I'm looking to purchase my first custom gaming PC with a budget of around £1000 preferably a bit cheaper if possible. Can I get any suggests based of this build that I've received a £1.3k quote on.
Case FRACTAL POP SILENT CASE TG (BLACK) Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700F (2.1GHz) 25MB Cache Motherboard ASUS® TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, PCIe5.0, USB 3.2) Memory (RAM) 16GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (1 x 16GB) Graphics Card 12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 - HDMI, DP, LHR Graphics Card Support Bracket PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET 1st M.2 SSD Drive 1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR 2500MB/sW) Power Supply CORSAIR 550W CV SERIES™ CV-550 POWER SUPPLY Power Cable 1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead) Processor Cooling PCS FrostFlow 100 RGB V3 Series High Performance CPU Cooler Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING Extra Case Fans 1 x 120mm PCS Ultra Quiet Fan Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD) Network Card 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT USB/Thunderbolt Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS Operating System Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003] Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language Windows Recovery Media Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required) Anti-Virus Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License Browser Microsoft® Edge Warranty 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI) Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Price: £1,205.00 including VAT and Delivery

PC

Discord Username: lemon#1627
Character Name and House: Torren
Age: 18
Appearance: The biting-cold sea winds and sharp hiss of sliding steel, that is all that Torren can remember from his earliest days, and by which has moulded him into the young man he is now. With golden hair that falls messily off his face and a thin, scant stubble, he is bereft of joy and wears a hard line for a mouth and sharp, cold eyes so very deep and brown. His frame is thin from hunger and lined with cuts, old and new, as bruises of all colours splotch his skin.
Gift: Agility
Skills: Daggers (M), Water Dancing, Footwork
Talent(s): Fishing, Climbing, Swimming
Starting Title(s): N/A
Starting Location: King's Landing
Dragon Name: N/A
Dragon Size: N/A
Family Tree:

• Torwyn [d. 195 AC]
• Lyra [b. 171 AC]
  • Gilliane [b. 187 AC]
  • Torren [b. 189 AC]

Alternate Characters: N/A

AC

Discord Username: lemon#1627
Character Name and House: Herrock Drumm
Age: 46
Appearance: If he is to be stained from the years of warfare, the Ironborn captain hides it all too well. He is tall and broad, with a well-muscled frame that never so much as misses a meal; the captain has his share, always. With a small beard, blonde and grey, that wraps around his lower face and an easy smug smile to fit between it, Herrock carries the easy charm of a nobleman despite his unwillingness to divulge such. With steely blue eyes, he casts them out to sea, able to switch between a cold glare and convincing mirth.
Gift: Admiral
Skills: Axes, Berserker, Sailing
Talent(s): Bartering, Orating, Fishing
Starting Title(s): Captain of the Saltbloods, scion of House Drumm
Starting Location: King's Landing
Family Tree:

• Ygon Drumm [b. 132 AC]
• Alynnys Botley [b. 133 AC]
  • Hilmar Drumm [b. 151 AC]
  • Skyte Drumm [b. 152 AC]
  • Quellon Drumm [b. 155 AC]
  • Rodrick Drumm [b. 157 AC]
  • Regnar Drumm [b. 157 AC]
• Esgred [b. 143 AC]
  • Herrock Drumm [b. 161 AC]
• Various Salt Wives
  • Various Children

Timeline

• 161 AC: Herrock Drumm is born, son of Lord Drumm and his salt wife; raised in the old and fortified castle on the barren rocks, Herrock is a learned man that takes to studies, swordsmanship and sails alike.
• 186 AC: The Red War begins and Herrock, in command of his own fleet known as the Saltbloods, enters the service of the Iron Throne and reaves and raids the coasts in brutal Ironborn fashion.
• 187 AC: With the war come to an end, the Saltbloods are richer albeit weaker for their efforts and return to the Iron Throne with their treasures in tow. Torwyn, a renowned warrior in their ranks, takes his leave and remains with his new bride on Hammerhorn.
• 189 AC: Torren, son of Torwyn and Gillaine, is born in a coastal fisherman's settlement on the isle of Hammerhorn. His earlier years are spent with the children of his generation, with the communal teachings of the Drowned God spouted and wooden swords between them to learn how to reave and raid and kill.
• 195 AC: The Saltbloods return to the Iron Islands after their efforts in the Narrow and Jade Sea, the intent to restrengthen their ranks with those that once served them. Torwyn refused and urged Herrock to move on from his village, for which Herrock had instead had Torwyn slain and stole Terron to take his place on his ship.
• 196 AC: Torren, stolen away, finds himself between the ports of the Westerosi cities, of the Free Cities, of the Basilisk Isles and more. For the murder of his father, Torren would wish death upon Herrock and yet found himself ever too exhausted to enact such things; put to work, knives slip easily into Torren's small hands and are put to work, so soon stained with blood.
• 200 AC: The weeks turned to months, to years, and while Torren would still wish death upon Herrock and his ilk, what else was there, he wondered? Could he return to his mother and sister now? The manses in the Free Cities became his home for a time, spending nights travelling these foreign lands.
• 206 AC: Torren had no chance to return to the Iron Islands now, overcome by a sweeping plague. He wished to go, to ferry out his mother and sister, and yet there was no opportunity to do so. Herrock would not grant him a ship nor the coin to purchase one, and no one was permitted to go.
• 207 AC: The sour taste of his father's death and the thought of his mother's and sister's lingered on his breath, bitter and angrier than ever. Herrock demands the Saltbloods return to King's Landing and search for employ in His Grace, and Torren could not seem to care less.

Hello, this is my first ever reddit post so I hope I'm doing this right! So I am a complete newbie to Pc Building, though 2 family members have built their own PCs and will help me set mine up.
Yesterday, I set up a parts list and while I haven't manually checked the compatibility of the individual parts yet, I did pick out the parts with the compatibility filter on. I'm unsure though if they really do all go together and want to make sure that I don't end up with anything i can't use due to size or anything!
https://at.pcpartpicker.com/usecotttagecheese/saved/Zn3dqs
I'd love to get some feedback!
I want to use my PC for gaming and game development, so ideally I want it to be able to handle some 3D rendering, Adobe software and Unity or UnrealEngine. I might also get into software engineering in the future but I'm not specific at all yet on what I want to do exactly. I'm not planning on overclocking or future-proofing the build. (Hope I'm using the latter term correctly lol) I've saved up for this so my budget is 2000€ for the parts excluding the monitor and Windows 11. I think I can get what I want for that budget, right?
Some more things I am unsure about: Do I really need a liquid cooler? Is the wattage on the PSU enough? Is the motherboard good enough? What ports does the motherboard need to fit all the other parts? Is the GPU strong enough or maybe even overpowered?
Alrighty, thank you for taking the time to read and I hope someone can give me some tips or suggestions <3

Hello gigabyte
Not completely sure if this is the right place. Just built a PC for a friend of mine using old parts her roommate was getting rid of. Their apartment doesn't have a good situation to run an Ethernet line to her room, so she's forced to use wifi. The unfortunate part is her roommate didn't keep the original WiFi antenna that came with the motherboard!
The board is the Gigabyte X399 Aorus Gaming 7. I've looked online and have found various answers to this inquiry.
The ports in the back to connect an antenna for the WiFi/Bluetooth look like 2 SMA Females. The problem is these seem small and the WiFi antenna we got is not screwing onto these ports. We had to opted to have an antenna that is RP-SMA Male and attach a connector to this that goes from RP-SMA Female to SMA Male in order to connect the antenna (which is RP-SMA Male) to the PC (which looks like it's SMA Female). But again we cannot screw it down on the Motherboard port. The almighty google had originally told me the connection is RP-SMA and it is definitely not. But it smot quite connecting as SMA either so in stumped.
Attached is a picture of the ports on the back. If there's anything else I can add info wise, pls let me know. I've been trying to help her with this, but it's difficult as I'm not there physically to see what might be wrong as she's installing the antenna.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(and do you think Ghost of Tsushima and other potentially upcoming games will be ok)

