Europe or Japan?

[Mr Tonka]

You're not going to see this type of stuff in Europe. Nuff said.




Yes, I know this isn't Japan.

[jtodd_fl]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

You're not going to see this type of stuff in Europe. Nuff said.


Yes, I know this isn't Japan.

Hans Christian Andersen, eat your heart out. That wet fishy broad can suck it.

[BMW F22]

Agreed that Europe has a variety of experiences since it is easy to go from one country to the next. I have covered most of Europe except Barcelona and Eastern Europe and was wondering what it's like there (mainly Eastern Eu).

I agree that after a while, Europe looks all very similar. It's not exactly true but kind of is. I do really like Eu because I love driving there- through the Alps, autobahn, varied scenery within an hour of any city.

Reason I'm wondering is because the gf and I are planning our first trip overseas together. She's only been to Iceland and not the continental Europe. I have been to most of Eu and Tokyo, Japan. I liked Tokyo for the reasons you guys have mentioned (good, high quality food, safe, everyone is so polite, etc.). Both places are cheap to visit right now (though the Yen has gone up since I last visited in Oct 15).

From my limited experience of Japan, I would say that there wasn't sure scenery since I was in the biggest city there. Perhaps if I were to go to a different city it would be better. All tbe images I see of Japan are cities.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Agreed that Europe has a variety of experiences since it is easy to go from one country to the next. I have covered most of Europe except Barcelona and Eastern Europe and was wondering what it's like there (mainly Eastern Eu).

I agree that after a while, Europe looks all very similar. It's not exactly true but kind of is.

Reason I'm wondering is because the gf and I are planning our first trip overseas together. She's only been to Iceland and not the continental Europe. I have been to most of Eu and Tokyo, Japan. I liked Tokyo for the reasons you guys have mentioned (good, high quality food, safe, everyone is so polite, etc.). Both places are cheap to visit right now (though the Yen has gone up since I last visited in Oct 15).

From my limited experience of Japan, I would say that there wasn't sure scenery since I was in the biggest city there. Perhaps if I were to go to a different city it would be better. All tbe images I see of Japan are cities.

One place near Tokyo I highly recommend is Nokogiriyama (Mount Nokogiri). Google it...it's like a different world. You can do hiking and the views are beautiful.

[UncleWede]

If you go to Japan, make it a point to go to the memorial in Nagasaki and learn about forgiveness and regret. It's probably been 10 years since I went, and I still get a tear writing this.

It's a rough flight though. When we got to Tokyo, and into a cab to get to the local airport, I knew I had to speak another language. For some reason the stupid cabbie couldn't understand my Spanish

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

If you go to Japan, make it a point to go to the memorial in Nagasaki and learn about forgiveness and regret. It's probably been 10 years since I went, and I still get a tear writing this.

It's a rough flight though. When we got to Tokyo, and into a cab to get to the local airport, I knew I had to speak another language. For some reason the stupid cabbie couldn't understand my Spanish

That sounds pretty interesting. Hmmm

[-BEASTMW-]

This is a little unfair, as:

Originally Posted by metrickid

Yeah, lets compare a country to a continent with 50 countries...

Thank you.

With that said, Europe.

I've been to Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Nikko). I've been to Europe 7 times and to 10 countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Austria, Bulgaria, Netherlands). Note that I haven't even been to northern Europe yet (would love to go to Iceland)! I'm also half-Asian and half-European in descent (American-born) so not as biased, haha.

Yes, Japan is great as everyone said - very safe, convenient, scenic, and top-quality food and just about everything else. It's an amazing culture.

However, comparing to all of Europe is an unfair fight. You can hop around to several different countries in a week or two and have a lot of different experiences. Just some highlights from my trips to Europe (pics are not mine because I'm at work, but mine are just as good!):

Hiking the absolutely gorgeous Cinque Terre, Italy:


Driving the incomparable Nurburgring:


Relaxing in Santorini (this is the hotel we stayed at during our honeymoon):


Living it up in Istanbul:


Don't get me wrong, Japan is awesome. But try getting all those experiences + a hell of a lot more in ANY one country. Impossible.

