-
Hello!
Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.
Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....
Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.
Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.
Anyone on here from Japan?
- Thread starter K. Rene
- Start date
beautifullywild77
Go Penguins!!!
What part are you going to? My husband has done a few tours there while in the Air Force. We have a friend that was stationed there for a year.
Naagas
Deserae :)
My SO lived there as a small child... but that is as close as we come.
I do LOVE Japanese food. If I were lucky enough to be in your shoes, I would go to some great sushi restaurants and some of their cool themed restaurants such as:
Vampire themed!
http://mariannem.blogspot.com/2008/06/tokyo-night-two-vampire-cafe.html
Or this 'Eating People Made of Sushi' place:
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2006/11/08/japanese-banquet-of-cannibalism/
Tokyo has hundreds of different themed restaurants, though... anime, hospital, etc... that is something that I wouldn't want to miss.
I do LOVE Japanese food. If I were lucky enough to be in your shoes, I would go to some great sushi restaurants and some of their cool themed restaurants such as:
Vampire themed!
http://mariannem.blogspot.com/2008/06/tokyo-night-two-vampire-cafe.html
Or this 'Eating People Made of Sushi' place:
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2006/11/08/japanese-banquet-of-cannibalism/
Tokyo has hundreds of different themed restaurants, though... anime, hospital, etc... that is something that I wouldn't want to miss.
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
Spent a few weeks there wth a friend who'd lived there for fifteen years and spoke the language. A few of my immediate thoughts:
Kyoto is amazing. Try walking through the Gion (streets of traditional tea houses and geisha haunts) at dusk. Incredibly atmospheric and a real echo of the old Japan. Walk up to the Kiyomiu-dera temples through winding streets. Full of tourist shops, but the stuff they sell is well worth a look. The Ni-Jo is a nobleman's house and has nightingale floors - one of the most extraordinary places I've ever been. Walking around in my socks on squeaking wooden floors, was wonderful. There are so many temples and shrines in Kyoto. My all-time favourite is Hagashi Hongan-ji, which is near the railway station. It apparently has the largest sandlewood hall in the world and if you catch it during a ceremony, you can sit in incense smoke listening to Bhuddist monks chanting. Incredibly calming.
Japanese street food is amazing if you choose wisely. I've never found a bad noodle stall and the tempura has always been good. Gyoza (pot-stickers) are wonderful. I found Japanese food generally a little "demanding" (although it might just have been my friend making me try new things) but there are always McDonalds and coffee shops around, serving recognisable Western food. Shame to use those all the time though - I used them now and again and ate Japanese food most of the time. Be careful with vegetarian food if that's your pleasure. If you order a veggie-based meal, it will often be served with a meat-based gravy.
If you're travelling around, I'd recommend taking the Bullet Train rather than flying. When I went, they cost about the same and you see something of the countryside and built-up environments from the train (even if it *is* whizzing past at high speed!).
I travelled north as far as Tokyo and always regretted not trying to get a glimpse of Mount Fuji. When I asked my friend, he just laughed and said that it's always obscured by smog. I'm sure it's just a matter of finding the right viewing location.
I visited both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both very sobering experiences. However, Hiroshima does have a traditional castle and Nagasaki has an interesting history of trading with the West.
My top tip for the visitor is to wear shoes which are easy to remove - you'll be taking them off for a pastime as many restaurants, bars and temples expect you to remove them. I made the mistake of relying on my Converse All-Stars and they weren't the best choice for a speedy arrival or departure!
Kyoto is amazing. Try walking through the Gion (streets of traditional tea houses and geisha haunts) at dusk. Incredibly atmospheric and a real echo of the old Japan. Walk up to the Kiyomiu-dera temples through winding streets. Full of tourist shops, but the stuff they sell is well worth a look. The Ni-Jo is a nobleman's house and has nightingale floors - one of the most extraordinary places I've ever been. Walking around in my socks on squeaking wooden floors, was wonderful. There are so many temples and shrines in Kyoto. My all-time favourite is Hagashi Hongan-ji, which is near the railway station. It apparently has the largest sandlewood hall in the world and if you catch it during a ceremony, you can sit in incense smoke listening to Bhuddist monks chanting. Incredibly calming.
Japanese street food is amazing if you choose wisely. I've never found a bad noodle stall and the tempura has always been good. Gyoza (pot-stickers) are wonderful. I found Japanese food generally a little "demanding" (although it might just have been my friend making me try new things) but there are always McDonalds and coffee shops around, serving recognisable Western food. Shame to use those all the time though - I used them now and again and ate Japanese food most of the time. Be careful with vegetarian food if that's your pleasure. If you order a veggie-based meal, it will often be served with a meat-based gravy.
If you're travelling around, I'd recommend taking the Bullet Train rather than flying. When I went, they cost about the same and you see something of the countryside and built-up environments from the train (even if it *is* whizzing past at high speed!).
I travelled north as far as Tokyo and always regretted not trying to get a glimpse of Mount Fuji. When I asked my friend, he just laughed and said that it's always obscured by smog. I'm sure it's just a matter of finding the right viewing location.
I visited both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both very sobering experiences. However, Hiroshima does have a traditional castle and Nagasaki has an interesting history of trading with the West.
My top tip for the visitor is to wear shoes which are easy to remove - you'll be taking them off for a pastime as many restaurants, bars and temples expect you to remove them. I made the mistake of relying on my Converse All-Stars and they weren't the best choice for a speedy arrival or departure!
K. Rene
Cozmic Cornz
If we like it well enough and research what kind of jobs we can get there after graduating college we may end up moving there
Thank you Bitsy for taking the time to type that. Real experiences are very helpful