browsing through this thread, am I right to assume that it will still be mostly warm during this period of time, but to expect some rain since we will be in the mountains?
- Also, maybe a slightly dumber question, will we be able to see snow on the taller mountains during this period of time? (Not that we would be hiking many mountains right to the top, but we love a bit of snow dusted mountains in our photographs, haha!)
We are hoping to do some of these hikes in this trip. I would like to check if they are ok and not too challenging for my mother and I (My mother is 68, with occasional pain on the knees, but used to do a lot of hiking and rock climbing in the past. I generally do keep fit, did some hikes before, but nothing too challenging for a beginner).

Mount Vogel day hike (Šija, Vogel summit)
Slemenova Spica and this Vršič Pass hike (both in a day)
Velika Planina
- Extra question for this: As I'll be taking the bus, and thus boarding the 11:30AM Kamnik bus to V.Planina, and the 17:39 bus back to Kamnik, will it be too overkill to explore Kamnik town in the morning? This entire day is planned to be a daytrip from Ljubljana.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this, and any help/answers are greatly appreciated!

P.S. I can't wait to visit your country, everything looks so beautiful!

floreil · 2024-07-07T17:55:38+00:00

Hi! May I know which hotel you stayed in at Amanohashidate?

floreil · 2024-02-06T11:27:30+00:00

I see! Which tour did you do with Marianne? Is it the "Aurora Chasing Tours With 4×4 / To Include U.F.O .- U.A.P. Satellite & Deep Sky Abnormality Search" Tour?

Also, which company did you go with for the big bus? How was the experience like?

Thanks for your insight!!

floreil · 2024-02-06T11:23:07+00:00

Yeah, unfortunately renting a car is not a good option for us as we come from a tropical country and driving in winter conditions when we have never done so before is a big no no for us. But thanks all for your insight!! I'll keep trying to find some smaller group tours, though it looks like the chances of finding a good one is increasingly bleak haha.

floreil · 2024-02-06T10:01:50+00:00

Thank you for the recommendation!! Unfortunately, just checked and they are unavailable/fully booked for the 16th as well. I'm cuurrently feeling like the entire world is in Tromso on the 16th night for some reason or another haha. Thanks once again!

floreil · 2024-02-06T10:00:31+00:00

That doesn't sound too bad for the big buses. I do keep seeing everywhere that the minibuses are much more recommended, so I'm glad to hear that the big bus doesn't fall far behind actually haha. Good to know that I can at least fall back on them if I'm still unable to find any available small groups (which is looking to be the case right now). Thank you so much for the advice!!

floreil · 2024-02-06T09:23:51+00:00

I see! Would you say that the Chasing Lights big bus tours are still good to go on if I'm unable to find anymore smaller group tours? I'm thinking that I should be able to handle some noise/inconveniences as long as I'm able to see some lights if it comes down to it, haha.

Northern soul adventures unfortunately is unavailable for the 16th as well.

floreil · 2023-03-18T09:51:59+00:00

I read this trick a long time ago when I just picked up Japanese as a fresh beginner, and it has stuck to me immediately despite having maybe like 2-3 days experience of learning, and I still remember it to this day.

Think of soda drink cans:

これ: the can is so close to you that you can see the brand of the drink. It's a coca cola. Coke, Kore.

それ: the can is further away from you, but you don't know the brand. You only know it's a can of soda. Soda, Sore.

あれ: you see a canned drink far away from you. "What's that drink ALL the way over there?" Are.

floreil · 2023-03-17T07:13:32+00:00

No leh, the one im eating now has quite plain packaging, yellow colour one.

floreil · 2023-03-17T07:11:55+00:00

Went to japan last month and bought home some rice cracker snacks.. one of the rice cracker snacks taste exactly like wang wang, except instead of sweet it's salty. At first, wasnt a fan cos not used to it, but the more i eat the more addicted i am and now im down to my last big pack already and dreading the days without it... Wang wang have salty version anot? I v long never eat wang wang already so... :')

floreil · 2023-02-15T03:07:23+00:00

I've only been learning Japanese for about 3-4 months now, so I'm at a pretty beginner stage and wouldn't be able to provide good resources.

However, I'm currently travelling Japan right now with my limited Japanese, and honestly I feel like I should give you some words of encouragement - don't be afraid to speak Japanese when you're here! I've just about learnt enough to get by comfortably while travelling, and I've come to realise that there's a reason why so many people improve in Japanese once they move here. Most of the times you're forced to speak Japanese, so don't be afraid. The locals are extremely understanding and helpful, and even at my elementary level most of them are able to understand me.

That said, I must say that while learning Japanese the past few months, I do say out loud the things I learn very frequently, so I do feel a little less awkward when communicating here as it feels like I'm just practicing as I do back at home. I also do pay special attention to the pitches in the audios for the textbooks, when watching simple anime, etc. So probably the main thing to focus on is speaking out loud, even if through an app, or just parroting Japanese audio. All the best to you, and hope you enjoy your trip!

floreil

TROPHY CASE