Author Topic: Japan Master Thread  (Read 127698 times)

Offline Moishebatchy

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #640 on: July 10, 2018, 02:05:14 PM »
.
Otherwise get a simple rail pass like the JR Tokyo Wide Pass (https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/tokyowidepass/) and day trip Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

I would recommend Kamakura on Tuesday because it's the closest and you will have a delayed start after getting the pass.

Wednesday and Thursday decide between Nikko, Hakone, and Kobuchizawa. The last one is home to the Suntory Hakushu distillery and is popular than the Yamazaki one near Kyoto. Personally, I think Hakushu is better whisky.

Friday you could hit Tsukiji, Ueno and Asakusa. Shibuya Crossing Motzei Shabbat. Sunday would be Yoyogi Park/Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and the Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. Monday you fly back.

I keep looking over your proposed itinerary... problem is, 3 days worth of day trips is probably pipe dreaming on my part, considering my kid. In fact, we’ll be lucky if we can make even ONE day trip with him. 🙈

So... if I’m gonna stay mostly in Tokyo proper, should I skip the JR pass, or is it worth it for local trips within Tokyo? (Is it even valid for that?)

Could you perhaps propose a similar itinerary format, except more focused on “local” stuff? E.g. Kitchen Town (or whatever it’s called), robot cafe, owl cafe, etc. Then, if I’m fortunate enough to sneak in a full-day-trip to somewhere an hour (or more) away from Tokyo on top of all that... I’ll consider myself extremely lucky. :D

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #641 on: July 10, 2018, 03:08:33 PM »
I keep looking over your proposed itinerary... problem is, 3 days worth of day trips is probably pipe dreaming on my part, considering my kid. In fact, we’ll be lucky if we can make even ONE day trip with him. 🙈

So... if I’m gonna stay mostly in Tokyo proper, should I skip the JR pass, or is it worth it for local trips within Tokyo? (Is it even valid for that?)

Could you perhaps propose a similar itinerary format, except more focused on “local” stuff? E.g. Kitchen Town (or whatever it’s called), robot cafe, owl cafe, etc. Then, if I’m fortunate enough to sneak in a full-day-trip to somewhere an hour (or more) away from Tokyo on top of all that... I’ll consider myself extremely lucky. :D
If you're talking about the robot restaurant then please don't go! Horrible tourist trap. Do you like museums? I really liked the Edo-Tokyo museum. You can pick up English speaking guides at the entrance (earlier is better). My guide asked how long we want to stay. We said an hour and a half so he gave us a full free private tour that was exactly an hour and a half.
As an aside, we started to get used to these free English guided private tours and began to expect them at some places. One museum in Kyoto didn't have English speaking guides (it was late in the day) so the woman at the entrance gave us an origami throwing start as an apology gift.

Offline moish

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #642 on: July 10, 2018, 04:57:33 PM »
If I were you, based on your posts, I would skip Japan this time around

Offline PieRSquare

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #643 on: July 10, 2018, 05:30:49 PM »
I keep looking over your proposed itinerary... problem is, 3 days worth of day trips is probably pipe dreaming on my part, considering my kid. In fact, we’ll be lucky if we can make even ONE day trip with him.

So... if I’m gonna stay mostly in Tokyo proper, should I skip the JR pass, or is it worth it for local trips within Tokyo? (Is it even valid for that?)

Could you perhaps propose a similar itinerary format, except more focused on “local” stuff? E.g. Kitchen Town (or whatever it’s called), robot cafe, owl cafe, etc. Then, if I’m fortunate enough to sneak in a full-day-trip to somewhere an hour (or more) away from Tokyo on top of all that... I’ll consider myself extremely lucky. :D
One day could be Ueno park, Asakusa and Kitchen Town (Kappabashi). A second day is Shibuya, Yoyogi, Harajuku, and Meji Shrine.

You can go to Ebisu and Naka-meguro as another day trip.

There are free (English) tours that start at the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in the tourist information center and go around different places in Tokyo

Offline bendor

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #644 on: July 10, 2018, 08:41:24 PM »
..
There are free (English) tours that start at the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in the tourist information center and go around different places in Tokyo
They also have free English tours *of* the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, which also include admission to the observation deck on the top.
We really enjoyed it  :)

Offline shwarmabob

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #645 on: July 11, 2018, 04:36:33 PM »
I keep looking over your proposed itinerary... problem is, 3 days worth of day trips is probably pipe dreaming on my part, considering my kid. In fact, we’ll be lucky if we can make even ONE day trip with him. 🙈

So... if I’m gonna stay mostly in Tokyo proper, should I skip the JR pass, or is it worth it for local trips within Tokyo? (Is it even valid for that?)

