Thanks for the info, I'll definitely add that to my itinerary as I'll be shopping at Akiba on 3rd October.
Will do, just met a friend of my friend who went to Cafe @home and have a silver card for visiting them more than 5 times or something. He even got a snapshot photo with the top maid
For sure, I'll PM you as soon as I get a prepaid phones in Tokyo. Hopefully, all the guides for purchasing one with only a passport works out for me.

This post has been edited by heterosapiens: Sep 14 2009, 11:35 PM

Erm, depends on what type of concert you are looking for or is it for any type of concert?
If only I have a free Sunday on my trip, I would have gone to Akihabara around 12pm-3pm and then to Yoyogi Park from 4pm-7pm, just to experience and see the crowd there. From what I've read, none of the other days are as awesome as a Sunday at both places.

Maybe you can try your luck with these links of event organizers around Tokyo/Kanto and Osaka.

http://www.ody-net.com/
http://www.flipside.co.jp/pc/
http://www.sundayfolk.com/
http://www.kyodo-osaka.co.jp/index.php
Thanks for the pro tips, that will never be in any book I would read
On behalf on her, I would say because she is from the creative industry that is somehow related to games industry.

Definitely, if the cup of coffee could be drank while queuing up for game demos
Anyway, I'll PM you my contact number once I have it.

Heading out to KLIA, Japan here I come

Day 1 : 12 Hours walk around Mitaka, Akabanebashi and Roppongi. Awesome!

This post has been edited by heterosapiens: Sep 26 2009, 09:49 AM

Day 2 : Nakano & Akihabara. Preliminary round : price survey.

Will share more photos once I got back, no time to start uploading pictures now.
On your second question, this is my dream trip and I'm enjoying every moment of it.
Very sorry for that, my friend didn't realized there is a phone call that noon, but 1 day for TGS is just barely enough.
Arigatou. Let's go to the makan session Ayu's organizing later. We can share our nihon experience with the others
LOL, no la, I didn't have internet connection for the past 2 days, the rabuho and capsule hotel was awesome though. Now, I'm at Ryokan Kangetsu and this is way better than what I've expected from a ryokan.

Btw, we will be heading for lunch at Malaychan - Ikebukuro later today. I'll give you a call in case you didn't check LYN this morning.

That is so true. We had our umbrellas stolen right in front of our eyes, and we are pretty sure it wasn`t the case of a mistake.

Interestingly, I had the same discussion with couple of friends who are studying/working here during my trip. For me, I would prefer to continue to be a visitor/tourist of their amazing culture/society instead of trying to be part of it. Simply put, I believe the view would be nicer through a window.

Anyway, this is my last day in Japan, will be back to Malaysia by 8pm GMT+8. Currently at GeraGera Comic & Internet Cafe in Shinjuku. I`ll try to make my trip summary within this month, as tonnes of works waiting for me back in Malaysia.

Back in Malaysia, to reality. Awesome trip. Report will be up in a not so near future.

Both of my friends bought their keitai at Don Quijote (called Donki) at Roppongi. Based on other forum guides, you can buy it at Softbank shops at Shibuya, Omotesando and Roppongi. But like PsyCHZZZ said, you should not use internet with it.

http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?t=54950
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?1+51856
http://www.donki.com/index_en.php?lang=e

*Note : Most keitai doesn't work out of the box in Malaysia, though there are modding services to get it work.

If you really need internet on the go, take a look at this http://www.hotspot.ne.jp/en/

That's what I thought when reading the forums, but my friends got theirs without any hick-up from Donki Roppongi. The only thing is that, you need to ask the shops whether they sell for passport only or they need ARC to sell it. So, it is definitely doable.

Price wise, 15K yen for Samsung 821SC including 6000 yen prepaid.

err...we bought ours 2 weeks ago

Aloha guys,

Sorry for taking quite some time to post this. I'm catching up with reality. Here's few things to share about my trip.

Group count : 4 person, all male.
Duration of the trip: 25/09/2009 - 05/10/2009 (11 days, 10 nights)
Flight : JAL (RM1580 return, bought from J-Horizons)
Overall itinerary budget : RM4500

Day 0 - 24/09/2009 Friday ------- Flight from KLIA
- We are all damn anxious for the trip. Celcom mobile phone lines was down. 3 of us are using Celcom, could not call each other.
- Our group split to two, 3 and 1. So, we couldn't contact the last guy.
- Happens to be he couldn't board the flight because of PTPTN problem.
- I almost miss my flight because I run back to the Immigration counter, to ask them about him.
- Flight was delayed for 15 minutes, probably because his luggage was checked-in.
- In the flight it, all of us are puzzled of what just happen. But determine to make the best of this dream trip.
- JAL flight is awesome.

