Forum - View topic[OT] Visiting Japan and need some advice.
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shako
Posts: 70 |
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Well, I will be visiting Japan some time in the near future and would like some information.
First, I would like to know what is the best place to stay at and some good places to visit? Second, what is a good way to learn the language fast any programs you reccommend? Also, I would like to know some of the laws and customs. What are some fun things to do there? Do alot of the people speak English, and what do they think of foreigners? I would like to know about anyone else's experiences in Japan, also. This doesn't really have much to do with the trip, but I'm going with my cousin who's a girl and she's good looking, I guess, and in alot of anime and manga (mostly manga) there are always scenes where some guys try to rape a girl and I was wondering if this really happens alot and in what places cause I don't want her to get hurt. [EDIT: Separated your post into paragraphs and also fixed your grammar. The last part about your cousin getting raped is a bit absurd, by the way, and I think you're a little too paranoid. Good luck on your trip, though. -TK] |
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daxomni
 Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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You waited until you were going to be visiting in the 'near future' before looking into this?
First, start by reading a guidebook, then come back here to narrow down your personal choices.
"Fast?" Are you kidding? Start by learning the terms and phrases in your guidebook (there's that word again) and then consider buying more books that cover Japanese for beginners. Alternatively you can take a course in a local college.
Law #1: Read a guidebook. You can also branch out into reading one of the 'culture shock' books.
Start with a guidebook or two, then come back to discuss specifics.
Speak? Not so much. Read/Write? Yes. Whatever they think of foreigners will be based on what they encounter. Foreigners who can't be bothered to read a guidebook might not make a very good first impression.
It was fun, it was busy, it wasn't nearly as expensive as I first thought it would be.
You're basing your opinion on what you see in anime and manga? Does what you see in most Hollywood movies reflect average American lives? Nope. Same goes for most anime and manga. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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They have this shrine in Asakusa(Tokyo) you should go to. And Yokohama's good because they have a big shopping center there. If you're ever lost, ask one of the uniformed men at the train stations, they'll be more than willing to help. And don't worry about the rape stuff. Did this video happen on a train? Cause if it did, there's no way in hell that's going to happen. Just stay away from dark alleys and not so crowded places at night. And don't go to any sex parlors and stuff like that because they're run by the yakuzas(Japanese mafia).
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Arkard
 Posts: 677 Location: Poland |
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Man, if you dont got anything now you are royallu screwed. The cost of living accomodations in Japan is probably one of the highest in the world. You can seriously spend most of your cash on a simple hotel room, without a bathroom. I guess you could always try lookign for the cheapest hotel you could find. Just FYI, when I was staying in Yokohama the cheapest thing I found was 40$/night, no bathroom, with a public bath, 1 km down the road. But that was 3 years ago. And I didn't actually STAY there, I was living with my gf`s folks, but checked out the hotel pricing just for kicks. Man, you are so screwed here 8)
I travelled through almost all of Tokyo, Yokohama and the surroundings. Just tell me where exactly are you going and I will recommend you some fun places.
Here is a hint: LEARN THE BASICS BEFORE YOU GO DUMBASS!
Try this. And next time, please be more precised.
Probably the only people who know how to speak passable English are the highschool students. And as for foreigners: unless you are planning to Live there, they will love you. Oh, and you know there is an old saying among the foreigners in Japan: If you wanna get laid here, all you need to do is be white, and if you cant do that, be black, just dont be Brazilian. So yeah, the Japanese dont really have a problem with foreigners (some of them at least).
Yeah... stop reading manga please. Or at least chose some modern slice of life stories, they will give you the right idea about Japan, sort of. |
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Deltakiral
 Posts: 3338 Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK) |
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I'd say to read this article by Tempest (Christopher Macdonald) who wrote about going to Japan, this was one of column that I thought that was very interesting as well as informing. crashing Japan
It's only the first two article, otherwise you need to get the proto culture mag for the rest of the article. Oh btw good luck, and have fun I am so jealous. Traveling to Japan is one of the things I so desperately want to do, that and go to Europe. Till next time, Delta Kiral |
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SharinganEyes92
 Posts: 816 |
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I, too, am going to Japan soon (June), and I already know most about what my trip is going to be like because it's some National Geographic tour which makes you tour the whole country (completely my dad's idea), and I have only one question: What's the best place in Japan to buy an aunthentic katana?
I've searched far and wide on the Internet for an answer, but all I can find are websites. If anyone has any information as to where the best place to buy an authentic katana, I'd greatly appreciate it, for it has always been a dream of mine to have one ever since I first saw one. 
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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You're going to Japan in June? That's when I'm going too! Although I already know who I'm staying with and stuff. I'm going to bring me back a whole bunch of anime and manga, for cheap prices
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d.yaro
Posts: 528 |
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I booked my accommodations online. Mainly stayed in ryokans. I don't know about hostels and the like since I can afford to stay in something a bit better than those. One thing I've read is that some of the capsule hotels won't deal with gaijins.