Blood Will Be Spilled

Genre: Turn-Based Strategy-RPG / Platformer
Players: 1
.
Review:
Blood Will Be Spilled, released on PC in 2019 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2020, is a game that combines Platforming sections with Turn-Based Strategy-RPG sections that play like the side-scrolling take on that genre seen in the game Steamworld Heist. Much as that game did, Blood Will Be Spilled combines a Wild West West setting with a cast of characters you don’t generally expect to find in that setting - in this case, anthropomorphic bugs.
If I’m perfectly honest, I don’t quite see what the bug characters bring to this formula, aside from giving your mosquito protagonist the ability to suck the blood of enemies, as well as the occasional absurdity of this combination, such as when you head into town and discover that the local brothel is run by a madam who, yes, is a bug with an ample bosom. Outside of this odd mix of elements, the story being told here is fairly standard fare about a bounty hunter hunting down members of a gang as he works his way toward their leader in search of both money and revenge.
The presentation here is very good, with detailed 2D environments, stylized (mostly pretty ugly) characters, excellent voice acting, and an acoustic instrumental soundtrack befitting a game with a Western theme.
When it comes to the gameplay, the main meat of the game is the Turn-Based Strategy-RPG gameplay, which is good but feels somewhat derivative - we’ve seen this sort of gameplay done before (and honestly, done better) in Steamworld Heist. Disappointingly, there just don’t seem to be as many options here, both in combat and in the game’s character progression. One might expect the Platforming to fill that gap, but frankly the Platforming in this game is pretty lacking, and doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the Strategy-RPG elements.
In the end, Blood Will Be Spilled is still a decent Turn-Based Strategy-RPG, but I feel like it’s just not up to par with the one game it shares the most in common with, Steamworld Heist. And all of the other elements this game seems to have added to differentiate itself, from the mediocre platforming to the inexplicable bug theme, seem to detract from the game more often than they add to it. If you’re a fan of Steamworld Heist looking for more, this game may scratch that itch. But otherwise, I think you’re better off sticking with Steamworld.
tl;dr – Blood Will Be Spilled is a game that combines the sort of side-scrolling Turn-Based Strategy-RPG gameplay we’ve seen in Steamworld Heist, along with Platforming gameplay, all in a Western-themed world with anthropomorphic bug characters. The core Strategy-RPG gameplay is still good here, but not quite on par with what we saw in the Steamworld game. Unfortunately, all of the other added elements here are ineffectual at best, where they don’t actively make this game worse. The Strategy-RPG gameplay is still solid and worth playing, but you’re much better off sticking with Steamworld Heist.

Grade: C+

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Hello,
For work I was given a WD19 Dell Docking station. It works just fine connecting my 144hz gaming monitor and my 60hz 2nd monitor via displayport and HDMI (respectively) to the laptop. When trying to plug the USB-C into my desktop, however, the USBs and everything works except for the monitors - they seem to detect some kind of connecting but give a 'no signal'. After some research I think it's likely that my PC case (Montech Air X) rear USB-C port doesn't support DisplayPort Alt Mode and so can't carry the video over. My question is, is there some sort of adapter I can buy for my desktop (or other solution) that will allow me to just simply swap the USB-C cable from desktop to laptop and carry the USB + monitor signals with it? At the moment it's a bit of a pain having to swap the cables over every morning and evening for work.
EDIT: I have also tried the firmware + USB installs on the dell website, as well as disabling USB sleep mode for my power plan.
Many thanks

Hello, I would like to seek fellow redditors opinions, input and recommendation on how I could better finetune my itinerary better. There's only so much I can think of, and plan as an individual, but with everyone's input and comments I can further refine and enhance the travel experience before I set foot into Japan. Do forgive me in advance for the theorycrafting wall of text.
I know it may be difficult to review the itinerary, so to make the review easier I have broken the itinerary down into specific sub-groups e.g. Shikoku, Kinki etc. Specific questions that I have are bolded.
Thank you in advance for taking your time to provide your opinions!
-------------
Baseline information

• 32M, average fitness, solo traveller
• Public transport only (challenge); I have a driver's license but I have not drove a car for god knows how long so I would prefer not to test it against the green hills of Shikoku
• Interest: anime (select few), experience autumn/nature, visiting secluded spots, and just trying random stuff
• JP language skill: rudimentary at best (N4), but I will not shy away from speaking in simple, broken japanese or use a translator to communicate. Reading/interpreting kanji is not a problem (in general).
• Visit history: Visited twice (once to Hokkaido for ~8 days, and once toKyoto and Osaka for 8 days
• Will probably travel around with a (slightly) oversized luggage at ~166cm (A+B+C), that’s the only one I have with me. This will be a problem on the Shinkansen (but hopefully not so much on sightseeing trains/limited expresses).
• Will be visiting during (almost) peak autumn at 11 November, and will depart on the 16th of December
• Jet lag is unlikely to be a problem (1h time difference), but nevertheless I will maintain a low tempo on the first day to acclimatize to the environment
• Only thing firmed as of now is the air ticket, everything else is up in the air.
• I like planning/min-maxing to some degree, though I recognize that I may not fulfill all objectives during the trip and I am totally ok with that [its just a guideline or framework to give the holiday some structure, that’s all.] FWIW, I personally like traveling at a high tempo pace like some japanese travel show do (e.g. ローカル路線バス乗り継ぎの旅)

​
Specific goals/objective:

1. Experience Shikoku in autumn (specifically the views at Iya Valley) and in other prefectures (thus making nature sightseeing more of a priority this time round)
2. Experience Kanazawa for anime stuff
3. Experience the Shimanami Kaido in full (including any sightseeing spots in between the 6 island chains)
4. Bonus - try as many sightseeing trains as possible.
5. Bonus - if weather, time and schedule permits, try skiing as an option in Nagano.
6. Bonus - stay in as many onsen ryokans as possible, without breaking the bank.

​
Locked-in prefectures [i.e. I will definitely go to those prefectures no matter what]:

1. Shikoku (as per above objective)
2. Hiroshima (because its on the opposite end of the Shimanami Kaido)
3. Kanazawa (for anime related reason)
4. Tokyo (that is my starting and end point so it has to be included by default)

All other prefectures are basically float i.e. I am open to consider dropping said itinerary for something else based on your suggestion that aligns with my preferences/interest. Most of the other locations I added are prefectures that are often next to each other, or well-connected (apart from the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump via Sunrise Seto/Shinkansen).
​
Wait-list prefectures (prefectures that I want to go, but I don’t think I can realistically fit in without dropping other locations):

1. Snow skiing at Nagano (depending on how cooperative the weather is in early-ish December (would 2 days be sufficient?))
2. Ehime, Kochi expansion [spend 1-3 more days]
3. Izu Peninsula (~2 days, via Saphir Odoriko)
4. Nagoya + lower Nagano (Kiso Valley) (~3 days)
5. Ishikawa expansion [1 extra day at Kaga]

I am open to dropping a few days in Tokyo/Osaka etc to make that trade off [currently kept 3 days free for further development]. Alternatively, if the planning can be better optimized based on your inputs I might be able to do one of those without compromising on the base set. I would like to hear your opinion on what locations you would drop in the itinerary to make time for one of the above.
​
General planning philosophy:

1. My itineary adopts a breadth approach (cover as much area as I can humanely possible without rushing/touch-and-go) as opposed to depth (i.e. spending much more time within Shikoku than what I allocated); though I would be open to considering more days at selected locations if you have strong recommendations. My thought is to experience how different autumn is at various parts of the country (if possible), and maybe winter too (to a certain degree).
2. Due to the nature of my travel, I note that luggage logistics is a critical consideration when moving between prefectures; my thought is to park that luggage at the next hotel as quickly as possible so that I can free myself for sightseeing within the vicinity, or leave the luggage at the hotel after I check out until I am ready to travel to the next location. I will need to send (quite a fair bit of) emails to the hotels to confirm on this prior to booking.
3. I will attempt to minimize transit time between prefectures to no more than 2~3 hours a day to avoid having excessively long transport days (except the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump).
4. Because of the long trip, I will also need to factor a bit of downtime at night for administrative stuff (e.g. catching up a little bit on work, laundry etc).

---------
Shikoku (~7 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. I will need to exploit Limited Express trains as much as possible to minimize downtime between the 4 prefectures. Fortunately, for the most part these train frequencies are almost hourly, thus missing one train isnt too deadly consequence-wise.
2. The transfer between Kochi and Ehime [Matsuyama] is oddly quicker via express bus as opposed to trains (!)
3. For Kochi, my opinion is that it is best explored on car instead of public transport [it’s a really wide prefecture]; I feel that 1 day may not do it justice, but it is probably adequate for exploring the city centre as a whole.
4. There's a fair bit of uncertainties while planning this leg so I would deeply appreciate any advice you may have.
5. This current iteration is unable to weave in the Shikoku Mannaka Sennen Monogatari sightseeing train [四国まんなか千年ものがたり] ; if you people think its something not to be missed do let me know and I will reshuffle my timetable as such.

Day 0: Tokyo Kagawa (Sunrise Seto) [Saturday, 11 Nov]

• Touch down at Narita at 1720hours
• Transfer to Tokyo Station via NEX or Skyliner
• Settle administrative matters at the Midori-no-Maruguchi (e.g. get all the booked tickets etc from JR Pass, for Shinkansen and all other sightseeing trains) at Tokyo Station.
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is obtained via the JR West portal booking, chill till 2200 and take Sunrise Seto to reach Kagawa (Takamatsu) at 0700 the next day. Try to snag the ticket online (likely via the japanese portal since there's no option to buy Solo Deluxe through the english/international website. Otherwise, compromise and go for Single)
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is NOT obtained, proceed to take the furthest possible Shinkansen westwards (probably Okayama) and rest for the night.