[PoorLurker]

Kind of a hard question to ask people because there are people who would never want to go to Asia.

Personally, I'd pick Japan every time. I feel very comfortable there even though I cannot read, write, or speak Japanese. I love the culture, the food, and the people watching.

As people mentioned, Europe has multiple countries which would be great because you can see a lot of varying culture within a relative short trip.

But replace Japan with Asia, and you can get the same type of feel as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tokyo are much different.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

Kind of a hard question to ask people because there are people who would never want to go to Asia.

I know people like that. Never understood why. Those that don't ever want to go to Asia tend to be of non-Asian descent. Heck, I'm Asian and I have been to more countries in Europe than I have in Asia. Eventually I'll make my way to all 7 continents.

I am set on Japan. Want to explore and see more of it. Europe I will save for when I do another ED. However, there are a few constraints at both of our work that we are working around so we'll see. Might end up going to Europe in the end.

[PoorLurker]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

I know people like that. Never understood why. Those that don't ever want to go to Asia tend to be of non-Asian descent. Heck, I'm Asian and I have been to more countries in Europe than I have in Asia. Eventually I'll make my way to all 7 continents.

I am set on Japan. Want to explore and see more of it. Europe I will save for when I do another ED. However, there are a few constraints at both of our work that we are working around so we'll see. Might end up going to Europe in the end.

Some people feel very out of place being a visual minority. And by visual minority, one who is standing out. If a white American goes to Europe, they may still feel more included as they are around "white people" even though they may not be able to communicate.

Beats me.

Your post did remind me of one reason I would like to travel to Europe - for an ED.
After seeing some of the posts on here and on Instagram, it looks quite appealing to be able to spend a couple weeks driving your new german sports car around Europe visiting various countries.

My neighbor did an ED trip for his M4 and when he got to the part about him driving through the alps playing with motorcycles, I started to tear up inside.

[adobeee]

Japan.

Was just there for Christmas and New Year's and loved every second of it.

#1 Great and affordable food. As Anthony Bourdain said, every chef he knows would want to die in Japan if they were to choose one single country to live for the rest of their lives. Even their yolks in eggs are a natural and very rich golden yellow compared to the crap we eat here in the U.S.
#2 Unrivaled public transportation system. I live in San Francisco and can confidently say BART and CalTrain are the worst forms of public transportation
#3 Extremely friendly and polite people
#4 CLEAN. Almost everywhere is spotless, similar to Singapore
#5 Japanese women love foreigners. I'm Chinese, but raised in America, and had some pretty memorable experiences
#6 There is literally something to do at every corner of the city and at ANY HOUR of the day
#7 Make sure you visit some entertainment shows and venues (google Shinjuku Robot Show)
#8 If you get away from the major cities, the country side is drop dead gorgeous

Some places I recommend for food in Tokyo:

Best ramen: https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E9%8A%80%E...%AE%E5%8C%BA-2

Best kobe beef (literally won national championships and you know how Japanese people are obsessed with quality): http://www.a511.jp/jp/

Best affordable sushi (this is literally FRESH FROM THE SEA - as in the fish were just AUCTIONED): https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E5%AF%BF%E...A4%AE%E5%8C%BA

If you want more upscale, this is literally the best sushi restaurant in the world: https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E3%81%99%E...A4%AE%E5%8C%BA











Hope this helps!!

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by adobeee

Japan.

Was just there for Christmas and New Year's and loved every second of it.

#1 Great and affordable food. As Anthony Bourdain said, every chef he knows would want to die in Japan if they were to choose one single country to live for the rest of their lives. Even their yolks in eggs are a natural and very rich golden yellow compared to the crap we eat here in the U.S.
#2 Unrivaled public transportation system. I live in San Francisco and can confidently say BART and CalTrain are the worst forms of public transportation
#3 Extremely friendly and polite people
#4 CLEAN. Almost everywhere is spotless, similar to Singapore
#5 Japanese women love foreigners. I'm Chinese, but raised in America, and had some pretty memorable experiences
#6 There is literally something to do at every corner of the city and at ANY HOUR of the day
#7 Make sure you visit some entertainment shows and venues (google Shinjuku Robot Show)
#8 If you get away from the major cities, the country side is drop dead gorgeous

