I'm going to JAPAN!

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I found out recently that I get to go to Japan (my mother is taking a trip there and she's paying my way as well!). It's not until next spring but I'm already so excited! I'm a bit nervous, too. I don't speak Japanese (trying to learn a few words & phrases before I go) and obviously reading Japanese is out of the question as I'd never be able to learn Kanji in 10 lifetimes. Slightly nervous about the bathroom situations there as well - Japan is known for having those "squat down and do your business into a little hole in the floor" style toilets - eek!

Has anyone been to Japan, any suggestions or recommendations for me? My mom is going to run a marathon there, I think she said it's in Kyoto. We can travel around to wherever we want, though (we won't be driving so we can go wherever the trains go basically). I'm sure we'll go to Tokyo for at least a day or two. Not really sure where else to go, though! Things to do, places to see? We'll be there in April so during sakura (cherry blossom) season and we'll definitely want to find a good place to go see the sakura. Anybody have suggestions for me about anything to do with Japan?

 

[BabeandT]

You are gonna love it! I just came back from Tokyo and I was very nervous, but I have to tell you, the Japaneese know how to "go". Everywhere we went (ALL around Tokyo) the toilet seats are bidet, and all bathrooms either had "western" only or a choice of the squat kind you mentioned. PLUS as soon as you walk into the stall there was a sound of water running! (you could turn that off if you wanted). If you are staying in Tokyo, or another big city everything is in English and Japaneese. Bring a towel or paper towels as not all bathrooms had them or the air dryers for your hands, toilet paper WAS there tho~ Food was not a problem for me, but I did stay away from anything that I knew would get me sick, raw veggis, fried foods etc...It is an incredible place. Very, VERY different from America!!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks BabeandT for the very helpful and reassuring info! This was pretty much exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear. Glad to hear you had a great trip! Also, I love bidets (I have one installed at home and it's the best thing ever) so that's awesome to hear! And such a relief that "western" style toilets are commonplace as I was definitely concerned about the squatting toilets. I will definitely make a note to bring paper towels - I always bring wet wipes with me in case there isn't any TP so I will make sure to be fully prepared. And yeah, I'm not too worried about the food either - I can safely do fish, rice, seaweed, tofu, and noodles without any issues, and I love sushi, so the food is one of the things I'm not too nervous about.

I think we're going to stick mainly to major cities - we're going to travel around using trains only (maybe buses or taxis, but definitely no driving ourselves as that seems really intimidating to me and my mom agreed) and I doubt the trains go to a lot of rural areas - so it's good to know that English is pretty commonplace in the cities. I'm still definitely going to learn some words & phrases as I would like to at least be able to ask for things like, directions to a train station or where is the bathroom. I don't want to assume everyone knows English, I'm a total planner and I like to be prepared for anything & everything (hence me asking for advice like 10 months before my trip, ha ha!). I listen to J-pop already (Utada Hikaru is my favorite singer ever) so I know a handful of words from that, but not much, so I need to learn more. I may try to learn written Katakana, too, as I've heard that's fairly easy. Not sure about Hirogana as I've heard that's harder to learn than Katakana, and Kanji is just absolutely not happening.

Any specific places in Tokyo that you really liked? I'm a bit tempted to go to a cat café or even an owl café (I just learned that such a thing exists!). There's also a fox sanctuary somewhere (not in Tokyo) where you apparently can feed the foxes and I'm super tempted to go there, but that seems like a fair distance away and that does seem to be in a rural area, so I'm not sure if I could even get there without driving. I'll probably go to Shibuya to see the scramble crossing and the Hatchiko statue. Did you go to Shibuya? Any recommendations for that area or for other areas of Tokyo to see? What about shrines, temples, parks, etc? Or just offbeat interesting places to go?

 

[jwfoise]

I've only been once, on a business trip, back in 1990. It was a business trip, but other than that it was great.

I'll echo what was said about bathrooms, I don't recall that being an issue.

Tokyo is a very big city. If you are not used to places like New York, it may seem a little crazy. The subways and trains are great, they seem to go everywhere, but they are very busy, and there are lots of people in a rush to get to work or whatever.

