Traveling on a Long Weekend in Japan

We were lucky (unlucky?) enough to be traveling on a long weekend in Japan.  Here are some tips that you should take into consideration... Or another way to put it... Learn from our mistakes!   lol.  Let's just say not having a reservation ended up allowing us to see the Osaka Station and Shimbashi area... with our 40-50 pound backpacks on our back!

Make a Hotel Reservation

If you're staying at a major destination with lots of hotels you wouldn't think that finding a hotel will be difficult.  However, let me warn you...... it is.

So be sure to make a reservation.  Yes, the prices may seem slightly higher then you're willing to pay. However, the other option is

• Wandering the streets looking for a place with an open room
• Paying more anyway because you need a place to stay!

Make a Train Reservation

Trains are the other thing that gets ridiculously busy during the long weekends.  Although, you'll be making a train reservation regardless traveling on the Shinkasen's (bullet trains) you'll want to make the reservation early.  One of the reasons is that there are more Nozomi trains that travel between this area which are not included in the JR Pass. So you could pay for this but simply making a reservation early will save you some money!

We made a reservation from Osaka to Tokyo two days ahead of time and the only time we could get was early in the morning. This doesn't seem that bad but considering the number of trains that travel between Osaka and Tokyo this is quite crazy! It worked out but it could have been a lot worse, trying to cram in a non-reserved section or sitting for three hours in a smoking section. 

Tourist Sights

If you'd like to visit an area (temple, garden, etc...) with less people then don't plan to travel during a long weekend.  The Japanese are great appreciators of their own heritage, culture and sights.  This means that there are lots of tourists at most places during a long weekend.  Try to make your plans work around to not include these sights until after the long weekend!

The other option is to visit a tourist sight that IS busy and that you'd like to see busy, like Shibuya.  Shibuya has the distinction of the busiest intersection on the planet. We went here on the Monday of the long weekend and it did not disappoint!  Check out the number of people in the picture below... crazyness!

Hopefully these tips help you to enjoy your long weekend in Japan.  Don't let the business stop you in fact you should try to enjoy it because that's a more Japanese experience!

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Where to Buy English Manga in Tokyo, Japan

While I was in Japan one of my goals was to find some Manga or Anime. Obviously, I never had a problem finding any Manga or Anime as the great action comics are basically available almost anywhere. However, the one problem we did have was finding some English Manga. I thought for some reason that it would be readily available, albeit in small quantities. Unfortunately you have these massive Manga stores with zero English Manga. Anyway, I finally found two ok sources of Manga that I thought I'd share.

Manga Museum

If you're really into manga you can visit the first ever Manga Museum in Kyoto which we did one afternoon. It's a neat little place with a TON of manga that you can sit and read if you like with an English section. There's also a neat area upstairs which gives the background of how Manga came into exsitance and it's current state. It includes a ton of Manga from different years. Definitely the highlight of the museum for us!

However, you can't actually buy any English Manga from the Kyoto Manga Museum!

Akihabara

Akihabara is the Manga and Anime capital of Japan. You can find TONS and TONS of different Manga and Anime stores everywhere. The Comicatron (I think that's what it's called) store is actually 5 floors of Manga. Literally walls upon walls of Manga packed into the store, yet no English Managa.

For English Manga in Akihabara you can go to Yodobashi Akiba across the train station from Electric Town. On the 7th floor you'll find a large bookstore. At the back left end of the bookstore you'll find three book cases of english books. Here you should be able to find a small selection of Manga.

Shinjuku

The other place we found English Manga was in Shinjuku. When exiting the station look for the Takashimaya (Times Square) or the Tokyu Hands Deparment store (they're basically connected). Go to the 5th floor of Tokyu hands. You'll come to a gateway between a book store and it'll actually be floor 6 of the bookstore. This is the foreign languages section of the bookstore. Here you'll find a rather large (read: approximately 100 books) or English Manga.

Anyway, hopefully this helps someone find some English Manga while in Japan. Manga is such a great art and story that I'm glad I was able to find and buy some Manga (that I can understand) in Japan.

Of course if you're back in North America (or elsewhere) you can always find some Manga on Ebay! Good old ebay!

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Akihabara Electric Town? I call it Crazy Town!

The day before we left Tsukuba, I headed to Akihabara in Tokyo also named Electric Town. Let me tell you that I'd rather rename it Crazy Town.... Or even possibly China Town (of Japan).

Lindsay didn't come with me so the best way I could describe Akihabara to her was this. Picture something electronic, anything electronic (Ipods, TV's, Air Conditioners, cables, video games). Now picture something anime and/or manga (Manga being the comic book rather then the action film). Now picture Chinatown. Now remove all the trinkets and crap from Chinatown and put in electronics, anime and manga in it's place. That's Akihabara or Electric Town!

It's seriously a crazy neat place. You can walk down one street and see a Comodore 64 and the next shop over can have Manga Porn. Seriously.  Check out the pictures below they were right beside each other...

Anyway, I spent the day wandering around in amazement at the sights and sounds.  Not only should you visit Electric Town (or street) which is on the Eastern Side of the JR Train Station.  Here you'll see all kinds of arcades, manga shops, electronic stores, more arcades and more manga.

The other side of the tracks you should definitely visit the YodoBashi Akiba buildling.  It's basically a gigantic Best Buy (for us North American folk).  This accounts to seven, yes 7, floors of electronics.  Instead of having a TV area it's a whole floor, another one for cameras, phones, computer parts, mp3 players, video games and toys.

If you're in Tokyo you must make a stop at Akihabara as it's truly a sight to be seen.

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