Day 1: Kagawa (Takamatsu) [Sunday, 12 Nov]

• Chill around Takamatsu. Drop luggage at coin locker OR the hotel (near JR Takamatsu ideally)
• Look at whats left of Takamatsu Castle en route to the port.
• Day trip to Naoshima or Teshima to visit the art museums (Chichu Art Museum, Lee Ufan Museum etc).
• Ritsuin Garden in the evening (closes 1830)
• Find an eatery with Sanuki Udon for dinner if possible.

Day 2: Kagawa (Kotohira) Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Monday, 13 Nov]

• Morning trip from Takamatsu to Kotohira (either via JR or Kotoden). Visit Kotohiragu [includes inner shrine] and Kanamaruza Theater
• Return to Kotohira to pick up luggage, transit to Oboke via Limited Express Shimanto [Takamatsu Tadotsu Oboke]
• Retire at a local hotel around Oboke. If time permits, take the chance to explore around Oboke Gorge itself.

​
Day 3: Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Tuesday, 14 Nov]
[Post-research note: I realized that there is NO public transport to Mount Tsurugi on a weekday. I will have to rent a taxi direct to Mount Tsurugi, make the 'climb', then thereafter take the taxi down to the other attractions. I am inclined to just go full hog on the private taxi and rent it (almost the whole day, probably 7~8 hours for 4300yen/hour) to save the trouble.
Otherwise, I will need to hike downhill which can be rather rough since its just a single lane road (looking at nearly 10++ km) so I think it wise not to penny pinch in the interest of both time and safety.]
Spend the day at Iya Valley.

• Take a taxi after breakfast to zip to Mount Tsurugi and speedrun it to the mountain peak (aka using the chairlift to speedrun a good chunk of the mountain) about 2.5 hours ~ 3 hours as per the Iya Valley guide
• Taxi from Mount Tsurugi chairlift down to Oku-Iya Niju Kazuraashi and cross it (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi down to visit the mannequins/scarecrows at Nagoro Village (~3km downhill from Oku-Iya). (~1 hour estimate)
• Check out the Peeing Boy Statue (~0.5 hour estimate [its just looking at the statue that is overlooking the entire gorge is it not?])
• Cross the outer vine bridge Iya-no-Kazurabashi (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi back to Oboke, and retire for the day (~0.5 hour estimate, thus looking at about ~8 hours taxi rental total, with some leeway for lunch break)

​
Day 4: Tokushima (Iya Valley) Kochi (Kochi) [Wednesday, 15 Nov]

• Transit from Iya Valley [Oboke] to Kochi via Limited Express Shimanto (again) after breakfast. (~1 hour transit)
• Park luggage at hotel [ideally near JR Kochi Station], then proceed to mill around Kochi, visiting places such as Kochi Castle [高知城] and Harimaya Bridge[はりまや橋]
• Transit to Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum [高知県立坂本龍馬記念館] via local bus which is also near Katsumatsura Beach incidentally. Chill at Katsumatsura Beach in the evening
• Return to JR Kochi, dinnesupper at Hirome Market (ideally to try out Kochi's speciality seared bonito). [is visiting the market more preferable during lunch OR dinner?]

​
Day 5: Kochi (Kochi) Ehime (Imabari) [Thursday, 16 Nov]

• Complete any remaining items in Kochi in the morning, then transit to Imabari via train (Kochi Tadotsu Imabari), via Limited Express Shimanto (yet again!) and Ishidzuchi**[TBC: this might be better done via highway bus instead which is faster at ~2-3 hours]**
• Drop luggage at Imabari for the next 2 days, either at Sunrise Itoyama OR Cycle no Ie. [both are well positioned for the Shimanami Kaido, and are also one of the selected hotels eligible for the Sagawa luggage transfer.] Ideally done just around lunch time, so that there's still the better half of the day to explore Imabari.
• Spend the remainder of the day visiting Imabari Castle (closes 1700) and Towel Museum (slightly out of the way) (closes 1800) [TBC: I note this place is quite out of the way from Imabari itself, even the JP website suggests taking a taxi (!) there from the nearby train station. Might have to drop this).
• Attempt to try some Ehime-related food specialties e.g. Taimeshi (Sea Bream), Ehime oranges, Champon for the next 2 days

​
Day 6: Ehime (Matsuyama / Imabari) [Friday, 17 Nov]

• Take the Limited express train Ishidzuchi to Matsuyama day tripping. (~1h one-way).
• Explore Matsuyama Castle, and the nearby Matsuyama Ropeway Shopping Street
• Visit Shiki Memorial Museum
• Visit Dogo Onsen [and attempt to soak in the waters if possible].
• Also consider looking at Ishiteji (石手寺) beside Dogo Onsen.
• Bonus: Subject to train schedule, if possible, attempt to secure tickets for the Iyonada Sightseeing Train (伊予灘物語), Futami leg [双海ふたみ 編] , and also visit JR Shimonada Station (JR下灘駅) at the same time.
• Bonus: visit Yawatahama Port where the movie Suzume took reference from,
• Return to Imabari via the same Limited express Ishidzuchi and retire for the night.

Day 7: Ehime (Imabari) Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido) [Saturday, 18 Nov]
I am of the opinion that 1 day in Shimanami Kaido is adequate if I attempt just the main route which is about 80km [as a test run, I did 70km and finished it within 6-7 hours with lunch breaks included]. For now I will plan for two full days, however should I truncate it down to one day later, I will add an extra day to either explore Matsuyama or Okayama.
​

• Start off at Sunrise Itoyama [watch the sunrise, have breakfast here, cafeteria opens at 0700, rental opens at 0800] OR Cycle no Ie. Do paperwork to send luggage over to the next accomodation via Sagawa.
• I will (probably) follow the recommended 'extended' route on Cycle no Ie's website and do the following:
  • Take the west coast for Oshima (~13km) and cross to Hakatajima, with possible stop on:
    • Mount Kiro Observatory Point [I am aware that there's a steep incline so this would be contingent on my physical/mental status by then].
    • Nagahama Beach
• Take the coastal route for Hakatajima (~17km) and cross to Omishima and enjoy the coastal scenery
• Take the coastal route (again) for Omishima (~41km) (or lesser depending on how I'm feeling at that point) , with possible stop on:
  • -TBC: Okunoshima (there is apparently a ferry route to the well-known rabbit island via Omishima port. Not sure if anyone else have tried this particular route and if this is a better approach than going through Tadano-umi (though I would acknowledge that there's historical stuff to visit in nearby Takehara), and I would not be able to buy rabbit food in advance).[Based on Google Earth estimate, its about 3km for the entire island loop - seems doable within 2 hours to tour the poison gas museum with a bike and pet some rabbits).
  • Oyamazumi Shrine Treasure Museum
• End the day at WAKKA (Omishima) OR Guesthouse NEST / Soil Setoda (Ikuchijima) just beside Kousanji / The Hill of Hope (closes 1700). If possible, visit before closing, otherwise defer to next day.
• Try the ice cream at Dolce at Ikuchijima if possible.
• Bonus: if for some reason I am still ahead of time at this juncture (<1500), proceed to finish Innoshima and Mukaishima, then take a ferry to backtrack to Wakka/Soil Setoda or cycle back (last boat is ~1700) and rest; however, the next day I will zip straight to Onomichi via ferry after breakfast.

--------
Hiroshima + Yamaguchi (~4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Onomichi is a pretty good base to jump to Okayama to explore Okayama, Kurashiki or Tomonoura with the Shinkansen accessibility, but it is impossible to cover them all within a single day. If I finish the Shimanami Kaido within a single day or finish it early on the second day, I will have that extra time to visit those.
2. There's another sightseeing train etSETOra from Onomichi to Hiroshima but it only operates on Monday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. For now the schedule could fit the train timetable pretty nicely.
3. Would anyone suggest visiting Miyajima in the morning or in the evening? This would help me determine the order for the Kintaikyo Bridge/Miyajima day trip. Watching the sunset at either destination is pretty good in my books.

​
Day 8: Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido Onomichi) [Sunday, 19 Nov]

• Continue from Ikuchijima towards Innoshima and Mukaishima (~18km) via the western coast route after breakfast, with possible stops on the following areas:
  • Innoshima: Innoshima Flower Centre, Shimanami Beach [open to more suggestions]
  • Mukaishima : there seems to be a lot of brunch places like Willows Nursery etc, soak the view at Mukaishima Rest Park [TBC: open to more suggestions]

Ideally reach Onomichi just around lunch or earlier. Chill for the rest of the day, and if I'm still up for it, explore Onomichi, including but not limited to:

• Exploring the cat alley
• Visit the exhibits at Onomichi City Museum of Art
• Consider walking to Senkoji and Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street
• Look into trying Onomichi-style ramen.