I don't recall not knowing Japanese being a problem. Most of the time our company rep in Japan was escorting us, but the couple of times I went out on my own were not a problem. I remember going to one of the big department stores, to get a gift for my wife, and they found a sales lady who spoke English, to help me with whatever I needed.

My impression is that for the Japanese politeness and manners are very important. You might want to check on some particularly customs before you go.

The one place I remember visiting was a walled park right in the middle of Tokyo, with beautiful formal gardens (though we were there in February).

If you have a smartphone, I bet you can find some helpful apps, for language, expressions, directions, things like that.

Have a great time!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks jwfoise! My husband lived in Chicago years ago when we were dating, so I am familiar with being in a big city, busy trains, lots of people and craziness, etc.

I will definitely look into customs and politeness more - I did read somewhere that pointing is considered rude in Japan but I'm sure there are other gestures that I should know to avoid too. And yeah, I have a smartphone and a tablet - I've looked a little bit for Japanese learning apps on the tablet and I think I found a decent one. I'm also going to search for free podcasts about learning Japanese. And, I actually learned a number of Korean words & phrases by watching Korean dramas, so I'm going to switch to Japanese dramas and maybe subtitled animes as well to see if I can pick up some language from those. I feel like, this is the trip of a lifetime and I have 10ish months to prepare, so I'm going to prepare well!

 

[jwfoise]

The things that are the most help in any language are: please, thank you, hello, how much?, and of course where is the bathroom?. I recall going to a sushi bar, neither the fellow I went with nor I spoke Japanese, the sushi chef spoke no English, but pointing and nodding worked just fine.

I always remember that "good morning" is Ohayō, which sounds close enough to "Ohio" (where I live) that I can remember it.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Those are all good ones to learn - I know hello is konichiwa, and thank you is domo arigato. I feel like I should learn some health-related words juuuust in case. I'm in remission right now, but who knows where my health will be at in April, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. I actually found a decent source online for Japanese words related to health - once I get some of these memorized, then I can say "I'm inflamed!" or "I'm nauseous" in Japanese.
http://www.learn-japanese.info/health1.html

I also found this which has a lot of helpful info at the bottom of the page about hospitals in Japan:
http://www.learn-japanese.info/hospital.html
That's crazy about having to bring all your own stuff and clean your own sheets if you end up in a Japanese hospital! Yikes!

 

[Muppetgirl]

A good friend of mine has just returned from a month in Japan. She absolutely adores it. She has been learning Japanese for a couple of years but still has some way to go! She got a railcard which covered her for the whole trip. She could go wherever she wanted on it. The trains are frequent and super punctual. She also said most stations have English unless you go off the tourist track (whicn she did a bit). I hope you enjoy it as much as she did!

 

[Juuh]

Been there 7 times if I remember right. Around main island and Hokkaido. You can cope with english in Tokyo but not in small villages and rural areas. There is good food and good people! Best talking toilet seats in the world!

Make sure to check out Onsens (hot baths) and various foods, Japan is not just Sushi! My general impression is that they do not like americans much so maybe that is one thing to consider, not to advertise it too much. Japanese people are very polite and there are many different ways to say thank you. Learn "domo arigatou gozaimase" and youll be good in every situation!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Muppetgirl, thanks! I just learned about the rail pass, and a facebook friend of mine sent me a link to getting discounts (apparently if you are a foreign visitor to Japan, you can get discounts on the rail pass and also other things). I'm definitely going to get a rail pass as I'm sure we'll be on trains quite a bit!

Juuh, thank you for the information - I did read somewhere that I should say "Arigato gozaimasu" for basically anything & everything, so I will definitely do that. And yes, I will try some other foods, although I'm going to stick to what's safe for me (I don't do red meat, fried foods, and I have difficulty with many fruits & veggies, and honestly sushi is a very safe food for me!). Is Hokkaido a really pretty area? I don't know if we will have time to travel quite that far but I did mention Hokkaido to my mom and she was open to the idea. I have an American friend who lives in Tokyo, and he often vacations in Hokkaido.