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 Tokyo Nihonbashi Kaisen Donburi Tsujihan Nihonbashi There are three locations. The one near Tokyo station always has a line but the one in Ark Hills ( Ark Mori Building ) seems to not have a queue Tonkatsu Hajime Nihonbashi there are two around there. Go to the Second Store (Hajime) as there is no line. The main store which is a block or two away always has a line. Tsujihan Godaime Hanayama Udon This the flat noodle. There are a few branches near Tokyo Station and Ginza. Apparently, there is one now in Haneda airport and no lines there. At Tsukiji Market Tsukiji Unitora Nakador i: Famous for their Uni Bowl. Line was ridiculous. Tsukiji Koromo Sushi : Famous for their Sushi and Sashimi Bowl. No line. Shouru: for Omelette Stick. Line was kinda long too. Shinjuku Unatoto Shinjuku Center Building All Seasons Cafe Soba House Abebe Bakery -  Jeju X Tokyo  Azuki to Kōri (Dessert) Harajuku     Menchirashi Carbonara Udon 11.30 AM to 10 Zeniba Rice Bowls!!! Insta...

Tip: Book your hotel and bus tickets early.  In places like Kawaguchiko, especially going back to Tokyo, all the buses were packed and you can't buy tickets on the day itself. So better reserve and buy the tickets early. You can still change it (one-time change only) if needed.  Lake Kawaguchiko Express Bus from Shinjuku Express Terminal to Kawaguchiko Station  Price: 2200 Yen (one-way) Durationg: ~2 Hrs Kusatsu Onsen Express Bus from Shinjuku Express Terminal to Kustatsu Onsen Bus Terminal  Price: 4000 Yen (one-way), if earlier you can buy 3100 Yen Duration: ~4 hrs Nikko Direct Odoriko Train from Shinjuku  Only one train per day Leaves 9.39 AM arrviving 11.35 from Shinjuku Leaves Tobu-Nikko Station at 4.39 PM, arriving 6.35 PM Kawazu Direct Train from Tokyo Station to Kawazu Duration: ~2.5 Hours

JR Pass  I bought a 7 day JR Pass for ~33K Yen in September 2023 and apparently, it will go up in October (got lucky there). Instead of going thru agent, I just directly bought it at  https://www.japanrailpass-reservation.net/ , I think it's slightly more expensive but just a few hundreds yen (really not much) but you can easily refund and you can already use the same site to book for a trip as long as it's within one month of the scheduled date. Here are some tips when booking It's pretty easy to get seat reservation, do book early, I tried booking on the day itself and couldn't get reserved tickets. I have to either gamble to try Nonreserved seats or find a later train.  It's a bit weird though it was fully book, seems like people don't really use the reservation. When you book, you may not want to issue it till you know you are going to use that train, otherwise, you can't cancel or easily rebook it.  Once it is issued, you have to go to the JR center an...

  Japan Attractions Japan Itinerary

You can explore taking day trips to Jiufen (Klook.com), otherwise, you can take trains or buses. Most convenient one is Bus 965. Bus 965:  http://www.tpebus.com.tw/image/lineimage.php?imagetest=9650 Bus Real-time Information: All buses, 965

It's been really hard finding the live camera for Walker Canyon at Lake Elsinore so that I can check out if there is super bloom. Alas, they have one this year (2023) but the city decides to close it for safety reasons. I guess you can just see it from the Live Camera :( http://63.42.216.178:8088/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cgi

  SXSW Tips and Tricks: SXSW Express Pass  Make sure to go online exactly at 9 am the day before and request for Express Pass (max 2 per person per day). This gives you priority in the lines, and thus, shorter lines and first to get into the events. RSVP For some reason, some events actually need an RSVP and the RSVP might not be mentioned in the app or SXSW site.   E.g. Irish Breakfast Music Festival needed RSVP. It was good that the weather was too cold that they did not turn away folks. San Pellegrino in French Legation needed RSVP so you can get a Food Token. We almost miss out on a good Italian Pizza. Backpacks or Tote Bags You need clear bags or you can use the SXSW Tote Bags they give you during the registration SWAGS Check out various exhibits especially the main ones, they really have good Swags. I miss out on Amazon givinng out customized Jeans Jackets. But I was able to check out C4's and got free hoodie that you can customize yourself. The next day, they...