Retire at a guesthouse/hotel near JR Onomichi that I have forwarded the luggage to.
​
Day 9: Hiroshima (Onomichi, Takehara+Kure OR Tomonoura OR Okayama) Downtown Hiroshima) [Monday, 20 Nov]

• Mill around Onomichi in the morning (if not done yesterday), with a side trip to EITHER Takehara/Kure OR Okayama/Kurashiki OR Tomonoura (choose one):
  • Takehara: stroll along the historical townscape [and look if they have any Tamayura-related merch], Okunoshima (if not done during the Shimanami Kaido leg / Kure: look into trying Kure curry/Niku-jaga and visit the Yamato Museum
  • Okayama: Okayama Castle (zip via Shinkansen) / Kurashiki : Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter
  • Tomonoura: stroll along the townscape during the day (zip via Shinkansen, transfer to local bus)
• Return to Onomichi (no later than 1400), board the etSETOra sightseeing train at 1437, and zip to Hiroshima. Enjoy the sunset along the coastline.
• Retire for the night at Hiroshima proper, probably near JR Hiroshima OR the bus terminal. If time permits, take a gander along the streets and see what takes me from there.

​
Day 10: Hiroshima (Downtown Hiroshima) [Tuesday, 21 Nov]
Spend the day surveying Hiroshima proper.

• Peace Memorial Park (平和記念公園) and Atomic Bomb Dome
• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims (国立広島原爆死没者追悼平和祈念館)
• Hiroshima Castle
• Orizuru Tower (おりづるタワー)
• Shukkeien (縮景園)
• Optional: Mazda Museum / Kure (if not done the previous day)
• Try to source for Hiroshima-specific food: Okonomiyaki, Dandan Noodles

​
Day 11: Hiroshima (with a day trip to Yamaguchi) [Wednesday, 22 Nov]

• Daytrip to Yamaguchi [Shin-Iwakuni] to visit Kintaikyo Bridge via Shinkansen. Also stop by the nearby Iwakuni Castle.
• Try Tonosama Sushi at Iwakuni if possible.
• Take the local train back to Miyajimaguchi and take the boat to Itsukushima.Take the time to stroll around the island and perhaps watch the sunset at the torii gate.
• Exit back to Hiroshima via boat to Hiroshima Port direct, and transit back to hotel.

--------
Shimane + Tottori (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Matsue becomes the main jump point for Shimane just because of the subsidized highway bus from Hiroshima, and ease of access towards Tottori later. There's no direct train between Hiroshima and Izumo/Matsue (!).
2. Tottori is really wide size-wise, to the point that it feels more efficient to have two separate hotels in two nights (Kurayoshi/Misasa Onsen + downtown Tottori) rather than one hotel for two nights (i.e. downtown Tottori). Could be just me making excuses to get into an onsen ryokan however.
3. Is there anything interesting at Yonago (Tottori) that I should take note of? Based on my initial survey nothing in particular pops up (other than the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park).
4. Skipping Tottori Castle since it doesn’t seem to be interesting at first glance. Any other interesting things to at Tottori downtown (or nearby)?

​
Day 12: Hiroshima Shimane (Matsue) [Thursday, 23 Nov]

• Make good use of the 500yen highway bus from Hiroshima to Matsue. (3.5 hours transit). Fortunately the frequency is not too bad (7-8 buses per day, looking at 0800 departure or later); if there are still outstanding places to visit in Hiroshima I will visit them in the morning.
• Check in at a hotel near JR Matsue, and proceed to trawl around Matsue with whatever daylight is left. (TBC: am considering taking a few stops down to Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉 or Matsue-shinjoko Onsen instead of the typical hotel. Does anyone have any positive experiences there?)
• Attempt to spend the afternoon at the Adachi Museum of Art. Local train to Yasugi, transfer to free shuttle.
• Chill off in downtown Matsue for the night. Prowl for Shimane-specific food such as Naniwa Zushi (浪花寿司), Shijimi clams (しじみ), Izumo soba, Izumo Zenzai (出雲ぜんざい).
• Bonus: visit the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park for the winter Hanakairo Flower Illumination at Yonago at night [which is just beside Matsue. Free shuttle bus at Yonago bus terminal].

​
Day 13: Shimane (Izumo / Matsue) [Friday, 24 Nov]

• Day trip from Matsue to Izumo. (JR Matsue JR Izumo, swap to Ichibata local rail to Izumotaisha-mae)
• Take a stop at Izumo Taisha, as well as the nearby Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo (島根県立古代出雲歴史博物館)
• After lunch, return to JR Matsue and proceed to Yushien Garden (由志園) via bus. Enjoy the sunset over the garden.
• Stop by Matsue Castle on the way back.

​
Day 14: Shimane (Matsue) Tottori (Kurayoshi) [Saturday, 25 Nov]

• Transfer from Matsue to Kurayoshi in the morning via Super Matsukaze Limited Express (~1h).
• Settle down luggage at Misasa Onsen, then proceed to hike up Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Temple (三仏寺). Cater extra time just in case I have to wait for another fellow to pop up to climb in pairs. Estimated climb time excluding wait is about 2-3 hours both ways?
• Excess time to be spent sauntering Misasa Onsen and its nearby area such as the Nijisseiki Pear Museum [二十世紀梨記念館（なしっこ館)] and Kurayoshi Historical Quarter.
• Retire at Misasa Onsen for the night. Bonus: watch the constellations at night at Misasa Onsen on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 2100JST. Current plan does not fall within those 3 weekdays
• Bonus: take a short detour to Conan Town (postnote: not a big fan of the show).

​
Day 15: Tottori (Kurayoshi Tottori) [Sunday, 26 Nov]

• Transfer from Kurayoshi to Tottori (~35minutes transfer) in the morning, and proceed to tour around Tottori.
• Drop luggage, take a local bus to Tottori Sand Dunes, and visit the nearby Sand Museum.
• Transfer northwards to Uradome Coast via local bus and spend the remainder of the day there. Watch the sunset over the coast.
• Return to downtown Tottori, stroll around and call it a night.

​
-----------
Hyogo, Kyoto, Osaka , Nara, Mie (10 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Kinosaki Onsen is intentionally designed to be a slow-paced leg to recover [and also to make time to enjoy the onsens].
2. The limited express train between Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka stops by Himeji thus I thought of resting a night there instead of doing day trips via Osaka.
3. Osaka itinerary does look sparse but that is in large part because I have already visited most of them in the past. Nevertheless, I would like to experience how different it is in autumn compared to summer [based on those few destinations that I loved going previously].
4. I have kept one float day to decompress, OR shift to any of the other prefectures (TBC).
5. There are (multiple) special limited express train by Kintetsu; they're not covered by JR pass but nevertheless I would love to ride on those as an experience. The Kintetsu pass covers the basic fare only but based on my preliminary cost estimate, it is still worth getting it.
6. Is it feasible to compress Himeji and Kobe to a single day?
7. The itineraries for Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Mie are flexible since they're literally beside one another - makes it particularly easy to shift around base on ground situation.

​
Day 16: Tottori (Tottori) Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen) [Monday, 27 Nov]

• Settle any outstanding sightseeing spots in the morning if required in Tottori, then transfer to Kinosaki Onsen via the Sanin Line.
• Make a pitstop at Amarube ('Sky Station') and marvel at the engineering work.
• Deposit luggage at the ryokan (or put in the coin locker), and stroll around and enjoy Kinosaki Onsen [after all its an onsen town].
• Try to hit as many of the 7 external onsens that are usable. Retire for the night here.
• Optional: go up the ropeway and oversee Kinosaki Onsen in the evening (last ride up ~1630)
• Optional: take a short hike up to Onsenji Temple.

​
Day 17: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen + Northern Kyoto (Amanohashidate) day trip) [Tuesday, 28 Nov]

• Optional: take a (very) early start to the day to Takeda Castle Ruins and witness the 'floating castle' effect in the morning (<0800).
• Day trip to Amanohashidate via ToyookaKyotango Railway. Do the funny bend-down pose on the bench at Amanohashidate View Land, and see how it feels like looking at the world inverted.
• Cross the sandbar and look from the other side (Nariaiji Temple / Kasamatsu Park)
• Select one of three additional side-trips:
  • EITHER take a local bus up to Ine to look at the Funaya + sightseeing boat,
  • OR local rail down to Maizuru to look at the Maizuru World Brick Museum + eat at the Michi-no-eki;
  • OR reverse to Toyooka spend time in the city itself e.g. Izushi Castle Town
• Return to Kinosaki Onsen, and continue experiencing the remainder of the onsens. Retire for the night here. Optional: ride the Aomatsu sightseeing train back to Toyooka.
• Optional: Take a trip to Ankokuji Temple (安国寺) in the evening. Likely to visit post-peak autumn which means less than ideal viewing conditions.

