Holidays Advice: Page 6 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Holidays Advice

Clrnc

KingslandBarge Just did a 3 weeks in Japan last year and here are my recs.

Osaka - Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Castle, the theme parks and then mostly others are food. Visit Kuromon Ichiba and feast there one afternoon. Ajinoya Okonomiyaki, Oretachi No Curry Ya and Kushikatsu Daruma are must tries. Also try mario kart if you have time, it's cheaper here than Tokyo.

Kyoto - Rent a kimono and walk around Gion if you wish, otherwise Yakasha Shrine, Kiyomitsu-Dera, Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine (just cut across and go to the middle for a nice photo spot), Arashiyama (go early if you want to skip the crowd) are must visit. Pick a restaurant to eat at the famous Pontocho street. If you have patience to queue, you can try the world renowned Kichi Kichi Omurice. Also consider a day trip to Nara.

Tokyo have too many things to do, I will reccomend a few things that you must-try. Red Rock Steak, Suzukien (7 levels of Matcha ice cream), Ichiran Ramen, Torikatsu Chicken, Gyukatsu Motomura (prepared to q) and Tonkatu Marushichi (giant tonkatsu). Also, not many people knows this but since you are visiting during Sakura season, you can go to Chidorigafuchi to rent a boat and moat around the river full of Sakura in the evening its amazing.

Would also highly reccomend you to take a day trip to Fuji, one of my favorite places in Japan. Try fuji-q if you dare.

KingslandBarge

Clrnc Really appreciate it C. I've saved those places on the map, especially the dining spots you shared for Tokyo. They all seem delicious whilst accessible/not extortionate. The Chidorigafuchi tip off is much much appreciated.
Re Kyoto we're going for a very early guided bike ride in Arashiyama and a lot of the rest we'll look to check out in evenings, mornings or happenstance. I hope thats not undercutting it.
Re Osaka we're thinking we can't go wrong on food really. Wasn't aware of Kuromon Ichiba so will definitely pin that too. We remain on the look out for fine dining kobe beef spot but I think someone is else in charge of that.

MistaT

KingslandBarge — not to diminish Clrncs’s food recs, but I would urge caution in traveling out of your way to spots. In my experiences there I’ve realized you can waste a lot of time on the subway or taxi heading between neighborhoods. All while there is likely somewhere excellent near your original location.

The truth is - food quality standards in Japan are amazing. In addition to other pursuits, I would also highly recommend finding a solid yakitori shop, and also swing through a gyoza specific restaurant for a snack, meal, or late night necessities.

Burnwinter

Any random ramen bar in Shinjuku will be fine … probably the less touristic the better. The ones where they've got a gigantic flagon of pickled ginger sliding round the bench, and a gaggle of tired and scrappy sararīmen chowing down and having a sake at the end of the day are good fun.

HomeSteak

I'm going to Bali in a month. Anything I should know? Some people told me that it can be pretty dangerous

Big Willie

HomeSteak I'm going to Bali in a month. Anything I should know? Some people told that it can be pretty dangerous

My knowldge is pretty thin as I was only there for 5 days back in 2017. But I felt pretty safe, you're more likely to get scammed or pickpocketed than attacked so just keep valuable items and money away from being on display to be on the safe side.

Burnwinter

HomeSteak I'd say it's not dangerous at all compared to, say, your average western European capital.

Avoid getting drunk and accepting an unnegotiated taxi or moto ride as you may get scammed. Be very cautious about drug use as the law can be very harsh even for seemingly minor offences.

Last year the prevalence of dickhead tourists reached previously unseen levels and the government issued guidelines concerning appropriate conduct. Look those up and adhere to them so you don't join the ranks of the dickheads.

I'd suggest you don't fail to haggle over negotiable prices, but also avoid haggling excessively or with emotion.

Finally, it may be better to avoid Australians. 😆

Clrnc

HomeSteak Just went to bali last year, going to Bali again this June. Not dangerous at all. Canggu is less touristy, more cafes and boutique shops. Seminyak is more touristy with shopping and whatnot, but the jams is annoying and time wasting so I would reccomend grabbike (their uber but on motorcycles).

Beaches are expensive though.

I am going to Czech and Hungary this July. Any recs?

HomeSteak

Big Willie thanks. Will remember that.

Burnwinter Whats wrong with Australians lol ? Yeah, no drugs thats for sure.

Burnwinter

HomeSteak Burnwinter Whats wrong with Australians lol ?

Bali is the cheapest, nearest and most familiar overseas playground for a lot of Australians, so there's often a fair few young people over there getting wrecked on Bintangs and cheap mixers and trying to sleep with each other. Being fair to my people, unless you're on their wavelength they can be quite obnoxious. This is round Kuta.

goon

I'm planning to visit Bali next year, but the idea of encountering a swarm of other tourists is very off putting. Is there a less touristy part of Indonesia to visit,or does Bali have most of what's worth seeing?

