My trip to Japan and Taiwan

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Just thought I’d share a bunch photos from my trip to Japan. I went back to Taiwan to visit family, and took a short trip to Japan to do some sightseeing and see some friends. 6 days is really short if you’re trying to do four major cities. I went to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Uji, and Nagoya. Absolutely loved the trip, even though it was hectic. Definitely one of those vacation trips where you’re constantly on the go, it isn’t really one where you go to relax (at least to my family and friends).

[vash]

eric. i'm going next spring.

same trip. hitting Taipei to meet the in-laws. then off to Tokyo. been to tokyo, but felt like i just dipped my toe in the pool. my mind is still blown. and we spent most of our time in Shinjuku.

i'm hoping my wife can pull of a month off at work..i hope to shoe-horn Seoul in. get me some Soon Du Bo Jigea from some street hawker.

glad you had a blast..i know what you mean by whirlwind trip. Tokyo exhausted me. That Tonkatsu looks fantastic!! i found a shack (while trying to find the burial site for Hatori Hanso ) and it was my best meal of the trip.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I’m super jealous. Did a long overnight in Tokyo and was absolutely captivated by the place. I would LOVE to go back as a tourist.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Hey Vash, most my family moved back to Taiwan, so it was great to be back. Mainly stayed in Taipei, but Kaohsiung and Pingtung too. I went back to Daan Park and visited the exact spot where our house was until the government turned it into that massive park... and tons of other stuff. I'll probably post it here later as well.


My first trip two years ago to Tokyo was 8 days- that wasn't enough at all! I spent a lot of time in Ginza, Akihabara, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Odaiba. Probably needed another 5 days to complete most of what I wanted to see.

If there's anything you're looking to do in Tokyo or Japan in general, let me know. I showed my friend my plans, and she told me if I rushed it, it would take me three months to go everywhere I wanted.

This Tonkatsu restaurant was in Nagoya and extremely hard to find- it took me 20 minutes and I was circling around it until I looked closely. It's definitely one of the best meals I had there!

Seoul is on my list to go to as well! Haven't looked into it yet, but I should start planning too!

[KFC911]

That's very cool Eric...thanks for sharing!

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Part two of photos! The resizer isn’t letting me upload some photos, so I’ll get to those later.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Eric at Pelican Parts

Part two of photos! The resizer isn’t letting me upload some photos, so I’ll get to those later.
]

Awesome....now change the 5mb upload limit on pics (still resize them down) to at least 7-8-10 ....,puleeze .

But take yer time and post more pics first !

Thanks!

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

[vash]

Originally Posted by Eric at Pelican Parts

Hey Vash, most my family moved back to Taiwan, so it was great to be back. Mainly stayed in Taipei, but Kaohsiung and Pingtung too. I went back to Daan Park and visited the exact spot where our house was until the government turned it into that massive park... and tons of other stuff. I'll probably post it here later as well.


My first trip two years ago to Tokyo was 8 days- that wasn't enough at all! I spent a lot of time in Ginza, Akihabara, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Odaiba. Probably needed another 5 days to complete most of what I wanted to see.

If there's anything you're looking to do in Tokyo or Japan in general, let me know. I showed my friend my plans, and she told me if I rushed it, it would take me three months to go everywhere I wanted.

This Tonkatsu restaurant was in Nagoya and extremely hard to find- it took me 20 minutes and I was circling around it until I looked closely. It's definitely one of the best meals I had there!

Seoul is on my list to go to as well! Haven't looked into it yet, but I should start planning too!

we should time a trip together!!

tell me you peeked into the Robot restaurant thing!

[masraum]

I haven't been in Japan or Tokyo since 1984, but I'd love to go back some day.

All of these trips to Tokyo and none of you have hit Harajuku? You've got to go on the weekends when the crazy kids are out doing their thing.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

And now for Taiwan:

[berettafan]

thanks for sharing. how English friendly is Japan for those of us with zero experience with the culture?

[vash]

Originally Posted by berettafan

thanks for sharing. how English friendly is Japan for those of us with zero experience with the culture?

haha..in my experience. i had to point at things. a lot.

my tonkatsu meal, i pointed at the table next to me at what they were eating. all part of the awesomeness.

[Baz]

Beautiful photos, Eric....thanks so much for sharing!

The food looks amazing!

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I’m super jealous. Did a long overnight in Tokyo and was absolutely captivated by the place. I would LOVE to go back as a tourist.

You should definitely do it. I love going back. Transportation is easy once you get the hang of it, extremely safe, clean, and very polite people.

Originally Posted by KC911

Awesome....now change the 5mb upload limit on pics (still resize them down) to at least 7-8-10 ....,puleeze .

But take yer time and post more pics first !

Thanks!

Haha yea, some of those panoramas I have are 15mb. Definitely not going to work here haha! I will see if I can get the gears to turn!

Originally Posted by vash

we should time a trip together!!

tell me you peeked into the Robot restaurant thing!

Just let me know when!

I saw a bit of the robot show the previous trip, as well as the Godzilla hotel. I'll see if I can dig up some photos from the restaurant!

Originally Posted by masraum

I haven't been in Japan or Tokyo since 1984, but I'd love to go back some day.

All of these trips to Tokyo and none of you have hit Harajuku? You've got to go on the weekends when the crazy kids are out doing their thing.

I mainly to go to points of interest and car things.. street drifting, wangan, etc. Haven't really had time to experience the craziness except for going to a few locals only bars with some friends and Mitsu. It's always a hoot though! I just hate taking that last train ride of the night. Sometimes I prefer to walk instead of being crammed like a sardine.

Originally Posted by berettafan

thanks for sharing. how English friendly is Japan for those of us with zero experience with the culture?

I guess it depends on what and where you go. Hotel checkin, they'll always have staff that speaks some English. Most chain restaurants and shops have some English menus, but most smaller restaurants don't.

Most Japanese people do know some English, but my Japanese friend he told me they don't like speaking it unless they're proficient. They feel it's better not to speak at all than to speak and give wrong directions or say something wrong.

Google translate can only get you so far. Converting English to Japanese gave me horrible results, I found typing Mandarin and converting it to Japanese to be much better (most likely because the languages are somewhat similar).

Just pointing at things does work quite well. Some restaurants will also make an X with their hands letting you know not to come in- it's not because they're racist, but they don't speak English at all, and they don't want to deal with the communication barrier.

I'm not a pro or anything, but if you have any specifics you want answered, I'll do my best to answer them for you!

Originally Posted by vash

haha..in my experience. i had to point at things. a lot.

my tonkatsu meal, i pointed at the table next to me at what they were eating. all part of the awesomeness.

My first trip to Japan I actually tested myself- I wanted to see how many days I could go without saying a word.... that lasted 3 days (I'm sure I seemed like an ********* though).

Originally Posted by Baz

Beautiful photos, Eric....thanks so much for sharing!

The food looks amazing!

Thanks Baz, the food seems healthier to me. Portions are smaller but food is fresh, and walking a bunch probably helps. More photos incoming!

[Eric at Pelican Parts]