Japan is a country I have dreamed of seeing since I was a child. I am incredibly fascinated by the culture. I love the culture, the architecture, the art, all of it. I'm in the planning stages of planning a trip there. I am doing research into the types of restaurants to be found there, where I can stay, what kind of experiences I can sign up for and more
It's so much fun doing the research. Apparently, what I discovered during my research, is that if you visit the Visit Japan website, you can do all of your pre-registration or immigrations forms there. And have them ready for the officials at the airport, meaning you can start enjoying your trip faster! Oooooo. I am fine with that, especially if the makes the jobs easier for the customs officials at the airports
I'm also in the process of learning Japanese. I wish I had more time each night than 20-30 minutes to work on my lessons. I have to work with the little time I have each night after work. But, I've been doing research and compiling information about the types of experiences one can sign up for through authorized travel sites. There is one in Akihabara where you can customize your own Game Boy or Game Boy Advance. How cool is this? It's a bit pricy, at around $347, but it's definitely worth it. I'll definitely do that. And you can also visit Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea or Universal Studios Japan by going through this Asia-based travel site called Klook. They help you get tickets for places like that at reasonable rates. There are even experiences where you can don the kimono and armor of samurai and learn more about these ancient, but noble warriors. You can even buy tickets for events and attractions at convenience stores, or konbini, as they are called in Japan. Places like FamilyMart, Lawson or 7-Eleven!
I did keep seeing the same concept-buy tickets ahead of time or well in advance because of their popularity. What I didn't even realize is that, in addition to Japanese restaurants there, there are other ethnic restaurants in Japan. There are pizza parlors!! Can you believe that? Pizza parlors!! I've read that many of them have won awards for best pizza. One in particular, called PST Pizza in Tokyo, had won numerous awards for World's Best Pizza. I will definitely have to try that. There are even other ethnic restaurants in Japan, such as Chinese, Thai, American, Tex-Mex and more. It sounds strange to hear these ethnic restaurants in Japan, but it's been said that Japan prides itself on meticulous attention to detail. This must explain why the food often ends up being incredible! I cannot wait to try for myself. There are even pancake places there!! Ooooooooo. One notable restaurant is called Flippers Pancakes. I believe I will definitely try this place. A lot of these restaurants don't start opening until 9am or later; which is fine with me. I'm usually not awake until then anyway. And besides, even if I were to get up earlier, I can explore while the shops are up and running. One site that keeps getting mentioned in Tabelog; it's a Japanese restaurant review site that can be used to find restaurants. I will definitely use this site
I also found plenty of sites providing information on entering / exiting the country legally. Filling out the customs forms. What you can and cannot bring in and what you can and cannot take out. About tax free shopping. The policy on tattoos and more. Despite Japan becoming more relaxed in their strict no-tattoo policy, there are some who are not comfortable seeing tattoos, because of the stigma they carry. For those who are unaware, there is a form of organized crime in Japan called the Yakuza, or Japanese Mafia. They are known for heavy body tattooing. These articles I've read about whether tattoos are safe in Japan state that, while the attitudes towards tattoos are changing, it's still better safe than sorry to cover them up. Just to avoid the risk of offending / upsetting someone. It's always better to cover them up to respect someone's wishes
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