>book holiday through tour agency
>want to explore japan a bit whilst I'm here
>tour agency says it's not allowed and I need to follow them or my hotels will be cancelled
>they only allot 90 minutes for meals just enough for 4 pints of "beer" or whatever the call the sorry excuse of it here nothing like something proper I would get back home in my own town which would even be cheaper and probably more friendly and not cold
>say I want to go visit akihabara for a few hours last night
>get told no because they want to go some place called golden gai for evening drinks
>whilst there I wanted to take pictures of some of the maid girls and the tour guy told me to stop
>have some beers and it's not even midnight and told we have to go back to the hotel
>get woken up at 8 am, yes you read that right, 8 am on a bloody Sunday because we have to go get on a train for some onsen
Why are tour groups so bad now? When I take Holiday to Portugal or Oktoberfest down from the UK no one even bothers being this strict.What changed, has asia become so americanized they need to think people get no holiday? I booked this because I didn't want or should not need to work for my own holiday. I didn't expect this, how did this happen? In Portugal I can drink and do what all I want all the while deciding if that day I want to go se something that is interesting.
Why would you pay an arm and a leg to have some literal who boss you around and treat you like a child? True cuck behavior. Japan is easy mode, if you can't even tavel there by yourself and need your hand held then you might as well give up on traveling and get back in your wage cage.
I don't know that, you pay a small fee of 2400₤ and you get 12 days in Japan, this includes airfare, hotel bookings, and so on. For people who actually have holiday that is a bargin in my opinion. You get all the expensive things taken care of and at the same time have someone else set you at ease for your travel.
> True cuck behavior. Japan is easy mode
I do not understand why this place does not have flags, but it's easy to see you are an american. Anyways I am on my train, yes first world countries have these things, to a onsen(that's a japanese spa for you). I doubt you'd ever be able to visit here let alone take holiday. I am done speaking with you, please think next time before you post while I enjoy my strong 0 from japan. Yes I actually travel unlike this board which I mistakenly clicked on a while back.
$200 GBP/$243 USD a day is a lot of money for Japan, especially now with how the Yen is doing.
>T-t-that's not true! You hurt my fee fees! I'm done talking to you!
Lol. Enjoy being bossed around by your tour guide, sounds like a fun vacation. Your insecurity towards Americans is obvious. I've been to Japan 7 times and did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted (so long as it was respectful of Japanese laws and customs).
>$200 GBP/$243 USD a day is a lot of money for Japan, especially now with how the Yen is doing.
All things considered yes it is a what I would call, bargain. When you realize how few countries are adopting english it makes sense. This is my fist time in Asia and whilst I'm visiting I would rather not look bad like you americans and Logan Paul. To think otherwise is silly.
>Maybe go to Reddit
This is what I was talking about this board was a mistake. You clearly do not take holiday seriously and want to be some kind of keyboard warrior not actually traveling and enjoying life. The point of a tour group is to have a good value, all things planned for you, and done so that; YOU CAN ENJOY HOLIDAY. It is ridiculous to me that americans actually need to itemize and plan their so few days of holiday (if they get it lol).
Either way I am going to enjoy my holiday at a remote place of Hokane and then Enoshima to a hidden cave. I don't have time for this thread.
36,000 yen a day is hardly a bargain, but you do you.
Your seething towards Americans is laughable.
You can't enjoy a holiday unless you're around other foreigners and have someone tell you where to go, when you can eat and drink, where you'll be sleeping, etc.? It's a tragedy what's become of the average British man.
You're right that it was a mistake to talk about it here. We're all laughing at you. Maybe Reddit is a more suitable place for you.
for 36000 yen could have 3 high end meals, a handjob from a cute masseuse and then get drunk all night with oji sans and still be able to afford the taxi home. Instead youve chosen to get bullied onto a bus hahahaha
> signs up for strictly scheduled tour group in Japan
> complains about how Americans take vacations?
You sound like the moron here. You signed up for an overpriced tour that gets you like cattle. Have fun with the boring American boomers you probably got stuck with.
If it included airfare, hotels and food, 2400 euro for 12 days in Japan isn't too bad at all. The bad part is being trapped in a tour group and forced to do moronic shit you don't want to do with a bunch of other incels and boomers. The only situation where a tour group makes sense is for school kids and old people because they need chaperones.
Maybe go to Reddit if you want people to be nice and blow smoke up your ass. I have no idea why you would join a tour group for Japan. There are a million posts,articles, and YouTube videos about Japan. It should take you an evening maybe two to figure out an itinerary for yourself and everyone here ridiculing you are in the right.
Also you don’t save frick all going in these tour groups you dumb muppet.
The travel subreddits would probably just ban this guy for either being so stupid or baiting too hard.
