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Lake Kawaguchi locates in southeastern Yamanashi near the border with Shizuoka. With a nice clean park nearby, it's worth enjoying a small bite to eat and a local beer after a nice day out on the trails. Would recommend outdoor/hiking shoes, sneakers are fine as long as you don't mind them getting dirty.Īt the cable car station at the foot of the mountain, there are a lot of Japanese food stalls, worth trying and to support the local economy.
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Going much earlier in the morning is the best way to avoid crowds but there are certainly ways to minimize it by taking some of the 'harder' or 'steeper' routes which shouldn't be a challenge for most people at an average fitness level. These trails avoid the crowds on trails 1 (Omotesando) and 3 (Katsura forest), and are really enjoyable to walk. We took the Summit loop (trail 5) around the top and descended via Suspension bridge trail (trail 4), did the Kasumidai loop (trail 2) and then switched to Biwa waterfall (trail 6) for the rest of the way down. The summit was very crowded and views were so-so, would advise taking a quick look and then spending more time on the trails. A little steep here and there but a very enjoyable walk up. We went up the Inariyama trail which starts to the left of the cable car station entrance. After that it's a short (but super crowded) walk, starting at the right of the station, and up to the cable car station at the base of the mountain. Make sure to grab the special/limited express train to get to Takaosanguchi station a little faster. Super easy to get to via the Keio line from Shinjuku station. Or just stick it sneakily into one of those vending machine bottle/can holes.We went for a casual hike to Takao-san. We ignore the ridiculous dearth of bins and bring our trash all the way home, where we dutifully separate it into burnable, non-burnable, plastic, paper and so on and so on. Wondering why the trains are so clean? It’s because us Tokyoites don’t litter. Don’t even think about cutting your nails, shaving or – uhh – trimming your nasal hair (we’ve witnessed all of the above). What’s that? A pizza slice on the Tokyo-bound Chuo line at 7.30am? Get out.Ī quick fix-up is fine, but painting and powdering your entire face in close quarters should seriously be avoided. Also, there’s no need to push others onto the platform when disembarking – a polite sumimasen will do.įew of your co-riders will complain about a quick afternoon onigiri on a less-than-crowded local train, whereas messy and/or smelly delicacies are strictly off limits. Leaning lightly on fellow riders in order to get in or out is often necessary, but elbowing or body-checking the poor guy standing in your way simply isn’t. This one should be pretty obvious – in fact, failing to follow this rule at crowded times might even get you trampled, so hold your horses. DO: Let other passengers off the train first. How much effort can it really take to step outside the train for a few seconds, let everyone else get off, and step back in?Ĥ. You know that feeling when you’re trying to get off the train and there’s a guy standing right in front of the open door, simply refusing to move? DON’T BE THAT GUY. Oh yeah, Suica also has a cute penguin on it. It removes the need for playing around with paper tickets, makes passing through ticket gates quicker and even allows you to track where you’ve been. If at all possible, get a Suica or Pasmo card, charge it up and get moving. Exceptions are only allowed when the signs tell you they are, which actually does happen here and there. On the escalators, in the corridors, you name it – walk on the right, stand on the left is the standard. The most basic of rules, this one is hard and fast. Study, we say, study, and you’ll eventually be ready to step into the sea of humanity and navigate the city’s awe-inspiring transport network like it ain’t no big deal.ġ. So, inspired by our friends over at Time Out London, we’ve put together a 15-point guide to train etiquette: what to do, what not to do, and what you just might get away doing without attracting the dreaded disapproving looks. Now that’s something you’d like to avoid, no? getting stared at (ooh, the horror) by a grumpy salaryman when one fails to follow the code.
Harmony nails little tokyo trial#
Learning these densha dictates takes time, and is often accomplished through the time-honoured method of trial and error, i.e. There are also quite a few written and unwritten rules of train-taking that, if followed, make everyone’s journey more comfortable, less frustrating and simply better. Yes, absolutely, but they can also be claustrophobic, scary and confusing, especially if you’re a Tokyo newcomer and/or riding during the rush hour. Trains in this great city of ours are supremely convenient, always (well, almost) on time, and just all-round awesome.
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