Could you perhaps propose a similar itinerary format, except more focused on “local” stuff? E.g. Kitchen Town (or whatever it’s called), robot cafe, owl cafe, etc. Then, if I’m fortunate enough to sneak in a full-day-trip to somewhere an hour (or more) away from Tokyo on top of all that... I’ll consider myself extremely lucky. :D
If you have a short time, I would rather base myself in Osaka or Kyoto and go on day trips from there to Nara, Himeji, etc. Are you going during the summer?
You can use avios to fly cheap within Japan, it may cost less than the wide JR Pass, and get a regional JR Pass instead.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2018, 04:39:58 PM by shwarmabob »

Offline G11600

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Kosher food delivery
« Reply #646 on: July 28, 2018, 07:26:50 AM »
I wanted to recommend the kosher food delivery service from R Mendi/Channa's Place. Website and order form is here.

https://www.chanasplace.com/onli

You need to order and pay online.

Note that they will deliver same day anywhere in the country for a fixed charge of 3000 Yen, approx US$27. I had business meetings in Takayama, which is around 6 hours drive/train from Tokyo - food was shipped same day via refrigerated delivery service, and arrived by 5pm at my hotel (where they were more than happy to microwave it for me).
I have now had 2 deliveries, and have tasted many of the menu items - all are good, especially schnitzel, turkey skewers, chicken sandwiches. They come very well sealed and packaged. I think costs are reasonable, given that Japan is not cheap anyway and it's very hard to get hold of kosher meat. Ran around 2000 Yen/US$18 for meat meal, around 1000 Yen/$9 for a meat sandwich - bit less for tuna/egg. He also does shabbat packages with wine/challot etc etc
I would recommend without hesitation - it makes travelling all over Japan much more fun without needing to worry about food.
Let me know if any questions.

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Kosher food delivery
« Reply #647 on: July 29, 2018, 09:48:22 PM »
I wanted to recommend the kosher food delivery service from R Mendi/Channa's Place. Website and order form is here.

https://www.chanasplace.com/onli

You need to order and pay online.

Note that they will deliver same day anywhere in the country for a fixed charge of 3000 Yen, approx US$27. I had business meetings in Takayama, which is around 6 hours drive/train from Tokyo - food was shipped same day via refrigerated delivery service, and arrived by 5pm at my hotel (where they were more than happy to microwave it for me).
I have now had 2 deliveries, and have tasted many of the menu items - all are good, especially schnitzel, turkey skewers, chicken sandwiches. They come very well sealed and packaged. I think costs are reasonable, given that Japan is not cheap anyway and it's very hard to get hold of kosher meat. Ran around 2000 Yen/US$18 for meat meal, around 1000 Yen/$9 for a meat sandwich - bit less for tuna/egg. He also does shabbat packages with wine/challot etc etc
I would recommend without hesitation - it makes travelling all over Japan much more fun without needing to worry about food.
Let me know if any questions.
Very cool but surprised that the local Chabads don't try to offer some simple local dishes like Ramen and yakitori. It would be a nice touch. I remember being surprised that the Chabad in Thailand only offered me schnitzel and other Kosher/Israeli dishes.

Offline shmebeble

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Re: Kosher food delivery
« Reply #648 on: July 29, 2018, 10:05:24 PM »
Very cool but surprised that the local Chabads don't try to offer some simple local dishes like Ramen and yakitori. It would be a nice touch. I remember being surprised that the Chabad in Thailand only offered me schnitzel and other Kosher/Israeli dishes.
they have awesome pad thai. I had it for breakfast every day
And Japan offers sushi- but expensive at $20 a roll

Offline G11600

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Re: Kosher food delivery
« Reply #649 on: July 30, 2018, 01:40:58 AM »
they have awesome pad thai. I had it for breakfast every day
And Japan offers sushi- but expensive at $20 a roll
I was a bit disappointed no japanese food either. But what you can you do. At least it's hot and it's kosher - and not instant noodles..
All three chabad's will arrange meals (Kobe + 2 x Tokyo). Mendi doesn't do sushi AFAIK, maybe the other chabad does...

Offline shmebeble

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Re: Kosher food delivery
« Reply #650 on: July 30, 2018, 08:53:10 AM »
I was a bit disappointed no japanese food either. But what you can you do. At least it's hot and it's kosher - and not instant noodles..
All three chabad's will arrange meals (Kobe + 2 x Tokyo). Mendi doesn't do sushi AFAIK, maybe the other chabad does...
Mendi does do sushi- at least last summer he did. you just need to give at least a day of notice to the chef.

Offline PieRSquare

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #651 on: July 30, 2018, 08:53:56 PM »
Very cool but surprised that the local Chabads don't try to offer some simple local dishes like Ramen and yakitori. It would be a nice touch. I remember being surprised that the Chabad in Thailand only offered me schnitzel and other Kosher/Israeli dishes.
Hands down, Thailand has a great system with good, local food options. However, there are some really important factors for why it works.

