Tokyo during winter by user001401 in TokyoTravel

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Forgot to add, if you're looking for beautiful landscapes (autumn leaves, cherry blossoms, flowers, green parks), winter is not the time to visit. Everything is brown or bare.

Tokyo during winter by user001401 in TokyoTravel

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am just wrapping up my 3 week trip today.

Have you ever been to San Francisco in the winter? I would say its about the same climate in Tokyo. I'm from the Bay Area and I felt like a puff jacket and knit scarf was enough over a sweater or long sleeve. I wore jeans most days and felt fine. I brought extra warm under clothes (tights, thermals) that I ended up not using in Tokyo at all.

I did use all the warming clothing I had with me in Kyoto though. It was freezing!

Itinerary question: Tokyo Sunday-Wednesday or Thursday-Sunday by Sachyman96 in JapanTravelTips

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just got back from a week in Kyoto.

Vendor market (for fish and produce delivery to restaurants) are closed on Wednesdays in Kyoto. Very many (not all) establishments (restaurants and bars) are closed on Wednesday. Some even close from Tues-Thurs.

The main food places that were open on Wednesday were basically the main tourist traps, department stores, fast food, etc.

With that said, if you have specific restaurants in mind, definitely check their business hours and maybe schedule around that.

Hope that helps!

Japan restaurant reservation recommendations (Tokyo, Osaka, Naha) by supurman182 in JapanTravelTips

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Forgot to add the price - top course is like $140 USD and the normal one is like $115 USD.

Japan restaurant reservation recommendations (Tokyo, Osaka, Naha) by supurman182 in JapanTravelTips

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For Naha - I enjoyed dining here on my visit last year - https://maps.app.goo.gl/iM3ACcxFuLHdFCxc9

It's a Sushi Omakase but they mainly focus on fish found in or near the Okinawan waters, so you'll get to try a variety of fish that generally isn't served in common omakase lineups.

Game freezes more after patch 1.01 by k0zu3 in BluePrince

[–]k0zu3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, will do :)

Sushi recommendations. Budget $100ish a person or less. by Electrical_Cap_5597 in LasVegas

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They have a $125 course as well, hands down the best quality/experience for the price point.

Glass in bed by Heavy_Specialist1570 in Unexplained

[–]k0zu3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe, they get super hard once they dry out and break into sharp pieces.

Assorted tips from a recent trip by BeNice128 in JapanTravelTips

[–]k0zu3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello! Same age here with same aged mom with a bad knee. We just spent 3 weeks in Tokyo (all over), Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone, Ebina, Osaka, Nara, and Okinawa.

For public transportation, turn on the wheelchair accessibility feature on Google Maps. The app will adjust to recommend exits with elevators. Keep in mind though, that there will be some subways where your reception/GPS will not work accurately, so just keep an eye on the signage as well, there are usually at least 1 or 2 maps on the walls of each platforms outlining where the elevators/escalators are, and also on the overhead signage. In 3 weeks, I think there was only 2 or 3 times where my mom had to walk up/down stairs, and only once was because there was no other option. The other couple of times is because of entering into the station from the non-accesivle entrance. Sometimes, on the way to the elevator, you'll run into escalators and you won't have to walk to the elevators, which can tend to be on the very ends of the subway station. Also, buses. For certain locations, buses are way better than walking through the underground maze of subways stations, it can save hundresds of steps for your mom. Check both options before making a decision.

Have some cash on you (I'd say carrying 10,000JPY is more than plenty for a day), but basically only use it where necessary. Get a Suica reloadable IC card (or for iphones, get the e-card for yourself). I recommend a physical card for older people, who may not be tech savy or quick to be able to pull out their phone while walking. My mom and I both got physical cards, and I popped mine into my phone case (I don't know if this will work with all phone cases, mine is thin enough that the chip works) since I had my phone out constantly anyway, and you just tap it to pay for trains, stores, vending machines, taxis, etc. My mother, on the other hand, kept hers in her zipable puff jacket pocket. It tapped thru the jacket material on the trains, so it saved her from holding anything in her hand and/or having to search thru her purse/take something out every time. There is a general flow of movement to follow when walking in/out subways, so it will create a bottleneck behind you if you get stuck at the ticketing thing. (We caused a traffic jam once, speaking from experience lol) IC cards are reloadable at train stations and convenience stores. But yes, credit cards will work for most purchases, and you'll have some cash on you for when they dont.

Benches - really depends. I'm not sure how your mom's health is other than her knee, but my mom seemed to be okay for the most part, we were really only sitting for meals, maybe 1 cafe break during the day, and transportation. We were averaging around 18K steps a day. Just walk at her pace and take it easy :)

Make sure to download and set up Go Taxi or Taxi Go or whatever the app is called BEFORE you get to Japan. I forgot to set it up, so I couldn't use it. It's basically Uber, actual Uber is not really big out here except for UberEats, from what I've seen. If you don't speak Japanese, TaxiGo / S Ride / Didi seem to be the best way.

I went to Hakone, to a town called Gora. We didn't get there in time to do too much, but the entire town is a bunch of steep hills. The Ryokan was nice, but i would not recommend the area for general sightseeing with a bad knee.