Day 1 - 25/09/2009 Friday ------- Mitaka + Roppongi
- Arrived sharp at 7.00am in the morning.
- We were questioned by patrol police at the airport, after 15 minutes trying to make phone call to Malaysia at the phone booth.
- Took Keisei Oshiage Line + Toei Asakusa line to Asakusabashi. Took around 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Drop our luggage at Khaosan Tokyo Ninja.
- Straight to Mitaka, for Studio Ghibli. First floor is like a heaven. Super duper awesome, a must for all tourist who watch anime.
- Head back to Akabanebashi for Tokyo Tower. We just took pictures underneath Tokyo Tower.
- Walk to Roppongi. Asked for some direction. A girl was asking are we really sure want to walk to Roppongi, because it is not exactly that near. lol.
- Shop at Don Quijote. 2 of us bought Softbank keitai for 16K Yen (with 6K prepaid) with passport only. It took like 2 hours to get it done, a lot of customers.
- Walk around Roppongi area. Took pictures at tourist spots.
- We went for Tokyo City View at Mori Tower. Awesome view, but we missed the Sky Deck view.

Day 2 - 26/09/2009 Saturday ------- Nakano + Akihabara
- Too tired and woke up pretty late, we changed plan.
- Nakano Broadway for the old school Akiba-like place. Specific shop we went is Trio 2.
- At night we went to Akiba, and was surprised that most shops closed around 7-8pm.

Day 3 - 27/09/2009 Sunday ------- Chiba
- Tokyo Game Show day.
- We arrived at Makuhari Messe around 8.00am and queue and manage to enter the halls at 10am.
- That's when we realize the 'queuing while standing' prowess among Japanese people.
- Awesome event, we bought a lot of t-shirts and get 1 for free from Ubisoft, for queuing up for their new games.
- Found out that Japanese with roller bags are mostly cosplayers.

Day 4 - 28/09/2009 Monday ------- Ueno + Asakusa
- Take pictures at Kaminarimon Gate and Sensoji Temple.
- There's a lot of Japanese school kids visitors as well.
- Asakusa is a tourist trap. Bought a lot of Japanese clothings, kimono, yukata, jinbei, haori and etc.
- Good place to buy souvenirs, a lot of choices.
- Next we went to Ueno Park, took pictures.
- Walk to Tokyo University, (Todai) and took pictures there.
- Went to Tokyo Dome City, but it was 1 hour before closing, so, we postponed it in another day.

Day 5 - 29/09/2009 Tuesday ------- Odaiba
- We went to Tsukiji Fish Market.
- Although we missed the first train. Thankfully there are not that many tourist for the tuna auction session.
- We had our breakfast at Umai Sushikan. The staffs do speak some English.
- Awesome experience, a must for all tourist japanese food lovers.
- Next is to Odaiba island area.
- First stop is Panasonic Center Tokyo (RiSuPia). Very cool and innovative museum/center.
- Went to Toyota Mega Web, Palette Town, Odaiba Decks and etc.
- Last but not least is Sega Joypolis. Awesome arcade experience, a must for gamers. Most attractions are meant for pairs.

Day 6 - 30/09/2009 Wednesday ------- Shibuya + Harajuku
- Today we start to be nomad travellers, hopping from 1 accomodation to another. Bad choice, as our loots are getting heavier daily.
- Thankfully, a friend of mine who lives nearby Yoyogi area helped us by allowing us to drop our luggage at his house.
- Walk around Harajuku area, Omotesando and also Shibuya.
- We stay somewhere in Dogenzaka street, a rabuho called Hotel Laurel.

Day 7 - 01/10/2009 Thursday ------- Akihabara
- Another change of plan, as we have a tour guide from my friend who frequents Akiba quite a bit.
- Get into an arcade building and spent around 2 hours there.
- Shop at Messe Sanoh, for doujin stuffs.
- Shop at Animate, Mandarake, and etc.
- Check-in to Siesta Capsule Hotel in Ebisu.

Day 8 - 02/10/2009 Friday ------- Akihabara + Tokyo Dome City
- Another round of shopping session at Akiba.
- At night we manage to go to Tokyo Dome City.
- Although it was drizzling, thankfully the attractions are not closed down.
- We took Thunder Dolphin 2 times, super awesome. Note : 2nd time for a better picture.
- We stayed at Ryokan Kangetsu in Chidoricho.

Day 9 - 03/10/2009 Friday ------- Nakano + Shinjuku + Akihabara
- We actually queue up before Trio 2 at Nakano Broadway opens their shop. With like-minded Japanese people.
- Then we head straight to Shinjuku.
- We went to Japanese Sword Museum, very small, awesome but cannot take pictures.
- Take pictures at LOVE sculpture and walk around Shinjuku.
- Then, we head to Akiba for some maid-cafe experience at @Home 7th floor.
- We stayed at Andon Ryokan in Minowa.

Day 10 - 04/10/2009 Friday ------- Ikebukuro + Yokosuka + Shinjuku
- We had lunch at Malaychan in Ikebukuro, seems to be pretty popular with the locals there.
- Then we went to Morning Musume Nine Smile Concert at Yokosuka. Super duper awesome!
- We stayed at an internet cafe in Shinjuku.

