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-   -   School me on Japan (https://www.revscene.net/forums/669154-school-me-japan.html)

neggo 09-09-2013 07:03 PM

I never experienced any rudeness while I was there and many locals I had contact with were very polite and friendly. Basically, don't be a dick and the locals will be more than accommodating. Many of the foreigners and American GI's there can act like real assholes.

In terms of Naha, Kokusaidori, the main road is a nice stretch of lots of shops and restaurants that makes a nice stroll during the evening. Quite touristy but had some good fun there!

Aside from the aquarium, Shuri castle is also a nice place to visit and easy to get to by the monorail.

Food wise, the cuisine is very different from standard Japanese cuisine but is also very delicious - quite pork and meat heavy. Try out their soba! So good.

During my visit I also went to American village only because I hadn't eaten any good North American food in a while. They had A&W, Red Lobster, etc...but I'm guessing you'll be fine if you don't go there :)

There were quite a few foreigner assholes there but I didn't care, haha. I was happy enough to finally eat a good burger. Hope you have a blast!
Posted via RS Mobile

SkinnyPupp 09-09-2013 07:15 PM

What kind of interactions did you have with "foreigner assholes" while eating a burger at A&W?

neggo 09-09-2013 07:32 PM

^ Not to me, but to the server the GI's (I presume) were ordering from.

Basically, dudes were ordering in English, Japanese girl taking orders seemed a bit flustered and didn't understand and asked them to repeat the order. One foreigner asshole gets agitated, raises his voice and orders again like a dick. 'NO KETCHUP, OK?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? DO YOU NEED ME TO SAY IT AGAIN?!" His posse laughs, and asks his friends why he can't get any good service "around here". I honestly felt bad for the girl as she was on the verge of tears...

Obviously ruined the night of the entire staff working there and made my burger less delicious but still delicious nonetheless :)

During my living here in Japan, the majority of foreigners have been cool and easy to get along with. Okinawa was the only place I saw any of that douchebaggery going on.

dbaz 09-09-2013 07:50 PM

stupid gi's. they have raped so many people and even beat a young boy to death last year. figure they would learn from mistakes eventually..

Eff-1 09-30-2013 11:18 PM

My best piece of advice for anyone going to Japan is buy this book and bring it with you. It makes life much much easier. In the back is both english to japanese AND japanese to english dictionary, whcih means the japanese person can also easily look up whatever word they are trying to say to you. Even if you get the phrase wrong or pronounce it incorrectly, the locals almost always show their appreciation that you are making an effort by returning extra effort to help you with whatever you are asking for. Best $10 I ever spent.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SH20_OU15_.jpg
http://www.amazon.ca/Lonely-Planet-J.../dp/1742201865

Chronix 10-01-2013 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jer3 (Post 8316439)
i stayed at the same place on airbnb lol. muse is like a 2 minute walk from there literally. vanity is only about a 15 minute walk as well. the area is pretty convenient and nishi-azabu is also one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in tokyo so you'll probably see a lot of random ferrari's, lambo's and bentley's.

I just got back from the trip. I think we stayed at the same place lol. Muse was close by. But that place seems pretty dead when I went on a Saturday night.

I did a lot of cool stuff this time. Ate kobe beef in Kobe, tried whale sashimi, etc etc.

cdizzle 12-03-2013 08:58 AM

Has anybody bought traveler's cheques and exchanged them at the currency exchange located at the airport?
Have heard that the exchange rates there are better than what you get here.

bcedhk 12-03-2013 08:59 AM

people still use traveler's cheque? I usually just bring my cash over..

Jer3 12-04-2013 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdizzle (Post 8374333)
Has anybody bought traveler's cheques and exchanged them at the currency exchange located at the airport?
Have heard that the exchange rates there are better than what you get here.

i didn't find the exchange rates to be better. its best to just exchange at vbce before leaving.

v_tec 12-04-2013 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdizzle (Post 8374333)
Has anybody bought traveler's cheques and exchanged them at the currency exchange located at the airport?
Have heard that the exchange rates there are better than what you get here.

Yes, the rates are slightly better locally.

But unless you're exchanging such a huge sum, why bother? You're looking at a very tiny difference. When arriving at a foreign country, I rather spend my time focusing on other things such as getting on the right train / bus to my hotel / finding my way around the airport.

Just have it exchanged in Van before you leave, and it will be one less thing for you to worry about after you land.

Eff-1 12-04-2013 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdizzle (Post 8374333)
Has anybody bought traveler's cheques and exchanged them at the currency exchange located at the airport?
Have heard that the exchange rates there are better than what you get here.

yes that's what i did. I saved a bit of money but nothing i'd call significant. you can lookup the airport rates and VCBE rates online and do the math to figure out how much you'll save.

it's not that difficult, at NRT the currency exchange is located in the arrivals meet and greet area. there are several places so if one has a long lineup, just keep walking until you come across another one.

it's worth doing if you're exchanging a large sum AND you can get travellers cheques here for no charge. if your bank charges you a fee for the TCs or you're not planning to exchange very much, then just do the exchange here before you leave.

trip 01-12-2014 08:51 PM



thanks, i bought this book. going to japan in june

anyone know of tattoo friendly onsens?