Japan is really easy to navigate by yourself tho. Just but a SIM for internet and everything can be done by mobile. The only confusing thing for me was getting buses because I always got on the wrong one.
you are so moronic
you can get full featured apartments on airbnb for like 40$ a night but lets be generous (because youre clearly a moron) and say you pay 60$
food is at MOST 30$ a day if you eat out for literally every meal and you eat well
they really jacked up the price of the JR railpass so whether its worth it depends on your style of travel, but say you get a 7 day pass for 330$ and use a pasmo for the rest of the 5 days (say, 40$ max)
lets say you pay 1200$ for a JAL flight from london (there are cheaper airlines but again you clearly have poor executive function and cant budget)
that brings you to $2650 or 2109 pounds, and you can use the rest of the money how you please
>exclusive access
kek
>They know of small places a normal persons wouldn't like Nikko falls
double kek
just look at google maps in the general region youre headed and choose interesting shit you find on the map
thats how I found otaru when I went to hokkaido and it was one of the highlights of my trip
honestly just sounds like youre totally castrated and incapable of doing anything yourself, if this isnt bait then you are a sad sad man
Everyone thinks tour groups are cuck behavior, and designed to scam fools like you. Not just americans
Theres a reason why they are most commonly associated with the chinese hordes, indians and other universally hated tourists
I'm Argentine btw
I've never seen an Indian tour group. Just older europeans who speak no English, and they're ok, and lots and lots of chinks, and they're awful. I'm really enjoying these 3 years so far of no Chinese tour groups at national parks and shopping malls here in the US.
I only started seeing them in Buenos Aires recently, like in the last 2 years. Usually smaller groups than chinks and honestly well behaved but I just don't like looking at those people
imagine acting this high and mighty when you got scammed on a tour group package lmao
>going with a tour group for literally anything
Cringe, manchild and white woman behaviour. Japan is one of the easiest countries to travel in you pussy
This thread was a mistake...
I wanted to see real Japan something only a tour group can offer you as a foreigner. My group has exclusive access to shinkanses, buses, and even an onsen. They know of small places a normal persons wouldn't like Nikko falls, not something you could just "find" unless you were terminally ill with obessing of Japan. I however do not need to waste time on my holiday when I can easly do an agency for me, normally in Germany or Portugal these groups have no issue if you want to rest for the day. This one is different, I do not know what happened maybe it was just too many americans influencing them.
I feel bad for you being so pathic and mad at this fact I can take holiday unlike you. Please do us all a favor and grow up, you need to be 18 to post here.
>I wanted to see real Japan something only a tour group can offer you as a foreigner
Literally the fricking opposite you moron
Tour groups are on-land cruises that absolutely ruin any authenticity
Naw I can see the appeal. Not my style of travel, but if you want to see all the big sites and not deal with any difficulty it’s fine. No issues finding a restaurant, no communication problems, no fricking up the train, no waiting 4 hours for a bus. Etc. all those things can be part of the journey, but I understand those that want to skip it.
You realize everyone is allowed to ride the Shinkansen, busses, and use most onsens. Lol, a fool and his money are soon parted.
>I wanted to see real Japan something only a tour group can offer you as a foreigner
You're just embarrassing yourself and worst of all, you're arrogant about it and lashing out at people for pointing it out.
>exclusive access to shinkanses, buses, and even an onsen
Come on, this is bait, right? It just has to be.
weak troll but giving a (you) regardless for the typing effort
I for one think this is excellent bait. Enjoy Nikko it's nice this time of year.
>Wants to see real Japan
> Pays for a tour group
I shiggy diggy
>They know of small places a normal persons wouldn't like Nikko falls
Lmao, how is this even a thing post internet, your argument might've hold some weight in the 80's.
>They know of small places a normal persons wouldn't like Nikko falls
fricking lmao i burst out laughing
have a bump bro, let's get more people to see your troll post and thanks for making me laugh in this shitty day ass day i'm having today
>shinkanses, buses, and even an onsen
Excellent troll
>I wanted to see real Japan something only a tour group can offer you as a foreigner.
This is actually the dumbest thing I've ever read on this board.
I've only done like a 1 day tour of Shirakawa-go as I couldnt figure out how to get there. The other 3 months I just wandered around following Japanese women up and down stairs.
good bait
are you 60+ years old?
if not, I'm lmaoing @ ur life
Only old people and extremely poor uneducated people use travel agents.
>book holiday through tour agency
This is where you fricked up, anon
OP there is no "real" Japan. Wherever you go in the country, someone has already been there to put a sign that says do not do X or Y. It's just the cultural sentiment that you're experiencing and there is no escaping it. Even if you left your group you would have some eerie suspicion here and there that you are breaking some unwritten rules. Your literal existence there breaks the "harmony" of the society.
