A Pictorial Account of my Holiday (Happy, andi? xD)

Okay, so right now I'm way too tired to type up a summary. So I might as well share the photos I've edited (To make smaller and cut out all the stupid stuff.. like me in most) and uploaded. There are more to come though... I'll write a summary (For andi :p tomorrow)


Pornographic magazine vending machine. Promised this one to Ganon's Daughter the day I left, and when I saw it I just had to take the picture for her. Note though that the magazines inside are censored, as is most Japanese pornography...


Playing a guitar arcade game at the arcade, no idea why my friend took this picture. I guess he thought it was funny... v_v;;


Another music similator at the arcade, this one is a drumming game.


Die hard fan of Ishikawa Rika (From the popular girl group ¥â¥ê¥ó¥°Ì¼¡£) He's got pictures and badges of her all over him.


Over 50% of cars in Japan are outfitted with navigation technology similar to this. Some even have their own personalities and voices.


Shibuya at night is a breathtaking sight no matter how many times you see it. Typical billboards, TVs, and neon lights of Tokyo.


The Mercedes Smart, be smart, buy Mercedes. Mercedes manufacture compact cars in Japan.


Parking is oftentimes cramped and uneconomic, take this for example, typical residential parking.

More later...

Whoa those cars are sweet Merc. I was lmao at the porn vending machine. The nightlife seems pretty cool along with the arcade games.

Yeah, the nightlife is always impressive. Not like that in Kyoto. Now for some food!


Some friends of mine while we were out eating okonomiyaki (I guess you could call this Japanese pizza if you'd like)


kaiten sushi (rotating sushi) has even gained quite a popularity overseas. It's unbeatable.


For those interested in the more traditional Japanese attire.


Food sure looks good. (Yes, this picture is completely random)


This is Tokyo's top ramen restaurant, musashi... I was a bit dissapointed, actually.


ramen at musashi.


Take****a street in the Harajuku district of Tokyo. Follow this road down past the McDonalds and you'll find...


...a store that sells photos of your favourite idols for about 50 cents each.


But it doesn't stop there, you can buy posters too. For 300 yen each. ¸«ËÜ¡¡means "sample". Trust me when I say I purchased far too many of these.

Just asking, what is going for 250 yen in the background of the 3rd photo?

Anyway, what of the percentage of the pictures in those kinds of galleries are taken by Paparazzi?

Just asking, what is going for 250 yen in the background of the 3rd photo?

Which one?

Anyway, what of the percentage of the pictures in those kinds of galleries are taken by Paparazzi?

Haha, well actually, they're all quite legit, but they aren't sold by the respective recording companies so they're dirt cheap. Most are from studio shoots for promotional stuff. I've got literally hundreds of these photos.

Follow the road in Harajuku down even further and turn into an alleyway and you find...


The official Hello! Project store, home of Tsunku's crazy going-ons and his brain child "Morning Musume." Money flows like crazy from my wallet in here.


The girls at cafe crepe work literally all night in the cold so we can get our taste of delicious crepes!


Old school, it's closed for the moment so nothing's going on really.


Gundam-esque models are still pretty hot.

But not as hot as purika (Print Club) if you ever go to Japan you can't miss out on this, it's really fun to do.


In bookstores you can stand and read manga and other books for literally hours on end. Can anyone spot me? No? Good. :p


Here's a nice temple for you all, very gorgeous scenery.


But wait! MiniMoni candy floss being sold near a temple? Pop culture and tradition mix in this very strange setting...


McDonalds is big, this one is 3 stories high.


When you can't get a ride off a friend, bus is probably not the way to go. Roads are often congested. This is an older bus, by the way.


Three lovely girls posing for the shot :p


Smile for the camera! totemo kawaii~

Nevermind <_< You probably don't pay attention to what Macdonalds specials are on the signs. Just like here

Judging by the little pictoral knownledge, are you the person in the centre? Or are you the photographer?

Anyway, we still need to see the view from Tokyo tower, if you visited there.

Originally posted by Sir Chuc
Nevermind <_< You probably don't pay attention to what Macdonalds specials are on the signs. Just like here

Judging by the little pictoral knownledge, are you the person in the centre? Or are you the photographer?

Anyway, we still need to see the view from Tokyo tower, if you visited there.

