Tony - Japan 2024 Planning - Take 2

[Kingmeow]

Thanks for the warning Tony!  This will be our first time using TSA PreCheck as we just got approved for Global Entry a few months ago (TSA PreCheck comes with it for free).

 

I just got a Check-In message so I'll see if those Trusted Traveler numbers are on the boarding pass.

 

EDIT: checked in using United's app and there was the TSA PreCheck logo with green check mark on upper right of boarding pass.

Edited October 14 by Kingmeow

[kuro68000]

8 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

@kuro68000 - Thanks for the info.  Can I take it from your note that you don't have to be in Japan to set it up?

 

That's correct, I set it up from the UK without any issue. The bit where you take a photo of your passport is a bit fiddly to get lined up. Make sure your face is in the area it indicates or it won't look right on the duty free QR code screen.

[Tony Galiani]

Just in case for future reference, you may be able to fix a missing PreCheck number yourself via the airline app.  That is what we did when it fell off on our last trip.  We were flying domestically on United and were able to go onto the app and add in the number.  (We always have our numbers with us in our phone or, in my case, (gasp!) - on paper in my wallet .  Not sure about other airlines but I would expect they all have something similar either via their app or their web site.

Ciao,

Tony

[Tony Galiani]

Well, it is almost time for my trip.  We leave on Friday and I should be doing on-line check-in first thing Thursday morning.  As usual, having my pre-travel anxiety - though not as bad as usual as I have learned from a number of friends that they have the same feelings.  There are always a number of stressors - will my flight be cancelled, will I make my connection, and so on.  At this point have we experienced so many issues that this shouldn't faze me but it still does.  Having made a living worrying about all my projects, I have to go with my strength I guess.

 

Weather forecast looks good and I have lists of things to do depending on how we feel each day so about as set as possible.

 

An added stressor is that we are going to lose one of our dogs tomorrow but this has been coming for a long time so sad but not a real surprise.  Hopefully our travels will help us get over it.

 

Ciao,

Tony

[cteno4]

Tony,

 

no worries as I’ve aged I too have more issues just proceeding travel now. For me it’s more just feeling of a little dread or burden doing all the little bits and my mind saying to me is this worth it? I traveled a ton when younger and never had this, just started to happen in my 50s. Part is travel is a bit more of a hassle these days than it was and I think part of it is age. When I was young it was tons of excitement to go new places and projects, but with a lot under my belt with travel now it’s less a “new” thing so I need to consciously think more about why I’m going somewhere. I’ve talked about with a number of friends who were/are avid travelers and my age and they say the same thing, so I think it’s pretty common. Last trip I just did I was more conscious of it and kept a loop going in my head of all the folks I was going to be seeing on the trip and that helped overcome the background dread.

 

jeff

[RS18U]

Tony, have a great trip.  Will be interesting to hear your experiences since I won't be too far behind.

 

I am sorry about your dog, as you know losing a pet is never easy.

 

Will

[cteno4]

Tony,

 

very sorry I completely missed the last sentence about your pup. Very sorry to hear about your dog, had to go thru that with our last dog, always hard.

 

jeff

[kuro68000]

Sorry to hear about your pup, Tony. That's the deal with pets though, you outlive them. Can't have all the wonderful times and unconditional love/indentured servitude without the eventual heartbreak too. It's so worth it though.

 

I had an email from JAL this morning saying that even people in cattle class get a free hour of WiFi on international flights now, but I skipped back a few pages and see you are going with ANA. Maybe they will do likewise. It's only about 20 bucks for the whole flight anyway.

[Tony Galiani]

Well, we are checked in for our flight and car service booked for some ridiculously early hour to get us to the airport.  So now we need to finish packing and last minute prep which will keep me busy so I won't fret (too) much.

 

On a side note, I also go through this angst, to a greater or lesser degree, before I do a music gig.  After 50+ years of playing live, one would think I would get over the anxiety but I still worry all the way to the venue and into the first song before I settle down.

 

I will start posting some trip reports once we arrive in Osaka.  If all goes to plan, we should arrive Saturday afternoon and be down in Dotombori that evening for the obligatory Glico Running Man pictures!

 

And thanks for the kind words about our dog.  We have gone through this way too often as almost all our animals are rescues and, for the most part, have been older dogs and cats not wanted anymore by their owners.  Which means their time with us is relatively short but in this case we got him as a pup from the Springer Rescue group at about age six months.  So this will be tough but it is also time and the right thing to do.

 

Thanks,

Tony

[maihama eki]

Enjoy the trip. I'm just back from Tokyo yesterday. It was warmer than expected - many days above 25C in Tokyo

 

Large numbers of apparent non-Japanese tourists on the streets and in the tourist locales. That is so dramatically different than it was 30, 20, even 10 years ago.

 

The strong dollar to yen at the moment is nice.

[Kingmeow]

Tony, have a safe and wonderful flight and I hope to meet you in Tokyo in a week plus.

 

I'm sorry about your dog.  Hopefully the wonders of Japan and the sensory overload will be a good distraction. 

