|
lol internet. posted:Awesome informative thread. I'm curious about the groping situation in Japan. Do people just grope breasts and butt? Or are they using their fingers and going deeper? I would not be worried at all about someone groping your wife while you are on vacation. It's not like people are wandering around groping girls willy-nilly. From what I've heard/seen, they tend to target high school girls on the trains, and girls in clubs. I've heard various things about the groping, but it's generally grabbing tits or crotch. I'd guess bystanders don't help because it's either not noticed, or the girl doesn't say anything - and Japanese in general do their best to avoid confrontation. The cases I've heard about - a girl was on the train, and a guy reached up her skirt and grabbed her crotch. She screamed, he ran. Another girl was in a club (I was dancing with her!) and a guy came up from behind and grabbed her boob. I asked her if she knew him, she said no - I asked if she wanted me to do anything, she said no - so I just ignored it. I've also heard lots of stories of girls being groped when they were in highschool. It's invariably "I was on the train, this guy reached up my skirt and I screamed, then he ran off". Sometimes the girls or someone else manages to grab the guy and he gets taken away by the police, but generally it's a grab and dash from what I've heard. It's not like the train-groping porn where girls just stand around getting molested. So yeah, don't worry about your wife being groped. I'd say 2 days for Tokyo, but as always, it depends what you like. I'd rather visit smaller places when on vacation than big cities.
|
#
¿
Jun 1, 2012 02:41
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 18, 2024 13:06 |
|
|
Cameron posted:Damnit, someone answer my ties-on-the-head question already! As someone whose current FB profile picture is of them wearing a tie on their head while drunk, I feel like I have the expertise necessary to comment on this. There is no cultural reference. It looks funny, and they are drunk.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2012 05:04
|
|
|
Jeremys Iron posted:1) Are there any foods that I should be particularly seeking out to try, either generally in Japan or that are specific to these cities? 1. I'm sure people will disagree with me here, but I'd say no. Depends where you are from, I guess. Coming from America, there isn't much here I can't get back home. Typical answers would be Sushi from Tsukiji in Tokyo, Okonomiyaki from Osaka. Maybe Kobe/Wagyu beef, Raw horse, whale, ramen... 2. Japan is not China. It's a 1st world country and you won't have any problems with the food anywhere. 3. Really hard to answer. Yoshinoya is pretty bottom of the line, but if you thought it was tasty, more power to you. I don't think it gets too much cheaper than that at a sit-down restaurant. You can always get cheap food and the convenience stores when you are broke. Otherwise, cheap Japanese food - ramen, udon, curry, sushi-go-round can be had for around 1,000yen ($12). A "regular" dinner costs me around 2,000 yen, or 3-4,000 if I include alcohol. Sky's the limit if you want something fancy, of course. You'll be fine with the culture stuff, I wouldn't sweat it. I'd say most random people will tend to ignore you if you try to ask them for help, but eventually you'll find someone who will be overly nice and probably end up walking you to your destination. Obviously helps if you have a map you can point at. Official people should be helpful (police, station attendants, Africans in Roppongi)
|
|
#
¿
Jul 24, 2012 04:18
|
|
|
Jeremys Iron posted:Your advice was pretty helpful and I appreciate it but I'd question this one - getting food poisoning in a first World country is pretty easy if you eat at the wrong places, certainly do-able in the UK, Spain, Italy, Greece (much of Europe really) and the USA. Obviously that tends to happen when you eat somewhere a bit shady but my radar for shady tends to be off in Asia because a lot of the usual indicators are different - I'm more cautious in mainland China and Indonesia than in Hong Kong or Singapore but that was really based on my own assumptions about the country (and the quality of their tap water which is often key). Just wanted to get a sense of how careful I should be - from your advice it sounds like 'not at all - eat what you want' which is great but I certainly wouldn't have taken that as a given when travelling to any country solely on the basis of it being a developed nation (which is I assume what you meant by 'first world'). I don't know where you are eating that getting food poisoning is "pretty easy". Anyways, I'd argue that saying a place is a "first world country" is equivalent to saying "it's food standards will be similar to the US". My point was that Japan is not like the rest of Asia in regards to food quality. Also, sorry if my use of "first world" offended you. Feel free to substitute "developed country", "advanced country", "industrialized country", "'more developed country" (MDC), "more economically developed country" (MEDC), "Global North country", "first world country", or "post-industrial country", as you will. Anyways, yes, the water is perfectly fine. Use the same amount of caution as you would in the US, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, or the UK. I'm not sure about the whale at all, unfortunately.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 25, 2012 05:00
|
|
|
