Anyone traveled to Japan? Plans to? (3 Viewers)

[Lexicographer]

I haven't seen much TV in the last three months, thanks to the Board of Studies. But I have seen similar reports in Japanese newspapers and such (Town Hall Library).

The crime rate in Japan has been for almost a century something of great national pride, and quite frankly it's sickening to see the negative influences of the West taking hold. Despite this 60% rise, Japan is still the safest country in the world, which says a lot for it both then and now.

 

[mercury]

Jap photos would be cool
Hmm... I really would like to go there, but I think I probably need to put off the plan for a while until I get enough cash.. or
until I convince my parents

REALLY want to go there... hmm, regarding crime rates, it sort of depends on which part of Japan too...

 

[Takuya]

Originally posted by ChaoS-GoD
hmmm see if i get any useful answers here:

as im going to osaka for a VERY short amount of time (2 days) after hsc on my way to china, i got a few questions regarding it

1. what's night safety like in japan? more specifically, whats it like at 1-2am for a small asian guy to walk around the main city area?

2. i hear there's no train/subway running at midnight, true? if so what transport would get me around. taxis are DAMN expensive (13000 yen from KIX to osaka city, +20% at night)

3. what things are there to do during daytime in ONE day? i got some budget, but not a lot, so cant really afford to go on a shopping spree. im planning on seeing osaka-jo and going through den-den town all in the timespan of about 8 hours. advice?

4. what clothing recommended for late november and early february?

thats all... hope the japan knowledge amongst you guys can help me out!

1. Night safety is very good. I used to hang around until all hours of the night with no problems. Local punks just say hi to me, mainly because they know my brother who plays in a band on top of the overpass outside Osaka station. His band was signed that way. For foreigners, WATCH OUT. You may not be violently attacked but you may feel uncomfortable as there have always been some problems. Maybe you won't have read this in the media, but that's because it has been kept very quiet. Also, stay away from so-called FOREIGNER BARS because you will just be looking for trouble. By the way, why do you plan to walk around at 1am-2am at night? Believe me, there is NOTHING to do unless you like to skateboard at night.

2. The lesson to learn from this is, don't walk out far at midnight! Trains stop at midnight, and taxis will be few and far between. Here's a tip for the foreigner with cash: Hold up 2 fingers to alert a taxi means you will pay twice the fare. Hold up 3 to alert you will pay thrice, etc... I have often seen people holding up fingers like madmen at auctions and I think they managed to go up to 5 fingers until the other businessman saw another taxi coming (and probably took it for normal fare too).

3. Plenty of things to see. Take the BIG FERRIS wheel at HEP 5 centre and find me kicking the machines at Joypolis! Another attraction at HEP 5 are foreigners who not only cannot speak Japanese, but cannot speak English either! What are they doing there?! Also, in the southern part there are many restaurants and places to hang out.

4. For Aussie guy, wear lots of clothes! I can survive in the cold in shorts and t-shirt, but when I went to Queensland for the first few days I found it hard to breathe due to the heat. They say you get used to it after a year, but for you, bring lots of clothes.

 

[Takuya]

Originally posted by karnevil
Lexi did you see the Foreign Correspondent story about Japan's 'pressure cooker' education system (to quote the ABC) and its effects on kids.. including the rise in Ђ .. did anyone here see it?

It was really quite disturbing... they had a report on a preschool that made kids go topless in the middle of winter to 'toughen' them in mind and body. what a load of bullshit!

They also said that the crime rate has risen by 60% since 1993... it's sad to think that Japan isn't as safe as perhaps we'd like it to be ...

I love how Western media always dramatise things like hikikomori. If I had my way, I would have Japanese television dramatise the way some Aussie kids approach school.

 

[hurrotisrobbo]

Originally posted by Lexicographer
4) Late November it'll be getting colder, but you can still get away with not dressing like an antarrctic explorer. February is when antarctic explorers visitng Japan would freeze to death, so be careful.

Well... I was there Nov -> Dec, and it was _FARKING_ cold. I regularily wore four layers - two t-shirts, a jumper, and a jacket on top of that.
Oh, and the mandatory Hapi for morning prayer.

As for the photo-thread, yippee!

(Make sure you crop the photos so we don't end up with big blank spaces, mind, or I'll have to bludgeon you with my Usage Cap.)

 

[Lexicographer]

Rules for the thread will be given in the initial post, don't worry.

Back to Osaka. Yeah, after midnight the only thing you could possibly do would involve either Denny's or the back seat of a car, and neither is much fun alone. That said, sleep. It's something not enough people in Japan do

 

[Takuya]

How American.

 

[Lexicographer]

What, Dennys or sleeping? Or cars?

You must admit, Japan has "cloned" a lot of American culture. You readily admit to it.

 

[Takuya]

That's thanks to a certain nation of imperialist bastards who are busy stirring up the North Koreans from their stupid little town in Okinawa where the Japanese people are so ashamed, they pretend not to be Japanese.

 

[Lexicographer]

Be careful... I'm not letting another spam session start about American foreign policy. That doesn't belong here.

I know! Let's talk about meditation. Does anyone meditate?

According to Star Trek the Vulcans meditate for hours every night before bed. I suggest we all try it. Only not zazen, because in zazen if you look like you're falling asleep a monk comes along and whacks you with a wooden board. So, no zazen.

 

[kt san]

um...okay
hey i wanna go to japan again....
but it's so hard these days to find a job that's not fast food
is it true...like all da reading passages that we can just get a job at a duty free store cause we're *L337* japanese students?

 

[Lexicographer]

I've been offered jobs in the city because store owners heard me speaking Japanese to my exchange students. But I wouldn't rely on this.

 

[Takuya]

Bear in mind, more Japanese speak English than Australians speak Japanese.

 

[kt san]

it's a competitive market....damn
so what kinda baito can u get Takuya kun?

 

[kouri]

Originally posted by Takuya
Bear in mind, more Japanese speak English than Australians speak Japanese.

i love the way japanese studnets speak in english..
its just as hiliarious (or even more) than when you laugh at us.

 

[Takuya]

Originally posted by kt san
it's a competitive market....damn
so what kinda baito can u get Takuya kun?

That specifically utilises Japanese? Maybe you're jumping the gun a little, because many people talk very differently and it would be hard for someone to keep up who has just come from high school.

 

[Takuya]

Originally posted by kouri
i love the way japanese studnets speak in english..
its just as hiliarious (or even more) than when you laugh at us.

My English is admittedly shit. Yet I came 5th in the year in English at one of NSW's top 3 private schools so

 

[Lexicographer]

Originally posted by Takuya
My English is admittedly shit. Yet I came 5th in the year in English at one of NSW's top 3 private schools so

On the contrary, your manipulation is on par with with students who have taken university studies of English as a second language. It's just that your grammatical constructions are sometimes mildly unusual or misplaced slightly.

HSC English, by the way, is the worst possible means of measuring one's proficiency. It is designed for native speakers, many of which are far less linguistically adept than their ESL counterparts, and so does little to measure ability to USE English rather than ability to analyse texts.

 

[kt san]

okay,
so i want to do jobs which i have an advantage...somewhat dealing with language...
i thought about working at da airport...or some store at da airport...but it's so far....and they want ppl to be able to start at 4am
what i mean, is that with my level of japanese...is there some jobs suitable for me....for the time being

 

[Lexicographer]

Tourist spots will kill each other for Japanese proficient staff. Of course, none of us are "proficient" but we're about as good as they'll get for those condition so we suffice. Send in a CV or something to one of those shops in the city.