Day 18: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen Himeji) [Wednesday, 29 Nov]

• Transit from Kinosaki Onsen to Himeji via Limited Express Hamakaze (~2 hours).
• Deposit luggage at the hotel or the coin lockers at the station, then proceed for sightseeing.
• Walk along the Miyuki Street Shopping District which is en-route to Himeji Castle.
• Himeji Castle sector : Himeji Castle (姫路城), Kokoen (好古園)
• Take a local bus at Himeji Castle to go to Mount Shosha and hike up Engyōji Temple (圓教寺)
• Optional : Stroll along Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History and/or Himeji City Museum of Art which is beside the castle, OR Shosha Handicraft Museum which is just at the foot of Mount Shosha
• Optional: Make a detour to the Japan Toy Museum near Koro station (~30 minutes from JR Himeji). Closes 1700.
• Look for Hyogo-specific food: Kobe beef, steamed pork buns, sobameshi, himeji oden, etc

Retire at Himeji for the night.
Day 19: Hyogo (Himeji Kobe) Osaka (Dotonburi) [Thursday, 30 Nov]
Day trip to Kobe, before continuing further down to Osaka.

• Check out from Himeji, transit further down to Kobe for another stop before Osaka. Place luggage at the holding facility within the Shinkansen station.
• Take a visit to the Earthquake Memorial Museum (人と防災未来センター) to look at the devastation wrought by the 1995 earthquake.
• Stroll along Kobe Harborland (神戸ハーバーランド) and Meriken Park (メリケンパーク) , look at the Kobe Tower since its closed till 2024 for renovation, and look at the damage caused by the earthquake
• Optional: Head westwards to Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.
• Optional: Hit up the ASICS Sports Museum (アシックススポーツミュージアム)
• Look at the engineering feat that is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and the nearby Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center at Maiko. (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Return to Shin-kobe, pick up luggage, and transit to Shin-Osaka via Shinkansen, and then to Dotonburi/Shinsaibashi. End the (long) day in Osaka.

Day 20: Osaka [Friday, 1 Dec]
Osaka Nostalgia (acid) trip, speedrun edition: revisiting places that I want to go again

• Day trip to Mino Park and revisit the waterfall (I loved visiting it previously) via the Hankyu line in the morning.
• Zoom down to the Osaka Aquarium after lunch and walk around it (Minoo Umeda Honmachi Osakako Station).
• From there, race towards Abeno Harukas and watch the sunset/nightview at Abeno Harukas.
• Bonus: revisit Sumiyoshi Taisha if time permits.
• Spend whatever time remains at night at Nipponbashi Denden Town (shops close at ~2000) and Dotonburi (some stores are still open near midnight) and/or Shinsekai (新世界).

Day 21: Osaka (Nara day trip) [Saturday, 2 Dec]
Spend a day in Nara.

• Zoom from Namba to Nara via Kintetsu (note: non-JR)
• Explore Todaiji Temple, Kokufuji Temple, Isuien Garden and Kasuga Taisha.
• Optional: pass by Naramachi (奈良町) on the way back.
• Take the Kintetsu line down to Mount Yoshino. [TBC: subject to whether I am too early or late for the koyo.Based on last year's prediction I am about 1-2 weeks too late. Might swap this out to a Uji day trip instead in Kyoto.). Spend time walking around the Shimo Senbon and Naka Senbon and experience the autumn.
• Transfer back to Osaka. Bonus: take the Blue Symphony back to Osaka instead of the typical train. (non-JR)

Day 22: Osaka (Mie day trip) [Sunday, 3 Dec]
Day trip to Mie.

• Take the Iseshima Liner from Tsuruhashi Station (near Namba/Dotonburi) to Ise. Bonus: take the Hinotori from Osaka to Tsu, then transfer to Mie. (non-JR)
• Hit up Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮) [both inner and outer] and Okage Yokocho (おかげ横丁)
• Try to eat Matsuaka Beef or Ise Udon for lunch.
• Head westwards to Futamiokitama Shrine (二見興玉神社) / Meotoiwa Rocks; and if further time permits, go to Toba for the Ama Viewing Platform.
• Take the returning Shimakaze Limited Express train back to Osaka (note: only one train at 1630; if this train is missed, change to normal express trains). (non-JR)
• Retreat back to Osaka for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.

Day 23: Osaka ('north' Kyoto day trip) [Monday, 4 Dec]
(north) Kyoto day trip.

• Take a stop at the Kyoto Railway Museum. Optional: also consider heading to To-ji Gojunoto first if I reach Kyoto way early before 10am.
• Walk back to Kyoto station, and take a bus northwards to Kyoto Manga Museum.
• Hop on the bus direct from the Manga Museum to Kinkakuji. [bus 15]
• Select one of two side-trips:
  • EITHER head westwards to Arashiyama (note: already visited once in the summer but I still think it nice to visit in autumn/winter this time round). Bonus: experience sunset along the Togetsukyo Bridge.
  • OR head eastwards to Higashiyama (closes 1700), Philosopher's path etc (did not visit these in my past trip here so there's the 'new' factor, but it is going to be a physically taxing day. Also, most likely will reach here nearing evening i.e. closing time thus there's a limit to how much I can visit realistically).

Whichever choice, return back to Osaka for the night. Look out for Kyoto-specific food such as Yudofu, Saba Sushi, Warabi Mochi, Nishin Soba (にしんそば) etc.
Day 24: Osaka ('south' Kyoto day trip) [Tuesday, 5 Dec]
(south) Kyoto day trip edition (mainly Uji and Fushimi).

• Zip from Osaka to Kyoto via Keihan to Uji Station.
• Spend the better half of the morning in Uji.
• Visit the Byōdō-in and the nearby Tonoshima and Tachibana Island.
• Hike up to the Daikichiyama Observation Deck to oversee Uji as a whole. On the way down, explore Ujigami Shrine.
• Take the chance to buy some Uji tea as gifts to relatives. Have lunch along the Omotesando Road.
• Head further northwards to Fushimi, and do another hike up Fushimi Inari. (Note: visited once in the past but I liked the experience thus I would like to do it again.) Bonus: if its done in the evening.

Head back to Osaka and retire for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.
Day 25: Osaka (wildcard) [Wednesday, 6 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
-------------
Kanazawa, Gifu+ (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Is it likely for the skiing season to open around 9~10 December at Shiga Kogen or Nozawa Onsen? Would very much like to try skiing for fun, but am uncertain if the snow condition would be satisfactory by then. Some of the skiing website indicates that these two destinations are usually the first to open. I would like to seek advise on this if possible [never skiied before].
2. As an additional question to point 1, is 2 days adequate just to get a flavor on skiing?
3. Kanazawa is a pretty solid jump point to Shirakawago/Takayama via express buses (~1 to 2 hour one way).
4. My initial planning considered going to Kurobe Gorge (Toyama) but apparently the railways are closed from December onwards. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
5. Another sightseeing train in Kanazawa that I can fit in nicely in my current plans (花嫁のれん), runs on Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun.

Day 26: Osaka Ishikawa (Kanazawa (Kanazawa cityside)) [Thursday, 7 Dec]

• Zip from Osaka to Kanazawa via Limited Express Thunderbird in the early morning (~3hours; ideally the 0740 or 0810 service). Drop luggage at the hotel near JR Kanazawa and explore the cityside.
• Have lunch at the Omicho Market (近江町市場), OR at Higashi Chaya District.
• Stroll around Kanazawa Castle (金沢城, Kanazawajō) and the nearby Kenrokuen (兼六園) / Seisonkaku Villa (成巽閣, Seisonkaku) .
• Consider visiting one or more of the nearby museums if possible:
  • D.T. Suzuki Museum OR
  • National Crafts Museum OR
  • 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
• Optional: Head southwards to Myoryuji Temple + Nishi Chaya District.
• Optional: Head northwards to Higashi Chaya District (if not done for lunch).

Any outstanding spots not completed today, to be rolled over to the next 2 days (if possible).

• Retire in Kanazawa for the night. Be on the lookout for Kanazawa-specific food: Gold-leaf ice cream, oden, hanton rice
• Optional: have a stay at Yuwaku Onsen for at least one night for anime-related reasons. (Hanasaku Iroha)

​
Day 27: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside) / Gifu (Shirakawago, Takayama) [Friday, 8 Dec]

• Day trip to Shiwakawago and Takayama via Nohi bus (non-JR, ~1h). Grab the morning bus express bus to Shirakawago and explore the place in the morning. Experience early snowfall (?) there. Optional: visit Ainokura on the way towards Shirakawago.
• Take another express bus down to Takayama for lunch (~1h travel time).
• Explore what Takayama has to offer. Stroll along the old town near the bus terminal and visit the Takayama Jinya. If time permits, stroll along the Higashiyama Walking Course.
• Optional: pay a visit to Hida Folk Village.
• Return to Kanazawa via Hida Limited Express to Toyama Shinkansen to Kanazawa, OR take the same Nohi express bus directly back (non-JR).
• Retire at Kanazawa for the night. Last express bus from Takayama to Kanazawa is 1630, arrive at 1845. Alternatively, head northwards to Toyama via JR and transfer to Kanazawa.

