2007-02-01, 21:14 | Link #221 | |
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If you can't work it out, drop me a PM If you are receiving 382,000en/mth and living alone I'd get a nice 1DK/1DLK (1 bedroom, Dining Living and Kitchen), no more than 100,000 a month. Maybe if you get a 70,000en place and get parking (30,000mth) then you can buy a car and get about on weekends and during holidays. Don't forget Japanese apartments are unfurnished - buying second hand is cheap though. Oops - Location - You will be around Shinjuku, so Shinjuku-ku, Shibuya-ku, maybe even out towards Roppongi. Expensive areas, but convenient for you. Takadanobaba is alright too. Month at least. Find a place, check it out, sign the papers, wait for the landlord to prep it. 2 weeks at shortest if you found a room on day one.
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2007-02-01, 22:59 | Link #222 | |
很快是工程師
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: ゴミ箱の存在の他の平野
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2007-02-02, 00:12 | Link #223 | |
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Shinjuku is a large train station, but it does not have access to Shinkansens (they are 30mins away at Shinagawa), and you can't take a train to everywhere. What I was getting at is if on weekends and holidays he wants to go out into the country or see something specific it will be of use to him.
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2007-02-02, 03:20 | Link #224 | |
Translator, Producer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 44
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2007-02-02, 20:13 | Link #226 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: The South of England
Age: 55
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Rather off topic I'm afraid, but you'll find that rather a lot of countries drive on the correct (as opposed to right ) side of the road. Most of them were British colonies, but Japan were on the right tracks themselves before we made up their minds for sure..
Road side stuff To try and get back on subject: As for having a car, it might be easier to just rent one on those occasions you feel like going out into the middle of nowhere. No need to worry about parking, and you could pick it up near the area you want to explore rather than drive all the way there as well. |
2007-02-02, 21:22 | Link #227 | |
高校生
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: 大好きなところが遠すぎて
Age: 34
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You'd be much better off just renting if you decide you need one. Of course, you'll still have to go to the trouble of getting a driver's license, which isn't an especially fun and easy process in Japan. |
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2007-02-03, 14:44 | Link #228 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: The South of England
Age: 55
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Well, as a stop-gap measure an international driving permit would be acceptable and valid for a year. After that you would need to take a test though. The UK is one of those countries that has an agreement meaning that you can get a Japanese license with only minimal work. The US, unfortunately, isn't and you'll need to pass a full test.
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2007-02-03, 22:23 | Link #229 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
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But again.. there's very few places in Japan that lack public transportation so the expense of leasing/renting, driving, and finding somewhere to put it become questionable. I never use a car in San Francisco or New York and as little as possible in other cities (Portland, OR - Vancouver, BC, Victoria, etc) and avoid it in Europe so in a country like Japan with such an extensive public system I'm not really sure why one would need one. Cars are really a pain in the ass in some places.
Part of exploring and visiting a country is to see and experience how the locals live - not bunk up in a HoJo's, spend all your time looking for McDs/Pizza, and driving everywhere alone in a car.
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2007-02-05, 23:10 | Link #230 |
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There are many places where I would say having a car is almost essential if you want to explore - Tokyo is not really one of them, but if you have the time and money I recommend it purely for the fact that 90% of the interesting, non-tourist-trap locations are far from stations, and trains don't run 24hours a day.
(Those teaching English, or on wages below 4mil/yr should not even bother). Saying that the trains and buses will get you to just about anywhere you need to go.
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2007-02-28, 23:29 | Link #231 |
phantom loser
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: toronto
Age: 40
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i have some questions. sorry i haven't read the entire thread so i don't know if these have already been addressed:
1. how good of a vacation is going to japan all by yourself. i've never traveled anywhere alone before but i really would like to visit japan and don't know anyone who wants to go with me/can afford it. is it easy to say make travel friends with random people or anything like that. one guy i know told me that people are really friendly but then another japanese-canadian friend of mine said that most people are actually annoyed by foreigners and are just being polite. is it easy to make friends with other tourists... any situation i could put myself in to make friends with other tourists? 2. is there anything especially bad about being of east indian origin? i hear that blacks and whites get looked up to and other east asians like filipinos are looked down upon so where do indian guys fit? 3. what you think about the strategy of booking a known/major hotel for 2-3 days before i go and then trying to find a hostel/cheap hotel for the remainder of my trip? note: i don't speak japanese. |
2007-03-01, 05:11 | Link #232 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: The South of England
Age: 55
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The first time I visited Japan was by myself. I had fun, but it can also be a bit overwhelming if you have nobody to share the experience with. Especially if you have little or no Japanese.
