A Trip to Japan

[piratesinpink]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][COLOR="Magenta"]Hello!

I had the fabulous opportunity to go to Japan this summer, and I thought I'd throw in a few travel tips/suggestions. Just in case any anime fans were considering a trip.

First off, Japan is a beautiful place to visit. I, unfortunately visited in the beginning of the rainy season. Try to avoid that. It's just humid and a bit drizzly, nothing to really ruin a trip. But you might want to stick with the dry weather. Be prepared for a long plane ride. It takes about 10 hours from the west coast to Honshu, so bring stuff to do.

You don't really have to worrying, because Japan has (of course) a great public transportation system. Subways, buses, or street cars are generally reasonable. Taxi cars can be a bit expensive, though.

A lot of people like to know a bit Japanese before they go. I know no Japanese, but my brother, who lives there, knows a bit. You really don't need to know that much. I never had a problem communicating when my brother wasn't around. But if you go out to eat, try to stick with a place with a picture menu. Then, at least, you can point to what you want.

If you don't want to eat out, they have grocery stores and convenience stores with prepared food. Seven Elven is taking over Asia, I'm convinced. they have everything, from sandwiches to sushi. So no need to worry if you don't like Japaneses food.

Manga is really cheap over there, if you wanted to buy some. But it will be in Japanese. (Obvious, I know) It costs about $3.50 per manga. You can get translated manga at the bigger book stores, but they're just like the ones we have here, and cost about the same.

It's really fun to watch anime on T.V., even if you can't understand it. You can kinda get it anyway.

And don't go to just one city in Japan if you get the opportunity to go. Bullet train tickets are fairly reasonable as far as train tickets go. I was fortunate enough to go to Fukuoka in Kyushu and Hiroshima in Honshu. Boat rides are somewhat reasonable, if you wanted to visit South Korea. (which is nice, but not as nice as Japan in my opinion)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your trip to Japan, if you are going. And if you read all of this, thank you![/COLOR][/FONT]

[Japan]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]If you watch anime there, you must also watch the other shows and commercials. So awesome and funny. Like, there is a show called Ayaka's English lesson. There is also a show where guys try to speak and read English. There's also another group who watches the people read. If they laugh, they get hit. There are also some good dramas like Densha Otoko, game shows like Ninja warrior, and pranks that deal with portapotties and spa chairs. Going to the different districts in Tokyo is a must. Osaka is also a must. If you know some Japanese and visit Osaka, your language skills will be almost useless because of the different dialects.

Also, at least try to remember a lot of vocabulary. If you have trouble speaking, use vocabulary, a drawing pad, and hand signals. Even if you can't form a whole sentence, you'll survive.

I learned that when students from Osaka visited my college for a few days. I was able to speak with them just fine.[/COLOR]

[piratesinpink]

[quote name='Japan_86'][COLOR="DarkRed"] There is also a show where guys try to speak and read English. [/COLOR][/QUOTE]
[COLOR="Magenta"]I actually have a friend's brother who went on that show.[/COLOR]

[Japan]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]haha, do you know what episode that he was in?

I plan to hopefully go on scholarship to Japan next summer.[/COLOR]

[KingEarthEater]

Talking about going to Japan, my oldest brother is going because he won a tournament in California for a tournament they call SBO.

They have it for many games, yet there are only spots for about two or three (teams or people) to go to this tournament and this tournament is a reservation only.. I want to go too though. But I would have had to win a tournament in Austin (which is the only other place I could have gone to)..

Anyway, my family has never been to Japan (or even thought about it really).. But I hear that they are expensive!

[piratesinpink]

[COLOR="Magenta"]I don't actually know which episode, but I did get to see it. His brother sent it to him, and we all watched it.

Good luck on the scholarship. My brother is actually teaching English over there through a company called Nova. He doesn't actually know much Japanese, like I said. I'm actually interested in teaching over there, like he is. [/COLOR]

[COLOR="Magenta"]Japan is kind of expensive, but the exchange rate right now is really good.

If you want to go hard-core shopping, you should go to Korea. Things are REALLY cheap there.[/COLOR][COLOR="Red"][INDENT][SIZE="1"]Please don't double post, just use the edit button in the lower right hand corner of your post if you wish to add something. Thanks. ~SunfallE[/SIZE][/INDENT][/COLOR]

[SaiyanPrincessX]

[SIZE="1"]I just got back last tuesday from a two week stay in Japan.

Yes the flight is extremely long, atleast for us US travelers. 11 and a half hours to be exact. On the way to Japan I had to change in Detroit, same with on the way back. It was daylight all the way to Japan. The morning I left I saw the sunrise in Japan, then a few hours into the flight I saw the sunrise again. So twice in one day; it was carzy.

Yes Japan is a expensive country. When it comes to food generally the Japanese food is cheaper than American food. I went to Lawson alot, which is like a 24 hour convienent store. Fruit and vegetables are very expensive, so when buying them its best to wait untill an hour before the store closes because this is when everything is marked down. Most places open at 10am and close around 8 or 9pm. Closing time all depends though.

I had the priviledge to meet a few people who teach english there aswell. One speaks fluent Japanese, and the other speaks only about five words of Japanese. I too have considered this.

Trains and food can get expensive real fast, so you have to watch your budget. Not to mention souveniers of course. Your right about the cabs too. I only used it twice, but I wasn't the only one in the cab. I used the bus once.

Japanese television is crazy. It really actually makes no sense, but its funny. Where I was we did get CNN and a few channels that we could change to english, with Japanese subtitles.

I agree, Japan is a very beautiful place to visit, and I hope to go back next year.[/SIZE]

[piratesinpink]

[COLOR="Magenta"]That is really weird. I just got back from my trip to Japan last Monday. We stayed for about two weeks, too.

Twilight Zone...[/COLOR]