Heartland

So it's been a strange torrid few months.

I got laid off in Dec but with a VERY generious severance package.

With that much money in my bank account staring at me I have decided it's time to hit Japan.

Going for 3 weeks in March/April.

I'll posting pics and will try and find some sisters stuff if it's there.

Plan is to use Tokyo as a home base and bullet train to Kyoto, Nara, Yokohama, Osaka spending a day or more here and there.

Sounds great!

Excellent idea! I'm kind of considering going there for a holiday too, mostly Tokyo and see where you can get from there... I'd love to photograph there, Japan pictures always fascinate me, something very special about them, but wonder if one can survive with English and perhaps a tourist-Japanese booklet or so? The cost's quite something too I suppose? Spotted affordable flights to Tokyo these days, but when you get there it all really starts I guess...

Either way, do keep us posted, I'm mucho interested

weebleswobble wrote:Sounds great!

second that emotion

Obviousman wrote:Excellent idea! I'm kind of considering going there for a holiday too, mostly Tokyo and see where you can get from there... I'd love to photograph there, Japan pictures always fascinate me, something very special about them, but wonder if one can survive with English and perhaps a tourist-Japanese booklet or so? The cost's quite something too I suppose? Spotted affordable flights to Tokyo these days, but when you get there it all really starts I guess...

Either way, do keep us posted, I'm mucho interested

A good friend of mine lived there for 6 months. He didn't speak any Japanese before arrival. If you want any advice - I can always ask.

Hom_Corleone wrote:

Obviousman wrote:Excellent idea! I'm kind of considering going there for a holiday too, mostly Tokyo and see where you can get from there... I'd love to photograph there, Japan pictures always fascinate me, something very special about them, but wonder if one can survive with English and perhaps a tourist-Japanese booklet or so? The cost's quite something too I suppose? Spotted affordable flights to Tokyo these days, but when you get there it all really starts I guess...

Either way, do keep us posted, I'm mucho interested

A good friend of mine lived there for 6 months. He didn't speak any Japanese before arrival. If you want any advice - I can always ask.

My sister also lived in Tokyo for about 2 years.

Big Si wrote:

Hom_Corleone wrote:

Obviousman wrote:Excellent idea! I'm kind of considering going there for a holiday too, mostly Tokyo and see where you can get from there... I'd love to photograph there, Japan pictures always fascinate me, something very special about them, but wonder if one can survive with English and perhaps a tourist-Japanese booklet or so? The cost's quite something too I suppose? Spotted affordable flights to Tokyo these days, but when you get there it all really starts I guess...

Either way, do keep us posted, I'm mucho interested

A good friend of mine lived there for 6 months. He didn't speak any Japanese before arrival. If you want any advice - I can always ask.

My sister also lived in Tokyo for about 2 years.

Not bad! Whenever I decide on going there, I'll be in touch with both of you (I'd only go for a week or so - perhaps slightly more, but not much - if I would though)

Obviousman wrote:

Big Si wrote:

Hom_Corleone wrote: A good friend of mine lived there for 6 months. He didn't speak any Japanese before arrival. If you want any advice - I can always ask.

My sister also lived in Tokyo for about 2 years.

Not bad! Whenever I decide on going there, I'll be in touch with both of you (I'd only go for a week or so - perhaps slightly more, but not much - if I would though)

You've gotta go for a few weeks General. One week defo ain't enough. My dad used to go visit her for 3 weeks at a time, and he said he wished he'd had even more time as there was so much to do and go see, not just in tokyo but all over the country. You lose a few days because of the jet lag

Hmm, I'll wait a couple of years then and do something else this summer, can't get that much time off as far as I know

Obviousman wrote:Hmm, I'll wait a couple of years then and do something else this summer...

How about Beirut?

As for Japan, my boss lived there for a couple of years and loved it, as did one of our ESOL tutors. I don't think either of them spoke any Japapnese when they moved there, and I'm not sure if they speak any now. It's a place I'd love to visit, but it would need more time and money than I have. There's definitely an upside to large severence packages

I have some basic Japanese but I'm no where near fluent or conversational.

Have some friends based there whom I've been talking to. A week would be a waste. The bullet trains make travel short Tokyo to Osaka it like 3 hours

It ain't cheap by a long shot

Flight : $1350
Hotel : $2000+ you can do this for cheaper but I'm getting a little old for the hostels
JT Rail Pass: $800, this lets you ride the shinkasen (bullet train) for 21 days unlimited. Sounds pricey but the average trip will cost $190 one way so it's worth it. This is all in CDN dollars.

To be honest I am a little spooked, think about signs with no roman characters at all, maps are pretty much usless as there are no real addresses 99% of the time the number on the building is the date when it was made.

It's also largely cash based vs credit card.

Having red hair and freckles means I'm sticking out even larger then then average person and then there's the whole issue with tattoos. Mine's covered by a shirt but it means no public baths or onsen (hot springs) for me as tattoos are forbidden. Keeps the Yakuza out.

You might wanna watch "Lost In Translation".

Ozpat wrote:You might wanna watch "Lost In Translation".

Already seen it, I suspect that that's the way I'm going to be feeling

That hotel is over priced for what it offers though

If you owned a Dreamcast and played Shenmue I'm going to Dobuita for a pilgrimage. It's a little south of Yokohama about 90 mins from Tokyo

spot778 wrote:

Ozpat wrote:You might wanna watch "Lost In Translation".

Already seen it, I suspect that that's the way I'm going to be feeling

That hotel is over priced for what it offers though

If you owned a Dreamcast and played Shenmue I'm going to Dobuita for a pilgrimage. It's a little south of Yokohama about 90 mins from Tokyo

If you got to meet Scarlett Johanson it would all be worthwhile.

Only if she's a sisters fan

spot778 wrote:Only if she's a sisters fan

Personally, I'd get over it if she wasn't.

Hom_Corleone wrote:

spot778 wrote:

Ozpat wrote:You might wanna watch "Lost In Translation".

Already seen it, I suspect that that's the way I'm going to be feeling

That hotel is over priced for what it offers though

If you owned a Dreamcast and played Shenmue I'm going to Dobuita for a pilgrimage. It's a little south of Yokohama about 90 mins from Tokyo

If you got to meet Scarlett Johanson it would all be worthwhile.

Oh yes; I agree so much!

bon voyage.

i quite envy 'coz Japan is one of the few place on earth that i want to see, badly. anyhow, thanks for the photos in advance.

Good luck!

I've been to Japan many times - first few times I hardly spoke the lingo, and its not really a problem - most map signs do have roman characters in the bigger cities, and there's always somebody around to help. But do prepared to have some restaurants politely refuse to serve you if you can't speak Japanese.

BIG TIP: Take a visa debit card to get cash. You can get cash at any post office ATM (but normally not other ATMs).

Have fun!

paint it black wrote:

weebleswobble wrote:Sounds great!

second that emotion

I see what you did there