Aaron & Kevin on Traveling to Japan
May 28th, 2009
In this episode, we’ve taken a suggestion from one of our viewers (Ari) and will talk about traveling to Japan. There’s no way we could discuss everything we want to cover on this topic in a single episode, so think of this as part 1 of an ongoing series!
This time we’ll focus on onsen (Japanese hot springs), trains, and a tip on saving money on hotels. Enjoy!
Great Vid! I can’t wait for part 2 ^_^
and just want to say thank you Aaron & Kevin for Happy Hour!
Kanpai
Kanpai Lea! Glad you liked it and thank you for watching
AMZING SHOW…I LOVED THIS EPISODE……
@Omaraty
Thanks for the comment! Glad you liked it
I’ve quickly become a huge fan of Happy Hour Japanese. The videos are entertaining and insightful; but what I enjoy most is the enthusiasm. It’s infectious! I’m re-inspired to study Japanese and to visit Japan thanks to you guys. Keep up the awesome work!
Kanpai!
Woops accidentally submitted my comment earlier than i wanted. Hehe anyway, thanks again for a great episode. Maybe next time you can cover the different festivals that are fun to go to in Japan. Looking forward to your next episodes.
i can’t wait for the next episodes! I didn’t know that tatoos were that big of a taboo. I mean, I know that it represents yakuza, but still.. I guess I can’t take my brother to the onsen.
maybe you can also feature the different fun festivals that Japan holds
I live in Japan, and I loved this clip! Why don’t you mention something about capsule hotels? I stayed in one a few times. They’re still quite popular in downtown Tokyo where things are crazy expensive. Another interesting topic might be driving in Japan. There are lots of good to know driving etiquette guidelines that apply in Japan.
Hi
we have a very similar travel card here in London but with Japanese one I was very impressed that you can get drinks and snacks at stations as well. Very good idea!
By the way, my husband (Englishman) had his first Onsen experience in Niseko (Hokkaido) this year. Luckily for him, there were instructions and etiquette written in English there to avoid embarrassment…and he enjoyed the experience too (I think)
@Wayne
Thanks for the compliments Wayne! Keeping up with a new language can be tough, but it’s definitely worth it. Good luck with your Japanese studies!
@Aileen
That’s a great suggestion, Aileen. We’ll include some festival information in our next travel episode!
@Ken
I’ll be sure to mention these again in our upcoming travel episodes! Thanks for the input, Ken!
Believe it or not, we actually talked about capsule hotels and driving in Japan when we filmed the episode, but ended up having to cut it out because our video got a little too long! I’m glad to hear we’re on the same wavelength
@mariko
That’s a great point, Mariko! I completely forgot to mention that you can buy stuff with the train cards! A lot of kiosks, drug stores, and konbini in the stations also accept train cards for payment which is really nice too.
Thanks for sharing the story about your husband. I’m impressed that the onsen you went to had English instructions and tips on etiquette! That’s awesome.
yehs more yehs more!
nice vidio!!! but have a question - if im totally new to Japan but desire to go there though i dont know the language - so is it better to hire the so called guide or is it better to learn some information about country/city by myslef and dont spend extra money?
@kuroshirohaiiro
more’s on the way!
@scloca
This is a tough question since it really depends on your personality. But if you don’t mind a little bit of adventure and excitement, I wouldn’t recommend getting a guide.
If you stay in the big cities, you’ll have no problem getting around since a lot of the signs are in English. And almost everyone I know who has traveled to Japan feel that the Japanese are very nice and helpful. (But don’t expect people over there will be able to speak to you in English–as a fact, most won’t.)
With that said, I worked with a girl from South Africa who didn’t know any Japanese (or much about the culture) and she got around just fine, stayed for 2 years, and had a great time.
Whether you decided to hire a guide or not, I would recommend learning a little bit about the culture and some sightseeing spots that you want to check out. There is so much to see over there that it’ll definitely be worth the time investment so that you can get the most out of your trip!
Hope this helps!
Great episode ! Onsen look great place to visit.
I was wondering if you had any suggestions on websites that can provide cheap plane tickets to travelers with restrained budget. I’d love to go to japan and backpack my way around but just getting there so far seems really expensive so i was wondering if there was a way to fly cheaper.
I’m looking forward for next episode!
@jeeps
Thanks for the comment, jeeps. From my experience,I’ve found that a good time to look for deals on airfare is about 3 months before you plan to travel–this is usually when airlines release their discounted fares.
Actually, right now is a great time to travel to Japan because of the current economic situation. I recently did a search for summer airfare from Seattle and found tickets in the $600 range. I haven’t seen fares this low since I was in high school!
I would try a variety of resources–both online and offline. Try to see if there’s a major Japanese travel agency in your area (JTB, IACE, Sankei, etc…). Those are good places to start since they specialize in the Japan market. Plus, if you have a couple of them in close proximity to each other, you can often get them in a bidding war to get a lower price (I’ve done it before and it works!!). When I look for airfare online I usually use kayak.com since they do a really good job of searching the net for the best deals.
Hope this helps!
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Just found the podcasts on iTunes, and love ‘em. I am seriously thinking about finally making to Nihon early next year. Hoping it will be the first of many trips as there is a lot I would like to see. Keep making the podcasts. I am really looking forward to podcasts with video on some of your visits.
Domo Arigato Gozaimasu!
@DJ
In the meantime, I hope you continue to enjoy our videos and stay tuned for more!
Thanks for visiting our blog! Aaron and I have actually been talking about how we’d like to film some Happy Hour Japan episodes on location in Japan…of course we’ll have to go back over there first
You guys are awesome! =)