If you stick to places like Tokyo and Kyoto you'll have no trouble just surviving and seeing the sights. As for making friends with other tourists, it really just depends on who you meet. Most places I've stayed where there have been other tourists we've at least chatted; you have the shared thing of being outsiders so it's easy to start a conversation just by asking where they have been/planning to go. A couple of times I've gone on with some to visit places, and once on an all-night bender in Roppongi. (Which was interesting, but not something I'd do more than once...) As for the Japanese, it really depends on the person. Some of them may just be acting polite, some really are friendly. I've had some nice chats with Japanese on long train journies and such, been taken for a drink completely at random by some old guy in Kagoshima who wanted to chat about the time he'd spent in England. On the whole, I'd say I've had more positive experiences than negative. As for where to stay, you can do it quite easily the way you suggested. But if you know where you plan on going and how long you plan to stay in each place, it can be much simpler to book all your accomodation in advance. I always recommend the Japanese Inn Group to people who are visiting for their first time. http://www.jpinn.com The ones I have stayed at have all been very friendly, they are geared towards foreign visitors and you get a taste of sleeping on a futon in a tatami room. One other place I would recommend in Tokyo is the Kimi Ryokan. http://www.kimi-ryokan.jp/ They are very popular amongst foreign visitors, located quite handily near a major station, reasonablt priced and very easy-going in their rules. Because it is so popular, and because you have no TV in your room and people tend to congregate in the lounge area, it is also a good place to meet other tourists. Afraid can't be of any help at all with the second question... |
2007-03-11, 21:42 | Link #233 |
Hitsugaya is my hero.
Join Date: Jan 2006
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I am visiting Japan this summer with my school exchange program. I will be staying with a host family and I was wondering what would be a good gift for them? Some gift I could probably give to the family as a whole. I don't know if there is a daughter or son in the family yet, so I don't know what I should bring for them. I was thinking something America themed, however, even that is hard. I don't know... hmm maybe some baseball caps?
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2007-03-12, 02:56 | Link #235 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
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From the US, I'm afraid hotdogs or lawyers don't store well in backpacks
Wine is a big fad there... wine from oregon or some unusual place in the US might be a hit (e.g. Texas wine) ... but then you're probably not 21+.... (also not sure what you can actually import so check customs rules) The chocolate idea isn't bad as there are some excellent "micro-brew" chocolatemakers in America. The more you find out about your host family the better, but you might look for something that your home town or region is known for ... that would be an icebreaking measure as they will be curious about your home area. Obviously you'll have to decide how much to spend, but something that implies thoughtfulness and uniqueness rather than a "gift card" is the direction you want to go here... The more I think about it, the harder it gets.... mostly food items come to mind and they're either hard to transport or possibly against the rules. Here in Oregon, we have a store called "Made in Oregon" that sells locally made items, perfect for such a situation. Your state may have something like that.
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2007-03-12, 09:42 | Link #236 | |
come tess me now!!
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: under the sea
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for christmas me and my roommate got each other photo books of our home towns. we were both from big cities so it was pretty cool. i'm from chicago so there were tons of books with some awesome photos taken by some of the worlds best photographers. she was from boston and i was suprised by how beautiful some of those old buildings are. so maybe like a book on architecture or famous spots. so that way they could literally see where you're from and it a cool ice breaker. |
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2007-03-14, 22:00 | Link #237 |
1 shot 1 kill
Join Date: Jan 2007
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Well iv been in japan and honestly speaking i didnt like it its crowed the dudes over their are all perverted (and i a dude btw)theirs panty machines that the dudes go to.This is stupid but i shall say it non the least in the train i took, (its F ing expensive btw) i saw a dude going in sum girl skirt the weird part was she didnt scream or anything im not bull sh ing u! + the takeout is so expensive the hotels are expensive ...
well if I may, if u want to travel the world take a look at ROME its so beautiful and the landmarks too and its like u feel that u are always welcome everywhere u go anyway this is my experience in those countries maybe u will have it totally different from me
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2007-03-20, 03:24 | Link #239 | |||
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I'm not going to correct your hideous grammar, but there are no more used panty vending machines in Japan. Zero. Zilch.
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2007-03-20, 04:29 | Link #240 |
Inactive Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Lol Silverwolf... where have you been hanging around in Japan XD
And Italy is certainly not cheap either O.o Move your ass the to the Dolomites and your money will melt away as well. Japan isn't that expensive when don't spent money on the first thing you see. The only really expensive things were the flight tickets. You get a good meal for around 5€ where in my country you'll easily pay 10-15 € and that doesn't include the drinks you get for free in Japan and as much as you want: water or tea |
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