​
Day 28: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside / outskirts) [Saturday, 9 Dec]
Side trip to Wakura Onsen / Nanao for anime-related sightseeing. (Insomanics after Class, Hanasaku Iroha)

• Zoom from Kanazawa up to Wakura Onsen/Nanao via Limited Express Noto Kagaribi. Do some sightseeing related to Insomanics after Class and Hanasaku Iroha.
• Do some train spotting with two anime along the Noto Railways. Stop at Nishigishi station for some sightseeing. (non-JR)
• Return to Kanazawa in the evening from Wakura Onsen via the sightseeing train Hanayomenoren [花嫁のれん, last train 1630).
• End the night at Kanazawa.

Day 29: Ishikawa (wildcard) [Sunday, 10 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
--------------
Tokyo (~6 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Specific interest to target: anime/vtuber stuff, music (piano in particular), bookstores etc.
2. This is the point in time I should go ham on souvenier purchase if I have not done so. I'll probably get an extra cardboard box or duffel bag to lug with me to the airport to store extra stuff.
3. Would like to seek recommendation on where I should set my base for the 5~6 days here. For now I am planning to pit at Ginza, subject to availability and cost. My thought is that as long as its along the Yamanote line everything rolls I suppose.
4. Hard pass on Golden Gai on the Shunjuku leg (I do not drink).
5. There's way too many to list in terms of what I would like to do in Tokyo, but I have listed items that are of particular interest to me first within the available time frame. If you have strong opinions on specific locations do let me know.

Day 30: Ishikawa (Kanazawa) Tokyo (Ginza) [Monday, 11 Dec]

• Zip from Kanazawa to Tokyo via the Hoririku Shinkansen in the morning (just north of two hours). (TBC : If I can optimize my schedule better, I can try squeezing two days here for a stop at Nozawa Onsen / Shiga Kogen (Nagano) for a short ski experience).
• Deposit luggage at one of the Ginza hotels (TBC: subject to cost; might swap for another location later on)
• Explore ('south') Tokyo with the remainder of the day.
• Marvel at the architecture that is the Tokyo Station and its surrounding.
• Visit the Imperial Palace.
• Head south towards the Mori Art Museum (closes 2200)
• End the night with a stop at Tokyo Tower (closes 2230).

Day 31: Tokyo (Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano) [Tuesday, 12 Dec]
Explore ('west') Tokyo, namely Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano.

• Start off with an early day visit to Meji Shrine / Yoyogi Park.
• Head up to Shinjuku. Spend the remainder of the morning and lunch exploring Kabukicho, Hanazono Shrine and Omoide Yokochō (ideally have lunch here). Also make a pit stop at Kinokuniya's flagship store at Shinjuku.
• Head northwards to Nakano Broadway and trawl for anime goods for several hours (closes ~1900)
• Head south down back to Shibuya and experience the crossing in peak night condition. Walk around and soak in the atmosphere. Optional: stop by the Ishibashi music store at Shibuya (closes 2000).
• Cap off the night and look at the night view at Shibuya Sky (closes 2230). Zip back to the hotel at Ginza.

Day 32: Tokyo (Akibahara, Asakusa and Sky Tree) [Wednesday, 13 Dec]

• Kick off the day with a morning visit to Asakusa (i.e. Sensoji).
• Transit over to Tokyo Skytree to watch the Tokyo cityscape in the day.
• Trawl around Akibahara for the afternoon. (Animate, Sega claw machines, etc).
• Also stop by Ochanomizu for sightseeing (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Zip back to the hotel for the night. If time permits, stop by the two flagship music stores along Ginza: Yamaha Ginza and Yamano Ginza. Also, visit Itoya Ginza (stationary store).

Day 33: Tokyo (Kamakura day trip OR Ikebukuro) [Thursday, 14 Dec]
EITHER take a day trip Kamakura, OR explore northern Tokyo (Ikebukuro)
Kamakura leg:

• Make a detour to Used Tyre Market Sagamihara Store to experience the retro vending machines. Then head southwards to Enoshima.
• Look at the giant Buddha statue and stroll along Hasedera.
• Take the Enoden to Enoshiima and explore the island.
• Take the JR back to Ginza and retire for the night.

Tokyo (Ikebukuro leg):

• Visit Otome Road for otaku related stuffs.
• Trawl the usual suspects such as Bic Camera etc.
• Make a stop at the Mejiro Gardens.
• Visit the Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) at Waseda University.

Day 34: Tokyo (wildcard) [Friday, 15 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
​
Day 35: Tokyo Home [Saturday, 16 Dec]

• Contemplate life at the hotel, doing whatever I feel like for the morning and early afternoon. Bonus: have an early breakfast at Tsukiji Market in the morning if staying at Ginza.
• Clear any last minute administrative matter (if any), or do (very) last minute sightseeing/buying. Most likely limited to Ginza and Akibahara.
• Get a nice lunch omakase to cap it off if possible. (taking recommendations if anyone has one, ideally meat/beef centric instead of just sushi).
• Head off to Narita from Tokyo Station via NEX just after lunch at 1430 1530 to Narita, flight at 1830.

END
---------------------
If you're still reading up to this point, here's my own personal ramblings/thoughts on JR pass usage:
I have thought of two ways of doing this for the first 21 days:
a. easy-mode : just get 21 days JR global pass before the price hike at 60450 yen, OR b. hard-mode: get a 7 day JR global pass (to cover the NEX fees, the basic fee on the Sunrise Seto to Shikoku, as well as limited express trains within Shikoku) (29650) + 5 days for JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass (15000) + 4 days for JR Sanin Okayama Area Pass + 5 days for JR Kansai Wide Area Pass (10000) for a total of 59230.
The initial conclusion was to go with option A since that reduces the administrative burden, but I realized the individual passes do have its own perk which truimphs over the global JR pass. For instance, the Sanin Okayama Area Pass provides a (minor) discount for the Adachi Museum of Art; the Kansai Wide Pass covers the Kyotango route between Kinosaki Onsen and Amanohashidate which the global JR pass does not cover, JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass covers JR buses within Hiroshima for free, therefore I am inclined to go with the hell option (option B) as it stands.
For the remaining 14 days, I could also get the global 14 day JR pass at 47250 yen but it is not worth it at all, because I will be relying largely on Kintetsu for the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Mie leg which the JR pass most certainly does not cover.

• For the Osaka/Nara/Mie/Kyoto leg, I intend to make good use of a mix of both local metro and the Kintetsu rail pass for 5 days (4900). If I do exploit Kintetsu's limited express train to its fullest, I should be able to save money by buying the pass. The Osaka Amazing Pass at 2600yen a day does not make financial sense for me this time round, given how little I am exploring within Osaka.
• For the Osaka Kanazawa, Shirakawago and Takayama leg, the preferred pass of choice is the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass over the global JR pass, in large part because this pass fully absorbs the Nohi highway bus fees (which can rack up quite a lot at ~8000yen for a return trip between Kanazawa and Shirakawago/Takayama). Also this absorbs the Thunderbird fee. One major issue with my current plan is that it does not cover Wakura Onsen nor the sightseeing train.
• For the final Kanazawa Tokyo leg, the preferred choice is the Horuriku Arch Pass that covers the direct Shinkansen back to Tokyo, and the NEX fees to Narita when I depart from Tokyo. Will only break even with the pass at best unless I make a stop at Nagano.

So all in all, there's quite little incentive to get the global JR pass after I worked out my schedule, apart from the initial 7 days for the Sunrise Seto jump which the All Shikoku Pass will not cover.
Through the hodge-podge of multiple area passes, it works out to around 102890 yen for the whole trip of 35 days, contrast with 107700 yen for a 21 + 14 global JR pass. While there's a minor cost saving doing the hard way which sweetens the deal, the additional minor perks associated with the area passes sells it for me, as I would had to pay more out of pocket to cover non-JR pass buses/rails and such which would add up to much greater cost than I would had anticipated. Also, if I did this trip post-price hike in October, the calculus becomes a no-brainer: avoid the global JR pass like the plague.
-----
Thank you very much for your opinions, suggestions and advice in advance!

