Patreon Exclusive - January 2019 (2.3.19)
Added 2019-02-03 20:31:26 +0000 UTC2019 started off with a bang! January has been nuts for us but so many cool things have happened. Let's recap a bit.
Comments
We are definitely going to try! Our normal 9am ET timeslot is 11pm Japanese time, so they'd be "bedtime" streams for us, haha. There'll actually be 4 different streams while we're there, so we're really hoping they work. The Airbnb we rented has WiFi so we're assuming there'll be fast enough speeds to stream! :D
Stephen Georg
2019-02-22 20:22:57 +0000 UTCSure, I can help out on those questions! Long flights are uncomfortable because nobody wants to sit for hours and hours, but otherwise they're not too bad. If you can sleep on a plane then I definitely recommend it, since it'll make the time pass more quickly. Usually on those longer flights the airline will supply a pillow and blanket, but I often just ball up my hooded sweatshirt and sleep on that. (Well, the best I can — being super tall makes sleeping on a plane nearly impossible.) There will also almost certainly be in-flight entertainment, so you can watch a few movies, too. Just be sure to bring some headphones, since the airline will either charge you for theirs, or they'll be terrible. Or both! If you have any issues navigating your flights, just remember you can always ask folks for help. Simply showing your boarding pass to anyone at any counter can get you pointed in the right direction. This happens to me sometimes too, when I'm unfamiliar with an airport and where a specific terminal/gate may be. The metro in Tokyo is fortunately very easy and straight-forward, and from what I remember there's adequate English signage around, too. When you first arrive to the metro, you'll look for a machine that sells/charges "Suica" and "Pasmo" cards. All these machines have English options so you won't have to translate anything. Buy one of these cards (I believe they're 500 yen), load it with as much yen as you would like, then hop on the metro. We used Suica while there, but from what I understand the cards function identically, so it doesn't matter which one you use. You can also use the cards in convenience stores and vending machines like cash, so Japan really loves them. One thing I would recommend ahead of time is finding out if your mobile provider offers free data in Japan. We have T-Mobile here in the states, and they offer free (albeit slow) data while in Japan, so we were fine. If not, consider looking into "Pocket WiFi" options. You generally have to pre-order these online then pick them up at the airport, but they'll give you high-speed WiFi throughout your stay and usually for a great rate (like $5 a day). Having access to things like Google translate, Google Maps, and Yelp are all super helpful while in Japan. What to eat is definitely one of the reasons I recommend ensuring you'll have access to mobile internet, since it's really nice to look up reviews and find out what a place serves, how much Japanese is expected, etc. Fortunately within the Tokyo area, there's plenty of places where it's perfectly acceptable to just "point" at the food you want. Many restaurants have displays set up or picture menus, and this makes ordering very easy for foreigners. I hope all of that helps! It's a little daunting at first, but you'll feel at ease in just a day or two while there. And hey, if you'll be there from April 1-14 we might actually run into you there!
Stephen Georg
2019-02-22 20:18:50 +0000 UTCNot much from me this month, but question: Are there gonna be Japan breakfast streams? Or is that gonna be a no-go breakfast week?
Alxamei
2019-02-12 14:44:00 +0000 UTCIt's good that you're making efforts limiting your workload to get caught up, Stephen. I am sure people won't mind the EL VODs appearing as its own slot, I for one am looking forward to revisiting it, it was probably my favourite event of last year contentwise. Just started catching up on vlogs again, recently got to the Emile and Masae vlogs, looking forward to watching them. This month I was wondering, if you had the time, if you could answer a couple of questions I am wondering about. As someone who has flown internationally a good bit, I was wondering if you had any tips for long flights? I'm also going to Tokyo in April with my university class, and except one 2.5 hr flight to Switzerland 3 years ago, I've only flown domestic flights a la 50 minutes between cities in Norway. I was also unlucky with the partitioning in flights, so the people I know personally will have a different layover than myself, and navigating all this seems kind of daunting to an inexperienced traveller. Furthermore, I wondered if you had any tips on getting around Tokyo, maybe most importantly how to navigate the metro, since I'll have to get to Narita on my own at the end of the trip, since the other group leaves ten hours earlier in the day. I don't speak Japanese, so I was wondering, in your experience, if the signs are in English and whether they're sufficient for getting around. Lastly, if you have any tips on what to eat and whatnot I would love some ideas, we'll be based out of Ikebukuro for at least half the trip. I'll definitely rewatch the Japan vlogs before leaving as well. If you had some tips concerning this you could share, that would be great :-) Finally just keep doing what you're doing, loving the content and I feel it just keeps getting better, and can't wait to see what you and Mal create for us for the rest of the year. Have a great February! Glen
Glen H.M. Sørensen
2019-02-08 11:50:48 +0000 UTC
