Hi all, Got some killer deals on return flights to Tokyo next Feb (£336 return!!) So I will be visiting Tokyo / Japan for the first time, and was just wondering if some fellow geeks could point out the good attractions....?? (Was thinking Joypolis?) I will be staying in Akihabara (and perhaps even in a capsule hotel for 1 or 2 nights!) Are there any restrictions on brining technology home, as I want to try and get my hands on a 64DD as well as some more Dreamcast stuff while im out there? Cheers, Paul
336 quid? Are you flying Aeroflot by any chance? God help you if you are. No restrictions, although depending on who you fly with, how busy the plane is will depend on what weight limit they will enforce. Remember you have between 20 and 23KG for a suitcase and between 8 to 15kg for hand luggage (as well as size limits), last thing you want to do is to is pay the high excess baggage charges or have to dump stuff. I would recommend a coat with lots of deep pockets as you can store quite a few handheld consoles and games in it and it does not add to the weight limit
Yeh its Aeroflot.....:gravedigging:....eek!! I like the coat with big pockets idea! What shops would you reccomend find the less common and more obscure gaming / electronic stuff in?
Aeroflot still generally have low ratings in most customer reports, if things go wrong they will go very wrong. He is likely to spend a good couple of hours hanging around Moscow airport which can be mind numbing at best and the flight is likely to be light on refreshments and good meals. Some of the ultracheap ones may mean you will have to stay overnight in Moscow, so have fun with that. As for places to go, I would really recommend asking the question again in Decemeber or Janurary as Tokyo does change and 6 months is a long time.
I've timed it well, so on the way out the stop over in Moscow is 1 Hour and on the way home it is only 2 hours :dance:
There's more than a few threads here. The only thread that's mysteriously missing is a Fuzoku thread.
I flew with Aeroflot once from the UK to Japan and had to stay in Moscow airport. Man, what a mind numbing experience that was. Not olny was it fucking dark! but had nothing at all to do. This was 12 years ago mind you. One other crazy thing I remember was that the toilets had the toilet paper on the outside of the door!!! WTF was that all about? You had to rip off what you thought you'd need then take it in with you. As for the plane, well. I had tape holding the compartment above me down. The seat tray was broken and they had tape all over one of the exit door handles. Never again will I be using them. The best flight I ever has was on Singapore Air. Man, that was only standard class but felt like first. Unbelievable service, free drinks throughout the flight, the worlds first instant access movie and game system, loads of leg room and best of all fantastic food. I wanted to use them again this August when I fly back to the UK but ended up with British Airways. Hmm, they SHOULD be good. Yakumo
Last time I was on a BA flight it had free drinks, but I didn't clock this until the return journey. By the time we got back to Britain I was nicely tanked. BA have had a rough time over the last few years though so I imagine things might well have changed.
Singapore's main airport was F*ng massive and very well stocked with things to entertain. In Moscow they had no arcades, only one shop, no restaurants, no bars, no net, no TV, no decent waiting area. In fact it had nothing at all. Bloody awful shit hole that I was stuck in for 7 hours and it was cold. Like I said, it may be different now though. Oh,and no signs in English. Only Russian. Like the bloody French airports! Airports are international areas. they should all have English since it's the most widely spoken language in the world by different nations.
The only problem with aeroflot and air china for that matter is they are rubbish at keeping schedules, i've had friends use them with a 2 hr connections only to spend a day stuck in the airport - but at that price it's worth a punt. As for restrictions baggage weight is obvious, and your legally only allowed £300 worth of goods before paying tax on them, in reality tho if you have only one suitcase customs wont stop you - coming out of moscow they are only looking for cigarette smugglers and they are identified by baggage scanners. tbh tho unless the pound picks up it's value you probably wont buy too much anyway.
Let's dial this back a bit though, how have you got flights that cheap from Aeroflot? I just looked and they are £560 ish. What dates, criteria, site have you been using? thanks,
RE: the original post Joypolis is in Odaiba and is pretty cool. It has a set of fun street racing sims, house of the dead, a strange competitive halfpipe ride, and of course, tons of crane games. There are also some rides which have their own rooms, if I recall correctly. While you're in Odaiba, stick around for the sunset; you'll be treated to some incredible views of Tokyo Bay, the Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower, and the Tokyo skyline. Akihabara itself is loaded with things to do. There is no shortage of shops and arcades. There's also Super Potato Akihabara, located one street west of Chuo Dori, near Akihabara station (map). They have tons of vintage video games, systems, guides, and soundtracks. They are a bit overpriced, but worth checking out for sure. Be sure to explore the area; there are so many strange little shops full of cool things in the alleys off of the main streets. If you're a Nintendo fan, you may want to make a pilgrimage to some of their various offices and take a few photos. Their Tokyo office is located near Akihabara, maybe 20 minutes walk from Akihabara station. It's at the corner of Kuramae-hashi Dori and Kiyosu-bashi Dori (map). If you happen to visit Kyoto, you can visit their main headquarters, their pre-2000 headquarters, and their "ancient" headquarters. I also recommend checking out Shibuya crossing, then heading northwest a bit to Harajuku. There are lots of fun shops and interesting people all around.
Nomihordai. if you like drinking until 4am in a small club and paying 2000Y and waiting in a queue for the privilege, do it. If you're a smoker, try the bubblegum cigarettes and the strong red marlboro they got. Also. asakusa is awesome.
