Wrestle Kingdom 12 Live Thread

ciano316

I got a ticket to New Years Dash using the wonderful Japanese way of sticking what you want on the ground to Q. Leggo I think I seen you walk by me while I was in the Q for NYD. Thought you were running the Wrestle Kingdom party here so thought it must of been someone who looked like you.

Wrestle Kingdom and Japan overall was unreal. Hoping to go back again another year. People were so nice and the whole event week was just class.

Some cool stuff we did:
- Big Japan Pro Wrestling which had a death match as its main event.
- Went to The Great Kabukis restaurant and met him. He was a gent.
- Wrestle Kingdom itself
- New Japan store, Toudokon wrestling store
- Tokyo Skystre and temples
- Went to Killer Khans restaurant, had pints with him and a few locals. Got a signed autobiography off him.
- Went to the original Ribera steakhouse, steak was unreal.
- Went Antonio Inokis restaurant and had dinner.
- Met Omega, Bucks, Cody, Tama, War Machine, Cheeseburger, Bulldog jr, Archer, Tajiri, Bad luck fale and others.

Unreal trip overall.
I was in section 1F for Wrestle Kingdom. Here's a video of Naitos entrance from my seat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2o7LTEKW_4

leggo

No way, I actually saw your name in the queue when we first went down but I was so panicked by the time I got back because the queue was moving I didn’t even cop you! Such a small world.

Btw totally agree about Ribeira, 100% worth the hype! The Lucha waiter was a nice touch too.

ciano316

Here's some photos from Ribera.

ShagNastii

leggo wrote: »

Amazing experience though. If you’ve any inclination towards heading over yourself sometime, I highly recommend doing so. It’s also pretty affordable for a dream wrestling holiday. If anyone needs any tips or anything on doing it, hit me up and I’d be happy to help.

Hey Leggo hate to bring this up but I'd definitely be interested to seeing the break down on this and how do-able it is. I think it's a matter of time before myself and the missus head to Japan. I will certainly aim to be in Tokyo Jan 4th.

leggo

Happy to help. In work now but when I get a chance (possibly later this evening) I’ll put together something! If I forget PM me anytime though.

ShagNastii

Sounds good. Thanks brah.

jrkb

Only just got round to watching this today have only ever watched the odd Japanese match and never watched Wrestle Kingdom so wasn't in a hurry to watch it,well holy crap that was 5hrs of constant entertainment there wasn't a bad match on the whole card,the four way match was my favourite followed closely by Jerico(proper heel not the wwe jokey version)and the Okada match after that.Havnt enjoyed a ppv as much in years will definitely be watching a hell of a lot more Japanese wrestling from now on.

leggo

Right, I've got a few minutes so, getting to Wrestle Kingdom...

I flew on the 2nd so, with the time difference (they're 9 hours ahead), arrived on the 3rd. Some people I spoke to over there all concurred that was the way to do it. New Year's is the same as over here, then the 2nd is a big day too so a lot of stuff is apparently closed then limiting your options for stuff to do, but they get back to normal from the 3rd and then you're setup for the 4th.

Flights: I used Expedia to get a price comparison then went with Lufthansa, IIRC they were around €700 for Economy back in June. I'd recommend this. Lufthansa are like German Ryanair so the short haul flights (they connect through Germany) are meh, but they partner with Japanese airline ANA who I highly recommend. They cover all the little things, the seats are comfortable, you get your complimentary pillow and blanket, food is grand, the entertainment system is swish. The only bitch is legroom (plus 12 hour flights are never fun in general but nothing you can do there) and that's part and parcel of economy. On the way back I paid €100 to upgrade to a seat at the top of Economy (via the Lufthansa website) with extra leg room and it was really worth it, I'll be doing that again.

Accommodation: I stayed in the APA Hotel in Kanda-Jimbocho (may have botched the spelling). Disappointingly no Ron Simmons in the APA Hotel but I showered more comfortably knowing JBL wouldn't show up. Stayed 4 nights, price was a steal at around €220. The rooms are TINY (which is standard in Tokyo) but well kept and have everything you need. Ideal for one person but may get tight with two, you'll be on top of each other. But if you just need a place to sleep, the beds are comfortable. If you're on a budget, I'd recommend but know that it is tiny (you're talking a gap which fits your suitcase, then your double bed, with a long desk, no wardrobe space but a rail with hangers for your clothes and a tight bathroom). The only thing I saw that got dodgy reviews online was the traditional fish Japanese breakfast, so I just opted out of that and made alternative eating arrangements. You can get it via Booking.com so even book now and cancel for free later if you don't go or find somewhere more suitable. I've already booked an apartment elsewhere for next year if I decide to go back (if I go back I'm going with a group hence the apartment).

Tickets: Easily gotten via the NJPW1972.com English language website. You can get travel packs like with Mania but I just booked the tickets so I wasn't boxed into specific options. They go on-sale in October, if you read the Observer daily updates even it won't pass you by. I paid €50 approx on the day they went on-sale and got a good seat on the floor. I covered that and getting tickets for NY Dash the next day above.

