Now is a great time to visit Japan. Around February or March, you can see very beautiful cherry blossoms.

The tourism boom is mainly because the Japanese yen is cheap. Everything feels much cheaper than normal, sometimes close to half price. You will probably not see this kind of situation again for the next 50 or 60 years. There are fewer loud obnoxious Beijing tour groups right now due to poor relations, so overtourism is less of an issue.

Japan is very safe overall, with police boxes on almost every corner. Expensive brands and luxury items sold here are genuine. English is fine in big cities like Tokyo, and if you need help, police officers, train staff, or even random people will usually help you without hesitation. People are generally very kind here.

There are virtually no thieves or robbers, but you should still use common sense when traveling, such as not putting your wallet or important items in unsecured pockets.

If you tell me your hobbies or what you would like to see in Japan, I can suggest places from a local perspective.

I actually met an Australian guy from a car forum a few years ago during summer. Luckily I was in Tokyo at the time for business and so was him, and we met for a quick lunch.

Great stuff, thank you for the detailed reply. I hadn't considered the state of the local currency, but that makes total sense. I've always been a fan of JDM cars, are there any good automotive museums or larger car gatherings/shows to take in? And from what people tell me, just experiencing some of the technology that's commonplace over there (even in the vending machines). I keep hearing about these frozen Coke slushy vending machines, a minor detail but still small things like this are what I would want to check out. And even robotics/tech stores, to see some of the stuff you never see in North America. And after seeing all the car model collections on this forum, I bet there's some great model car stores over there.

I like nice scenery, so apparently cherry blossom season is a great time. What surprised me was the heat/humidity people who went there during summer told me about, so I would probably avoid that time. I know there's some famous forests that offer good hikes, so I'd want something active like that. I'm pretty open in terms of activities/suggestions beyond experiencing the food/cars/technology/hikes. Are there any factory tours from large auto or tech manufacturers or anything like that?

For cherry blossoms, Ueno Park in Tokyo is a great spot with beautiful scenery. Areas around Mt. Fuji are also very popular.



I also recommend going to Kyoto to experience a more traditional Japanese atmosphere. If you want to splurge, you can even reserve a geisha to perform music and dance during dinner.

For automotive events, the Tokyo automobile show usually takes place around November. There are not many car shows during cherry blossom season since people prefer to get drunk under the sakura trees. One event near Odaiba is Odaiba Itasha Heaven, where cars are decorated.


Model cars:

And robotics/tech:

Robotic tech museum

Kawasaki Robo

There are so many fun places to go around, so wear very comfortable shoes These areas have been designed for tourists, so you would have zero problem going around.

If you want to experience the "real" Japanese countryside while hiking with some occasional discomfort (like people talking strange Japanese with strong dialects, absolutely zero English, and people wearing peasant style clothing like in the movies), I recommend the Tokaido route. This historic road connected major cities in the 1700s, and some sections still have traditional stone paving. My property is right next to this route, on a mouintain, with a stone paved path that goes downhill to the train station. It is a beautiful hike, and there are also cafes and places like the Tea Museum along the way. This Tokaido route goes from Tokyo to Kyoto with beautiful areas in Shimada city and Kakegawa city in Shizuoka prefecture, or Ishibejuku and Tsuchiyama in Shiga prefecture.

Fantastic suggestions, really appreciate it! All these places look great. Welp, I guess I'm going to Japan

There's a spot where Effspot likes to go to see a bunch of bedazzled Lambos and other car. I don't know the name though.

@6102Perf Speaking of models if you are looking for some and RCs let me know I have too many and want to reduce the collection.

Luzifer said:

There's a spot where Effspot likes to go to see a bunch of bedazzled Lambos and other car. I don't know the name though.

@6102Perf Speaking of models if you are looking for some and RCs let me know I have too many and want to reduce the collection.

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How many do you have? I'm not a big collector of car models or anything, I just like having diecast models of the vehicles I own. I'm really mostly interested in finding a black Perf model, not sure you happen to have that? I previously had a black LP610-4 so I do have the Autoart 1:12 model in black which is quite nice. But Autoart doesn't sell a black Perf model. Here's the 610-4 for reference that I have displayed in my man cave:

Luzifer said:

There's a spot where Effspot likes to go to see a bunch of bedazzled Lambos and other car. I don't know the name though.

@6102Perf Speaking of models if you are looking for some and RCs let me know I have too many and want to reduce the collection.

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In Tokyo? Probably in Aoyama (near Lambo dealerships) and Roppongi Hills or Midtown. Plenty of Lambos there darting around at night.

6102Perf said:

How many do you have? I'm not a big collector of car models or anything, I just like having diecast models of the vehicles I own. I'm really mostly interested in finding a black Perf model, not sure you happen to have that? I previously had a black LP610-4 so I do have the Autoart 1:12 model in black which is quite nice. But Autoart doesn't sell a black Perf model. Here's the 610-4 for reference that I have displayed in my man cave:

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I replied to you in the diecast thread.