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

Gaming - usually have a main game or two then jump between a few others.
Current games: Stellaris (main game currently) / Space Engineers / Modded Minecraft / Call of Duty Cold War / Halo MCC / Ashes of the Singularity Future games (once released): Starfield / Outpost: Infinity Siege / Sins of a solar empire 2
I also play older games such as: Star Wars Knights of the old Republic 1 & 2 / Skyrim and SE modded / Assassins creeds up to Black Flag / Orcs Must Die 1-3 / Mass Effect 1-3 + Andromeda

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

£800-1100 (lower the better but happy to go higher if needed, if over budget is required that's fine if it is worth it).

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

Towards the end of June 2023.
I understand that what you find may have changed price and/or the build will be out of date when I go to buy.

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

PC components and case.

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

United Kingdom - England, no Microcenter.

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

Monitor1: Acer Predator X34P 34 inch Quad HD Curved 1900R Gaming Monitor, Black (IPS Panel, G-Sync, 100 Hz, 4ms, ZeroFrame, DP, HDMI, USB Hub) Monitor2: Will have a second monitor but in the process of changing current one. Current unused second monitor: LG 29UM68 29 inch Ultrawide IPS Monitor (2560 x 1080, HDMI, DisplayPort, 250 cd/m2, 5ms, AMD Freesync) Mouse: Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum RGB Tunable Wired Gaming Mouse, 12,000 DPI, Adjustable Weights, 11 Programmable Buttons, Compatible with PC / Mac - Black Keyboard: Logitech G213 Prodigy Gaming Keyboard, LIGHTSYNC RGB Backlit Keys, Spill-Resistant, Customizable Keys, Dedicated Multi-Media Keys, QWERTY UK Layout - Black Speakers: Logitech G560 PC Gaming Ultra Surround Sound Speakers with Game Driven RGB Lighting, UK Plug, Black Mic: RVX44 USB Condenser Microphone bundle Headset: Logitech G935 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset, 7.1 Surround Sound, DTS X 2.0, 50mm Pro-G Drivers, 2.4GHz, Rocker Mic, PC/Mac/PS4/Nintendo Switch - Black
Optional but would probably want to keep the 6TB for game storage (unless better suggestion): Internal HDD 1: Western Digital 6 TB SATA 3.5 Hard Drive - Black Internal HDD 2: Western Digital WD10EZEX 1 TB PC Hard Drive Internal HDD 3: WD RE4 2TB 3.5 inch Enterprise SATA Hard Drive - OEM

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

No - not confident in this, if it is necessary please can you direct me to a guide or something, thank you.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

1TB SSD for OS and docs, then the 6TB for game storage (unless people have better suggestions).

What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.

Wired

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

Not really, a window would be nice but not necessary.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

No - will get OS outside of budget - Windows 11

Extra info or particulars:

Current PC has lasted 7 years so if this once could as well would be ace, but understand if not. I know 1440p ultra wide is not easy to run, its why I am asking for help.
Current build if its useful: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZNfxyK
Help is very much appreciated! I am open to any suggestions, Thank you!

Setup:
rtx 4080, 13700k, z790, 32gb ram
ASUS 2k 360hz 8/10/12bit colour (Display port used)
2 X MSI 2k 165hz 8bit colour (Display port used for both)
Samsung Q80t 4k 120hz 10bit colour (Hdmi 2.1 used)
​
when dsc is enabled on ASUS monitor i can only get 3 screens to display out of the 4 or if DSC disabled display works on all 4 at max refresh n colour setting except then the asus cant go to 360hz but only 240 as dsc is disabled.
So i enabled dsc and there is 2 cable configurations i tested on the back of gpu... the first is when the asus is plugged into the dp port on the gpu furthest away from the motherboard i cant get 3 monitors to work now and can only run 1 at 165hz and the asus at 360 but when i add the third it drops asus back to 240hz and if i try put it on 360 all monitors go black for a while then my pc reboots or stalls and i gotta force restart it. and ive been getting these weird flickering lines popping up randomly around the screen and going away with a certain configuration not sure what caused that, it could have been this cable configuration on the gpu which i thought all ports were the same and all support dsc?
If i plug the asus in the dp port on gpu closest to motherboard then i am able to use 3 monitors, 2 at 165hz 8bit colour and the asus at 360 8/10/12 bit colour but the 4th monitor will not be enabled. When i try enable it in windows display settings it tries and fails instantly ask asks me if i would like to keep these setting even tho it did nothing, and when i try in nvidia control panel i tick the 4th monitor and it just unticks a random monitor not allowing me to select all. Normally in windows display settings it would at least try test what is wanting to be applied but it does nothing.
The weird part is if i turn both 2k monitors to the lowest res and 60hz it makes no difference at all, it seems like a bug with this monitor or a driver i am not sure.
i had no issue with this monitor setup using my previous 2k 240hz alienware that was now replaced by the asus. Do you think this is a gpu issue with dsc since the ports are acting different or is it a bug in the latest firmware for the asus monitor or potentially something else?

Hello,
I run own bitwarden server on my LAN, domain is like bitwarden.server.local (Bitwarden app doesn't work unless you have trusted SSL certificate), so I created my own CA + certificate for *.server.local, I created it using commands:

openssl genrsa -des3 -out server.key 2048 openssl req -key server.key -new -out server.csr openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout server.key -out server.csr openssl req -x509 -sha256 -days 1825 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout rootCA.key -out rootCA.crt openssl x509 -req -CA rootCA.crt -CAkey rootCA.key -in server.csr -out server.crt -days 365 -CAcreateserial -extfile server.ext openssl x509 -text -noout -in server.crt

server.ext contains:

authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid,issuer basicConstraints=CA:FALSE subjectAltName = u/alt_names [alt_names] DNS.1 = *.server.local DNS.2 = *.nas.local

and I have 2 desktop PCs and Android phone, one desktop PC is Arch Linux, so added my CA into /etc/ca-certificates/trust-source/anchors and run update-ca-trust, and it works under Arch Linux, it is trusted system-wide, there is no problem.
so then I wanted to trust it on my second PC which is running Debian (Unstable) so I copied CA into /uslocal/share/ca-certificates and run update-ca-certificates, and didn't help, certificate is still untrusted, I tried to restart PC / do full upgrade of system, didn't help too.
so then I tried Android phone, I copied CA into my Android phone and added it into trusted certificates using Settings, and there are screenshots:
https://imgur.com/a/SnHruxQ
https://imgur.com/a/lWFB3MV
and of course it is not trusted on Android phone too, so only device where my CA certificate is trusted and works is my first PC running Arch Linux, so I really don't know what is issue and how to fix it, any help?
Note: I cannot use Let's Encrypt because my network has no public IP address and I cannot do port-forwarding.
Thank you

At the moment im looking for a motor fan that can be powered by a 4s LiPo via the balance port, but i can‘t seem to find any. The highest i could find where 8,4v, which is a 2s LiPo but a 4s LiPo would propably roast that poor thing right away i guess. I found a bunch of generic looking fans on Alibang which can take up to 24v, but they won‘t fit any rc car as they propably are for PC’s or some other applications. Anyone got an idea?

I would like to know how my PC holds up in 2023. I have a mixture of new parts and some which are a few years old now.
I'm trying to push Ultra settings for gaming and ray tracing is not necessary. PC Specs: Motherboard: Asus Tuf Z-590 Plus Wifi CPU: i7-11700k GPU: MSI RTX 3070 Ventus 3x OC 8GB Memory: 2 x Corsair Vengence 16GB Storage: WD Blue 500GB m.2 / Samsung QVO 1TB / 1TB Team Group m.2 Case: Fractal Torrent Compact Fans: 2 x 180mm Fractal front / 2 x 140mm bottom (Ones fractal, the other is Noctua) / No exahaust CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 Monitors: 2 x 1440p Phillips 27"