Burnwinter

goon Lombok has expanded its holiday offerings in recent years and may be worth a look if you're after a resort stay. It's "the new Bali" and a destination for overseas wedding receptions, dubious vipassana retreats and other such stuff.

Next time I'm there I'll probably dive the Gili Islands, could be good if you scuba or would like to learn. I've heard the diving is excellent but have not been there.

Everything I've seen of Indonesia is great but it depends what you're into. Shout out as well to independent Timor Leste which is a bit different, much less touristy for now but very unique in SE Asia.

Don Pacifico

goon have you looked into Java? Went there a few years ago for the very reason you (and others) have stated. Obviously, I can't compare with Bali as I've not been but there was loads to see and do (albeit required a bit travelling round the island, so had to get some internal flights). Depends what you're going for but Bromo and Borobodur are pretty spectacular. My favourite thing we visited though was Tumpak Sewu (like a canyon of waterfalls near Bromo) - beautiful albeit the hike there was a little precarious!

Can also fly to the island of Karimunjawa (just off the coast of Java) if you want something beachy (etc.); beautiful and not very touristy.

HomeSteak

Burnwinter Next year it will be Australia for me. I always wanted to go there, but don't want to be killed by some 4 ft spider.

Burnwinter

HomeSteak Come up to the far north in the buildup, I'll buy you a beer and a laksa, and watch you half die from the heat before you get anywhere near a crocodile, irukandji or taipan.

Asterix

HomeSteak Next year it will be Australia for me. I always wanted to go there, but don't want to be killed by some 4 ft spider.

There are no dangerous animals in Australia...

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/20/north-queensland-snake-bite-death-deeragun-townsville-hospital

Which bits are you planning to visit? Sydney is great for beaches and the Harbour. If you come here jump on the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly. It's the cheapest harbour cruise you will get, and Manly beach and the walk to Fairy Bower is nicer than Bondi. Although the walk from Bondi to Coogee is spectacular.

If you're in Sydney for a while and want to get a few hours out of town you have your pick of dozens of superb beaches.

If you're going to multiple cities / places then you'll have to fly - it's a 10 hour drive from Sydney to Melbourne for instance.

Hamilton Island is great for a Barrier Reef experience.

The Top End where Burnsy sometimes is, is great for a visit to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.

Perth is great for a stopover and a few days driving south to the wine region of Margaret River. You can go snorkeling with whale sharks at the right time of year at Ningaloo Reef - but it's a long way even from Perth, which is itself a long way from anywhere.

Melbourne is ok too.

Daz

Burnwinter
Are you living back up in Darwin again now Burnsy?

Burnwinter

Daz I will be from about … May or June. I've just about finished renovating my terrace in Perth, I've got one project to close out, then I'll ship the majority of my stuff to my girlfriend up north, then I'll negotiate with my other client about doing the rest of that contract remote. Looking forward to getting back for most of dry season.

Rohit

Be careful while exchanging currency in Bali. Those guys are skilled. Gili islands are really nice but take a ferry during the middle of the day. Avoid evening ferries, the waters get really choppy, I thought I was done, said my prayers, somehow made it.

Tam

I'd recommend Yogyakarta if you're on Java. Loved it there. Touristy but not overly so. Plenty to do and see in the way of arts, crafts, culture and places of interest. Did a day visit to Prambanan and Borobudur (mentioned by Don). Did it the wrong way around to catch the sunset as Borobodur closed, but well worth a visit to both. Yogyakarta itself is great Lively, friendly, relaxed. Nice contrast to Bali where was a bit more manic and busy.

Also had a couple of nice relaxing days on Nusa Lembongan an hour or so by ferry from Bali. We didn't do much other than chill but I think it's a bit of a hotspot for diving, snorkelling and the like.

Spent a couple of days in Labuan Bajo so we could visit Komodo Island. That was good - day trip included visits to other islands and a stop off at Manta Point in the middle of the sea so people could go snorkelling amongst the manta rays.

I didn't see much of wider Bali, but if you're concerned that it's overly touristy you could perhaps consider a few days visiting another area to escape from it and experience something a bit different.

Don Pacifico

Tam I'd recommend Yogyakarta if you're on Java.

Yeah, we went to Yogyakarta too - only thing I'd suggest is not spending too long there as it's not the prettiest of cities. And I only say that because our expectations were slightly misaligned to reality and we spent like 4 days there. Definitely don't need that long.

goon

Thanks guys, this is all good information. Java definitely sounds like more of what I'm looking for.

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