[PockyMuncher]

well that's pretty much the story with all animes that come over to the US. They all turn into crap....well...80% of em. A few others that are well worth watching are Gungrave (made by the creators of Trigun), Wolf's Rain and, even though it's perverted, Ninja Scroll. I'm actually headed to an anime convention here in Boston in a few weeks.

[chastmastr]

Ah, I see! We get them on eBay and I think the convention will have some good offerings.

Disney has been releasing Miyazaki's films in the US and doing very good voice work for it, not surprisingly.

We tend to like a rather peculiar, eclectic array of anime series -- Cardcaptor Sakura, Serial Experiments Lain, Cowboy Bebop, Ebichu, Loki Ragnarok Detective...

David
eating tomato Pretz

[PockyMuncher]

ah Lain is a good anime. A really random, but VERY funny one is .....ooh...i forgot the name...oops lol. It's on Adult Swim all the time. Another good one is FLCL

[chastmastr]

I wouldn't know, not having access to Adult Swim...

David

[chastmastr]

I have seen about half of FLCL; somehow I just lost interest about halfway through the series.

I have liked some other things by Studio Gainax (who did FLCL) though. Magical☆Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is fantastic!

I won't post a link here for another of Gainax's series, Ebichu the Housekeeping Hamster, because it makes South Park look clean... It's like the anti-Hamtaro.

David
chu?

[PockyMuncher]

wow....now that i gotta see. Thanks for the link.

[chastmastr]

You're most welcome! :)

David

[577NitroExpress]

WishUponaStar:

I spent two weeks in Tokyo during the first part of my honeymoon. After that, we traveled throughout Thailand for a month and would HIGHLY recommend, if you can, (and since you are half way around the world already), you fly down to Thailand for a week or so - it is great.

Here are some highlights and suggestions for you to consider.

When you land at Narita (assuming you do), I would book a bus into Tokyo specifically to your hotel directly - traffic is HORRENDOUS and it takes about an hour to two hours to get to Tokyo center. Mind you, Tokyo the city is HUGE - and I do mean it!

We stayed at the Tokyo Westin, and it was right at the Ebisu train station - I would HIGHLY recommend that you stay at a hotel close to a train station as that is the most efficient mode of transportation. Taxis? FOrget it. You'll spend a day's wages taking it to dinner.

I can't say anything about Tokyo Disney.

I can't stress this enough - go out and explore the city. Get lost and find the off beaten places. Be brave and eat stuff you probably will never be able to find again. When looking for places to eat, look for crowds of people waiting to get in - that is the best recommendation by Tony Bourdain.

You HAVE to visit the Tajiki Fish Market. It is the largest fish market in the world and is literally a study of chaos. I had the best sushi and sashimi in my life there - at 5:00 AM. If you are a cook, pick up some chef knives there - not cheap, but the best cuttlery made in traditional ways - the way samaraui swords were made by folding metal 1000s of times.

Eat a beer bowl (Gyu Don) as a Yoshinoya place - it's Japanese fast food and amazing.

Visit the Imperial Palace.

Get lost with your guide book and map. Tokyo is facinating and you'll love the adventure.

Mt. Fiji, if the weather is clear, can be seen from Tokyo. The whole time we were there we only saw it on one morning - and that lasted only about two hours.

[chastmastr]

:envy:

My goodness, and a local VA person too, I see! Pleased to meet you, 577-sama!

David

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by 577NitroExpress

WishUponaStar:

I spent two weeks in Tokyo during the first part of my honeymoon. After that, we traveled throughout Thailand for a month and would HIGHLY recommend, if you can, (and since you are half way around the world already), you fly down to Thailand for a week or so - it is great.

Here are some highlights and suggestions for you to consider.

When you land at Narita (assuming you do), I would book a bus into Tokyo specifically to your hotel directly - traffic is HORRENDOUS and it takes about an hour to two hours to get to Tokyo center. Mind you, Tokyo the city is HUGE - and I do mean it!

We stayed at the Tokyo Westin, and it was right at the Ebisu train station - I would HIGHLY recommend that you stay at a hotel close to a train station as that is the most efficient mode of transportation. Taxis? FOrget it. You'll spend a day's wages taking it to dinner.

I can't say anything about Tokyo Disney.

I can't stress this enough - go out and explore the city. Get lost and find the off beaten places. Be brave and eat stuff you probably will never be able to find again. When looking for places to eat, look for crowds of people waiting to get in - that is the best recommendation by Tony Bourdain.

You HAVE to visit the Tajiki Fish Market. It is the largest fish market in the world and is literally a study of chaos. I had the best sushi and sashimi in my life there - at 5:00 AM. If you are a cook, pick up some chef knives there - not cheap, but the best cuttlery made in traditional ways - the way samaraui swords were made by folding metal 1000s of times.

Eat a beer bowl (Gyu Don) as a Yoshinoya place - it's Japanese fast food and amazing.

Visit the Imperial Palace.

Get lost with your guide book and map. Tokyo is facinating and you'll love the adventure.

Mt. Fiji, if the weather is clear, can be seen from Tokyo. The whole time we were there we only saw it on one morning - and that lasted only about two hours.

Thank you!!! Those are some GREAT suggestions!! Unfortunately we would not have time to make it to Thailand b/c I will have to fit the trip into Spring Break '07, I am a teacher. I am the type of person to DEFINATELY just go out and explore the city, get lost, and try whatever restauarants I may find!! Thank you again, we still haven't decided anything for sure! It's either Tokyo for spring break, or Vegas on Spring Break and then WDW in summer.

[577NitroExpress]

I would highly recommend that you take in the exotic, although Vegas can be quite exotic itself!

Tokyo is a an experience and if you are a person can feel comfortable outside of their comfort zone, shouldn't hesitate in going.

Just be open to new, exciting things and just imagine what kind of diverse experiences you can share with your students.

Just be prepared for a very LOOOOOOOOONG flight!