D'oh!

I live way up in the north of Iwate prefecture (practically Hokkaido) and won't be able to make it down to catch up with you folks for the third RTK meetup... I feel so left out!

Fabrice, you're pretty much a celebrity for most people that use this site, I think, and I'd love to buy you a drink in person (seems so much more validating than paypal... *grin*). Instead, I'll try to send good karmic waves your direction (or some such nonsense).

Have fun, folks!

-ang

(ps. sorry for the mostly useless post)

I can definitely make a meetup during a weekend in April. I come from Shimane, so Osaka is preferable, but I have a lot of friends in Tokyo, so I could meet you up there too.

Fabrice is a celebrity haha. What about Heisig though? Has anyone ever met him? When I finish RTK 1 maybe by RTK Gathering #4 or 5, perhaps we can all go storm his building, carry him out of his office and get him drunk. lol

ericshun Wrote:What about Heisig though? Has anyone ever met him? When I finish RTK 1 maybe by RTK Gathering #4 or 5, perhaps we can all go storm his building, carry him out of his office and get him drunk. lol

Hilarious!

I wonder if Heisig is aware of this site. Anyone know?

For what it's worth I'm unavailable from the 22nd on. So I hope we can do something before then. I don't think I could swing a trip to kansai, but Tokyo and of course Kamakura would be great.

BTW, I do think it's funny and interesting how Heisig as attained a kind of cult hero status. I don't think I know the name of any other author of any textbook that I have ever used. And it's not just from this online community. When I first started with Heisig about 10 years ago, me and a few others spoke of him in reverent tones.

Given Fabrice's schedule, I propose we hold the Kanto meeting on Sunday, Apr. 22nd. He's going to stay over at my place during that weekend. As such he'd be going to the meeting with me and leaving with Scooter. His luggage can be stored in a station locker, or in my car if the meeting is not in Tokyo (well, if it'd be in Chiba, it could simply stay in my house, but I haven't heard anyone propose that... ah, you guys never been to Chiba, right? I mean the city, you Disney Airport traveler. Well, maybe some other time).

Fabrice, hello! I'm in Tokyo, near Ikebukuro. Could you post the dates you will tentatively be in Tokyo-area and the general area you will be in? I can offer a few nights here also- just depends on the time. Most of my sightseeing in Tokyo has been kids stuff (dinosaur bones, Thomas land, acquariums, Tokyo Tower) so I'm open to anything. I've seen Asakusa (recommended) mentioned as well as Akihabara (not as good as it used to be, not worth the visit). Someone mentioned ramen so count me in wherever that is. Ueno Koen used to be nice- haven't been in 10 years.

[ファブリス]

Hi everyone,

Here's some more details on my schedule:

April 9~20 I will be staying with a friend in Osaka.
April 21~22 I will be staying with woelpad in Chiba.
April 23~26 I will be staying with Scooter in Tokyo, Higashi Kurume.
April 27~29 I will be staying with decameron in Gifu.

So I'll cover Kansai, Kantou and then Chuubu

Those would be the best dates for me:

KANSAI

April 11, I will be on my own in Kyouto, and I was thinking of visiting Uji (宇治). Anybody up for Uji and some cha-soba ?

April 12 I will also be in Kyouto, and return to Osaka in the late afternoon, at which point I'll stay with my friend in Osaka. So I have a good half a day there from early morning.


KANTOU

April 22 As woelpad suggested, we could have a meetup Sunday 22.

April 23, 24, 25 I would love to see Kamakura but since the previous meetup was in Kamakura as well, I'll probably visit on my own.

So I propose that we have a meetup in Tokyo as brose suggested:

Quote:I would love to have a get together featuring Kaminarimon (雷門) in Asakusa and a visit to my favorite ramen shop in Akihabara. They are only 10 minutes apart by subway and are two excellent (and radically different) places to experience Japanese culture

For Wakela and synewave (not available 22nd on, and best if Saturday, respectively), we could try and arrange something Saturday 21 from afternoon and on. I will be coming from Osaka early morning, to Chiba. ... Thinking of it, I could be in Tokyo around noon. If woelpad agrees I could meet him there, we can go for the meetup, and I can return with him towards Chiba Saturday evening.