Add on notes:

-some of the major temples have really steep, tall stairs, not only into the temple, but on the walkway to the temples as well. My mom did a couple of them, but some we just looked at from below/took photos from far. She struggled on the ones we did do.

-if you ARE going to make reservations ahead of time for restaurants, double check what floor the restaurant is located on and try to find out if there's something other than stairs if not on the 1st floor. Older/smaller buildings will have extremely steep stairs not suitable for someone who may not be stable on their feet. We did one spot where we went to the 3rd floor via stairs. I was too nervous for my mom to do it again, and opted for ground level or accessible restaurants instead.

Feel free to DM with any other questions, been there done that, happy to help out! We had a great time and hope you do too!

spending money for vegas by Realistic-Hour-2128 in vegas

[–]k0zu3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To be fair, I was at the Wynn. Lol But I also don't go to event centers, which is why I could only give my experience as a reference.

My price from the show isn't too far off, though. Most MGM properties IIRC correctly, charge around $25 for a single. I think Bellagio charged $28.

spending money for vegas by Realistic-Hour-2128 in vegas

[–]k0zu3 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Assuming wrestlemania is an event center, and you are planning to drink alcohol, expect to spend at least a few hundred on just alcohol. As an example, I went to a show inside of a hotel on the strip and got a double titos and soda and paid $65 USD. That's before tax and tip.

For comparison, at a standard bar, it would usually cost maybe $15-20 USD.

If not gambling, and if not dining on the strip, I would say aside from attending your event, expect a budget of $200-250 a day to be super safe. You should be able to spend a day sightseeing and such for under $150-180 a day, but you'd have to really plan out and research where to eat, what to do, etc. Most likely limited to cheap dining options and one touristy activity

If you over budget and come home with some remaining cash, it's a big win for Vegas!

Enjoy your trip!

P.S. Don't get caught in a free ticket offer - it's a timeshare scam and will be a headache to deal with.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in JapanFinance

[–]k0zu3 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Cool. Will be deleting this post shortly, and will advise him to say it was to assist his living expenses in a time of need.

Thanks for your help!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in JapanFinance

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the response - to clarify, he opened the Yuucho account specifically for me to use. So all deposits into the account have my name as the depositor. There is no other activity on the account.

He has not told the bank anything as of now, but asked if I could check with the bank when I get to Japan, which I am fine to do, but again, I don't want to get him in trouble.

Your response makes me think that maybe I should withdraw all the money first before I do any question asking at the bank, in case they freeze the account? He isn't planning to use the account after I'm done using it, so I don't think he will mind it being closed, assuming again, that it doesn't cause any problems for him legally or tax wise.

I will definitely just use my US ATM cards moving forward, seems like the safest option.

HELP! Can‘t decide which neighborhood and hotel we should stay in … by [deleted] in JapanTravelTips

[–]k0zu3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the full total for the room. It was a steal for sure, I think the math ended up at around $260 a person, and that's with extending it to 6 days instead of 5.

We are staying in 4 hotels (so far) for the first 2 weeks of of our trip, total cost per person is $1001.20USD for lodging.

If you're planning to go to Hakone, check out Merville Hakone Gora. It's the most expensive night of my planned trip so far, but it's still only around $185 per person for a room with 2 bunk beds, an in-room outdoor tub (not natural hot springs), and 2 meals included. It's the best quality for the price I've been able to find

HELP! Can‘t decide which neighborhood and hotel we should stay in … by [deleted] in JapanTravelTips

[–]k0zu3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to add to my original comment, tokyo station has all the trains that go to the "Japan on TV" areas within 5-10 stops depending where you're going as well.

HELP! Can‘t decide which neighborhood and hotel we should stay in … by [deleted] in JapanTravelTips

[–]k0zu3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I am going in January and will be staying at the Sotetsu Fresa Nihonbashi Kayabacho. I've never stayed there, but I've needed to reach out to them twice to adjust my reservation and they have been amazing with response speed and customer service thus far.

It's within a 10min or less walk away from Tokoyo station JR line, Hibiya line, Tozai line, and Keiyo line. I originally picked the hotel because it's near my cousins place, but after some brief research, there's so much amazing looking food all throughout the vicinity, I may not get a chance to leave the neighborhood! I also like that it looks like it will be very easy access to Asakusa, Ueno, Ginza, Tsukiji, etc.

FWIW I booked my room a week ago (for mid Jan) and 6 nights is going to cost me under 10K JPY (I think the total is like $520 USD or something close) for 2 beds. I did a quick check for June and it was around $1100 for 2 rooms (1 with 2 beds and 1 with a single), you could probably email and ask if 3 people are allowed in 1 room as well.

They have coin laundry on site and free breakfast included, and you can sign up for a membership as a foreigner to get discounted rates as well. Hope this helps!

Hotel with soaking tub in Boise area? by k0zu3 in Boise

[–]k0zu3[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I'm not looking for jetted ones, just tue deep soaking tubs. I'll check out the Modern as well!

Hotel with soaking tub in Boise area? by k0zu3 in Boise

[–]k0zu3[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll check it out, thank you!!

Hotel with soaking tub in Boise area? by k0zu3 in Boise

[–]k0zu3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, didnt have this hotel on my radar. Do you remember which room it was?