Do some homework eh? At the very least check out the Lonely Planet website.
My suggestion: Assume no one speaks English. But you may have a bit more luck communicating through written English. Go figure. My question: Are you of Oriental/Asian appearance? If the answer is "No" then you're pretty well the freak in a freak show. Okay, I'm being a touch too blunt there. What I'm leading to is the abbreviation I came across in a Will Ferguson book, the state of being that he called "G.o.D" or "Gaijin on Display". It can come in handy at times but please don't abuse it. If anything, get a JR rail pass. If you're going to be doing any amount of travelling then it'll pay for itself in no time. I lived in Japan for a couple of years a long time ago. Visited there last winter for two weeks. That trip basically covered a slice of Tokyo, Okayama (relatives live there) and Hiroshima with pit stops in Kobe and Kyoto. Any questions about those places...PM me. |
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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All of the above have given you really good advice.
I'm not a traveller but one thing that I would recommend to you is buy and BRING an English/Japanese dictionary. I work in a department store here in California and one of the best converstions I ever had with someone who couldn't speak English was with a Japanese student. He had a Japanese/English dictionary and he would point out words, asking what he was looking for and I would use the dictionary to answer him and/or take him directly to what he needed. I had fun doing it, he seemed like he was having fun, he got what he was looking for and we both thanked each other in the other's language! I could be wrong, but I would think that if you have the dictionary with you and at least try, that will be appreciated. Have fun! |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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There is also a Passnet card for the Odakyu, Sotetsu, and Keikyu railways. You can get them for either 1000 yen ($8.75), 3000 yen ($26.30), or 5000 yen ($43.85). A reminder that when you buy drinks in Japan, 500ml bottled drinks are going to be 150 yen ($1.30) and canned drinks are at least 110 yen ($.95). |
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Fui
 Posts: 339 |
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I went to Japan last summer and stayed at my cousins' for a month in Osaka. It really depends on what you're looking for when you go there; Japan has a pretty diverse culture. There's lots of temples and castles if older historical stuff and beautiful scenery is your thing, and there's also really urban stuff where there are tons of pachinko parlors and people wearing ridiculous outfits trying to grab your attention with their advertisements and free tissue papers.
I've never lived in Japan (only been there for two months total) so I can't give you as much insight, but you should pretty much prepare as if you were going to any other foreign country that doesn't know your language. The people are required to learn English in high school but believe me, for the most part they pretty much don't know any Engrish, except for maybe customer service people who might know broken English. However, almost all signs (like all highway signs and train stations) are written out in English and it is very tourist-friendly. I mean, the famous JP baseball team "The Dragons" once had baseball outfits that said "The Doragons" for quite a while... Since you probably won't be using a car, I suggest you get to know the train/subway system. I was able to go to so many different places when I was there just by hopping on different trains, although it was mostly in Osaka. If say you want to go from Osaka to Tokyo you most likely need to use the Shinkansen (bulllet train), which is nice but pretty expensive (about the price of an airplane ticket). The train system may be confusing at first, but once you get a hold of it it's really useful. Like D.Yaro said, you might want to get a JR rail pass. I burned so much cash in a month just on trains alone there...like $3-400 if you include my trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima on the Shinkansen. When I went there, I hit up many of the "world treasures" such as Koya-san (this is where Sorata from X lived as a monk), Miyajima (deer land...not even kidding...and where I got my blunt katana which rocks since I can swing it around without worrying about slicing my arm off), Himeji-jo (and Osaka-jo, but Himeji castle is authentic whereas the other was rebuilt after it was burned down in a battle), and I also went to Kyoto (lots of beautiful temples and nature), the Genbaku-dome (the atomic bomb dome which was left standing after WWII as a memorial) in Hiroshima, Lake Biwa, and urban shopping places like Namba in Osaka and Yodobayashi (countless floors of electronics  )
Ah I love Japan, mata ikitai! ii na~
Man I burned so much money on bottled drinks there. It's so hot and humid during the summer that you always want to have a bottled drink at your side. And the thing is, the 100 yen (~$.90) is a small coin so you don't feel bad slipping one into a vending machine. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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Take this seriously, shako, you might want to save your finished bottle and if you're lucky enough to find a water fountain, FILL IT UP!! Most parks will have them. If you go in the summer, all it takes is for you to walk outside for about 15 minutes and you'll be soaking wet. Take a towel so you can wipe off the sweat, too. |
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Dogmanstar
 Posts: 6 |
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You might want to go to Engrish.com to loosen yourself up a bit for the trip. 
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Gauss
 Posts: 519 Location: Finland |
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No, those are sex fantasies and do not reflect the actual situation at all. About the only countries safer than Japan on this Earth would be the Nordic countries. BTW in your language studies, try to learn to read Katakana characters at a minimum. Foreign loan words are spelled in Katakana, which can be of great help. |
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inuyasha1357
 Posts: 85 |
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Im going to have to go with this guy, he may be a little mean but he's right, in my opinion you sound like some 12 year-old kid who posted this for no reason... |
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