My upcoming trip to Japan

[HumanPackMule]

Nineteen days from now I'll be making a trip with a medium sized group of students to Japan and I'll be staying there for two weeks. Any advice for traveling to Japan?

[prateek]

eating out is expensive (i think)

[Izzy]

Where are you going and staying?

There are a lot of customs (too many to mention here) that you could be aware of. But it all depends on where you are staying and such. My little sister is going over for a home-stay for 6ish months and was telling me last night about the rules for slippers.

As you probably know you DO NOT wear your shoes into any house. Therefore they have house slippers at the front door which you wear about inside (they are regarded as clean) and then if you wish to use the toilet facilities or go into the courtyard there is another set of outside slippers (they are regarded as dirty) and you cannot wear your outside slippers inside either.

And never stick your chopsticks straight up in your bowl, or wave them about whilst talking. This is considered very rude.

That is just some stuff she was telling me about last night. Hope is helps.

[Natman8000]

According to my parents, they said that it is very hard to say no to a Japanese person. They will keep insisting that you do what they want you to do.

[HumanPackMule]

eating out is expensive (i think)

Fortunately for me, the program I'm doing this with has all the meals prepaid. On top of that, most of the meals will buffets.

Where are you going and staying?

I'll be going all over the place there. My group will visit one of the WWII memorials, hike around Mt. Fuji, ride the bullet train, and visit a Shinto shrine. We'll be staying at hotels most of the time, but we'll spend a weekend with a local family there.

There are a lot of customs (too many to mention here) that you could be aware of. But it all depends on where you are staying and such. My little sister is going over for a home-stay for 6ish months and was telling me last night about the rules for slippers.

Thankfully for me, the program has also prepared my group for this aspect for the past few months.

[Mariann Asanuma]

Nineteen days from now I'll be making a trip with a medium sized group of students to Japan and I'll be staying there for two weeks. Any advice for traveling to Japan?

How exciting!

I've been to Japan a number of times, I even lived there for 3 months, so I might be able to give you some advice. First of all have fun!

Okay, now for the real advice:

Carry a phrase book -- even if you can't pronounce Japanese too well, you can always show them the phrase you are trying to say. In general, Japanese people are very friendly.

Use the subways and trains. Taking a taxi is pretty expensive. The trains and subway systems are much cheaper and depending on where you are going the station names are in both Japanese and English. Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima I've found are pretty easy to get around.

Also, depending if you are planning to travel to more than one city, you might want to look into what is called a Japan Railpass. They are special tickets available only to tourists that allow you to ride any JR (Japan Rail) Train (the largest train company), including most of the Shinkansen (Bullet Trains). You can buy them for 1, 2, or 3 weeks (I think) and you can travel for that length of time all over. Depending on how much traveling you are going to do (especially if you are going to more than on city), this is a cheaper alternative to buying the tickets for each trip.

In the way of food. I recommend going to the smaller eating places or ramen noodle places. You could go to McDonald's or KFC, but they are expensive and what's the point of being in a foreign country if you don't eat their food? A lot of the eating places have pictures or even plastic models of fake food in the window so you know what they sell with the price right next to it. Even if you can't speak or read Japanese, you can always point.

Also another place to get pretty good, cheap food (if that's what you want) is in the convenience stores. I know, you have visions of a bad hot dog. But actually Japanese convenience stores usually have really good food that is good for take-away. Oh, and another place is the bread shops or "pan-ya." Japanese bread shops have a lot of interesting breads that are similar to meat-pies that are usually pretty cheap and still really good.

As a side note to the food, one thing I would really recommend is Japanese dessert and candies. Especially Japanese chocolate and any desserts that are "melon" flavor. Ever since my first visit to Japan when I was 13 I've loved melon flavored drinks, candy, etc. I don't drink, but if you are familiar with "Midori" liqueur, its the same flavor. Don't let the fact that it is usually colored bright green throw you off. It's really good, trust me.

Do research, either online or get a book that recommends places to go in the city (or cities) you are going. If you are on a budget, you can even find info on cheap places to visit. Many of the shrines and temples are usually only a few hundred yen (the equivalence of a few US dollars) so you can see many historical places very inexpensively.

As for LEGO in Japan, I've never been to the "Brick Click" (I think that's the name) LEGO stores, but I have gotten a few LEGO things there before. When I buy LEGO or LEGO related things in Japan, I make sure it isn't something I could just buy at home. I have found a few things that are exclusive to Japan (and sometimes Europe) that were never available in the states set wise (like the Kabaya sets). I also have a book and a day planner that were only available in Japan. I know that right now there are a couple of Japanese only LEGO books out. If you print a picture of the book, or get the ISBN number, you can take that to a Japanese bookstore and ask them if they have it. Also, to save space when bringing LEGO home in the suitcase, I usually open the box and flatten it, and roll up the LEGO bags. (Pretty obvious, but sometimes people don't).

Another fun place to go shopping is "Hyaku-en" stores (100 yen stores). Everything is just 100 yen, but unlike American dollar stores, the items are really nice and good quality. A lot of the department stores are usually expensive, so I usually would just window shop there and buy what I wanted cheaper places.

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but if I do I'll mention it. Again, have fun! I'd love to hear how your trip goes.

(As a side note I do have to admit that I'm half-Japanese and speak and read some of the language. So getting around for me is easier than your average non-Japanese speaker. But in the larger cities this its still pretty easy to get around.)

[HumanPackMule]

How exciting!

I've been to Japan a number of times, I even lived there for 3 months, so I might be able to give you some advice. First of all have fun!

