telophase | List o'possibles in Japan

Starting to make a list of things I'd like to see/do in Japan, focusing on Tokyo and Kyoto, since that's where I'm likely to be. Will keep adding to this post as things occur to me.

And no, I have no intention of doing everything on the list, because I dislike overstructuring vacations and get bitchy when I'm overtired and trying to do too much. This is just to supply a list of potential things. Suggestions welcome.

Must-see/do things will be bolded. :)

Meet up with homasse, m00nface, kate_nepveu and anyone else who's in Japan at the time
I predict Mom wants a piece of some sort of traditional Japanese weaving that doesn't cost too much as a souvenir, so I'll need to get her one.
A good wander with a camera through a large traditional formal garden.
Tokyo: Gotta go to Akihabara Electric Town in Tokyo and collect anime figurines (rachelmanija)
Tokyo: Kita-Kamakura (near Tokyo, lots of temples and gardens) because it's one of my favorite places in Japan. (so says rachelmanija)
Tokyo: Ebisu in Tokyo has a beer museum and an excellent used bookshop with books in English. (so says rachelmanija)
Tokyo: Tokyo Free Guide.
Kyoto: the International Manga Museum is a must-see. (Note to self: closed Wednesdays, or Thursdays if Wed is a national holiday.)
Kyoto: Book a room at Crossroads, in Kyoto. (rachelmanija)
More to come as I think of it.

Suggestions from the peanut gallery

Collect things from vending machines (the_z)

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Collect things from vending machines!

Hee. Added. XD

Gotta go to Akihabara Electric Town in Tokyo and collect anime figurines, and to Kita-Kamakura (near Tokyo, lots of temples and gardens) because it's one of my favorite places in Japan.

Ebisu in Tokyo has a beer museum and an excellent used bookshop with books in English.

Added! And now starting to organize The List by Tokyo, Kyoto, and Wherever. XD

Rent-a-Zilla and wreak havok on downtown....

Oh, wait that doesn't actually exist. :( Gotta get working on my mad-scientist lab to create the Rent-a-Zilla first.....

If you are at all interested in shrines/temples, one of the more interesting ones in Kyoto I didn't find on any tourist maps. It's a small shrine on the west side of the Imperial Palace (On Karasuma-dori, a few doors from the Palace Side Hotel)that is dedicated to the historical figure Wake-no-Kiyomaro, a defender of the Emperor who according to legend was protected by a herd of wild boars in his travels. It has all sorts of boar statues and decorations, and a small gift shop.

Not only is it a really cool, funky shrine, it may have extra coolness because of the Year of the Boar. Who knows what's going on there?

There's a bit about it here:

http://www.geocities.jp/general_sasaki/kyoto-index-eng.html

Also, when you're in Kyoto keep an eye out - there is a weekly free magazine printed in English that will have various events going on in the city. When I was there, I was able to see a really nifty ceremony at one of the Shinto shrines that I found from a blurb in there. (The blurb started out, "Fifteen men in loincloths jump into a small pool and thrash around." I was SO not missing that!) The coolest things in Kyoto are not in the big guidebooks.

On the other hand, if you want some cheese, Toei Uzumasa Movieland has some.

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/theme/others/uzumasa_movie/

If you are interested in traditional Japanese crafts, the Kyoto Handicraft Center has both displays of handicrafts and some hands-on fun stuff, like do-your-own woodblock prints. They also had relatively cheap silk kimono for sale.

!!! There's an International Manga Museum in Kyoto?! Oh man, next year is going to be awesome.

I would add something to your list, but seeing that I've never been to Japan (and can't think of any particularly interesting things I've heard of right now for some reason)...yeah. :D;

Another good place for anime figures/general stuff is the Animate in Ikebukuro. It's nine floors worth of doujins, manga and character goods, you can dump lots of money there. There's also a K-Books and a Mandarake on the same street, both are excellent places for BL manga/doujins.

I was so sad I couldn't afford to go to Kyoto this trip. Next time!

My own solicitation here: http://kate-nepveu.livejournal.com/215838.html

Do you have an idea if you're doing Kyoto before or after the con? I'd love to do the Manga Museum with you, but that may not be practical.

I forget if we discussed timing, but I highly recommend (to Telophase) going for Worldcon, then staying after. The weather will be nicer and I am pretty sure tickets will be cheaper.

Yeah, it's too bad about the weather, but I really can't miss that much of September at work. (Chad, the bastard, is on sabbatical that term, so he doesn't care.)

In Kyoto, a not-oft-visited attraction is Fushimi Inari Taisha (http://www.jref.com/practical/fushimi_inari_taisha.shtml). Make sure you wear really, really comfortable walking shoes...

Also, Himeji-jo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeji_Castle) is really worth seeing (Himeji's about 90 minutes local train from Kyoto) and for some naff pop culture (back in Kyoto now), go to Toei Movie Land (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3934.html)!

If you're venturing beyond Kyoto, I also recommend going to Takurazuka for the Tezuka Osamu museum and possibly the Takurazuka Revue, and Nara for Todaiji (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html) (the world's biggest housed buddha) and Kasuga Taisha, gorgeous Shinto shrine of a thousand lanterns.

Go to Bookoff and buy used manga for very, very, very cheap!

Go to bakeries and take pictures of all the interesting and yummy things they come up with and try them!

Go to convenience stores and take pictures of all the interesting and yummy things they come up with and try them!

Ok, in general: take pictures of tasty food and try random hole-in-the-wall restaurants!

Go to the ninja castle (I forgot what's it's actually called, but it's in Kyoto and it's famous) and bounce around on the squeaky floors and pretend you are an awful ninja.

Go to Harajuku and take pictures of all the loligoth girls and visual-kei-imitators and ogle at the things they sell in the specialty goth stores there and eat crepes.

Ogle at all the plastic food.

Go karaoke during the day (VERY CHEAP during the day, and often with free snacks thrown in) and sing anime theme songs.

Go find an arcade and play Dance Dance Revolution or the bongo game if you can find it or other fun and interesting games.

Find and take pictures of as many assorted vending machines as you can (drinks, hot drinks, soup, cigarettes, camera stuff, panties...).

See if you can wander across a street fair and have freshly made takoyaki and yakisoba and the little fish they make out of egg dough and pile on with vinegar and other good stuff.

(aka, these were all my favorite things to do in Japan)

When you go to Kyoto, if you and she aren't too busy, could you please arrange to visit with Yuki on our behalf? Just a cup of tea or something would be fine. Since we can't go in person anytime soon, I was hoping you could spend a little time with her and see how she's doing for us. If you can't, of course, that's completely OK.

Sure, we can see if we can. :D The plans are still vague, but we're looking at a week in Tokyo and a week in Kyoto, so I don't see why we couldn't meet her and have tea or lunch or something. :)

The ninja castle is Nijo-jo. I second all those suggestions.

Ghibli Museum! And that building which looks like the house in My Neighbour Totoro, which they created for the World Expo last year. But if you can't get that far (I don't think it's near Tokyo or Kyoto), do get Ghibli Museum tickets in advance!

List o'possibles in Japan

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Onegaishimasu

Re: Onegaishimasu

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