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)

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?

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).

Last edited by woelpad (2007 March 24, 6:58 am)

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:

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.

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)

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.

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.

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-

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.

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.

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.

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?

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