Maybe for you.
I, unlike both you and OP, have found a way to fit into the society. Not by "becoming japanese", a creepy and weird idea that only weebs would consider. No, by instead playing the part of the "Good Gaijin". That is to say, Japanese have some ideas about foreigners - especially Americans - and they love it when you both fulfil that expectation while also surprising them. They find it adorable/endearing (in a mildly condescending way) when you act unusually positive, say their food is so oishi, wow your trains are so fast, wow Japan is so special, wow Japan has 4 seasons!
But if you just buy into that without subtlety, you're a charicatuer, and they can see right through it. So you have to surprise them by surpassing their expectations - being interested in something unexpected (obscure history, non-shinkansen train otaku tendancies, lesser known foods like chazuke, etc), while also speaking moderate amounts of Japanese.
Nothing confuses and delights a middle aged waitress like a gaijin who can have a conversation with her, in Japanese, can understand everything she says but speaks with broken grammar, and then proudly declares "I'm self taught and am here visiting, no I dont live in Japan, yes I would like some shochu with rocks please". It gets all the "eeeeeee"s and then you can overhear them tell their coworker, "that gaijin likes chazuke, isnt that cute!"
You can see the optimistic gaijin on tv programs, commercials, and comics. It's an archetype. But you have to give it your own authentic twist, or else you'll just be "another tourist fulfilling expectations". It's kinda like Django's black slaver character he plays in Django Unchained. He's unusual - a black who's not a slave, but instead a slaver - but he still supports and upholds the system. That is very compelling to Calvin Candie.
You just have to be an Uncle Tom white gaijin and people love you. Feels good, man.
"I'm not a huge fan of anime... but I love Mothra!"
I understand with your point of view, but what you're suggesting is in fact ridiculous. These types of interactions are fine, and they are fun to have. However they are virtual, meaning they will burn you out, because in actual reality, there is nothing there. Meaning no real authentic connection because the racial sentiment pervasive within Japanese cultures doesn't permit it. Everything there is more or less simulated.
This has got to be bait.
This has got to be bait.
Not sure what it is about Japan but virtually every European I've run into is part of a tour group or traveling in a large number with friends mirroring a tour groups schedule.
I think it's a euro thing no Canadians under 60 do I know that do it
I think its because in europe they do large group tour things and they all go together and get wasted. Its kind of equivalent to theor college experience
No clue in hell why youd do that in asia aside from the association it would have for them when they think about what they did in europe
OP types like a boomer and a lot of them genuinely need chaperones due to brain damage from decades of lead poisoning. I don’t like to make fun of moronic people
>Why are tour groups so bad
answered your own question
only morons and chinese take guided tours
>get woken up at 8 am, yes you read that right, 8 am on a bloody Sunday
Why are ou on a
>booking a tour for a babby tier country
You brought it on yourself
Tours are a holdover from pre-internet days when it was a pain in the ass to actually arrange a trip. Unless you are a non-English monolingual they do not have any relevance in 2023.
They're probably getting kickbacks from the places they make you go.
>moron weeb wants to jack off to anime figures
>cant because he is on a moron leash with the rest of tour group
>has bad time
>my day is improved greatly
i love when weebs get btfo
golden Gai is THE place to drink you fricking moron. Plug, rocket, and deathmatch from hell are my favorites
Imagine willingly giving someone else power over your trip instead of looking into the country yourself and actually being interested enough to plan a measly 12 days on your own.
Is this what boomers used to do and consider it "travel"? It's a glorified celebration of ignorance.
Blatant shitpost thread but while we're at it, holy shit are tours insanely awful.
My parents traveled with me a fair bit when I was a kid but they were always afraid to do it on their own outside of Europe. So I ended up on a bunch of tours in MENA and holy fricking shit, I couldn't believe people actually pay for this.
My favorite bit is the classic "these here are the Pyramids, you've got 15 minutes to take your pictures and get back to the coach. Then we'll spend two hours at a *thing* handicraft factory, where you'll get to see how they make *thing* and will be able to purchase *thing* for ten times the usual price". Every fricking day.
People actually pay for this. Mental.
this is just an elaborate troll right?
surely nobody that has access to SighSee would be helpless and gay enough to book through some cuckoldry travel service, correct?
good troll though, advanced
What I don't get is that you should know about the rules,restrictions, and general itinerary of the tour before paying for it. Criticize how they do things in Japan all you want, but you really only have yourself to blame for going through with it.
>Tour group
Bro you’d have more fun just doing cartwheels in a residential neighborhood then going to 7-11 than ever paying money for a tour group.
What are you fricking moronic?
Unless you’re Chinese and wanna be on a tour bus packed with another 299 other Chinese people you should NEVER pay for those things.