By "staying with a friend in Osaka" Fabrice means "sefure".......lol....Fabrice is a true pimp.... :-)

Akihabara is only a few minutes by train from Tokyo station, so meeting at Akihabara around noon on the 21st would seem to work. You could leave your luggage in a coin locker at Tokyo station and pick it up on your way to Chiba. We could do Akihabara (lunch)-->Asakusa(sightseeing)-->Ueno(drinking/eating)

[ファブリス]

If we go for the 21st I would say around 1pm to be safe, in case I don't get the 8h30 train in Osaka.

I'm between Tokyo and Nagoya so can make it to a meet up either end on the 21st or 28th. Is decamer0n 司会 for a Chubu do?

ファブリス Wrote:If we go for the 21st I would say around 1pm to be safe, in case I don't get the 8h30 train in Osaka.

I'm close to 三島新幹線 station so if we do something on the 21st, it would be good to know what train you were on then I (and possibly Christoph) could jump on.

Depending on the luggage situation we could do something in Atami; Yokohama; Kamakura; Tokyo; or even out towards woelpad's. If we do something in Tokyo, I'd really like to visit the Ghibli Museum.

If you haven't got a 大仏 in your travel plans, stopping off in Kamakura wouldn't be a bad idea.

FYI If we decided to go to the Studio Ghibli Museum, the sooner we decided, the better. Entrance is by advance purchase ticket.

Any takers?

synewave Wrote:Any takers?

Looks interesting. This is the first I've heard of it. Count me in if the collective decides to go. So: Lunch, Akihabara, Studio Ghibli Museum--sounds like a fun day. I promise to watch where I step.

Depending on where you will be staying in Gifu, I recommend you check out 馬籠(Magome) and 妻籠(Tsumago) They are on the old "中山道(Nakasendo)". I just checked them out last weekend. We hiked along the Nakasendo from Magome to Tsumago. It was about 7.7KM and included nice views of both nature and some very traditional Japanese homes. (Think of this hike as the exact opposite of Tokyo) Magome was quite touristy but Tsumago was not as bad. It is the road between that is what makes it a worthwhile trip. We stayed at a nice Minshuku in Tsumago that I can recommend to you if you are interested. It included two large traditional home cooked Japanese meals and friendly conversation with the owner's wife, all for 10000 Yen. In any case, enjoy your time in Japan.

yo synewave, this homie dont know on/kun readings! so im not really sure where you are.

there is surprisingly a lot to see in chubu, but its all spread out by hours of travel distance. so, im keeping a few possible itineraries in mind that fabrice can piece together after he arrives here. i was thinking we could have a little chubu gathering in gifu city, which is pretty accessible from both east and west. but it all depends on what parts of this huge inaka-ville we target.

also, fabrice arrives here on the start of golden week, so roads, trains, and common tourist spots will get pretty congested.

-D-

[ファブリス]

synewave Wrote:I'm between Tokyo and Nagoya so can make it to a meet up either end on the 21st or 28th. Is decamer0n 司会 for a Chubu do?

If we do something in Chubu, I could join on the 27th and possibly 26th evening, because the 28th I hope to go and see Takayama.

dilandau23 Thank you so much, that Magome ~ Tsumago walking trail sounds great! Looks like I could get from Gifu to Nagiso in about 75 minutes. Do you think the 3h walk trail will be very crowded on the first day of the Golden Week?

[ファブリス]

Mind if someone wants to join me on the Magome ~ Tsumago trail, April 28th you're more than welcome! But I was thinking for a meetup in Chubu it will be easier on the 27th.

synewave Wrote:If you haven't got a 大仏 in your travel plans, stopping off in Kamakura wouldn't be a bad idea.

I will see the one in Nara, but Kamakura sounds great and I am planning to visit while I'll stay with Scooter, so 23, 24 or 25 April.

