travel thread

[slobber]

@michigancat Sotto Mare is too long of a wait. Where else close by? Help!


Gonna win 'em all!

Is Sodini's good?


Gonna win 'em all!

[Boom Roasted]

Help me not hate Phoenix with your recommendations of where to booze and eat.

Where are you on PHX? Is a pretty huge spread out city. Agreed that mill in tempe is nice. Old town does have some good food and drink spots. Of you're trying to spend a boatload of cash Mastros is as good as it gets. A few around town. If out near surprise I can ask my folks for spots since they winter there. When we visit we literally stick to the golf courses except phx open.

[michigancat]

@michigancat Sotto Mare is too long of a wait. Where else close by? Help!


Gonna win 'em all!

Is Sodini's good?


Gonna win 'em all!

Oh crap! Maybe stinking rose?

[michigancat]

I really like Tony's pizza and Giardano brothers but they're probably not what you're looking for. I don't really like most Italian places so I don't know many sit down restaurants around there.

[Phil Titola]

Help me not hate Phoenix with your recommendations of where to booze and eat.

Where are you on PHX? Is a pretty huge spread out city. Agreed that mill in tempe is nice. Old town does have some good food and drink spots. Of you're trying to spend a boatload of cash Mastros is as good as it gets. A few around town. If out near surprise I can ask my folks for spots since they winter there. When we visit we literally stick to the golf courses except phx open.

thanks...at the Ritz between downtown and Scottsdale it appears.

[puniraptor]

I ate stinking rose 6 hours before getting on the plane. All apologies to my fellow humans.

[slobber]

Sodini's was good. We then went full on hipster at Rick House:



Gonna win 'em all!

[slobber]

I wanted to get a good picture of one of the bartenders, but he didn't like pictures or using your phone light to light up the bourbon choices on the wall. He was about 40 and was a very serious bartender who watches Cocktail twice a week.


Gonna win 'em all!

[wetwillie]

Did you see any poop logs on the sidewalk/street?

[slobber]

Did you see any poop logs on the sidewalk/street?
[/
I was looking for one!


Gonna win 'em all!

[Ghost of Stan Parrish]

Anyone have a little input on the most cost efficient rail in Tokyo?  I'm flying into Narita and staying in Shibuya.  Will probably spend limited time in the hotel and do as much possible in the city.  I'm just trying to decide what pass to purchase, one that hopefully includes a ride back to the airport.

Are you staying in Tokyo the whole trip? I bought a Japan Rail (JR) Pass before I went because I was going to other cities, and it included my train between Narita and Tokyo (N'EX train). The pass also includes the JR line within Tokyo, but it's probably not worth buying for you -- price-wise -- if you're staying in Tokyo the entire trip.

When returning to Narita, I actually took the bus (Airport Limousine) from my hotel (Shinjuku Hilton) directly back to Narita because my JR Pass had expired by then. The bus made sense for me price-wise and travel-wise since I would've had to first trek my way over to the Tokyo Central train station just to get on the train to Narita. You'll have the same issue in Shibuya. I'd check out the bus options for your hotel:
https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus_services/narita/index

I'm sure you've seen this, but there are discounted ways to buy subway tickets, which I didn't look into personally:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/index.html

The subway seemed confusing to me before I went because there are 3 different lines in Tokyo, if you count the JR train. But they're all relatively easy to figure out and you'll just use whichever is most convenient to your location. When you get in the station, you look at the map to see what the cost is from your station to the next (160 yen or whatever) and put that amount in the machine to get your ticket. Cash only.

I'm jealous of your trip. Hope you have a great time.

P.S. If you do karaoke while you're there, it makes sense to buy a membership. I now carry a membership card for Karaoke Kan in Shinjuku.

[michigancat]

I'd really like to spend time in Tokyo. I think I'd rather go there before Europe.

[Ghost of Stan Parrish]

It's so much more foreign than Europe. I often marvelled while there at how humanity has come up with such different ways to operate their societies. There are obvious little things like nobody there eats or drinks while they walk around -- Starbucks serves your coffee is a ceramic cup to stay, unless you specifically ask for it to go. But the underlying mindset that leads to such an orderly society is what's really interesting. For example, when ISIS killed 2 Japanese men, the response wasn't sympathy, instead their families were shamed for producing troublemakers who would get themselves into that situation.

And then there's the more basic foreigness of operating where many people don't even read our alphabet, let alone speak our language. (Wiley, you should print out the name of your hotel in Japanese characters before you go, to show to a cab driver if needed.)

[Spracne]

Welp... best way to kill 4 hours at DEN?

[michigancat]

Welp... best way to kill 4 hours at DEN?

Illuminati scavenger hunt, obviously.

[michigancat]

Welp... best way to kill 4 hours at DEN?

Illuminati scavenger hunt, obviously.

http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/the_denver_international_airport_conspiracy

[Spracne]

Are all of the clues located within a single drinking establishment?

[wiley]

Anyone have a little input on the most cost efficient rail in Tokyo?  I'm flying into Narita and staying in Shibuya.  Will probably spend limited time in the hotel and do as much possible in the city.  I'm just trying to decide what pass to purchase, one that hopefully includes a ride back to the airport.