 

We are just under the half way point of our 3 week trip.  So far, after an overnight in Tokyo, we've been to Kawaguchiko (able to see Mt. Fuji on our last day), a day trip to Kamikochi, and Takayama.   We are leaving Takayama this morning to head to Nagoya. 

 

After my first time last year with the Big Four major cities, being in the country side is an eye opener!

 

I plan to spend big in Nagoya for model trains so we'll see if I'm successful. 😃  So far, every local and limited express trains that we've ridden are available as a Kato or Tomix product.  Oh dear!!!  😬🤑🤣

 

Hope to meet up with you in Tokyo!

[Tony Galiani]

@maihama eki - Thanks.  In February we got caught out by the weather when we arrived in Tokyo from Hokkaido -  way warmer than we expected it would be.  Cue frantic search for some lighter weight items.  Just finished packing and hoping that I have appropriate clothes this time.

Lots of Japanese and Chinese tourists in Hokkaido when we were there - only saw a handful of non-Japanese tourists then.  It will be interesting to see what things are like this time.

 

@Kingmeow - Thanks.  It has been a tough day - greatly looking forward to getting away and the trip distraction.

Hope your shopping expedition goes well - looking forward to your report!

 

We have an open schedule for our days in Tokyo - things we want to see/do but nothing written in stone so definitely will have time to meet.  I will text once we are settled in at Osaka.

 

Tony

[RS18U]

4 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

After my first time last year with the Big Four major cities, being in the country side is an eye opener!

It was for us too in 2018, and well worth it!  We focused on smaller towns this past March and will do so on future trips.  My wife has had enough of Tokyo, too big for us!

 

Will

[Tony Galiani]

Good Morning from Osaka!

 

Our travel was a bit tougher than expected but we made it to our hotel last night - though pretty exhausted so we just went out for a short walk and then collapsed for a good night's sleep.  We made our connections - our flights were early and the connection in SFO went smoothly as we got to the gate just as boarding started.  The flight to Osaka featured a bit of turbulence - light chop across the Pacific until we got close to Japan when we had a few hours worth of moderate turbulence - not the worst I have experience but enough to cancel the dinner service and keep us in our seats for the last three hours or so.  Then capped off but a super smooth landing - in my experience it seems as if United has some very skilled long distance pilots.

 

We are up early and I am writing this from the hotel's breakfast room which is hopping.  I came down just after it opened and it was already busy.  Lots of non-Japanese tourists and quite a few Aussies - I helped one woman figure out the hot water dispenser - I guess I am a pro after a few trips!

View from our room below.

 

BTW - our arrival through immigration went very smoothly using the QR code.  Luddite Tony was quite chuffed about this.  Easy walk to the train station where - not planned and to our surprise - we found our ride to be the Hello Kitty Haruka so cue the obligatory photo session.  And when we got to JR Osaka I even managed to find the location for the free hotel shuttle so pleased with that.

 

We are still somewhat downbeat after a rough few days at home so plan for a low key day.  Currently thinking Osaka Castle and the Sky Tower then down to walk around Dotombori.  We will see how our energy holds out.

 

Ciao,

Tony

 

[ED75-775]

Jealous!!!

 

Make sure you take the time to head to Denden Town. It's a great place to go shopping for hobby stuff. Just don't tell your wallet (or Mira...?)

 

Alastair

[Kingmeow]

Just blew $600 yesterday at Super Kids Land (SKL) Nagoya.  🤑  No where nearly as big as the one in Osaka.

 

Prices are amazing with the strong dollar and discounts with Tax Free (-10%) and credit card usage (-5%).

 

Now almost any credit will get you 5% off.  Certainly the Big 3 and not just VISA.

 

I'm going to try SKL in Kobe as there's one 700 meters from our hotel.

 

Honey, I'm going to the convenience story.  (Takes passport and disappears for an hour.  🤣)

 

Hoping to hook up with Tony in Tokyo if schedules allow.  We're almost at two weeks of our 3 week trip.  Weather is not good as we hoped like last year but it's not a disaster either.

Edited October 27 by Kingmeow

[Kingmeow]

Forgot to add picture.  This gentleman at SKL was super helpful.   Here he is testing one of the four sets I bought using the utmost of care.

 

I stood there for 30 mins while he tested everything, including forward and reverse lighting!  🤣

 

[Tony Galiani]

Planned to type this last night but was too tired so writing this at breakfast over my second (small) latte of the day.  Sunday was sort of low key with a relatively early start for breakfast then out to the Sky Tower.

 

We arrived there just as it opened so the line was short and we were soon upstairs wandering around, first on the inside viewing area then up to the outdoor rooftop level.  It was a bit hazy but we enjoyed the views and helped a couple of other couples by taking pictures.  One couple we met was from South Africa and one from Australia (with two young boys - about four or five years old).  They were from Melbourne and I commended them for their bravery in taking two boys that age on an 11 hour flight!

Then down to the gardens near the tower for a low tech change of pace.  We met a Japanese couple there walking their dog and ended up chatting with them a bit.  She had been to New York where I grew up.

