My wife and I are in Tokyo for a couple of days, before moving on to Kyoto. We have a few restaurants booked already, and have a friend or two in the city who will show us around, but I wanted to solicit some recommendations from people here too. We are staying in Ginza area but happy to walk/use metro to explore other parts of the city.

Any recommendations for good shopping or good food? I’m interested in vintage/second hand clothes, kitchen equipment, etc but honestly open to any suggestions of things to check out!

EDIT:

Well, I’m back stateside now, and I want to avoid bumping this thread too much by going through and thanking people, but I found all of these comments really useful! We ended up having a great time and ate some great food, most of the time by popping in places that looked good when walking by. Did some nice shopping as well (I managed to pick up my dream watch from a small store in Omote-sando!) Thanks everyone for the great recommendations, it was useful to get my bearings, and now I just can’t wait to go back.

Once or twice a year, my friends and I do a "Friend Getaway" where we rent an Airbnb and all communally nerd out. Magic, D&D, videogames, tabletop stuff, etc. It's a great time. We look forward to it every year.

Unfortunately, our experience with Airbnbs has progressively gotten worse over time (not that it was ever great), with this past weekend being our worst ever. We ended up leaving early and escalated a complaint with the platform (not that I actually think that will do anything, which is one of the problems with Airbnb in the first place).

Unfortunately, we're kind of stuck with going with an Airbnb (or similar, like VRBO) if we want to keep doing this because they're the only thing that give us what we want: private common spaces.

The reason we get an Airbnb in the first place isn't for the destination or the attractions around it. It's so we can all hang out together in the living room and dining room, and cook group meals in the kitchen. We retire to the beds to sleep, but 90% of our waking time is spent grouping ourselves up in the common areas by interest.

If we could stay at a hotel and rent out a living room, dining room, and kitchen for the group, we absolutely would. Ever since Airbnbs became a thing, I was hoping hotels would move a little bit in the direction of offering similar setups, but it feels like at most you can simply get a regular hotel room with a kitchenette. They're not really conducive to groups at all.

To me, there's currently a huge gap between what hotels offer and what Airbnb offers, and if you want the latter, you have to put up with a lot of awfulness that's just sort of embedded into their business model.

I don't really have a point in posting this other than to highlight that and hope that it starts some discussion. I'm also hoping that someone tells me that I'm completely wrong and that there are hotels out there that actually do offer Airbnb-like stays/facilities and I just don't know about them.

The company I work for just announced they want to open a new office abroad, in Australia to be specific. We’re based in Denmark, and they’re hoping to have one person from here moving there, working full time.
We already have an office in the US, so it’s not an entirely new thing for us to open an office abroad.
However, I’m really thinking about letting the company know that I would like to go, and I think there is a pretty good chance that they would let me. My wife is open to the idea too. We have one child (she would be just over 3 when we would have to move), so it’s really good timing too…

Have any of you tried something like this? What was your experience like?

Recently I've been watching the show Jet Lag on Nebula. It's an entertaining little reality show where people compete in contests which require a lot of travel, especially in commercial aircraft.

I've noticed that they are really really traveling a lot for a frivolous reason and having a huge carbon footprint. (Yes I understand that the flights they go on are booked anyway and would fly if they weren't on them, sort of).

During the show they sometimes use a graphic to show the travel distance and then also mention that they are using Gold Standard carbon offsets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Standard_(carbon_offset_standard)

I've read a bit about carbon credits and carbon offsets before. I think it seems like a bit of a boondoggle to let people with money greenwash their activities. Has anyone here researched this and come up with a different conclusion?

I think maybe this is a very newbie question to ask on this Tildes group.

A pretty quick work trip has been planned. I will fly into Heathrow Saturday morning. I'll have until Sunday evening to get to Warwick. I'll be in Warwick for 5 days before flying back out the next Saturday.

