[JP] TOKYO • 2011 10 22-23 • BLIP FESTIVAL TOKYO @ KOENJI HIGH (Page 2 of 11)

Seriously. He actually says this all the time. (Even though our gigs are pretty fun.... )

And that's having been to Blip NY And Blip Tokyo. Keep in mind that anyone in the greater pacific region its way cheaper to get there than to NY (oh and FWIW, Tokyo is way cheaper than people say it is) AND that last years Tokyo lineup was a bunch of amazing artists who had previously played NY. It was like the chance to see the artists you wish you'd get to see on a NY lineup again, but never will.

A little FAQ on a few topics pertinents to people travelling to Japan. If you want an idea of the yen prices in your local currency, cheack xe.com

- Accomodation -

Q - Where can I stay?

There are a couple of options people used last year,

Cheaper - Dorm style, Y2200 upwards, Kaosan Ninja, 30 minutes and 1 train from Blip

Mid range - Hotel style, Y8000 upward (single room) Y10,000 upwards (double room) Ikubukuro Super Hotel, 25 minutes and 2 trains from Blip.

- Communications -

Q - Where can I rent a sim card?

After you leave the airport, renting a sim card is next to impossible, phone shops won't sell or rent you one, probably best to either rent a phone or card before you arrive and arrange to pick it up at the airport, or have it delivered to your hotel.  Last year a couple of people used J Corp with good results. Googling "japan phone rental" will yield a whole bunch more.

Q - Do I really need a cell phone? Can't I just use WiFi?

Japan doesn't have free WiFi, almost everything is locked into subscription services, your chances of finding an open WiFi signal are very very small. Trust me, get a phone or a sim card sorted out, not having one will be a giant pain.

- Cost of Living -

Q - How much is a day in Japan likely to cost?

Japan really isnt as expensive as you might think, there are thousands of places where you can eat for Y500 to Y1000, a couple of sample costs,

Can of Coke - Y120
Pack of Smokes - Y440
Half size sandwich at Subway - Y500 or less
Bowl of Ramen - Y800 ish
2 or 3 station Train Trip In central Tokyo - Y130
10 station tain trip in central Toyko - Y210
Travel from Airport to central Tokyo - Y2000ish one way

So if you budget 3000 yen for food, 1000 yen for travel per day you should be easily safe. Factor in your hotel costs and your to and from the airport costs, you should have a decent idea what staying in Tokyo is likely to cost.

YES. Ten thousand fucking time YES.

Last year I took my phone to Japan because my fucking carrier claimed that it would roam there. POPPYCOCK.
It never did and I was left out of tons of gatherings and shit because I was simply unreachable. If I was not with a friend that had a working phone, I was non-existant I would leave home early morning to make the most out of the day and not return until late that very day, so I spent many days alone unless I had planned and arranged something the day before. Also, it's easy to get lost some times in Japan so having a service like Google Maps will help you a LOT during your trip.

I am not totally sure about this but Akihabara is chock-full of cheap phones that you can buy and I think get activated locally by a friend or something. I'd do this next time I go there or the SIM rental service, though I happened to think SIM rental was too expensive for my liking. If you have a friend that travels to Japan all the time and has a phone, see if you can get it lent.

Contrary to popular belief and as Lazerbeat said, Japan is not that expensive, at least not more expensive than most of the major metropolis in the world.
I ate plenty delicious teishoku (menues) for no more than 1200 yen and that was awesome. I love this place where you go to a vending machine and you pay then you get your ramen. Very cheap and I thought was yummy!
What could be expensive is public transport (though no more than the London transport ), I remember spending more than what Lazerbeat put for some reason, perhaps for getting lost or just for not knowing and then I spent a shit ton of money in drinks. Blip this year is a bit further ahead in the year but if it's still hot, it's usually really fucking hot, and you will be consuming liquids like a sponge.
Suffice to say most of my cash went towards drinks and transport, and next time I'd try to get a bike and my GPS phone working to get around the city.

Oh, add to your daily spending money a LOT more extra for all the junk you will want to buy. I came back home with items as "retarded"  as sponges and clothespins, and I went like 3 days to Akihabara to fill my craving up

Oh upon arrival, if your destination is nearby one of the places where the Narita Express (NeX) stops, I'd recommend it, because the limo bus takes ages to arrive because of the traffic (all depending on what time of the day you arrive, I guess, but it's generally much, much faster). It took me more than an hour to get to Shibuya with the limo bus upon my arrival, whereas the NeX took me to the airport from Shibuya in like 20 minutes.

Enjoy Japan!

Last edited by akira^8GB (May 5, 2011 2:52 pm)

you haven't heard?

This is happening on my birthday weekend. All the more reason to save up and go! Almost two years without a trip to an onsen is way too long...

Dont you want to relive that moment with us?

Wish I had the funds to go tokyo )': Make sure you guys film plenty for us poor people!!