I’d rather get ass cancer and lose all my beautiful hair before I pay 1 red cent to a tour group. Skill issue.
>ever going to a travel agent
>especially in japan which is the absolute best at self transport
You'd have to be literally moronic if you can't get around the worlds best transit system.
My mom and sister bookd a trip to Europe and Thailand for 24' and 25' using travel agencies, they are spending 6-8k for each trip. Their trips seem very restricting for the amount of money they are spending and I'm certain I could spend 80% less and still have a great time exploring, eating good food and in general have a fun time traveling. How do I convince them that using traveling agenices is a sham and a general waste of money?
You don't. Whatever you say, there'll be a billlion "buts" and utter nonsense arguments they don't even believe themselves.
Because all it really boils down to is fear of the unknown and getting herded like cattle for triple the cost is a low price to pay to take it off your head.
Yeah a mate of mine once asked me to join him on a travel to Japan, i was all in untill he told me he was gonna book one of these group tour holidays. Noped out quickly.
>take a tour
>have to follow the tour
>surprise pikachu.jpg
Who the frick ever uses a tour group to travel? Embarrassing. That should be a bannable offense on SighSee's travel board
Tell em you have diarrhea moron and stay behind in the hotel
>Be OP
>Be too dumb to make my own plans for international trip
>Pay more money than I have to to get slogged around Japan and told what to do
>beer cold waah waah
>no Akihabara for you OP! Waah waah
>Tour company is nice and keeps you from losing face and looking like a creepy moron cuz you wanna picture with maid girls…
>Don’t like that waah waah
>takes you to izakaya so you don’t dishonor yourself and your nation
>boring waah waah
>Reaping the consequences of my laziness
>get angry
>get angry about it
>shitpost on SighSee
If you want ‘real Japan’ go do woof or work away for a month somewhere remote and pretty.
I met guys here that planned their trip to the minute, doesn't make sense to me. The most fun I had is wandering around into random areas and finding cool shit, there's side quests everywhere. Just hop on a train and see where you end up
I haven't planned to the minute I just put in a time range with a buffer added on top for each destination and the time it takes to commute there still working on my itenary.
It is tough for me to just wander around aimlessly and get lost for fun because the first week is basically hopping around and checking into a new hotel every day so I need to be punctual or I will miss my allotted check in time.
I think that is ruining my itenary a bit since it breaks my days in half until I reach Osaka and Tokyo where I stay for 4 days in each city. TAQBIN helps but I feel the pace might be too fast, missing out on a lot of stuff because the area I am covering from nagasaki all the way to Tokyo one way in 2 weeks is too big.
Should've taken more leave and booked 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks or reduced the scope of the trip but I didn't know whether I would prefer staying away from the concrete jungles or not since it is my first time traveling.
I think I will have a good time regardless, plenty of interesting cuisine specific to local regions to sample
>Champon
>Steamed Unagi
>Tunkutso Ramen in Hakata
>YakiGaki
>muteppou ramen (reaally thick base)
>Monja
Not sure how much I will enjoy the shrines and POIs along the way still planning but so far I think I will enjoy POIs that catch my eye like the Giant Camphor Tree of Kawago
Plenty to explore around Kyushu I need to book another trip and focus on that area if I like it maybe go for a nice Ryokan instead of sticking to hotels only next time if I enjoy the onsen.
Bars look nicer there as well much more elegant than what I've seen in my country, mostly going for whiskey, gin, and sake bars. They have a few secret ones as well just have to be careful not to fall for any of the scam bars that max out your card primarily near Shinjuku. Stearing clear of Kabukicho altogether nothing worthwhile there.
I'm currently in the middle of a month long trip. I'm balancing between capsule hotels and a few nights in ryokans so I don't go insane
>have some beers and it's not even midnight and told we have to go back to the hotel
actually kekd, holy frick, you might as well walked around with a penis cage
The only purpose of a tour group these days is if you want fellow travelers who speak your language to go with. If you want to go it alone or in a small family/friend group, don't bother.
Well, we never found out what abomination of the tour company OP used was called, but I've just finished a tour with a UK-based organisation that did Tokyo > Nagano > Hakone > Osaka > Koyasan > Kyoto all within 2 weeks, but honestly felt longer. The people were great and I still had plenty of free time to do whatever I wanted, wasn't pressured into doing anything. Though that being said I did participate in pretty much all the activities. Accommodation and travel were all good too and the people were great. So after all that, I'm very curious to know who the frick OP's tour company was as they're clearly world's apart.
I'm guessing it's run by asians who don't have a lot of experience with western habits because it sounds like the tours asians go on.
what's the companies name?
Intro Travel
people still use agencies?