I'm looking for any general advice but also if there is anything specific to the following:

• I'm going to book my own hotel in London the Saturday night I fly in. Saturday and Sunday are essentially my "tourist" days. Where is good to stay? Not too concerned with price.
• I'm taking a train to Warwick and mostly have that figured out but is there an app or pass that I should add to my Apple wallet for transit around London?
• I like museums of all types. Are there any in particular I should check out?
• Any classic pubs or restaurants I should try to get to?
• Once the week starts I don't think I'll have much time to do touristy stuff and I won't have a car. Any recommendations on things around Warwick/Birmingham that I can get to some evenings via train or bus?

Inspired by a recent conversation I had with a fellow museum lover: what is your favorite museum or favorite museums? Why? Curious to learn about some really interesting and unique places that other users might have been to.

Hi Tildes, I am going to Vienna in November (and if anyone wants to meet up send me a message! but that's another topic), and this is only half vacation, half for a work-related conference, so I want to be able to easily spend a couple hours on work even during the vacation part. To make this easier, I want to buy a portable 2nd monitor that I can plug into my laptop.

I have ZERO experience using such an item, and wasn't even 100% sure they really exist until I searched just now, so I don't think I have any flat requirements. However, I would super like if it takes touch input and comes with a pen! (no i do not want a tablet, I want a 2nd screen for my laptop that I can drag windows & paste between etc). It also should either be super lightweight or be safe to put in my checked luggage (preferably the latter). Minimum 1080p resolution, I don't think the size matters THAT much but at least the size of a normal laptop screen (and not netbook) would be good.

(oops I thought I was pressing enter on a tag but it sent the whole post! edited a bit to finish writing it)

Hey Everyone,

My partner and I are headed on a spontaneous trip to Japan in a few weeks and looking for suggestions. We've heard some great things about Piss Alley and Golden Gai in tokyo, as well as the fish markets, and got really excited about the southern island of Kyushu after watching a video from Huckberry. We're hoping to get out of cities for the most part and into nature/sleepier towns, are able to rent a car but would love to explore as much as we can on trains/bikes, and are really excited about the culture/food/onsens. Really excited to hear about anything you'd recommend based on that or really anything that knocked your socks off!!! Thanks!

Looking for ideas - we're two adults in our mid-30's, no kids. We'll be leaving a wedding on a Monday in Ipswich but our flight home from London isn't until Friday. We'll be spending a week in London beforehand so we'd like to explore the countryside.

The only thing we've (sort of) landed on is seeing/staying in the Cotswolds, and touring some castles (holy crap there's a ton to chose from). We're not big drinkers/partiers but I'd like to be able to go hang out in a real English pub and stay at a Lord-of-the-Rings kind of inn (I already found the inn that the Prancing Pony is based on - thought not sure if we want to stay there).

Other random thoughts. Unfortunately our schedule doesn't seem like it'll line up with any Premier League games. Not planning on renting a car but can if we absolutely must. Would kind of like to stay in one spot since it's only 3 nights.

Hi all- throwing myself on the goodwill of the community.

I'm currently planning an approximately 10 day trip to Germany this December with my wife and our two boys (6 and 10).

I am constrained by the will of the people as follows:

My Wife: Wants to see the Christmas markets in Cologne and wherever else they may be in the cities we go through. Cologne is a must, though.

My elder son: Is obsessed with tanks and really wants to see the German Tank Museum in Munster (Lower Saxony not Munster in Westphalia). Honestly, so would I.
He had also really wanted to see the u-boat preserved at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven so Bremen seemed like a good midpoint. It turns out the ship exhibitions are closed during winter alas. In any case I'm not closely wedded to Bremen specifically but I will need to take a day trip to the Tank Museum from a nearby city. Staying specifically in Munster seems counterproductive as it appears to be a rather small town (I'm willing to do so if anyone has good things to say about it).

I'm stuck with these dates too, as I have to be elsewhere by the 21st for Christmas celebrations.

