[Japan] I'm going to Japan.

Righto. I'm going to Japan with the girlfriend at the end of the year; probably around december for 14 or so days.
Anyone got any tips for me? As in places to definately go see. Places to go see that not many people know about. How expensive is it really? Especially for an Aussie. Anything you guys can let me know.

It's the first non-English speaking country I've been to apart from Brunei and Malaysia (where I can speak the langauges) and France (where I avoided the locals ).
Apart from just showing respect, is it recommended that I learn some Japanese phrases to make my travelling easier?

But...most importantly, can I realisticaly expect to see lots of hot Japanese girls dressed in school uniforms?

 

Lucky! Anyhoo, Succubus should give you some insight when she sees this. I myself don't know much about Japan but I would like to go there myself. I like the food, people, gadgets, anime, martial arts, the scenery, what more could I ask for, though I don't know much of the language.

Becareful for those school girls wearing their skirts. They are tough cookies.

 

where in japan are you going?

i live in okinawa so can tell you a bunch of stuff to do here. and i've been to tokyo, osaka and kobe, so i can tell you a few things to do there.

but yeh, it depends where you're going! it's a pretty big country!!

as for phrases... i just got back from kobe, and some of the phrases i needed were

"- ga arimasu ka?" - "is there -?" or "do you have -?", like "do you have coffee?" is "kohii ga arimasu ka?"

"- wa doko desu ka?" - "where is -", so "where is mt fuji?" is "fuji-san wa doko desu ka?" (believe it or not, i have used this when i was actually standing underneath mount fuji and couldn't see it for fog. )

ummm... get a phrasebook. your general yes, no, please, thank you phrases should get you by. but you can do it with very basic english and lots of gestures and body language. all the signs in the big cities are in both japanese and english, so you won't have to worry about finding where things are.

the train stations and things are really easy to negotiate. i came from south africa, which has no public transport, into tokyo, where i freaked out at first but soon was navigating it's underneath labyrinth like a pro.

another tip - get maps. LOTS of maps. especially subway maps!! you can download most big cities' rail and subway maps from the net, sometimes they don't have english copies at the stations.

as for the school uniforms... um. yes. i see them every day. but then, i am a teacher.

 

Echoing succubus it really depends on where your going... Im assuming your flying into Narita but then are you going to travel or stay around the Tokyo area?

Expense wise again it really depends on where your staying, what your doing and so on. I didn't find Japan on the whole expensive at all- travel can be a bit of a bitch but then it depends on how comfy you want to be I used local trains when travelling which take a bit longer but are alot cheaper than the shinkansen and means you get to see little out of the way places- food is also extremely reasonable priced but of course you can go to expensive restaurants if you like. Accomodation as well was not too pricey though I did cheat a bit because for most of my time there I live with my girlfriends family still... if you look on the internet you can find alot of discounted hotel prices.

As for places to go I really liked Kamakura and Enoshima which are short train journeys just outside Tokyo so if your in Tokyo they are worth going to (though Enoshima was mostly a beach so maybe not if your going in the winter). There are plenty of non-touristy places if you take the time to look but assuming your going to the major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and so on the main attractions are all quite well known. All 3 of those cities I found very enjoyable for a variety of reasons.

Anyway, you'll have a good time and you will definitely see Japanese schoolgirls!

 

I haven't been to Japan, but I have been abroad a few times, especially this year. I definitely recommend learning at least some basic phrases in the language. "Yes", "No", "Please", "Thank you", and possibly "Help" will get you pretty far.

 

Thanks for the insight guys 'n' gals, very helpfull indeed.
all the signs in the big cities are in both japanese and english, so you won't have to worry about finding where things are.

That's good to know
Yes I'll be flying into Narita and catching the trains (got them all sorted) Minami Sennju and staying at a cheap little inn there for a few days while be look around Tokyo, Ueno and Shinjuku. Lots of shopping.
Then after a couple of days of that we'll probably jump on the bus to Kawaguchiko (spelling?) station and stay at another cheap inn around near Mt Fuji and cheakc out the onsens etc. Now...here's where I'm stuck...where to from there?
Is it easy to get to other great parts of Japan (preferably not TOO far away) from Mt Fuji without having to backtrack into Tokyo city? I really really would love to get to Okinawa (mainly because of they've got the worlds biggest aquarium ) but it's looking a big expensive, transport wise.

Anyway, you'll have a good time and you will definitely see Japanese schoolgirls!

Maybe I should leave the girlfriend at home
Hehehe, nah I'll just take her to the pub and get her blocked and go from there.

