Japan Trippin': Redux ^_^

[kyo28]

Iga, if you don't mind I'd be really interested to hear from your first-hand expierence regarding university life in Japan. I've been working there ,but that's something different than studying. You insight would be of great value to me (difficulty, assistance towards foreign students, etc). Feel free to PM me if you have time to answer my questions. Thanks!

 

[Igadevil]

Sure thing, check your inbox.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Actually, I've been meaning to ask. Do you think either one of you could explain life is in Japan? I know it's different, but I want to know how different it is.

 

[Bueno]

Actually, I've been meaning to ask. Do you think either one of you could explain life is in Japan? I know it's different, but I want to know how different it is.

I'll take this one.:anime:

First of all, almost everything's INSANELY EXPENSIVE. I know that a lot of people usually just roll their eyes whenever they hear that from someone in Japan, but it doesn't really hit you until you get here. There ARE exceptions, if you're toy shopping, some figures and such can be cheaper than if you bought it over the net, but when it comes to food, transit, and the real necessities...your wallet's gonna be sucked dry. Here's an example of a trip from where I live (Tama-Plaza) to Akihabara.

Den-En-Toshi Train from Tama-Plaza to Shibuya -> 240 Yen
Yamanote Train from Shibuya to Akihabara -> 190 Yen
Food (Let's say...a Mc Donald's Teriyaki Mc Burger Combo)-> 520 Yen
Fanboy purchases (Books, Collectible Toys, etc.) -> ??? Yen
Yamanote back to Shibuya -> 190 Yen
Den-En-Toshi from Shibuya to Tama-Plaza -> 240 Yen

860 Yen for Transit + 520 Yen (at the least...) for food = 1380 Yen. That's approximately $14 US. And that's not even adding what you've bought from stores.

If you wanna survive out here, you've gotta come prepared first of all by having enough money. The more you have the better. Also, you've gotta find out as many ways to live cheap as possible. An example for Transit is buying a pass. With the amount of travelling you'll be doing around town, a Train Pass will help you save quite a bit of scratch.

On the cultural side, it's pretty interesting. I've been in quite a few adventures here and I've only been here for a few months. I could get into all that, but you'd be sitting here looking at this post all day. And by the looks of it, this post looks long enough.

Aside from the high cost of living, I like it here.:thumbs:

 

[Judge Faiz]

Cool information Bueno!
And welcome to the board!

-RF

 

[Keith Justice]

Holy rockin'.... it's :bueno_bub !!!

Welcome to the board, Bueno. :thumbs:

Btw, if you got that time, Bueno, I'd like to hear one of your Japan adventures. In this thread or mak your own. I'd make time and I'm sure others would too.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

$14US? That's...not as much as I was expecting it to be, more expensive than most countries, but with a little saving, it shouldn't be too hard to save up some money.

 

[smtemp]

Everyday things that we buy here are more expensive in Japan. And vice versa for them here. *or well if they come to the midwest *

I'm a huge Dairy person. I missed all of our cheeses and different milks ^_^ *I'm in Wisconsin, go figure * They just have whole milk, tastes a bit different, but it works. I missed cheese curds ^_^ oooh but if I found something close I devoured it! I found cheesy deep fried mochi once! *pounded rice ball* it was heaven!

Couldn't find wheat bread that at all.. tons of bread stores, but all croissants and white breads and doughnuts. But they had some pretty creative treats!

It's difficult to make some of the stuff we do here in the US. I made rice krispie bars for my host family. It was a tad spendy cause you can only get a small box of cereal and a tiny bag of marshmallows. And the small bag of marshmallows was $5 versus the $1 we pay for a huge bag of them. Don't know why >.> Also I tried to make deviled eggs for them as well, and their eggs are the brown ones with an orange yolk ^_^ so it just looked different. And they didn't have normal yellow mustard. *at least not at their house*

You don't have to love fish to go either. I hate fish, and I at sooo much while I was in japan! There are so many other things to eat! Like ramen... it's REAL RAMEN with soo many good things in it!

I have tons of pics on my web site, you can see the squatty potties, and the elaborate toilets ^_^ Squatties are mainly found in public places. Most modern homes in Japan have western toilets. I even found some bathrooms in homes that had urinals.

If any of the pics on my website raise any questions, just ask ^_^

From my trip in 2004
http://www.animedesires.com/japan1.html

From my trip in 2005 *have patience for this page to load*
http://www.animedesires.com/lindseyjapan2005.html

I'll be going back again this summer *that's what this thread was about ^_^* and will be trying to tape every day and post it on the web, so I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Great pictures there, how much would a person need for a trip there? Nothing long, but something like two weeks.

 

[Bueno]

Holy rockin'.... it's :bueno_bub !!!

Welcome to the board, Bueno. :thumbs:

Btw, if you got that time, Bueno, I'd like to hear one of your Japan adventures. In this thread or mak your own. I'd make time and I'm sure others would too.

I'll be sure to do that sometime soon. I'll see if I can get pictures and maybe even videos as well.

Although I've only been here since January I've gotten myself into all sorts of trouble and predicaments. More on that stuff soon.

To answer your question Mihara, if you're only here for two weeks, I'd say all you need is about 2 grand US. But it all depends on what you wanna do and buy. If you wanna watch some Toku stage shows, buy a few books and toys, I'd say that 2 grand will do, but stuff like travelling cross country and stuff will cost ya. To see all the sights and do everything that a Toku Fanboy wants to do will probably cost anywhere from 5-6 grand. Once again, I'm only speculating here. It all depends on where you stay, be it a fancy hotel, Capsule hotel, or a Guest house/Gaijin house/Hostel.