Okay, now for the real advice:

Carry a phrase book -- even if you can't pronounce Japanese too well, you can always show them the phrase you are trying to say. In general, Japanese people are very friendly.

Use the subways and trains. Taking a taxi is pretty expensive. The trains and subway systems are much cheaper and depending on where you are going the station names are in both Japanese and English. Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima I've found are pretty easy to get around.

Also, depending if you are planning to travel to more than one city, you might want to look into what is called a Japan Railpass. They are special tickets available only to tourists that allow you to ride any JR (Japan Rail) Train (the largest train company), including most of the Shinkansen (Bullet Trains). You can buy them for 1, 2, or 3 weeks (I think) and you can travel for that length of time all over. Depending on how much traveling you are going to do (especially if you are going to more than on city), this is a cheaper alternative to buying the tickets for each trip.

In the way of food. I recommend going to the smaller eating places or ramen noodle places. You could go to McDonald's or KFC, but they are expensive and what's the point of being in a foreign country if you don't eat their food? A lot of the eating places have pictures or even plastic models of fake food in the window so you know what they sell with the price right next to it. Even if you can't speak or read Japanese, you can always point.

Also another place to get pretty good, cheap food (if that's what you want) is in the convenience stores. I know, you have visions of a bad hot dog. But actually Japanese convenience stores usually have really good food that is good for take-away. Oh, and another place is the bread shops or "pan-ya." Japanese bread shops have a lot of interesting breads that are similar to meat-pies that are usually pretty cheap and still really good.

As a side note to the food, one thing I would really recommend is Japanese dessert and candies. Especially Japanese chocolate and any desserts that are "melon" flavor. Ever since my first visit to Japan when I was 13 I've loved melon flavored drinks, candy, etc. I don't drink, but if you are familiar with "Midori" liqueur, its the same flavor. Don't let the fact that it is usually colored bright green throw you off. It's really good, trust me.

Do research, either online or get a book that recommends places to go in the city (or cities) you are going. If you are on a budget, you can even find info on cheap places to visit. Many of the shrines and temples are usually only a few hundred yen (the equivalence of a few US dollars) so you can see many historical places very inexpensively.

As for LEGO in Japan, I've never been to the "Brick Click" (I think that's the name) LEGO stores, but I have gotten a few LEGO things there before. When I buy LEGO or LEGO related things in Japan, I make sure it isn't something I could just buy at home. I have found a few things that are exclusive to Japan (and sometimes Europe) that were never available in the states set wise (like the Kabaya sets). I also have a book and a day planner that were only available in Japan. I know that right now there are a couple of Japanese only LEGO books out. If you print a picture of the book, or get the ISBN number, you can take that to a Japanese bookstore and ask them if they have it. Also, to save space when bringing LEGO home in the suitcase, I usually open the box and flatten it, and roll up the LEGO bags. (Pretty obvious, but sometimes people don't).

Another fun place to go shopping is "Hyaku-en" stores (100 yen stores). Everything is just 100 yen, but unlike American dollar stores, the items are really nice and good quality. A lot of the department stores are usually expensive, so I usually would just window shop there and buy what I wanted cheaper places.

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but if I do I'll mention it. Again, have fun! I'd love to hear how your trip goes.

(As a side note I do have to admit that I'm half-Japanese and speak and read some of the language. So getting around for me is easier than your average non-Japanese speaker. But in the larger cities this its still pretty easy to get around.)

Thanks for the advice! I've been watching a lot of subbed anime lately, and I've found that they've helped me understand several basic phrases. I'll also be bringing a pocket dictionary to use while there. As far as travel goes, it will all be taken care of and prepaid by the organization, so we're likely to have our own personal bus.

[Captain Cavinano]

Well, as a person who have been to Japan for 10+ times, I should say that you must go undergound and take a walk in their train station there are lots of restarants and shops you can go shoping there. And you must try the food there cause you cannot find any bad food in Japan! Food from all kinds of restarants are the best I have ever had!

[HumanPackMule]

Thirteen days left til the trip. I'm starting to prepare for the jet lag by staying up late to prepare to sleep on the plane.

[sai]

Lucky.

[HumanPackMule]

I just got back a week ago, jet lag was a much bigger pain than I thought it would be. More on the trip later.

[prateek]

Welcome back The weird thing is that I wasn't jet lagged at all when I got back from India, and you are have big pains.

[HumanPackMule]

Welcome back The weird thing is that I wasn't jet lagged at all when I got back from India, and you are have big pains.

It was my first time out of the U.S. I'm sure it happens to other first timers.

[Darth_Legois]

I was about to say "Jetlag to Japan isant so bad" then I realised you went there from the US. Theres only afew hrs diffrence between Australia & Japan so whenever I go there its not so bad.

The LEGO is expensive though, But its similar to the AUSD price (if you calculate the exchange rate ect...) but Japan often still has old sets (late last year they still had '05 sets!)

[HumanPackMule]

I was about to say "Jetlag to Japan isant so bad" then I realised you went there from the US. Theres only afew hrs diffrence between Australia & Japan so whenever I go there its not so bad.

The LEGO is expensive though, But its similar to the AUSD price (if you calculate the exchange rate ect...) but Japan often still has old sets (late last year they still had '05 sets!)

I did try looking for Lego while there, but was unsuccessful in my hunt. I did find the Japanese hobby equivalent and bought a bunch(Gundam model kits).

[prateek]

It was my first time out of the U.S. I'm sure it happens to other first timers.

It was my first time too.