SkinnyPupp 01-12-2014 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trip (Post 8398319)
thanks, i bought this book. going to japan in june

anyone know of tattoo friendly onsens?

The older and more ghetto, the more 'friendly' they are to tattoos. At the very least, try to cover up as much as you can, at least you're making the effort. Once you're in, they will probably leave you alone even if they notice it. But if they see you with clothes on and can see the tattoos, they won't let you in at all.

Mr.Money 05-31-2014 01:44 AM

whats everyone's set budget to get around tokyo for 2 weeks from vancouver?? :suspicious: ..I'm debating with my cousin & shes says 10 grand isn't enough....Hmmm

dbaz 05-31-2014 03:01 AM

10grand for 2 weeks in tokyo isnt enough? wtf are you gonna do?

SkinnyPupp 05-31-2014 03:13 AM

Travel itself is going to be anywhere from $5 if you only stay within a few stations of your hotel, to $20-30 a day if you go to different districts. This is one thing most people don't realize about Tokyo. It is ridiculously expensive to travel.

Then you have food. If you want to eat decent food with, say, a cheap breakfast, that's $5 a day for breakfast, $10 for lunch, $10-20 for dinner. This is bottom line eating out food. Obviously if you're there, you want to eat good food. In that case double or triple these amounts.

Hotel, you can go to a cheap ryokan or capsule of AirBNB for like $30 a night. If you want a normal hotel where you share a room, that's $100 a night.

So without buying anything, that is anywhere from $1000-4000 for the basics. This is if you do nothing but sleep, walk around, travel somewhere on a train or bus, and eat something three times a day. Anything else you do or buy will cost a lot more.

Then you have the flight, I have no idea how much that costs now. $1000?

For two people, multiply everything X2. So yeah I can see a trip for 2 costing up to $10K, especially if you aren't careful with your eating or shopping budgets.

Costs add up ridiculously fast in Tokyo. You won't believe it until you witness it for yourself (for most people this is when they get home ;)) A rail pass helps, but then you're confined to JR lines (you will need to use Metro and other subways a lot)

dbaz 05-31-2014 03:31 AM

trains can be cheaper if you are smart about it
Spoiler!

hotels arent as bad when you have someone else with you can share a twin room. most larger hotels offer 30% off if you stay longer than 3 days, works out to about 70 each. capsule hotels are about 20 each, 15if student. business hotels 40-45 per night, 35-40 if student.

10grand is too much unless you are eating at expensive restaurants, drinking in roppongi every night and getting hookers

v_tec 05-31-2014 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Money (Post 8479925)
whats everyone's set budget to get around tokyo for 2 weeks from vancouver?? :suspicious: ..I'm debating with my cousin & shes says 10 grand isn't enough....Hmmm

You cousin must be taking your RS username too seriously and think you're a human atm :troll:

SkinnyPupp 05-31-2014 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbaz (Post 8479932)
trains can be cheaper if you are smart about it
Spoiler!

hotels arent as bad when you have someone else with you can share a twin room. most larger hotels offer 30% off if you stay longer than 3 days, works out to about 70 each. capsule hotels are about 20 each, 15if student. business hotels 40-45 per night, 35-40 if student.

10grand is too much unless you are eating at expensive restaurants, drinking in roppongi every night and getting hookers

Those tickets all fall within my budget expectations, and only save you a lot if you are traveling on trains all day. Which sometimes people do, I guess

As for hotels, most hotels in Japan charge per person. Even in the same room. Western hotels do not, but those are in the $100+ range anyway for a normal fare.

10G is definitely too much, but it can happen if you let it.

SkinnyPupp 06-01-2014 07:01 AM

Wow, thanked and failed by the same guy for the same advice :lawl:

Mr.Money 06-01-2014 04:19 PM

my bad....HAHA..... :drunk: fixed and to be updated.....i think the dumb blonde cousin got JPN Yen & The Euro currency mixed up.

Neva 06-15-2014 01:44 AM

Finally making the journey on Tuesday ^_^

I'll be staying a couple minutes away from shinjuku station for at least Wednesday and Thursday...

Anyone going to be in the Tokyo area around then? Meet up?

I'll be travelling around until July 1 then heading back to party for Canada day lol

kkttsang 07-02-2014 07:19 PM

^Neva how was tokyo, we are going in Oct and we are staying by the shinjuku station too, any advice, where to go and all the typical travel questions.

dbaz 07-02-2014 08:27 PM

shinjuku is mainly a business area. theres a famous park, tokyo metropolitan government building has a lookout area, robot restaurant, and square enix shop. other than that you're gonna be traveling outside of shinjuku for the most part, but its convenient with the yamanote line

Chronix 07-03-2014 01:23 AM

Yea, you need to get inside kabukicho inside shinjuku for the fun stuff


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