Magome will be pretty crowded for golden week. its a very popular spot for japanese tourists to visit. but really, every major sight in japan is going to be crowded for golden week, so dont let that put you off in choosing one place over another.

the Magome area is really beautiful (especially during the fall season) and if i had to choose between walking the old Nakasendo trail and seeing Takayama, it would be a hard choice. Takayama is dubbed "little kyoto" because a lot of the architecture was done by the same designers who built a lot of kyoto. so if you are seeing a lot of kyoto, Takyama might feel a little redundant. on the other hand, it is also considered the jewel in the japanese mountains, and walking the streets of its old town surrounded by the mountains is truly lovely. also, Takayama has a lot of cherry blossoms, and they will probably still be at the end of bloom, carpeting the streets with pink. Magome is pretty touristy, but very cute. i havent walked the Nakasendo yet, but its definitely on my list of things to do next autumn. i have read that that Tsumago (at the other end) is so preserved that there are no visible signs of modern technology (well, except for the cellphone in everyones hand...).

Fabrice, have you considered doing Takayama (or Magome) on the 27th (friday), and doing more localized chubu stuff and maybe a gathering in Gifu on the 28th (saturday)? you might have less crowds in Takayama on a friday than a saturday.

and always keep this in mind. most temples, museums, and other attractions close their doors between 4-5pm. so always plan that kind of stuff early. as a non-morning-type person, this always screws me up when im sightseeing...

-D-

[ファブリス]

decameron Wrote:Fabrice, have you considered doing Takayama (or Magome) on the 27th (friday), and doing more localized chubu stuff and maybe a gathering in Gifu on the 28th (saturday)? you might have less crowds in Takayama on a friday than a saturday.

Hya decameron, as I let you know by email, I thought it would be more handy for you to do the Gifu gathering on the 27th, but either way is fine. If it gets really more crowded on Saturday then yes, I'd probably go to Takayama or Makasendo on friday.

Me and my mate went to Takayama when we were here for the World Cup. My mate had very little interest in Japan (he was just here for the football). But in Takayama he did learn one Japanese word.

At the ryokan we stayed at an ancient obaasan kept returning to our room to deliver various things for us to eat. Initially she would chat away to us but after she realised that we didn't know what she was talking about, she would knock, enter, "douzo" then leave.

I loved Takayama but one thing I noticed was that by 8pm (possibly earlier), everywhere was closed.

Looks like I'm up for the 21st event. Is brose taking us to a maid cafe in Akihabara?

Well I know nothing about Takayama other than what is in the Lonely Planet and is on Wikipedia. Seems to be a very interesting place though. And yes Fabrice I think Magome, and everywhere else in Japan, for that matter, will be busy. There is just no way to escape crowds during Golden Week. As for being touristy, Magome is yes. But the point is not to see Magome in my opinion. The walk is the point; it is not touristy at all. Tsumago is far less touristy than Magome but even there, there are lots of shops selling lots of stuff no one in their right mind would want to buy. (What does someone not in the fishing industry even do with a wicker eel carrying basket?) The few small villages between Magome and Tsumago are about as real as you can get. We saw women that looked to be somewhere around 1000 years old working their small fields. It was a perfect place for us, peaceful, simple, and natural. That being said, I think it is better to follow the advice of someone who lives in the prefecture over me as to what to see. I just thought I would throw it out their since I had done it so recently.

[ファブリス]

dilandau23 Wrote:The walk is the point; it is not touristy at all.

Good! It's the walk I really want to do.

brose Wrote:Akihabara is only a few minutes by train from Tokyo station, so meeting at Akihabara around noon on the 21st would seem to work. You could leave your luggage in a coin locker at Tokyo station and pick it up on your way to Chiba. We could do Akihabara (lunch)-->Asakusa(sightseeing)-->Ueno(drinking/eating)

brose - does it matter how many of us turn up as far as fitting into your favourite ramen shop is concerned?

It is a tiny shop with about 25 seats crammed in, and at lunchtime on a weekend we will wait on line at least 15 minutes to get in. Generally speaking they ask groups to split up into 2's, so it really doesn't matter how many of us there are. The turnover is usually fast-- they take your order while you wait on line and once you sit down they put the soup in front of you within 60 seconds. It isn't the kind of place where you linger over a meal.

I've never actually been in a maid cafe-- I don't even want to guess how much they will charge for a cup of coffee, and most of the maids aren't that cute. Still if people want to go, there is one right across the street from the ramen shop.

for the "good" maid cafes there can be long, long waits...it's an interesting experience to say the least