So, a little backstory, and I promise it’s little. When we made the switch from 4e to 5e there was a big centuries long demon invasion which allowed me to reset the world to a less civilised state. Stealing gleefully from Superman, the players were born and raised in a port city that had been set outside of time like the Bottled City of Kandor, returning when the Magelight, a massive magical structure over the mage’s tower which had kept them safe for the century began to fail. As a result the players had to sally forth and try and rebuild a now savaged kingdom, which in it’s post-invasion period was a lawless, fractured placed filled with monsters, dungeons and the odd dragon.
Enter Critical Role, whose name I first heard a literal week before the world was shut down for COVID and who I bingewatched for months with nothing better to do, and the introduction in Campaign 2 of a Time and Space magic tradition called Dunamis. Instantly, I had something that answered in the main, a lot of unanswered questions.
What ritual created the Magelight, a magical artifact that shunted an entire city out of time and space? Dunamis. Why was a new magical school being founded on the eve of an invasion, to study this new Tenth school of magic. Why are there pockets of frozen time all around my campaign world, originally unexplained and contrived as a ‘windows into how things were before the apocalypse’ type of idea. If you guessed Dunamis then you’d be right. Where did Tempus, the order of Time Mages that roam the land come from? From the study of Dunamis.
I had no idea how much I wanted a school of magic covering Time and Space specifically untill it was Introduced in Critical Role, and it kind of pains me that I never considered creating anything like it myself. Like a lot of DM’s, I suppose, I had considered certain sacred cows of D&D, well, sacred. Wizards need Spell Slots, Alignment is a thing and there are Nine schools of Magic. I had no problem adding new classes, subclasses, races etc to my campaign, that’s nothing new, but it had literally never ocurred to me that I could just create a whole new school of magic. Not only has my main campaign introduced Dunamis as a tenth school, but there’s a massive plot afoot regarding a potential 11th school of magic that I’m in the process of designing for when my next campaign kicks off.
What’s more, I’ve just wrapped a campaign set in a new world I built, a vast sea of sand and desert caused by an ancient cataclysm, but the central conspiracy mystery of the campaign, the kidnapping of wizards who accidentally discovered the existence of Dunamis by a paranoid organisation desperate to stop a new God arising (they failed, but the PC’s beat the BBEG anyway) was entirely fueled by the idea of ‘what if in a hide-bound world of stody traditionalist wizards, an immensely powerful wizard discovered a new, untested and powerful magic discipline.’
Not only did Matt introducing Dunamis fundamentally change the lore of my main world, because it allowed me to have a good in universe explanation for things that had until now been written off as just ‘weird time magic rituals’, but it also changed my thinking about what parts of the fundamental infrastructure I could change even as the DM. Not that I think I’m uncreative, but a lot of my first campaign world was very ‘typical’ D&D, because well, it was my first D&D campaign. In many ways the introduction of a new school of magic was a paradigm shift for me in that I can make any damn changes I want to the world. Since I discovered CR back in 2020, not only have I been invigorated as a DM to design more interesting lore for my campaign, but my players have even noted how much more enthusiastic I am tinkering with the core mechanics of my world. Changes they’ve been quite happy with for the most part.
So yeah, that’s the story of how Dunamis changed the my world.

Hello everyone,
I apologize in advance for bothering you with my stupid mistakes. It's the first time I'm setting up a switch at work.
I'm trying to set up a CX 6100 with multiple VLANs and I can access the webinterface when connecting the switch to a PC after changing the IP address and subnet of the PC. So far so good. Then I tried connecting the 6100 (port 1) to the 2930F (port 43) but I can't reach the 6100 from my PC that's connected to the 2930F. On top of that, the 2930F starts to go down without any information in the logs on either switch until I pull out the cable and wait for 2-3 minutes.
(I changed the vlan IDs and IP addresses for security reasons)
Here's the configuration for the CX 6100
Created the vlans

interface vlan 1 no ip dhcp interface vlan 70 name mgmt ip address 10.14.70.110/24 interface vlan 60 name dmz 

(also vlan 50,51,52,53, but they are currently unused)
Created the default gateway

ip route 0.0.0.0/0 10.14.70.1 

Created a trunk port

interface 1/1/1 no shutdown vlan trunk native 70 vlan trunk allowed all 

Probably not necessary for you, but here's how the other ports are set up:

interface 1/1/2-1/1/46 no shutdown vlan trunk native 1 interface 1/1/47-1/1/48 no shutdown vlan trunk native 60 interface 1/1/49-1/1/52 (just like port 1 for management) no shutdown vlan trunk native 70 vlan trunk allowed all 

Every vlan is tagged for ports 49-52
Here's the management vlan and port from the 2930F

vlan 70 ip address 10.14.70.100/24 interface 43 is untagged 

Every vlan is tagged for ports 49-52 + the default gateway is 10.14.70.1 as well.
Not sure if error is on the 6100's or on the 2930F's side. I think it's probably related to tagging or the default route. I untagged Port 43 myself, so I don't know if that's correct either. Do the management ports have to be tagged?
I want to connect both switches and create another management port to connect my PC to the 6100 so I can do changes on the run until the 2930F starts working. I'll have to do this next week after work since my colleagues are currently working.
Here's what I tried yesterday:

• Disabled POE on Port 1 (6100) and 43 (2930F)
• (6100) Changed the default gateway to the 10.14.70.108 (management IP from the 2930F)
• (6100) Updated the firmware
• (6100) Used show ip route to see if the default route might be missing

Does anyone know what's wrong? I'd really appreciate your help.

I'm approaching the world of programming and since I would like to do it seriously, I'd like to change both my PC and monitor as they are now outdated.
These are what I found:
PC : MINIS FORUM Venus Series UM773 Lite Mini PC Windows 11 Pro AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS up to 4,75GHz 32GB DDR5 1TB PCle4.0 SSD AMD Radeon 680M, 2 HDMI, 1 USB4, 5 ports USB, WLAN 6, BT5.2
Monitor : DELL ULTRASHARP 27" U2722D
My budget for the whole expense is roughly 1000€
Please let me know what you think

So. I tried to find a solution by going back a couple of years in this sub but I couldn't find a solution that worked for me. My A50 has worked for a while (I'm onm PC btw) but today I got the message I needed to update the firmware. Tried installing it but it gave me a "Installing step 0 from 0 - 0%" message that wouldn't continue. Tried all sort of stuff to get it fixed. I'll list below what I have tried and the issues that I encounter:
Issues:

• Light is blinking red and white
• Light is quickly blinking between light 1-3-5 and 2-4
• Light is slowly blinking between light 1-3-5 and 2-4
• Astro Command Center (ACC) says that no device can be found
• ACC says device is connected but no sound can be heard
• ACC says it is updating with step 0 out of 0
• ACC says it is updating with step 0 out of 1
• ACC says it is updating with step 0 out of 3
• (all of the above do not progress)
• ACC says it is performing step 1 of 4. But then stops when "Resetting Device" at the 25% mark

What have I tried:

• Different ports (USB 2 and 3)
• Resetting the headset (Dolby+Game for 25 seconds) and dock (remove power for 30 seconds)
• Reinstalling (from Microsoft Store)
• Rebooting PC
• Removed temp files before rebooting and reinstalling
• Disabled firewall on the PC

I'm at a loss here. I have had the device for close to 3 months and I have faced other issues with the headset but now I can't use it at all. Any ideas on steps I haven't taken?
​

Why isnt my gpu displaying to my monitor after a day after building my pc and it has been now 2 days. I have disconnected the gpu from the pcie slot, I have checked if the gpu is connected to the psu correctly, display port is connect to monitor to gpu, monitor is displayed to the display port instead of hdmi. I'm guessing gpu isn't turning on because the three fans aren't spinning.

Yeehaw, y'all 🤠
I am deep inside the LLM rabbit hole 🐇 and believe they are revolutionary.
However, the major concern I have with them is privacy, especially with all consumer-ready LLMs - ChatGPT, Bard, Claude - running on US servers and considering that Snowden revealed 10 years ago, that the NSA is using Big Tech companies to spy on the whole world. So, I'm looking into buying hardware in the future to run large language models locally.
I currently own a MacBook Air M1 with 8 GB of RAM, which is terrible for AI use cases, because of the t 8 GB. However, the major concern I have is privacy, especially with GPT-4 running on US servers. So, I'm looking into buying hardware in the future to run large language models myself.
The main issue I'm considering is VRAM. The new M2 Ultra in the updated Mac Studio supports a whopping 192 GB of VRAM due to its unified memory. This got me thinking about the better deal. I can't even fathom the cost of an Nvidia GPU with 192 GB of VRAM, but Nvidia is renowned for its AI support and offers greater flexibility, based on my experience. While LLaMa now works with Apple's Metal, for instance, I feel like it's more of a port, and for complete control over LLMs as well as the ability to fine-tune models, using a Linux PC with an Nvidia GPU seems like the best approach.
Also, Linux generally is a huge privacy plus for me, due to Apple not being as privacy-friendly, as they like to portray themselves.
Furthermore, Nvidia excels in all other AI applications like image generators like Stable Diffusion. This makes me lean toward Nvidia, especially because I'm also an avid gamer and would love to experience ray tracing on a powerful graphics card. Buut, then again, Apple recently made a huge step towards becoming more gaming focused, by creating a tool, that makes porting Windows games to macOS pretty easy.
Most importantly, Apple's unified memory in the Mac Studio is incredible. The question is, can Nvidia compete with the value? Considering the professional market, it seems unlikely that Nvidia would release consumer graphics cards with a lot more VRAM, as that would pose a risk to their enterprise products. This dilemma leads me to contemplate whether a Mac might be a better choice due to the substantial amount of unified memory it offers - even though it has a lower bandwidth than Nvidia GPU's VRAM.
So, I'd love to hear your opinions on this matter. What hardware do you think will dominate the future? Will Nvidia release new consumer graphics cards with increased VRAM? Or is Apple's unified memory the way to go? Share your thoughts and let's discuss what the future holds for large language models and AI hardware!