 

What would you like to be able to ay in Japanese ?
Like how much is this ____ wa ikura desu ka, eg ko-hi wa ikura desu ka (how much is the coffee)
I have been to Japan twice and I proimise you you will have a great time there, I reccomend heading down to Shinjuku in Tokyo thats were all the cool teenagers hang, for scenery go to Kyoto and check out some of its temples like Ryoanji and kinkakuji or go to Nara and go to Todaiji the temple there is the biggest wooden structure in the northen hemisphere i think and it has the second largest sitting buddha, and make sure you go to Arashiyama which is outside Kyoto, it hasnt been affected by tourism much and make sure yoyu go to the bamboo forest there late in the afternoon its a real treat.
Let us know how it all goes.,
peace

 

i know loooaaaads of places around tokyo to see. i definitely recommend asakusa at night (it's hecticly crowded during the day, but really peaceful and amazing at night), the meiji shrine in harajuku (i burst into tears when reading all the prayers), and the museum of emerging sciences in odaiba.

i have pictures of all of them in my gallery at http://suqbus.deviantart.com, including kawaguchiko, which was extraordinarily beautiful (though so full of fog that we couldn't see mt fuji at all!). if you walk down to the nearest of the lakes and walk around it there are a couple of hotels that'll let you use the onsens for around Y2000.

it's fairly easy to travel around japan's mainland (honshu, anyway). you can get between tokyo and kyoto or osaka by train (cheaply, or shinkansen, if you have less time and more money, or plane if you have even less time and even more money). kyoto has loads to see. a few of my friends are there at the moment, but i couldn't go. it also has really awesome nightlife. osaka's good to see as well. dunno when exactly you're going, but they have loads of exhibitions and sumo competitions on there. when i was there in april i saw a salvador dali exhibition and the finals of the sumo world championships.

if you're going by shinkansen, though, you may as well get on a plane and fly wherever you want (a normal ticket from tokyo to osaka costs around Y8000). you can get to okinawa for Y23 000 return if you book more than a month in advance (depending, of course, on when exactly you're going).

i actually don't know about travelling from kawaguchiko. when i went, i took a bus which took around 2 hours in the morning, then back to tokyo by train in the evening. since there's a train station there, i'm assuming you can get to places other than tokyo, though it may take a while and have quite a few transfers involved.

 

moved to Japan section.

Thanks

 

Sorry Sgt. I was originally going to post here but I wasn't sure if it would fit in with the culture theme.
My bad.

Anyhoo, anyone know of any really cool Koi fish ponds/lakes around Tokyo?

 

you'll find koi in pretty much any lake or pond near a big shrine or temple.

good examples are at sensoji temple in asakusa and the rikugien landscape poem gardens.

 

Those fish are very popular over there for more than one reason they are very suckery and in the spa some seem to really enjoy that, I have read of days of old, might even be still in use.


Other matters:
If you get a chance to go to the area of 3333 steps and see the temple up there. It is mentioned that it is the location of where Kosho was perfected, in certain camps that is While others say no.

 

I've never been myself, but my girlfriend's dad went to Japan last year with his jiu jitsu club and they had a blast. The #1 tip they seem to have come back with is to buy a rail pass. Apparently it's a really good way to get around and travel, especially if you're planning on seeing lots of Japan. I think they said they were able to get a better deal buying it outside of Japan than they would have if they'd bought it there.

 

yeh, around tokyo i'd get a subway day pass. it costs around Y700, but if you make 3 trips during a day it works out cheaper. plus then you can just go wherever you want without having to worry about it.

i say subway because it appears to be one of the most extensive systems, and is much easier to navigate in tokyo (and definitely in osaka) than rail.

BGile - i've been to quite a few spas, and have never seen any koi in them. on the contrary i think the people would be pretty mortified if you started climbing into a pool in which they kept expensive koi.

in okinawa, near shuri castle in naha is a really big lake with hundreds of koi in it. it's really beautiful.

 

I think they said they were able to get a better deal buying it outside of Japan than they would have if they'd bought it there.

That's because you can't buy them in Japan
You purchase them from outside of Japan and then get given them in Japan.

 

If you get a chance try spending a night in a capsule hotel.

Run out to the convenience store... pick up a a porn mag and a six pack of cheap Japanese beer... instant good times.

 

Well then...I guess that explains it

slipthejab, that hotel looks insane! What will they think of next?

 

No need to buy the magazine, most of the capsule hotels have porn channels..Although you can't see much for all the mosaic patterning..Not that I've tried..I'd be rather nervous of disturbing the guy next to me...
It's good, and clean for sleep only...
An Onsen is also a must do..
Find a natural one if possible (outside of Tokyo there are many) and get naked in hot water..Class..

 

pfffttt...
obviously you have litte appreciation for the old skool.

 

Heh...It's only fun if you get to nick the magazines from your brothers top shelf...