 

We decided we would head down to Dotonbori and Den Den Town just to wander around with a small shopping plan that soon went awry.  But as we walked towards the station we came across some event - music and various vendor tents.  We did not opt to pay to enter but there was a cafe on the hill by the park where we sat for a bit and watched the passing crowd and listened to the music.

It was then I realized that the crowds at the Sky Tower had quite a few non-Japanese tourists, as would the crowds down in Dotonbori and Den Den Town.  But the crowd for this event was primarily Japanese and all ages at that.  One thing I really enjoy in our travels, and something I have noticed elsewhere in Greece, Germany and France most recently, is everyone out in the public space.  Really like that vibe.

 

We headed to the station and the Metro with a plan to split up in Den Den Town - Mira would go to U Arts, the cat themed art store while I would head to the bass shop.  Unfortunately, we realized we head a phone issue.  I had only 20% power while a person who shall remain nameless, first initial M, had not completed activating her sim card and had also used up our spare battery since she had forgotten to fully recharge it .....

I was not comfortable splitting up as we would not be able to communicate so I went with her to U Arts for a boring hour of watching her shop for cat themed goodies.

 

After that we headed up to Dotonbori for sensory overload and the obligatory Glico Running Man pictures.  It was craziness but sort of fun.  Tons of people and so many people there taking their pictures and emulating the running man's pose.  A nice time then back to the hotel to regroup.

 

In addition to our battery issues, the nameless one had also forgotten some of power adaptors and cords which mean that, after a brief rest, we head to the JR Osaka Station for the necessary trip to Yodobashi Camera and more sensory overload.  If one is going to forget tech supplies, Japan is the place to do it as we were sorted out pretty quickly then over to the station for a light dinner (since we had not eaten since breakfast) then back to the hotel on their shuttle.

 

One minor shopping glitch - and @Kingmeow will like this - was our Tax Free QR code.  I was quite proud of myself for having completed the process and gotten the QR code on my phone.  I tried to use it twice yesterday and each time the clerk took one look at it, shook their head and asked for a passport!  I do plan to try again later today.

 

Heading out in a bit -first to the aquarium and then, since our phones are charged and Mira's eSim activated, splitting up for shopping.  She is going to a yarn store and I am heading back to Den Den Town to check out some bass gear and trains.

 

Ciao,

Tony

 

[chadbag]

22 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Just blew $600 yesterday at Super Kids Land (SKL) Nagoya.  🤑  No where nearly as big as the one in Osaka.

amateur

 

[chadbag]

7 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

Heading out in a bit -first to the aquarium and then, since our phones are charged and Mira's eSim activated, splitting up for shopping.  She is going to a yarn store and I am heading back to Den Den Town to check out some bass gear and trains.

 

Where do you go for bass stuff in Den Den town? 

We're hoping to make our next trip at the end of May if all goes well and I'd be up to checking out bass stores.   I found a little out of the way place in Kochi and went in and talked to the guy and looked at basses.  This was like 7 years ago.

 

 

[kuro68000]

The classic low battery panic, forgot to charge everything, done that a few times... Yodobashi sometimes has charging booths you can lock your phone in, or mobile battery rental, but I've never tried it. I think I saw the battery rental at some stations too.

 

I got a little Anker 20W charger last time, but have upgraded to 30W for this trip as it was peanuts on AliExpress. It's only 35x30x30mm so very pocketable, if you remember to bring it.

[Tony Galiani]

50 minutes ago, kuro68000 said:

 It's only 35x30x30mm so very pocketable, if you remember to bring it.

 

There's always a catch .....

[Tony Galiani]

@chadbag - you want The Bass Side:  https://www.mikigakki.com/ec/cmShopTopPageD.html

 

Huge selection of basses and some interesting pedals.  Picked up a Shin's Mighty Boost which is, oddly enough, made in the USA but designed by Shinichi Suzuki, a Japanese sound engineer based in Tokyo.  I needed a clean boost that won't color my sound for some specific applications.

 

Cheers,

Tony

[maihama eki]

7 hours ago, Tony Galiani said:

@chadbag - you want The Bass Side:  https://www.mikigakki.com/ec/cmShopTopPageD.html

 

Huge selection of basses and some interesting pedals.  Picked up a Shin's Mighty Boost which is, oddly enough, made in the USA but designed by Shinichi Suzuki, a Japanese sound engineer based in Tokyo.  I needed a clean boost that won't color my sound for some specific applications.

 

Cheers,

Tony

Humorously, I first read bass as bass the fish. "I guess Tony is a bass fisherman, and Japan has special bass fishing stuff?"

[cteno4]

Actually at first glance my first thought was fish, but then remembered he is a musician and changed the mental picture to Tony loving playing a bass (fish). But this is from a very long relationship with Ray Troll tee shirts like The Empire Strikes Bass, Weapons of Bass Destruction, Bass Akwards, Blues in the Key of Sea, Flaming Basshole, Jammin Salmon, Music Is Life, Baitfull Dead, Ray Troll and the Rat Wranglers, etc. I thought he had done one on the play between bass fish and bass guitar, but does not look like it, but he has done so many. So many fish jokes to do so little time. He is in the process of retiring here so soon no new fun shirts…

 

jeff