natefish95

7 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Wow. I have tattoo sleeves on both of my arms. Guess I would stick to the thermal spa on the ship 😉

If you search enough, you can find onsens that are tattoo friendly. I went to Thermae-Yu in Tokyo and they offered adhesive patches for smaller tattoos. 

Wednesday the 10th, took the JR line to the ship and got on about an hour after I got there. The process was a bit strange and surprisingly unorganized. The ship still looks great and just how I remember her. We had a very large solo traveler group of about 35, which was really surprising. Solo host right now is Caio from Brazil.

Today we docked in Sendai. The schedule had us actually docking in Ishinomaki (contrary to port schedules). Turns out NCL is wrong and the port schedules were right—we docked closer to Sendai. 
 

They offered a shuttle service to downtown for $20 which took about 40 minutes each way. We docked a bit late around 10:30 and back on board was 4:30 so not an ideal port stop. 
 

The NCL shuttle dropped off at Sendai station about noon and then I went with another solo to get the local favorite of beef tongue (gyutan) which was surprisingly delicious! Walked over to Jozenji-Dori to take pictures and hopped on the shuttle around 2:30pm. 
 

gyutan, barley rice, and oxtail soup

What’s up party people

did I forget about you? Yes.

Am I enjoyed this trip? YES

Is the wifi bad on the ship? YES!!!!!!

To quickly summarize, my day trip to Mt Fuji was great even though we couldn’t see the mountain. We saw (and smelled) all the sulphur from where the hot springs water originates and took the Hakone ropeway and a short cruise on a lake.

the next day the weather was terrible. I took the subway to Shibuya, but it was monsooning so I noped out of there real quick and went to an onsen. Then I did a really fun walking tour around Shinjuku.

Bamboo forest and surrounding area 

Golden pavilion (even the ticket was beautiful)

Just now, natefish95 said:

Lunch and matcha ice cream 

Oops, first picture was my sushi dinner at Chojiro Hazenshi. So good!

Lunch and matcha ice cream 

Kiyonizu and the stage 

All the gates (and the people)

Greetings from the shinkansen! I'm being rocketed through the Japanese countryside at 200mph on my way to Tokyo! I've taken many of trains before, but nothing is as quiet and smooth as this one! I opted to do "green class" for $130 for a resreved seat and including space for an oversized bag. I booked seat 1A thinking that I would be on the left side to see Mt. Fuji, but turns out I was wrong. 1D gets the view on the left side this way. Oh well, I'll be at Mt Fuji tomorrow on a tour.

So back to my Kyoto tour. I booked the tour linked below called "Kyoto Top Highlights Full-Day Trip from Osaka/Kyoto" We met at Nomba OCAT and left on-time at 9am. It was about a 40 minute drive to Kyoto and we stopped at the Fushari Inari-taisha shrine where we were able to see the thousands of iconic red gates. I've seen these in pictures, so it was nice to finally see them in person with a million of my closest stranger friends. It was by far the most crowded of the places we visited. There is definitely more to explore in this area, but I was a bit pressed for time, and the guide made it very clear they'd leave if we were late. Japanese punctuality!

Next we went to the Kyomizu temple and kyomizu stage. We had about 2.5 hours to explore on our own here. Leading up to the temples, there is a large shopping street, including stops for food. The shopping street was SO CROWDED, but once you got up to the stage and down into the gorge, the crowds thinned. When I booked my tickets, I decided to have lunch included. Tun-red out, only me and one other person did this option. It was a heavy tofu lunch and I would have been better suited to find a restaurant there for lunch.

Third stop was a quick stop at the golden pavilion. Very beautiful. Not much to say about this. 

fourth and final stop was at the Arashiyama bamboo forest, which was my favorite. Our guide walked us into the bamboo forest a bit, and then gave us several options of routes we could take. I opted to take the long route, which he said takes about 45 minutes, but I did it in about 30. This was the least crowded stop, which is so nice! I was getting very peopled out with the constant crowds. This stop also had a large shopping area. 

On the bus ride back to Kyoto we hit traffic for about 90 minutes, which was less than ideal. If I could do it over again, I would maybe spend 1 night in Kyoto and see the sights from there instead of bussing to Kyoto from Osaka and back OR just take the train to Kyoto. 

