The Old School Otaku Lounge

I totally forgot to mention this on the board, mostly because the last half of 2012 has been a whirlwind of travel, conventions, writing, work, more travel, etc. But we went to Tokyo last summer and I wrote about it on my Livejournal and you can read all about it.

part one: http://davemerrill.livejournal.com/2012/08/08/

part two: http://davemerrill.livejournal.com/2012/08/09/

part 3: http://davemerrill.livejournal.com/2012/08/10/

part 4: http://davemerrill.livejournal.com/2012/08/13/

part 5: http://davemerrill.livejournal.com/2012/08/14/

part 6: http://davemerrill.livejournal.com/759205.html

part 7: http://davemerrill.livejournal.com/2012/08/28/

part 8: haven't written it yet, I really ought to, I have pix I haven't posted and people I haven't name-checked. But you know how it goes, life marches on. Our next trip to Japan will NOT be in the summer, I can assure you.

Awesome posts Dave. I'm tempted to go check out Sonic 44, even though I'm not quite the vintage/obscure anime fan that you are, but the proprietor sounds awesome.

I actually MUCH prefer going in the summer (altho I've spent most of my life along the gulf coast), mainly because: (a) I HATE the cold and (b) we like to go to comiket and winter Comiket is too close to New Years when everything gets crazy. (Also, SUMMER rain is MUCH less oppressive than WINTER rain)

If you're NOT going for Comiket, then I assume that spring/fall are the ideal times to go.

Hi Dave,

How did you like the Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro? My friend wants to try going without a tour group this coming March and wanted to save money as well, so I recommended the Sakura Hotel in Ikebukuro for him and told him that everything the other major cities he wanted to visit are within 15 minutes away. And #2) He wanted to know if the TV's had an HDMI port (I'm guessing for his video camera) at the hotel.

Just saw DAY 3, PART 1 - WOW!!!!

I honestly don't know if the hotel TV at the Sakura has HDMI. Didn't think to check. We brought our laptop and the hotel wi-fi works fine.

We had a pleasant experience at the Sakura. It's really accomodating to foreigners. The rooms are, you know, Japanese hotel rooms, so they're dinky, but comfortable enough. They have all types of lodging, from backpacker hostel shared facility rooms to private rooms with their own bathrooms (which is what we were in). The cafe downstairs is open 24 hours, the coffee and toast buffet thing is nice. If you use the Sakura laundromat you'll need to put the clothes through at least 3 dryer cycles before they get dry, depending on the weather (the machines are outside in a little patio area).

It's fairly close to the train station - Sakura is on the Tobu side of the tracks, not the Seibu side- and there's an underground exit that puts you three blocks away from the hotel. There are convenience stores all around and it's close to a drug store, a liquor store, a pachinko parlor, restaurants of all types, and a Woolworth's - Family Dollar type general store. On the OTHER side of the station, the Seibu side, is damn near everything else, including the Animate, the Book-Off, Sunshine 60 Building, etc.

I recommend printing out the directions and a map from the Sakura website so that you have something to give the cab driver; it's not far from the station, but it's a long ways if you're hauling a lot of luggage and aren't quite sure where to go.

davemerrill wrote:I recommend printing out the directions and a map from the Sakura website so that you have something to give the cab driver; it's not far from the station, but it's a long ways if you're hauling a lot of luggage and aren't quite sure where to go.

Another useful tip for orienting yourself (assuming you['re minimally familiar with Japan (ie. been there before) is to go to google maps, center on the station (in this case, Ikebukuro Station) and then use street view to go from there to where you want to go. It's not 100% perfect (some businesses/buildings may have changed) but it can help you familiarize with the area and get a feel for the walk. I did this for the last place we stayed in Ikebukuro and it helped quite a bit.

Heero wrote: Another useful tip for orienting yourself (assuming you're minimally familiar with Japan (ie. been there before) is to go to google maps, center on the station (in this case, Ikebukuro Station) and then use street view to go from there to where you want to go. It's not 100% perfect (some businesses/buildings may have changed) but it can help you familiarize with the area and get a feel for the walk. I did this for the last place we stayed in Ikebukuro and it helped quite a bit.

Yes, a million times yes. I was printing out neighborhood maps using both Earth and the map views and I had 'em with me at all times. You can correlate your Google map with your touristy printed map and your Tokyo guide book and you MIGHT not get lost. Maybe. Hell, I brought my old Boy Scout compass. Still got lost.

Part of the fun, though.

Heero wrote:Another useful tip for orienting yourself (assuming you['re minimally familiar with Japan (ie. been there before) is to go to google maps, center on the station (in this case, Ikebukuro Station) and then use street view to go from there to where you want to go. It's not 100% perfect (some businesses/buildings may have changed) but it can help you familiarize with the area and get a feel for the walk. I did this for the last place we stayed in Ikebukuro and it helped quite a bit.

Yeah, isn't that fun? My friend and I used that to determine which coffee shop in Akihabara to meet up at last month. For those who have never been to Japan, it must be particularly interesting to use that feature.

Well, we're planning a trip this year in August or September. It'll be 2 of us for sure, maybe 4. I'll update you later. If you want to get together, we can make arrangements.

Yes! I missed you last year. I think I was in America visiting my dad while you came to Japan. I will have plenty of free time in August, since school is out for summer break and all I do is sit around in city hall making lesson plans and such. I can definitely take some time off. My dad is supposed to visit me sometime this year, which may be in August, but that is still up in the air.

Heibi wrote:Well, we're planning a trip this year in August or September. It'll be 2 of us for sure, maybe 4. I'll update you later. If you want to get together, we can make arrangements.

We'll also be going over in August, we're hitting summer Comiket as we often do.