Are you staying in Tokyo the whole trip? I bought a Japan Rail (JR) Pass before I went because I was going to other cities, and it included my train between Narita and Tokyo (N'EX train). The pass also includes the JR line within Tokyo, but it's probably not worth buying for you -- price-wise -- if you're staying in Tokyo the entire trip.

When returning to Narita, I actually took the bus (Airport Limousine) from my hotel (Shinjuku Hilton) directly back to Narita because my JR Pass had expired by then. The bus made sense for me price-wise and travel-wise since I would've had to first trek my way over to the Tokyo Central train station just to get on the train to Narita. You'll have the same issue in Shibuya. I'd check out the bus options for your hotel:
https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus_services/narita/index

I'm sure you've seen this, but there are discounted ways to buy subway tickets, which I didn't look into personally:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/index.html

The subway seemed confusing to me before I went because there are 3 different lines in Tokyo, if you count the JR train. But they're all relatively easy to figure out and you'll just use whichever is most convenient to your location. When you get in the station, you look at the map to see what the cost is from your station to the next (160 yen or whatever) and put that amount in the machine to get your ticket. Cash only.

I'm jealous of your trip. Hope you have a great time.

P.S. If you do karaoke while you're there, it makes sense to buy a membership. I now carry a membership card for Karaoke Kan in Shinjuku.

Huge thanks for that write up.  Basically what is going on is im traveling around the south pacific for 2 weeks on a dive trip.  On my way back i had an 8 hour layover at narita.  Reading a little about tokyo and hearing from a friend that visited a few times, i decided to push back my flight so i can go to tokyo and take in as much as possible in about a 26 hour window.  The hotel is the granbell in shibuya, i plan on hitting the fish market, the tokyo tree tower and probably some club at night (i don't plan on much if any sleep).  Ive been told to attempt to go see a sumo match.  If you have any suggestions by all means please let me know.  I do plan on spending the entire time in tokyo, so possibly so narita express roundtrip ticket plus the tokyo metro li e 24 hour or 2 day pass.

Thanks again

[michigancat]

Are all of the clues located within a single drinking establishment?

If you need to drink then drink at a bar, dumbass

[Spracne]

Are all of the clues located within a single drinking establishment?

If you need to drink then drink at a bar, dumbass

Do you feel better about yourself, now?

I'm not looking for just any bar, im looking for the finest establishment DEN has to offer.  I've never had to kill time here.

[Spracne]

What's up with the hostility around here these days?

[michigancat]

Are all of the clues located within a single drinking establishment?

If you need to drink then drink at a bar, dumbass

Do you feel better about yourself, now?

I'm not looking for just any bar, im looking for the finest establishment DEN has to offer.  I've never had to kill time here.

All airport bars are the same

[Spracne]

That's not true.  Elways looked dark and inviting.

[Mrs. Gooch]

Anyone have a little input on the most cost efficient rail in Tokyo?  I'm flying into Narita and staying in Shibuya.  Will probably spend limited time in the hotel and do as much possible in the city.  I'm just trying to decide what pass to purchase, one that hopefully includes a ride back to the airport.

Are you staying in Tokyo the whole trip? I bought a Japan Rail (JR) Pass before I went because I was going to other cities, and it included my train between Narita and Tokyo (N'EX train). The pass also includes the JR line within Tokyo, but it's probably not worth buying for you -- price-wise -- if you're staying in Tokyo the entire trip.

When returning to Narita, I actually took the bus (Airport Limousine) from my hotel (Shinjuku Hilton) directly back to Narita because my JR Pass had expired by then. The bus made sense for me price-wise and travel-wise since I would've had to first trek my way over to the Tokyo Central train station just to get on the train to Narita. You'll have the same issue in Shibuya. I'd check out the bus options for your hotel:
https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/bus_services/narita/index

I'm sure you've seen this, but there are discounted ways to buy subway tickets, which I didn't look into personally:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/index.html

The subway seemed confusing to me before I went because there are 3 different lines in Tokyo, if you count the JR train. But they're all relatively easy to figure out and you'll just use whichever is most convenient to your location. When you get in the station, you look at the map to see what the cost is from your station to the next (160 yen or whatever) and put that amount in the machine to get your ticket. Cash only.

I'm jealous of your trip. Hope you have a great time.

P.S. If you do karaoke while you're there, it makes sense to buy a membership. I now carry a membership card for Karaoke Kan in Shinjuku.

Huge thanks for that write up.  Basically what is going on is im traveling around the south pacific for 2 weeks on a dive trip.  On my way back i had an 8 hour layover at narita.  Reading a little about tokyo and hearing from a friend that visited a few times, i decided to push back my flight so i can go to tokyo and take in as much as possible in about a 26 hour window.  The hotel is the granbell in shibuya, i plan on hitting the fish market, the tokyo tree tower and probably some club at night (i don't plan on much if any sleep).  Ive been told to attempt to go see a sumo match.  If you have any suggestions by all means please let me know.  I do plan on spending the entire time in tokyo, so possibly so narita express roundtrip ticket plus the tokyo metro li e 24 hour or 2 day pass.

Thanks again

Your whole trip sounds awesome.

This thread is really making me need to plan a vacation.

[steve dave]

Are all of the clues located within a single drinking establishment?

If you need to drink then drink at a bar, dumbass

Do you feel better about yourself, now?

I'm not looking for just any bar, im looking for the finest establishment DEN has to offer.  I've never had to kill time here.

All airport bars are the same

lol