Once we finally made it back to Osaka, upon recommendation from my food tour guide, I went to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant called Chojiro Hazenshi and it was probably the best sushi I've ever had! You take a number when you walk in and wait for it to be called. I waited about 30 minutes or so. The staff was all very kind and spoke some English. You order via ipad or you can just take things off the conveyor belt. I did a combo of both. What was very helpful is that at each seat, they had a "how to" guide of how to use the iPad, what each plate color costs, and how to call the staff at the end. I had probably 5 plates of sushi and plum wine for $19. It would have easily been $50+ in the US (plus tip...)

An exhausting day, but I was able to cram a lot in for 1 day. For a bus tour, I still did nearly 25,000 steps. 

Morning all! Taking the bullet train back up to Tokyo today. While I’m on the train, I’ll post about my day trip to Kyoto. 
 

if you’re coming to Japan, I’d recommend staying in Kyoto for a few nights instead of taking a bus tour from Osaka. Traffic was a mess last night. The tour was good and I saw a lot though.

So now for the food tour last night, first things first, here is the tour I booked for $88 and would HIGHLY recommend. A very fun environment all around where we learned about the food of course, but also culture, what it’s like as an American living in Osaka, and even how to curse in Japanese. 

our first stop was at Johnny’s karage, which was probably my favorite stop. The decor was all 80’s, so the vibes were obviously very right. We tried 5 different types. I don’t remember them all, but my favorite was the Nampa karage, which had mayonnaise on it. The plum wine on the rocks was also very refreshing and could be dangerous. If you like sweet drinks, get it!

I think we had yakitori and tempura next? I forgot pictures. Oops. Next up was Takoyaki Ichiban (which means the number one Takoyaki). It’s an interesting texture and flavor. Not my favorite but the atmosphere was so fun. The lemon sour drink was also very good! 

After that, we had gyoza

after that it was maybe kushikatsu and sake? There was definitely sake. 
 

Overall, amazing tour for a great value. The owner messaged me our group photo on WhatsApp this morning and was so helpful when I asked for recommendations for dinner tonight. I think this is a smaller company, but they really go the extra mile. 

7 hours ago, CruisnHallelujahs said:

When you mentioned your toilet experience I was envisioning Dh’s early experience in Asia.  Two footprints and a hole.  I wouldn’t want that in my home so don’t think that is what people are ordering. 

Oh absolutely not! These are the most high tech toilets I’ve ever seen! Thankfully no squattty potties to be found!

8 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

Those toilets got me worried. I need to find a YouTube tutorial on what all those little diagrams mean on all those buttons. I have enough trouble with all the pictographs on the newer cars.

Go in blind and just know you’ll get surprised no matter what!

Good morning! It: about 7:40 here in Osaka and I’m about to go meet up with my tour to Kyoto. 
 

Yesterday, taking the train to Nara could not have been easier. The online schedule was correct and of course everything was perfectly on-time. From Namba, I was able to take the Kintetsu-Nara line which is about 40 minutes to Nara. The train was packed and I had to stand the whole time. Each way was about 650 yen and I was able to pay with my IC card, just like the metro. 
 

Once you get out of the station and walk straight ahead, you will immediately start seeing deer! It’s just so crazy how they aren’t afraid of people. I bought some deer crackers for 200 yen to feed them. They will even bow at you, and if you’re not feeding them fast enough they’ll bow more aggressively and closer. One bit my jeans when I couldn’t unwrap the deer crackers fast enough. 
 

You could definitely smell the deer poop, but it wasn’t awful. Overall I spent about 2 hours walking around. I had originally booked a walking tour through Viator but decided to cancel and I’m glad I did. It was nice to just wander around at my own pace. I’m sure I missed some context and fun facts, but I still had a great day there. 

19 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

That Google Lens feature is great. We used that a lot last year in Japan. Hmm, you live in Arlington and you speak other languages? We need to become friends IRL. I'm a language buff myself and I live in Fairfax County. Keep enjoying your trip. My wife loved getting onigiri from a convenience store when we were there.

Send me an email! Would like to connect with a NoVa neighbor. Is there a way to DM on here?

I’ll tell yall more about Nara and my Osaka food tour tomorrow. I would highly recommend both. If I forget to link the Viator tour, someone remind me! 

Spent a few hours walking around Nara and it was awesome. 