Sakura said:

In Tokyo? Probably in Aoyama (near Lambo dealerships) and Roppongi Hills or Midtown. Plenty of Lambos there darting around at night.

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He says the place the in first few seconds of the video but I have no idea where that is. It's a hotspot he visits once in a while.

I think that is Tatsumi parking area on shuto expressway. It's like a rest spot on highway. He waited there during holidays.

Sakura said:

I think that is Tatsumi parking area on shuto expressway. It's like a rest spot on highway. He waited there during holidays.

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Not sure if it's the same place but the one you describe I've seen him film there too.

I went to Tokyo yesterday for some fresh air and a bit of shopping.

There is a cafe around Marunouchi (Tokyo station) that serves some of the best Japanese food, desserts, and matcha. I went on Wednesday and it was not crowded at all. With fewer Beijing tourists these days, trips to Tokyo feel much more pleasant.

@6102Perf you should try this place.









G

Looks pretty awesome. I'm a big matcha fan. Are those cubes of jelly very sweet like traditional jello? I will keep this in mind. My good friend is heading to Japan in early March so I passed along some of your recommendations. I'll be able to get some insight from his journey and will be sure to share some pics in here.

6102Perf said:

Looks pretty awesome. I'm a big matcha fan. Are those cubes of jelly very sweet like traditional jello? I will keep this in mind. My good friend is heading to Japan in early March so I passed along some of your recommendations. I'll be able to get some insight from his journey and will be sure to share some pics in here.

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Since you like matcha, you should visit a tea ceremony place in Kyoto where a cute maiko prepares matcha and serves it in front of you.

The jelly looking cubes are made from seaweed agar. They are not sweet on their own, but they are almost always paired with anko (sweet azuki red bean paste) and drizzled with kuromitsu (black sugar syrup). The overall dessert is quite sweet.

I too was one of the many people traveling to Japan recently. I flew to Tokyo for Thanksgiving and I learned what I actually suspected a little - it's so cold then! I still managed to put 25k steps every day I was there, venturing from Ginza to Shibuya, to the big tower and back to Shibuya few times. Same thing with Osaka, which, has sooooo many people by that running man sign by that water channel.

I would like to come back when it's a bit warmer.

Also it was annoying how there are no trash cans anywhere. My pockets were always full of trash and I always found myself walking around with an empty bottle of hot tea.

Sakura said:

I think that is Tatsumi parking area on shuto expressway. It's like a rest spot on highway. He waited there during holidays.

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Ah found it in another video Daikoku parking area.

Raf said:

I too was one of the many people traveling to Japan recently. I flew to Tokyo for Thanksgiving and I learned what I actually suspected a little - it's so cold then! I still managed to put 25k steps every day I was there, venturing from Ginza to Shibuya, to the big tower and back to Shibuya few times. Same thing with Osaka, which, has sooooo many people by that running man sign by that water channel.

I would like to come back when it's a bit warmer.

Also it was annoying how there are no trash cans anywhere. My pockets were always full of trash and I always found myself walking around with an empty bottle of hot tea.

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25k steps is a lot! At that point, it feels like you could run a marathon if you wanted to

Yes, the running man sign by the water canal in the Dotonbori area is the famous spot. Nearby, there is also a well-known crab restaurant with a giant red crab sign whose legs and claws actually move.

Trash cans are usually only found in front of convenience stores, called konbini here. There are no public trash cans, and people are expected to take their trash home for recycling. That is one of the inconveniences of living here. We need to be always busy sorting trash, or we might spend our time starting another WW2 just kidding

March to April is usually the best time to visit Japan. Autumn is also great, especially around November when the leaves start changing colors.

@Luzifer have you been to Japan? I'm sure Sakura would give you a grand tour. @Sakura how common are Lambos/Ferraris and other exotics in Japan? I'd imagine there's lots in Tokyo, but in general how often do you see them outside major cities?

Raf said:

I too was one of the many people traveling to Japan recently. I flew to Tokyo for Thanksgiving and I learned what I actually suspected a little - it's so cold then! I still managed to put 25k steps every day I was there, venturing from Ginza to Shibuya, to the big tower and back to Shibuya few times. Same thing with Osaka, which, has sooooo many people by that running man sign by that water channel.

I would like to come back when it's a bit warmer.

Also it was annoying how there are no trash cans anywhere. My pockets were always full of trash and I always found myself walking around with an empty bottle of hot tea.

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One of my colleagues was there in July and mentioned the intense heat and humidity! He said they had to make frequent pitstops to enter convenience stores just to cool off in the AC. Maybe you need to try another trip during summer haha.