Jeremys Iron posted:You kinda chopped off all the context from my quote there - if you'd quoted the rest of sentence I think it's a pretty reasonable thing to say. Also I wasn't offended by your use of 'first world' I was just trying to make sure I understood what you were saying as the term does have multiple meanings. I put the note in there in case you got frustrated that I'd misunderstood you, instead you seem to have become frustrated by me asking to confirm so it seems like I hosed up there. Very sorry. No worries. I was a bit flippant in my original reply, I suppose. Basically, I was trying to say the Japan doesn't have problems with their food or water, like most other first world, developed, civilized countries. I should've just said that. And yeah, ignore everything Kapalama says. He is literally the only person on SA that I bothered to put on my ignore list. He's a crazy person. "to the point where some people legs are not even touching the floor" hahahaha. How would this even work? Oh no, I can't fit on the train, let me just jump inside. Or are you saying people already standing on the train get lifted into the air somehow because other people (human people) push into them? I won't even bother with the rest of his post.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 26, 2012 03:57
|
|
|
LimburgLimbo posted:Just keep a bunch of cash on hand. Like as a tourist it wouldn't hurt to have a couple hundred on you most of the time. Yeah, I'd just load up on cash - don't plan on being able to use your credit card anywhere. Although you said you'll mostly be in big cities, make sure to load up if you go somewhere small, too. When I was touristing around, I wasn't paying attention and ended up with no cash in a somewhat smallish town. They had like 2 ATMs, one of which was closed (seriously, a lot of them have working hours), and the other didn't work with foreign cards. Getting cash is a bitch in Japan. Hell, I have a Japanese bank account now (albeit Shinsei), and still have problems sometimes.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2012 06:41
|
|
|
You guys are crazy. They'll be in town one night, and you tell them to go to Ageha?? Unless they are hardcore into techno, that's a silly idea. It's in the middle of nowhere, hard to get to, even harder to get back from, and they're screwed if they decide they want to go somewhere else. I'd second the Shibuya idea, though.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 12, 2012 04:38
|
|
|
I must have been really lucky - I don't really remember getting my China visa at all. Just went to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, walked in, filled out some form, and was told to come back like 3 days later or whatever. Came back at that time, picked it up. Total time spent in the embassy both days was an hour max - total. No lines, no problems - just fill out the forms, pay the money, get the visa. Of course, I had a similar experience getting my Japanese driver's license, so maybe I'm just lucky with things like that.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2013 10:26
|
|
|
zmcnulty posted:What else is in the park? I guess there are some other memorials and such but I don't remember it being a massive time spend, even the first time I went there. Then again that was 12 years ago so maybe it's different now. I was there a couple years ago for the first time with my father, and I agree with zmc here. Although maybe 30 minutes is more realistic. There really isn't anything in the A-dome park, other than the ruins of the one building, and like... 3 info signs about it. Definitely worth a walk around, but there really isn't anything to do other than look at the building (from a slight distance, as it's roped off). No real information, nothing to interact with, nothing to explore, just a regular park with a ruined building to look at. We did see a couple of high-schoolers making out there, though. The Peace Park / museum (which is separate from the A-dome park) is where it's at, and is worth a few hours.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 28, 2013 03:20
|
|
|
diddy kongs feet posted:Little late on this but I just want to say Korakukan is amazing, totally breathtaking. I didn't actually have a booking there but we hung out there briefly in January on our walk up to see the monkeys. It's old and falling to bits in places but it's got a lot of charm and it's seriously right in the middle of some of the most amazing scenery I've ever experienced. If you are staying around the snow monkeys, I'd have to say Kanaguya is the best option by far. Of course, it's probably one of the most pricey options as well, but worth it as far as I'm concerned. Lots of history, great (private) baths, and located in town so you can walk around town a bit and see the famous public onsens (which suck). Korakukan is kind of a cool location, as it's right by the monkeys, and you have a decent chance of actually seeing monkeys in your onsen (of course, then you have monkey poo poo in your bath, too). But I'd be a little concerned because it's so far removed from everything else, and it's not exactly a luxurious place. Plus the baths are pretty open to the public view, if you are concerned about random people seeing you in the buff. Not a problem at night, I guess, but something to think about. I'd recommend people going to see the monkeys stay at Kanaguya if possible, and somewhere else in town if not. There's also a pretty cool sake brewery / museum in town you should visit while there.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2013 04:11
|
|
|
Nostrum posted:I'll be in Kyoto for a few days and I'd like to eat the best kaiseki in the world. I've narrowed it down to Kikunoi Honten (the one in Gyon-Maruyama) or Hyotei Honten. They both look beautiful and are 3 Michelin starred, just wondering if anyone had any opinions that would break the tie. Thanks! According to http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/12/1227_japanese_restaurants/index_01.htm, the best kaiseki restaraunt in the world is in Tokyo, so you shouldn't worry too much whatever you choose. Incidentally, I've actually been to Hamadaya, and my advice for any fancy kaiseki restaurant... don't bother. I found the food indistinguishable from the kaiseki meals served at nice ryokans (say $200+ night pp). My advice would be to stay at a fancy Ryokan in Kyoto, and enjoy the dinner there. The food will be identical unless you are used to having kaiseki meals every day and have a critic's taste. The ryokan will be more cost effective, and you can eat in your yukata, then relax in the onsen immediately before/after eating.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2013 10:34