Currently the broad strokes are as follows:

10 Dec (Tues)
AM: Land in Frankfurt 0610. Connect to Cologne via train
PM: Check in to hotel. Cologne Christmas markets

11 Dec (Weds)
AM & PM: Tourist stuff in Cologne

12 Dec (Thurs)
AM: Connect to Bremen via train
PM: Wander Bremen old town

13 Dec (Fri)
AM: Rent car, drive to German Tank Museum in Munster
PM: Back to Bremen, check out Christmas markets

14 Dec (Sat)
AM: Connect to Berlin via train
PM: Check into hotel, get orientated

15- 18 Dec (Sun- Weds)
See Things In Berlin (would be glad for suggestions here)

19 Dec (Thurs)
AM Connect to Frankfurt via train
PM Last minute sightseeing Frankfurt

20 Dec (Fri)
AM Fly off from Frankfurt Airport

Would be grateful for any feedback and/or suggestions.

I had initially planned a trip to Japan but had to change plans at the last minute.

So here I am, not as well prepared as I usually am. Would love to hear what you guys love doing when in Singapore. I'm not someone who enjoys nightlife/clubbing. Good food and cocktail bars are more my speed. Already booked a nice looking place called Candlenut for a meal.

Any sightseeing recommendations would be really helpful as well. Thanks guys.

My wife and I will be traveling to NY in early April. I already have our "nice" dinners planned at Osteria 57 in Greenwich Village and Peak NYC at Hudson Yards. If, for some reason, I should absolutely avoid these two places...please let me know.

We need to loosely plan dinner for the other two nights. These two nights shouldn't be as expensive as the two nights above :). Both of these nights we'd like to eat closer to Astoria, where we will be staying (roughly 28th and 38th). We'll be close to Richmond Hill one of these days, so would be open to eating down there as well before returning back to Astoria.

Could you suggest a great pizza place where we could sit down and have salad and pizza?

how about a traditional Indian restaurant? Not a fusion and not some place where someone tries to do something fancy. A place I can get Chicken Tikka Masala and my wife can find Chana Masala.

Some other place that isn't Indian or pizza, but is an absolute must in Astoria?

Thank you New Yorkers!

We are planning a trip to Norway in February (toward the end).

The plan is to arrive into Oslo and take the first flight to Tromso, and spend several days there enjoying the city and embarking on several activities including:

• Fjord River Boat Tour
• Dog Sledding
• Aurora Chasing
• (maybe) Cross Country Skiing
• Visiting the Ice Domes
• Visiting Museums
• Visiting a spa

On the way back we'd like to visit Bergen for a couple of days and have yet to plan this part at all.

Any locals or people who have already visited: Is there anything you think would be a shame to miss out on while we're there? Anything you think is a waste of time and / or money?

We are doing this trip on a budget. Ultimately, Norway is expensive so "on a budget" means, we're taking cheap flights and not staying in luxury accommodation for the most part.

One last thing: I am planning to propose on this trip. I would love any advice on somewhere romantic to actually pop the question. My current plan is to do it on the aurora chasing trip if we get lucky, but otherwise I need a couple of backup plans.

Hi everyone!

I am moving to Colorado from Oregon late February and will be driving with my cat. I am shipping my belongings separately so it’s just us in the car.

We will be traveling through Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. I have never been through any of these states, particularly this time of year. My planned route is

Day 1 - Portland, OR -> Boise, ID
Day 2 - Boise, ID -> Salt Lake City, UT
Day 3 - Salt Lake City, UT -> Grand Junction, CO
Day 4 - Grand Junction, CO -> Denver, CO

Because of the time of year, I wanted to see if anyone had tips for traveling this route. I have checked average temperatures for the cities I’ll be stopping in for that time of year but I know that’s not the full story. I’m also going to get my car checked out before the long drive to make sure all is well. I have all season tires that are newer and chains already in the car.

I have a first aid kit, will bring a few blankets and some food/water for both me and the cat (Marge), a battery pack, and a few days of clothes for the traveling. That’s all I could think of.

Does anyone have suggestions or tips for this 1200+ mile trip? Also, my cat has only ever been in the car for about 3 hours at most. She’s sometimes anxious and sometimes chill. If anyone has suggestions for traveling with a cat in the car for up to 7 hours per day, that would also be appreciated!