My train to Nara should be arriving at 9:43. Very glad the signage has been so clear (and in English). 

Feeling like @TxTeach79 now

4 hours ago, Lazonia said:

Oh, I'm really envious of this Spa World experience, but I'm not sure about the Japanese toilet.   That might take some getting used to.

It was…different. I could not stop laughing the entire first time. 

6 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

This happened to us last year while in Spain & Portugal ... only saw the SMS/text alert & email later on, used another cc for payment transactions, no problems with Citi.  Nearly forgotten about it until recently when we booked a private ground transfer/tour for our upcoming cruise; here at home - with, you guess it, foreign vendor with a 3rd party processing the payment ... and, it was denied.  DW tried twice to use it when picking up her Rx scripts with a large co-pay at local pharmacy, and denied.  It wasn't until we figured out & connected the dots, and also live chat with BOA support, that we learned it's best to install the BOA app on the smartphone (iPhone) & have it SMS/text enabled, that we can get it re-submitted as a 2nd attempt if their AI logics rejected or denied it.   We are better prepared ahead ... fingers crossed later this month that all goes well ... gotta pile up those double & triple points.   Funny thing is that NCL charges always seem to go thru while onboard and at sea, maybe processing via Miami does make a difference, regardless the cardholder's internet IP address can be thousands of miles elsewhere.  

 

I called BOA and after battling with their automated prompts (“AGENT”…”AGENT”…”ohmygod no I don’t want to do a survey…”AGENT”) I finally talked to a real person and it wasn’t a fraud issue. BOA just didn’t recognize the transaction type. I tried a few more times using the 7-11 Seven Bank ATM and got the same results. The money exchange actually worked out well. I’ll probably go back there before I head up to Tokyo just in case. 

9 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

That's correct. It's primarily onsens that cater to Westerners that allow them. Personally, I think tattoos are disgusting and trashy-looking. No offense to anyone who has them, but I was glad I didn't have to see any of them when we visited an onsen last April.

 

I am so glad you are having this opportunity to visit Japan. Your pictures are stunning and gorgeous. Thank you so much for posting these and sharing them with us. I speak Japanese and it was incredibly gratifying to be there last year and speak the language with the locals. They were so kind. I found the food to be mouthwatering. Make sure (if you haven't already) to get some karaage, some ramen, and some yakiniku. I don't eat sushi, but I found Japan to have tons of other things to eat that were delicious. Keep enjoying your vacation. I'd be interested to know if you ever have performers show up at the pier to send you off. During our cruise in April 2023, we regularly had dancers, drummers and high school bands perform for us during our sailaways. What an unforgettable memory that was! EDIT: I'm also interested to hear what you think of 7-11's over there. Very different from the USA, that's for sure! They have "konbini" (convenience stores) everywhere, not just 7-11, but Family Mart and Lawson seemingly on every street.

7-11, Family Mart and Lawson have been great! I stopped into one yesterday to have an onigiri as a snack. 
 

this is my first trip to a country where I don’t speak the language fluently. I did some Japanese Duolingo so I learned so basic phrases but not enough to hold conversations. Everyone has been so kind when I’ve asked for directions. The google translate app has been a life saver, especially the Google Lens feature which will translate pictures I take (I needed that to pick the right onigiri haha)

10 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Is this an indoor "street?" Are there mirrors that make it look longer or is it really that jammed up with people for what appears to be several football fields? 

 

Thanks for trying out McD's! It's always so interesting to see what other countries have. I know some aren't into trying out Americanized fast food, but I find it an interesting meal or two. 

 

Those cherry blossom and sunset photos - phenomenal! Thanks for sharing nature's beauty with us from across the world!

No mirrors, no optical illusions! It was really that crowded with people! Japanese McDonalds was so interesting. There were so many unique things I wanted to try. Plus, that entire meal was only $12!

I walked around a bit and then hoped back on the metro to Namba to walk around Dontonburi and Shinsaibashi street. So. Many. People. This place makes NYC look like a quaint town 

I found a Mickey D’s and decided to pop in and try some local items. The fries taste the exact same and the burgers were quite good. The melon ice cream thing was awful though. 
 

The drink was a large but it’s about the size of a medium drink in the U.S. 

20,000 steps and 7.4 miles later, my day is done. Tomorrow I’m going to Nara to see some deer and then a food tour in the afternoon.