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Japan....:O
japan is the craziest place i have ever been to. i am here on an exchange with another school in kobe and it is nothing like what i would have expected. everything is different. i expected that my family would speak some-what good english..very wrong. i also expected that i would like the food..also very wrong. as for the school ..its like being famous. people see you and then run at you screaming, all with cameras in their hands! i feel sorry for celebrities if their lives are anything like what i am experiencing. even the bathrooms are different ... squatting is NOT attractive!not to say that i havent enjoyed myself. our trip is 12 days long:4 days in kyoto,6 days in kobe and 2 days in osaka. kyoto was fun, i enjoy being able to smoke anywhere i like and the fantastic shopping. since i am underage i am also enjoying be able to go out with no questions asked..even if there are many drunk drunk japanese people singing karaoke all around me. anyways, to the point of this thread: im looking for tips. anything you know, experienced or have heard about japan, please put in this thread. im greatful for all the info i can get. thanks.
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I envy anyone who's in japan right now..
I'm going back next year hopefully for a month or so... I'm amazed that you say that you don't like the food there, when there are so many different kinds of food to try in japan... I sympathize with you on the washrooms. I'm very against japanese squatting slipper-style toilets. I've never been able to use them and I still can't do it. I can't stand the smell and it really grosses me out. Most busier cities usually have that one stall with the "western-style" washroom, but it's usually just one stall. When you go into the country or older cities you'll only find those slipper-style toilets. I'd rather pee in the bush. i remember when I went to pres-school/elementary there, I would hold my pee until the end of school because I was afraid of using those washrooms...p I can't think of any tips right now, except for.. enjoy the shopping, keep an open mind and embrace/absorb as much of the experience as you can because travelling is really what you make of it. There are those like me who are dying for a vacation.. and I can't wait to go back to japan again next year once money is saved and I can get a break from school. |
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I was over in Tokyo and Kushiro, Hokkaido as a rep of Canada for the World Summit festival and man was it a culture shock. I loved EVERY second of my 2 week stay there and I was extremely lucky to be able to have that opportunity. I was obsessed with the Japanese culture for a long time before hand so it was like a 2 week orgasm. I could never use those squat toilets though and I was glad they had both western AND japanese toilets in the washrooms. There were a lot of translators at the Summit but as far as my host family goes, only my host-sister spoke english so that was nice but when she wasn't there, hand gestures rock!
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I spent about 3 days in Tokyo. Didnt do anything spectacular... except kept myself very entertained just roaming the city, trying the food, trying to figure out the train system, and trying their gambling machines lol. I was also very surprised wtih how little or no english the Japanise didnt know and how much english ppl in Thiland know (expected the exact oposite)!?! Not to mention I remember getting alot of stares and was probly able to count up to 6 non asian ppl during my whole time there.
Im usualy full filled enough by just ubsorbing the culture when traveling, therefore I sugest just wondering around, try odd food, be spontainouse wtih yoru activites and do what ever catches your eye, watch the tv, and try to buddy up with any Japinese friends you meet and get them to take you around town or just hang out. Just be carful and not to nieve. Although the Japanise are very friendly... being non asian/jap makes you stand out extreamly and a can make you a target to the not so friendly. Glad your enjoying yourself and hope you fun druing the rest of your trip. And no worries you'll get use to the squat toilets... just think of it as being a fun experince and how luckly you probly wont have to use one while on a really rocky boat :p |
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Bring home some of those anti hangover pills they have out there.
You take one before you start drinking and it totally kills the physical part of the hangover next morning. That and is it true that clubs over there serve all you can drink saki? |
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timmy!: i`ve had my fair share! i still dont understand how one street can require so many cigarettes?
goodflow: i got my host family to recite inevitable...now that is comedy! i almost felt bad doing it but atleast they were laughing too...haha. |
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how could you not like japanese food?
ya know it's not all raw fish right? i've personally converted quite a few people who would never try it into big fans of japanese food. hey, can you bring me back a pack of used female underwear from a vending machine? seriously, because it'd be too funny. i'll pay you for your troubles too. |
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if ya can find it, i will totally make it worth your while. |
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Cities in Japan are great, but my best experiences there were in the sticks, where ABSOLUTELY no one speaks english. Its like going out to Hope, but the kids aren't into Slayer and they don't drive beat up trucks, nor are they unfriendly. Don't forget to hit up Yoshi Noya.
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