|
|
|
effervescible posted:I can vouch for this. I thought for sure it was too late for me to get on my flight back to North America last June, and they ran me the gently caress through security and to the gate and I made it no problem. I can confirm this is completely up to the airline / flight attendant, and I certainly wouldn't count on it. On one of my first flights back to the US around 3 years ago, I overslept, and made it to the airport literally 10 minutes before my flight. I just walked up to the lady at the front of the check in counter, and told her I was going to NYC at whatever time, and she went into crazy mode and checked me in lightning fast and ran me through security and up to the gate. Excellent service. Then last year I had some problems catching the right train to Narita, and arrived 45 minutes before my flight left. No dice - you have to check in an hour in advance, they say. Both of those were business class tickets, mind. I imagine it's more to do with whether or not the flight is full and if they still have space for you. I'm not going to chance it again.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 29, 2013 04:24
|
|
|
I just pulled out the 500 yen coins from my change box. I had 80,000 yen worth of the drat things. I probably have another 40,000 yen worth of the rest of the coins. Decent way to save some money, actually!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 5, 2013 05:19
|
|
|
Soricidus posted:What's it like visiting small towns by car? Can you just park in the street or do you have to find parking lots and figure out crazy Japanese meters? I'm thinking of renting a car next time I'm over there and getting off the beaten track a bit, but after the experiences I've had in rural England I guess I'm a bit scared of what an even less car-friendly country might be like. Everywhere I've been has pay parking lots - they don't really do street parking. It's all pretty straightforward, though. There is generally a number on whatever parking space you use, and you either enter that number into a machine near the entrance when you are finished using the space and pay whatever it tells you - or you just tell the attendant which space you are in. My Japanese is horrible, and I've never had a problem.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 4, 2014 04:34
|
|
|
Bold Robot posted:Kind of a random question, but how common are Citibank ATMs, or just Citibank locations in general, in Tokyo? There are apparently 43 in all of Japan. https://www.citibank.co.jp/en/banking/branch_atm/pdf/atm.pdf Use 7-11 if you can, there are like 43 of them in just my neighborhood.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 7, 2014 05:56
|
|
|
If you are here with your girlfriend and probably won't be talking to other people in bars anyways, just grab a drink at a convenience store and drink at a park, or just chill on the sidewalk and people watch. Or grab a 6 pack and ride in a circle on the yamanote line.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 14, 2014 04:08
|
|
|
Yaeh, your whole story is crazy. You come to Japan with absolutely no cash at all and just hoping everything will work out? That's pretty... uh... adventurous. No credit cards, either? I'm also guessing the bank put a hold on your card for suspicious activity (though I've found that's usually after the 1st successful withdrawal). As mentioned, though - any large bank will have a 24/7 number for International travelers. Credit Cards, too. Also, have you tried withdrawing a smaller amount? When I first came, I thought my card was locked, because the machine wouldn't give me any money. Turns out the limit on my withdrawal was like $200 a day, and I was trying to withdraw 20,000 jpy, which put me just over after conversions and fees, so it denied it. Withdrawing 10,000 worked fine.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 22, 2014 05:53
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 18, 2024 13:06 |
|
|
Gibberish posted:Actually, I went from Professor to Specialist in Humanities and still got the 3 year visa. It's nice knowing that, unlike my time in Korea, should I lose or change my job, I'll still be legal until 2018 no matter what. There's some comfort in that. Just wanted to point out that this isn't exactly true. As with almost everything in Japan, it's ultimately a case by case thing. I can't find the Japanese law wording anymore, but had confirmed at some point that this article has a pretty good summary of the situation, while most other random internet forums and other links get it wrong: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2012/07/31/how-tos/how-would-changing-jobs-affect-my-visa/#.VXkaPfmqpBc Summary is - you are fine to change to another job, provided the job applies to whatever your Visa category is. i.e., I would have trouble teaching English, as I have an Engineer visa, not a humanities one. However, if you lose/quit your job, you officially only have 90 days to get a new one (and it needs to match your visa). In practice, there is a clause in the law that has lead to immigration allowing people with valid visas to stay longer even if they don't have a job. This is a fairly recent thing. As the article says, the clause is along the lines of "[your visa is revoked after 90 days of being unemployed] unless engaging in authorized activities". What has changed recently is that they now seem to consider "looking for a job" as an authorized activity. So as long as you prove you are looking for a job, you can stay. You cannot stay if you are just screwing around, or if you try working in a field unrelated to your visa. Of course, it's still obviously up to immigration - the law says 90 days, so they can ultimately kick you out if you don't have a job after that point if they want, which they used to regularly do up to a few years ago.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 11, 2015 06:32
|
|