Phew ! Finally reached this portion of this thread after reading it for nearly 2 weeks! Am looking forward to return to Tokyo after a 2 year wait. Thanks to all the folks here who has been sharing stuff.

Myself am ultra excited about this trip!

This post has been edited by hye: Aug 30 2009, 04:33 PM

I want to ask a question to the regular folks in here. Would it be possible for me to buy a kimono in Tokyo as a souvenir ?

And how much should i expect it to be ? (I'm worried about this question myself coz I know a good kimono can go into the thousands)

Thanks guys for all the information. This thought came this morning when a friend of mine asked whether I could help to look for the item. Perhaps due to being blur this morning, all that came across in my mind was the kimono and only after I posted the question I thought of the problems of handling the kimono and the yukata also slipped my mind.

BTW ... thanks for the tip on the male kimono. I saw the male kimono from pictures before but I did not know that kimono applies to both genders contrary to my earlier thought of it being purely female.

Kimono for my girlfriend ? Emm ... like you guys I too had this thought of having a Japanese girlfriend. Will spare this discussion to a seperate session perhaps.

Emm ... and now to figure out my itenary. @heterosapiens sure got quite a plan ... I know need to allocate some flexibility coz not everything can be achieved and sometimes you may want to stay longer at a single location. I know it will take me 2 days to refamiliarise myself with the subway system.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 3 2009, 05:04 PM

Need to ask something, I'm keen to go to a concert in Tokyo during my upcoming trip there. (Should be end Oct/early Nov window) Is there anywhere I could scan for some dates/concert schedule somewhere ?

BTW ... what is exactly the "Tamashii Nation 2009" is all about ?

Selamat Hari Raya to all the folks here!

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 21 2009, 07:10 PM

My fav singer is Utada Hikaru (and sometime back Chage and Aska) and hopefully be able to catch one of her performance. Problem is that I haven't been following J-Pop for a while so I don't know what's hot or out. Just wanting to catch a good group or solo female performance since I'm there anyway.

Guys ... correct me if I'm wrong but if you are a tourist you are close to impossible to obtain a Japanese mobile number.

What about mobile Internet (or anything similar)? Basically if the hotel provide for free then that's fine but I remember some hotel charges you for Internet connectivity. It'll be great if can obtain Internet on the go.

Thanks for the confirmation. I'm aware certain kombini can accomodate tourist but possibly the language barrier will be a slight problem and of course locating one that's willing to do is already a major exercise on its own. Nvm ... I'll just hang around and see whether anyone could offer a solution prior to my trip next week.

Yes, I remember about the LAN cable part but I also remember about some of the hotels that I went to their Internet is not free. I was hoping that I could possibly do rental of a Wimax equivalent or something similar. Yup ... will have my phone ready for roaming. Thanks!

If you look carefully on some of the trains, they have posted cartoons to discourage womens from applying make-up in the train. Can't really describe what it looks like and I forgot to take pictures of that. (Don't want to look soo touristy)

Reading through the post here makes me miss the place even more! And I can relate to some of the locations posted coz I have been there as well! (And only recently)

This post has been edited by hye: Nov 18 2009, 12:38 PM

I wrote on my own the VISA application. Yes, they will accept it but please use nice handwriting lah.

Agreed. In Japan, honesty is everything. I'm sure everyone here want to 'jaga' Malaysian name coz in the long term, everyone is affected as well.

I don't see why not. I have been there and it is a place for young and old - there are the more "exciting" rides and "subtle" rides over there.

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Added on January 14, 2010, 11:01 amI agree but you can also ask the cook to spice up the food for you. I found a Kebab shop (I ate Nasi Briyani) in Akihibara which did just that. The waiter asked me to try the 'Super Hot' (Not hot at all ... more like your regular chili sauce level) kebab first before cooking that Briyani just for me.

The guy told me that this is the max that their regular Japanese customers could take and it is not often they will choose the super hot option. Funny part is that after a week of me being in Tokyo, I'm sensitive to Malaysian food ... can feel the big difference in terms of quality and food taste no thanks to being spoilt in Tokyo.

This post has been edited by hye: Jan 14 2010, 11:04 AM

Gosh ... I envy you. My mind went back there the moment I'm reading your reply.
I assume you are a guy .... Akihibara isn't exactly a place where your mum would enjoy unless she's into electronic goods or just want to walk around and explore the place. Plenty of maid cafes, video games and electrical shops - perfect for a guy. A bit of a clash of interest for both of you I think.

Anyone here who can help me with

1. Japan's list of public holidays for 2010 as well as their school holidays ?
2. Thinking to come back and see the sakura. How best to plan for this? The short blooming period of the flower is a problem as can't buy ticket too early.