Language: God knows I tried to learn beforehand, but I didn't get to the stage of feeling confident putting sentences together. I got by using a basic few words so "Hello" (konnichiwa), "Thank you" (arigato) and so on. When I go back I'll learn more but that did me tbh. Pretty much everything is signed in English too and a lot of restaurants/shops have English pricing/menus/signage. There's a good basic level of English there and the people are helpful. What I'd spend more time on is learning the customs and differences, so stuff like bowing to people (and not pointing with one finger or blowing your nose in public), you feel like a thick at first but get used to it within a day. Know this stuff and be respectful and you'll get loads of help that'll mean you get by fine.

Spending Money: I brought €1000 with me and ended up bringing €200 home, though I had a lot of stuff booked before I left. And I didn't scrimp either, spent when I wanted. While stuff like taxis are crazy expensive, for the most part day-to-day it works out pretty similar price-wise to Ireland.

Other stuff:

• Take public transport instead of taxis where possible. You can pick up a Suica Card (their equivalent of the Leap Card) at the airport via machines that can be used in English. I fell in love with their train system, it's very manageable once you get used to it and super efficient, and you'll learn it (using Google Maps liberally of course) by the first time you use it. Once you do, you're free to travel wherever you like, you can top your Suica Card up at machines at every station.
  
• Get pocket wifi so you're connected at all times, I used Sakura Mobile, you can order and prepay for it online and either collect at the airport or have it delivered to your hotel. Handy for the obvious reasons, but also Google Maps is essential for getting around.
  
• I'm a fussy eater, not adventurous and I don't particular care to get adventurous. I got by fine. While there's obviously loads of traditional options for you to choose from, when I was there I ate in TGI Fridays (just beside Tokyo Dome), Hooters, McDonalds etc.
  
• Worth noting is that Tokyo largely closes up, including bars, by 11pm. It's not the type of place you go for a mad piss-up now, so only night this was an inconvenience was the night of WK12, where I would've loved a late drink to chat about the show. Having said that, if you do want nightlife, Roppongi is the tourist-friendly area with clubs etc that stay open late. For my last night, I booked into the Tokyo Pub Crawl (you can Google it for info and bookings). Basically, a lot of the big pubs and clubs don't allow admission to foreigners because Japan is very nationalist, UNLESS you have a local host. This gets you that access plus you get to meet with other people travelling. Now it's a lot, basically it felt like going to a college frat party, and I wouldn't do it regularly if I lived there, but as a one-night plan to experience the nightlife I had great craic and got to know loads of people.
  
• Book day tours with Trip Advisor. You get a LOT done in one day, generally from around 8-6, hitting the big spots for an hour or so then moving on, with a local guide to fill in the blanks so you know the significance of what you're seeing. If I was doing a 2-week holiday, the first week I'd do WK and the events plus a few day tours, then I'd keep a list of things I wanted to come back to from the day tours and spend a full day there.
  
• This book is worth getting on Kindle (get it on your phone so you can consult it over there if needed) before you travel to Japan for wrestling. It's a really quick read, you can get it read in about 2 hours, plus it has some handy tips for wrestling bars/restaurants to go as well as stuff like basic Japanese phrases written phonetically. Very handy!

That's all I can think of for now, but if there's anything specific you want to know that I didn't touch on, get me here or via PM.

ShagNastii

That's a cracking write up Leggo, thanks.

I'm surprised your detail about the tickets, accommodation and other stuff. Seems the major expanse is your fights which IMO are fairly reasonable.

Will certainly look at this again after the summer.

ciano316

Going to Wrestle Kingdom is actually cheaper than going to WrestleMania. This was my costs for going:
Flights: €630. Booked with Skyscanner.
I booked Amsterdam to Tokyo stopping in warsaw 1stJan-8thJan. For €570 then booked ryanair Dub-Amsterdam for €60 and linked them all up. There's a few options out of Amsterdam to get there so if the prices are sky high from Dublin try that way.

Hotel: €135 for 6 nights.
Centurion Cabin Residential Hotel in Akasaka.
Really good value for the price and right beside akasaka metro station and around the corner from Tamike Sanno station that goes to korakuen station at the tokyo dome. Its like a hostel dorm room if you have ever stayed in one but way way nicer and your inside your own cabin that closes, has a tv, table, light, aircon all in in it. You share bathroom and shower but they're super clean. Fresh towels everyday, toothbrush, razor all for free at the sinks. You leave your shoes outside the rooms and get your own locker to store valuables in.

Tickets:
Wrestle Kingdom - Section 1F 9500 yen (€75)
New Years Dash - Standing 3500 yen (€26)
Big Japan Pro Wrestling - Seating B 3500 yen
Obviously its up to you how many events you go to and how much you spend on tickets. Theres events on korakuen every day that week. Some days have 2 shows on.

Transport:
Metro and JR Lines: Price varies
I didn't bother with the suica or passimo card and just paid each trip. Was usually around 170 yen or 200 yen. I was a bit nervous about getting around but it couldn't be any easier. The metro stops have English over the names and you can choose english on the ticket machines so its way easier than I expected. They all link up so well that its easy to switch and get to different places. I didn't take any taxis.
Something I will advise is theres no need to get the express train from the airport for 3500 yen I got to my stop for 1100 yen.

Spending money
I brought 65000 yen which is €516 and I came home with 4000 yen. Again this all depends on how fancy you want to eat and how much booze u want to drink. I only drank 1 night out of the whole trip. I did buy merch ( 3 tshirts, WK12 program, WK7 program, killer khan book etc. All my train journeys are included in this spending money and so is my NYD + BJW tickets.

Thats a rough breakdown of my spending.