Day 11 - 04/10/2009 Saturday ------- Flight from Narita
- We almost missed our flight again, had to run to the furthest gate in Narita Airport Terminal 2. Gate 77.

Group in Tokyo : 3 person
Total money spent : RM8000
Pictures taken : 3606 files (14.8GB)
Videos taken : 81 files (13.6GB)

AWESOME trip!!!

*Specific reviews for accomodation, trivia points coming up later.

This post has been edited by heterosapiens: Nov 1 2009, 04:17 PM

Will do, forgot to mention the pics will follow suit, later tonight.
Err, it is RM4500 per pax, without shopping. RM8000 is for me alone, including shopping.
Do you have link/screenshot that we can refer to? I'm not quite sure how to get that from MAS website.

Not inclusive flight tickets. That's another RM1.5K.

Thankfully, we check-in the bags together, else mine would probably exceed the weight limits.

Awesome experience, will definitely go again. I have videos of them too. More female audience than what I was expecting.

Funny thing is that, he did check it 1 month before the flight while doing his passport, and from what he said, he was barred a week before the flight date.

Ouch, without tax. SGD528 is around RM1320, still cheap, but definitely as good as the past JAL promo at RM1350 departing from KLIA instead of Singapore.

This post has been edited by heterosapiens: Nov 1 2009, 10:44 PM

Accommodation review

Khaosan Tokyo Ninja

Type of room : 16 Cabin Bed Dormitory
Rates : 2800 Yen Per Bed
Location : Asakusabashi
Nearest train station(s) : Bakurocho and Asakusabashi

+ You get to lock your cabin bed with locks provided
+ Every dormitory bed gets a free to use locker
+ Choose lower bed if possible, especially if you have a lot of luggage





Type of room : 4 Bed Private Room
Rates : 3000 Yen Per Bed
Location : Asakusabashi
Nearest train station(s) : Bakurocho and Asakusabashi

+ They don't clean or tidy up the room during your continuous stay, awesome for privacy and security
- Pretty dim light, not very good for reading



Generic points
+ Very clean and comfortable bathrooms and toilets
+ No curfew, just remember the code to open the main doors
+ Nice living room with LCD TV, Wii and some magazines
+ Coin operated laundry 10 meter outside the premise
+ Awesome Japanese kitchen for you to prepare your food
+ Free 2 slice of bread for breakfast every morning
+ Very friendly English speaking staffs. Say hi to Eri-san
+ We use JR Chuo Sobu Line more than JR Yamanote Line, so, it is a plus point compared to other Khaosan Tokyo branches













Free Internet
Awesome kitchen
Free Food
Visitors Photos
Bag dropping zone

Accommodation review

Hotel Laurel

Type of room : Love Hotel
Rates : 8700 Yen Per Room
Location : Dogenzaka, Shibuya
Nearest train station(s) : Shibuya

+ Probably one of the few rabuho that accept non-couple customer
+ Turn out to be the cheapest accomodation if you cram the bed with 3 or more people
+ Pretty late check out 11am and check in at 10pm works out nicely for us
+ Private toilet and bathroom with bathtub
+ Very spacious compared to other type of Japanese accommodation
+ You can actually get out of your room after checking in
+ Yukata for use is provided
- Nothing really special, except free condom as courtesy and some Japanese adult channel
- Non-exotic theme, very plain

Accommodation review

Hotel Siesta

Type of room : Capsule Hotel
Rates : 3300 Yen Per Bed
Location : Ebisu
Nearest train station(s) : Ebisu

+ Authentic, capsule design. Entrance from the front, not the side
+ Small locker provided
+ Public and private bathroom
+ Yukata for use is provided
- The TV provided does not have sound out for headphones
- The capsule entrance only closed with some kind of curtain, no security at all
- That makes it not sound proof, and you can hear Japanese snoring all night long
- Some Japanese adult channel provided as well, so, you could hear what your neighbours watching



This post has been edited by stimix: Apr 6 2011, 08:52 AM

Accommodation review

Ryokan Kangetsu

Type of room : Ryokan for 4 Beds
Rates : 22000 Yen Per Deluxe Room
Location : Chidoricho
Nearest train station(s) : Chidoricho

+ Awesome ryokan, feels very authentic and old school
+ Very nicely design to create a nice atmosphere
+ Superb facilities like massage chair, reading room, living room and coin operated laundry
+ Two types of public bath, indoor and outdoor
+ Very clean and comfortable bathroom and toilet, the bathroom is superbly designed with old school bathtub
+ Yukata for use is provided
+ They sell some really cheap used products as souvenirs
+ Very friendly English speaking staffs
- Pretty far away from city areas





















Public bath entrance
Cheap souvenirs
Awesome bathroom
Very comfortable yukata
Very unique reception
One of the few non-wall view for a Japanese window in Tokyo