Unfortunately, being the "non-touristy" person I am, I didn't visit Tokyo tower. I do have some pretty hilarious photos from a late night out at a karaoke bar... but those won't be posted xD If it involves me under the influence and making a fool out of myself, it doesn't get posted :p And uh... that might be me...

hey dude chuc? r u on just wonderin, you KNOW mercutio, like in person? just wonderin really, erm im not sure if there's a topic in here but ive wanted to go to tokyo my whole life and these pics are awesome, just liked to comment
laterZ
"L"Chupacabras

Nah, but enough MSN convos have made it sorta like in-person <_<

But I think I have pin-pointed the very location where he lives! >:D

*pats GPS uplink and mountains of phonebooks*

All I can say is...Japan is indeed the most kick-ass place ever.

I thought I made another post... seems to have dissapeared.


"Cleansing" before entering a temple.


KFC! The menus at places like McDonalds and KFC are different from in America and Australia.

Dude Merc that's awesome! I so wanna go to Japan now!! Man I'm gonna go to Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporro, Osaka, Akita, Sendai...* rambles off names of Japanese cities*

Nah not all of those ^^

Those cars are so cool, I wanna go there *bugs parents for $90,000 spending money*

Im guessing you stayed over friends/familys house's alot, but how much money would you suggest someone to bring over with them? Just an approx of how much it would be to get around Japan and not be totally broke half way through your trip.

As always it depends on what you want to accomplish and buy. Obviously the bulk of the spending goes to the transportation and accomodations. I've seen tickets for under 700USD return during the low season. Choosing when you go can dictate prices of plane tickets as well as what you will be doing in Japan....

First of all shop around like mad for the plane tickets. There are cheap tickets out there if you know how to find them, and if you can save a few hundred dollars that will help a lot towards other expenses.

I will say obviously that finding friends to stay with in Japan is the best of all. But unfortunately not everyone has friends or family there. Depending on how long you want to stay and where you want to go, a plan of action can be made for what part of Tokyo you will stay in. Obviously all the major urban areas of Tokyo have high hotel prices. It's sometimes an advantage money wise to stay in a lesser known place but then commuting to the areas you want to visit and sight see in may more than spend the money you saved in the first place.

I will once again go out on a limb and recommend staying in Shinjuku. There are several reasons for this thinking. Shinjuku has one of the largest concentrations of business hotels which result in comeptition lowering prices. Also the Friendly Airport Limousine (it's a bus) will drop you right in front of Shinjuku Station (actually Keio hotel but don't dare stay there).... You can also take the bus from here directly back to the airport...

The next advantage Shinjuku has is that it's station is a major hub and one of the busiest in Tokyo. You can get anywhere from there. Shinjuku is also located on the Yamanote sen (line) which includes all the places most tourists want to visit including Akihabara, Harajuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ueno, and even Ebisu (if you want to do some major Ramen exploration)...

While shopping for a hotel, do it with a budget before hand. Look for specials and promotions they do exist. After you get the hotel out of the way... you should budget daily spending. In the west a Japanese restuarant is a Japanese restaurant that has all kinds of Japanese food. In Japan a Japanese restaurant ususally serves traditional authentic dishes you won't find here. You'll also find tonkatsu restuarants, yakiniku, yakitori, sushi, okonomiyaki, soba, udon, ramen, gyoza, curry specialty restaurants. Yeah some restuarants do specialize in one thing and they are great to try!

I would recommend all those type of restaurants above as well as Kaiten sushi(conveyour belt) which is considered fast food sushi but I still find it better than any sushi here. So add together all your meals and snacks and drinks in between (There are vending machines everywhere, so drinks are no concern)... I'd suggest around $60 a day minimum for eating and that is eating well.

So as you can see... it's all adding up. I've seen business hotels in the 6-9000 yen a night range plus the food you budget and you're already talking $120 a day at least. Now factor in again public transportation and shopping and I'd say if you budgeted $200-250+ a day you'd get by. Once again make sure you have credit cards to be ready for that big purchase or an emergency...

Of course this is only the bare minimum essentials. You could easily spend a day in Shibuya and Harajuku and blow your entire trip spendings. As I said to begin with, it all depends on what you want to buy and accomplish while you're there. Hope that's not too much information to digest. :p