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> It took me more than a decade of living in Japan to notice the takkyu-bin service. That’s sort of shocking to me. I’ve only spent a few months in Japan but i
by dcdc123 3y ago
> It took me more than a decade of living in Japan to notice the takkyu-bin service.
That’s sort of shocking to me. I’ve only spent a few months in Japan but it was well known among people I knew offering advice leading up to each trip and mentioned on every single travel guide. On top of that there are always lines at every counter and you see them often enough picking up and dropping off in hotels.
- corbezzoli 3y agoA lot of people travel without research nowadays: book the flight, book the hotel, find everything out as you go. That's how I did my first trip to Japan and I felt like an alien.
- JCharante 3y agoAgreed. There's been a dozen times where I only started finding a hotel while Ubering to the international airport. One time I had to change out of my seat for landing because my seatbelt wasn't working, so I sat next to a stranger and started talking. She offered to split a cab with me and asked where I was staying, but I told her I didn't book a place yet (she was shocked). I found a nice hotel chain, booked it and on the way downtown told the driver. I like to visit and explore a city, and then I'll know where I want to stay the next time I go back. I've certainly screwed myself a few times (I didn't know Seoul was so big so every day started & ended with a 1 hour Uber) but I have the entire rest of my life to learn and experience, so why try to do it "perfect" the first time? I've been to Singapore a few times but haven't seen those Lion fountains yet. I don't know where they are, but it'll be cool when I run into them by accident sometime in the future.
- seer 3y agoHah a kindred spirit. And I thought I was just weird for booking things last minute and not caring too much if it doesn't end up perfect. One of my best experiences have been when things "mixed up". No good story starts with "and everything went according to plan". On a side note you might be like me as well in another sense and be an introvert too. This is kind of how I got to grips with it and accepted it wholeheartedly https://medium.com/@ivankerin/am-i-an-explorer-76219a8f4199 https://medium.com/@ivankerin/am-i-an-explorer-76219a8f4199
- dcdc123 3y agoI am a full-time nomad and barely do any advance planning and still heard about it constantly. On top of that it is highly visible while in Japan. Counters and signs for it at the airport, every hotel offers it and most will ask about it, and you see the people running bags around on bicycles and motorcycles with trailers all over the place. You would need to be an exceptionally oblivious person to miss it for ten years.
- JCharante 3y agoDo people living somewhere usually read travel guides? I'm still young so I haven't visited many countries (just ~13) but I've never read a travel guide, I presume they have useless information. I've also gone on 3 trips to Japan and I've never heard of takkyu-bin, although I'll consider it for future visits.
- dcdc123 3y agoI mean I guess if you don't go to the airport or any hotels for ten years it might be possible to miss it as well. Every hotel offers it, the airport has plenty of signs, and the actual people on bikes and motorcycles with trailers moving the bags are _all over_ the place.
- averageRoyalty 3y agoI only found out about it on my most recent (5th) trip to Japan. I've transited Haneda, Narita and Osaka and never noticed the signage or had it mentioned to me by my hotel.