1) High turnover in the restaurants with lots of visitors
2) Inexpensive local labor
3) Relatively shelf stable and inexpensive ingredients

Unfortunately Japan and Japanese food don't lend themselves well to this model.
When done right, sushi is a time intensive product that isn't very shelf stable. You need a high turnover and fresh fish.

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #652 on: July 30, 2018, 09:32:54 PM »
Hands down, Thailand has a great system with good, local food options. However, there are some really important factors for why it works.

1) High turnover in the restaurants with lots of visitors
2) Inexpensive local labor
3) Relatively shelf stable and inexpensive ingredients

Unfortunately Japan and Japanese food don't lend themselves well to this model.
When done right, sushi is a time intensive product that isn't very shelf stable. You need a high turnover and fresh fish.
Right, that's why I didn't mention Sushi. Japan has so many other good dishes though. Just would be a nice touch if at all possible.

Offline PieRSquare

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #653 on: July 30, 2018, 09:45:45 PM »
Right, that's why I didn't mention Sushi. Japan has so many other good dishes though. Just would be a nice touch if at all possible.
It totally does and I'm happy to help menu plan for anyone looking to start a kosher Japanese restaurant!

Another challenge for a small community, like Tokyo, is that if a someone is trying to take a client to dinner, then Israeli or Ashkenazi food (with Israeli wine) is more impressive to a local than kosher Japanese food.

The irony is you can get kosher ramen on the upper west side, but not in Japan.

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #654 on: July 30, 2018, 09:51:39 PM »
Another challenge for a small community, like Tokyo, is that if a someone is trying to take a client to dinner, then Israeli or Ashkenazi food (with Israeli wine) is more impressive to a local than kosher Japanese food.

The irony is you can get kosher ramen on the upper west side, but not in Japan.
lol never thought of it that way, interesting point.

Offline iamhappyz

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #655 on: August 16, 2018, 08:55:04 AM »
Planning on going to Japan early March. Getting in Wednesday afternoon and leaving next Thursday afternoon.  I have a few questions if anyone can please help with.
1.  We are not doing melacha on Sunday, where would be better to stay for shabbos? Prefer beauty and nature to city but is kobe like that or just another city? Which place would have things to see on our Sunday shabbos

2. Happens to be the Westin in Kyoto is right near chabad did anyone stay there for shabbos?
3.  I think it was mentioned the Sheraton in Tokyo was near chabad but looks like an hour walk to me. Which Sheraton and how far of a walk?
4.  If I did stay in kobe looks like Sheraton is 2 hour walk. Any suggestions to hotels both with points and not where to stay?
5.  We are a couple going don't mind running around to see as much as possible but not crazy like seeing the world in 10 days.  We like nature, would like to get feel of Tokyo but don't need days there not going into any temples, any suggestions for an itenerary? We are flying in and out of nrt should we take plane or trains to other places?
6. Anyone stay in ritz Tokyo is it nice?
Thanks

Offline moish

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #656 on: August 16, 2018, 09:33:30 AM »
2. Happens to be the Westin in Kyoto is right near chabad did anyone stay there for shabbos?

Yes

Offline iamhappyz

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #657 on: August 16, 2018, 10:55:34 AM »
So how was? Was there a minyan? Does chabad offer shabbos meals? Do they sell food for or have any kind of restaurant? Is there stuff to do if keeping 2 day shabbos (nice parks, free gardens, nice areas to walk around)? Would you recommend staying in Kyoto for shabbos or better kobe or Tokyo?
Trying to figure this out today so can book any hotels before merger, specifically hotels that are needing more points. Thanks.

Offline moish

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #658 on: August 19, 2018, 08:14:29 AM »
So how was? Was there a minyan? Does chabad offer shabbos meals? Do they sell food for or have any kind of restaurant? Is there stuff to do if keeping 2 day shabbos (nice parks, free gardens, nice areas to walk around)? Would you recommend staying in Kyoto for shabbos or better kobe or Tokyo?
Trying to figure this out today so can book any hotels before merger, specifically hotels that are needing more points. Thanks.
Hmm.. I dont recall there being a Chabad there in 2015.

A quick Google search found this https://chabadkyoto.com/kosher-food/

Offline iamhappyz

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Re: Japan Master Thread
« Reply #659 on: August 20, 2018, 11:07:00 PM »
Were you there for Shabbos?  How many days were you in Kyoto total? and is there what to do there if we are keeping 2 days shabbos? Nice areas to walk around without having to pay to get into anything?  Also, reading the reviews of the westin seems as though a little dated and not kept up, what was your impression though if from 2015 I would have to keep that in mind? Thanks for responding and any future tips would be greatly appreciated.