Some places I recommend for food in Tokyo:

Best ramen: https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E9%8A%80%E...%AE%E5%8C%BA-2

Best kobe beef (literally won national championships and you know how Japanese people are obsessed with quality): http://www.a511.jp/jp/

Best affordable sushi (this is literally FRESH FROM THE SEA - as in the fish were just AUCTIONED): https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E5%AF%BF%E...A4%AE%E5%8C%BA

If you want more upscale, this is literally the best sushi restaurant in the world: https://www.yelp.com/biz/%E3%81%99%E...A4%AE%E5%8C%BA











Hope this helps!!

Wow!! Those are fantastic suggestions- thank you! And damn, $330 per person for sushi?? I love sushi but that's pretty up there. Lol

[BMW F22]

Btw, has anyone gone to Mt Fuji? Is it worth it to go? I read that most of the times it's covered by clouds.

[adobeee]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Wow!! Those are fantastic suggestions- thank you! And damn, $330 per person for sushi?? I love sushi but that's pretty up there. Lol

Best in the world. Period. Once in a lifetime experience so worth the $.

One last thing to mention: Hokkaido is drop dead gorgeous during winter.

[adobeee]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Btw, has anyone gone to Mt Fuji? Is it worth it to go? I read that most of the times it's covered by clouds.

I went recently to Mt. Fuji. Clear as crystal during late December.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by adobeee

Best in the world. Period. Once in a lifetime experience so worth the $.

One last thing to mention: Hokkaido is drop dead gorgeous during winter.

Funny you mentioned that. Hokkaido is at the top of my list. Read about it as a kid when reading Doraemon comics. Lol

Is it not worth it to go in Spring/Summer?

[PoorLurker]

Seikan tunnel connecting Hokkaido to Honshu goes nearly 800 feet below sea level!

That Sushi Dai place referenced above is very, very good. Was worth getting up at 4am to get there when it opened.

Heard that the Robot show is actually pretty bad. I guess they try to exploit many stereotypes to appease westerners.

Here's a photo my wife took of me at the onsen in Hokkaido. Warm water and cold air never felt so good.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

Seikan tunnel connecting Hokkaido to Honshu goes nearly 800 feet below sea level!

That Sushi Dai place referenced above is very, very good. Was worth getting up at 4am to get there when it opened.

Heard that the Robot show is actually pretty bad. I guess they try to exploit many stereotypes to appease westerners.

Here's a photo my wife took of me at the onsen in Hokkaido. Warm water and cold air never felt so good.

Lol. Either you're very hairy or the camera was out of focus...

[BMW F22]

Just watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Wow...really want to try it. I don't have a sensitive pallet so I'm not sure if I would be able to tell the difference at $300 a person.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Care to expand on that? What attracts you the most about Japan?

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Been to both multiple times.

Japan >>>>>> Europe.

Classier, better culture, better food, cleaner, nicer people, best train/subway system in the world, nicer people, and did I mention cleaner?

Tokyo is one of my favorite destinations in the world, maybe top 2. I would consider living there it's so good.

What he said.

[BMW F22]

I thought about what makes Jiro's sushi so special and whether it deserves such a high price tag. I came to realize that it does for this reason: it takes something like 10-15 years for an apprentice to become good enough to make sushi there. So you're really paying for 10 years' worth of hard work and dedication. After 10,000+ hours of practice, you're eating food from a master.

[adobeee]

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

Seikan tunnel connecting Hokkaido to Honshu goes nearly 800 feet below sea level!

That Sushi Dai place referenced above is very, very good. Was worth getting up at 4am to get there when it opened.

Heard that the Robot show is actually pretty bad. I guess they try to exploit many stereotypes to appease westerners.

Here's a photo my wife took of me at the onsen in Hokkaido. Warm water and cold air never felt so good.

Haha you are a monkey?!

Agreed on the Robot show - I didn't particularly like it, but most Americans I know certainly loved it. To each his own, but definitely an interesting experience00