Photo Trip Report: Japan in a Van

[Dannie Boy]

A British Pub serving Fish and Chips!!

Did you try any Wagyu beef or was it too expensive?


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[STEVE G]

I'm impressed now I've seen Godzilla in one of your pictures.

[buksida]

Did you try any Wagyu beef or was it too expensive?

We did, it tastes out of the world, and yes, its expensive!

[migrant]

Did you try any Wagyu beef or was it too expensive?

We did, it tastes out of the world, and yes, its expensive!

How were food prices in general?

[buksida]

How were food prices in general?

On a par with Thailand, slightly cheaper in some cases (Family Marts, Lawsons, etc) for what you get, and much more variety in the supermarkets. The restaurants were more expensive, but the servings were twice the size so again, very similar.

[pharvey]

Cracking photo's and reports as usual buks - certainly a few changes since I was there last, but this just brings back so many memories. Ikea not being one of them though!!

The odd photo may get you locked up if you took it in the UK me thinks - she's certainly "showing some thigh"!!

Ah, the food! Never got to try the Wagyu Beef though - just remember looking at a restaurant menu (through the window) and thinking Christ, a week's salary for a steak!! It was an expensive area and a while ago though.

Most of the jobsites I ever worked on, you were lucky to getting anything other than sh*te through a vending machine. In Japan, we were given "Box Meals" which were absolutely superb. Their vending machines were also a tad different!!

Got to sort out another visit there.....

[buksida]

Ah, the food! Never got to try the Wagyu Beef though - just remember looking at a restaurant menu (through the window) and thinking Christ, a week's salary for a steak!! It was an expensive area and a while ago though.

Most of the jobsites I ever worked on, you were lucky to getting anything other than sh*te through a vending machine. In Japan, we were given "Box Meals" which were absolutely superb. Their vending machines were also a tad different!!

The food was fantastic, being in the van we lived out of 7-Elevens and Family Marts a lot and they are way better than Thailand's "sugar expresses". You could get these box meals which are substantial for 400-500 yen (about 100-120 baht) and the sushi was even cheaper. I guess you can pick up a bland pad krapao meal in a 7-11 here (or from a takeout vendor where it is 90% rice) for less but there's no comparison.

The vending machines were great, hot and cold tea and coffee wherever you go 24/7 and some even had beer. Can't ever imagine the draconian alcohol laws being relaxed here, in Japan it is all freely available, very easy and civilized, and they don't have the social problems that Thailand does.

The exotic stuff such as Wagyu or King Crab was very expensive, but we had to try it! A strong baht/weak yen combination helped tip prices in Japan's favour over Thailand for food and bev, Thailand is no longer a 'cheap country' for eating and drinking if you want a bit of variety.

[buksida]

Hotel check-out times are early in Japan so we were on the road to Tamachi station by 10am to grab a train into Tokyo Central for our Shinkansen connection.

Being a public holiday meant more people and this sprawling transport hub was absolutely rammed. It was busier than the busiest airport I have ever been through (worse than Swampy immigration queues), and about three times the size.

Our sleek pearl white Shinkansen, Nozomi 355, slid out of Tokyo at 12.09 on the dot, bound for Osaka via Nagoya and Kyoto – it too was full so we were glad we pre-booked the tickets and reserved the seats.

We had regular seats but there was still twice as much room as you get on a plane and the journey was very quick and very comfortable, you had no idea the train was moving at 290 kph.

Osaka station was another massive complex and we had to get another train to Osaka’s other main station where our hotel for the night was.
The rail system in Japan is second to none, but navigating the stations with their multiple levels and exits was a challenge. If you come out of the wrong exit, it can be a long walk to where you want to be.

By the time we reached our hotel, another very expensive box room, it was 4.30 pm and about to get dark so we decided to stay in for the night and live out of the 7-Eleven since we were in the business district with few restaurants.

The 7-Elevens in Japan are streets ahead of Thailand’s in terms of food variety, service, and prices. Eating and drinking from these places is also much cheaper than in Thailand and there are no ridiculous restrictions. Two full meals, a bottle of Chilean wine, and some chocolates for afters cost just 2,400 yen (less than 600 baht). And people say Japan is expensive … you couldn’t even get the wine for that in Thailand!

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To follow: Osaka

[Big Boy]

Is that last photo a sleeper cabin on the train or your very expensive box room?

[buksida]

Its our very expensive box room which was about the same size as a sleeper cabin on a train!

That was the only real sting in the country, accommodation.

[Big Boy]

Wow, that must be the smallest hotel room I've ever seen. If I was alone, I'd have most likely coped, but I'd have become quite angry if I had to share.

[buksida]

Most "budget" rooms in Japan are that size, we also had to squeeze two pretty large cases into that box ... which was smaller than the van!

[Big Boy]

Was it en-suite?

[buksida]

Yes, there was even a tub. The bathrooms and toilets in Japan were very impressive with all the high-tech functions.

We paid well over the odds for that room because it was a public holiday and everywhere was full.

[Dannie Boy]

Those trains look mightily impressive - Thailand should think about buying something similar rather than submarines!!


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