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I live in Japan, ask me anything.

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Reply 40
What do Japanese people think of south Asians? (As a generalisation ofc)


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Reply 41
Original post by trapking
Takoyaki is my fav! I always have too many :lol:

Do you like Ramen pork noodle dishes? Would love to try traditional japanese ramen pork belly :coma:

Yes I did Judo(I wanted to compete for team GB at the time used to train with some of the team members), would love to get back to doing it after the last year of my degree maybe :colondollar:


I do like Ramen! I definitely have to be in the mood for it though! Miso Ramen is my favourite flavour!

Original post by jimout
What do Japanese people think of south Asians? (As a generalisation ofc)


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I am sorry, but I'm not entirely sure even as a generalisation. From what I see though, I'm pretty sure they think of Indian food and ICT? And lamb, becayse of lamb curry. A lot of Japanese people don't like because it apparently has a weird smell? I don't understand it because I love Lamb.
Reply 42
Original post by Mimikyu
I do like Ramen! I definitely have to be in the mood for it though! Miso Ramen is my favourite flavour!



I am sorry, but I'm not entirely sure even as a generalisation. From what I see though, I'm pretty sure they think of Indian food and ICT? And lamb, becayse of lamb curry. A lot of Japanese people don't like because it apparently has a weird smell? I don't understand it because I love Lamb.


Haha ICT 😂😂 thanks for answering


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Hi,

So, I might be going to Japan as an exchange student for just over a week. Is there anything you'd advise me to do/not to do, or general things I should expect/prepare for?
Original post by Athena64
Hi,

So, I might be going to Japan as an exchange student for just over a week. Is there anything you'd advise me to do/not to do, or general things I should expect/prepare for?


I did this when I was at school so feel free to ask me any questions about school exchanges in particular.

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what is the sound of one hand clapping ?
Reply 46
Original post by Athena64
Hi,

So, I might be going to Japan as an exchange student for just over a week. Is there anything you'd advise me to do/not to do, or general things I should expect/prepare for?


Original post by Edminzodo
I did this when I was at school so feel free to ask me any questions about school exchanges in particular.

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Looks like you're covered! Edminzodo probably knows a lot more about this than I do.

What I would do though is bring them food from where you live! It can be something as simple as a local sweet, biscuits... something that can easily be divided or is in individual packaging! Japan is crazy about food souvenirs, and they'll love you for it. (If you're stuck... a couple of multi packets of penguins would be perfect! The packaging is cute and you don't really get anything like it in Japan. If you can get special edition flavours, all the better.)

No shoes in the house, although I think that one is pretty basic.

And don't be shy. Say what you think and be yourself. They wouldn't host if they were not interested in interacting with people from other countries.

Last thing: Look at what you can do in their local area and mention it to them. A lot of Japanese people tell me stories about having foreign guests who were desperate to see the Sumo... even though it wasn't on anywhere near where the family lived. They want to be good hosts so those kind of requests can stress the family out a bit. Look at realistic things you can do with them in the local area (I would say up to two hours away is a fair enough request). It will make your experience more fun too.
Do you find the workplace culture to be sexist? I remember reading that males often still expect their female colleagues to prepare tea for them etc?
Original post by Mimikyu
I have been living in Japan for over 3 years now, so if there is anything you want to ask... go ahead.

I'm a 25 y/o female however, so I probably do not know that much about the seedier side of things.

What is your best advice for a would be tourist.
Best places to visit and how are Japanese attitudes to people on the Brownier shade of the rainbow.
are the toilets truly lit?
Original post by Mimikyu
I have been living in Japan for over 3 years now, so if there is anything you want to ask... go ahead.

I'm a 25 y/o female however, so I probably do not know that much about the seedier side of things.


I do karate in the UK.
Do you live near any martial art clubs?
If so, what are they?
Original post by Mimikyu
Looks like you're covered! Edminzodo probably knows a lot more about this than I do.

What I would do though is bring them food from where you live! It can be something as simple as a local sweet, biscuits... something that can easily be divided or is in individual packaging! Japan is crazy about food souvenirs, and they'll love you for it. (If you're stuck... a couple of multi packets of penguins would be perfect! The packaging is cute and you don't really get anything like it in Japan. If you can get special edition flavours, all the better.)

No shoes in the house, although I think that one is pretty basic.

And don't be shy. Say what you think and be yourself. They wouldn't host if they were not interested in interacting with people from other countries.

Last thing: Look at what you can do in their local area and mention it to them. A lot of Japanese people tell me stories about having foreign guests who were desperate to see the Sumo... even though it wasn't on anywhere near where the family lived. They want to be good hosts so those kind of requests can stress the family out a bit. Look at realistic things you can do with them in the local area (I would say up to two hours away is a fair enough request). It will make your experience more fun too.


Ah, thank you for your advice, I'll definitely bring along some snacks for my host family!

We're taking the bullet train to visit some of the major cities (Tokyo and Kyoto), and I was wondering what this is like? If you've ever taken it? Are there many tunnels?

I also am a life-long vegetarian and don't eat fish, and have arfid, so I'm worried about eating there. But I love rice and ramen, so I'm hoping I can just eat that?
are you wearing a kimono ?
Is there any vegetarian food/cuisine in Japan? Also have you been to the Sakura festival? It looks so beautiful!
Reply 54
Original post by Mimikyu
I have been living in Japan for over 3 years now, so if there is anything you want to ask... go ahead.

I'm a 25 y/o female however, so I probably do not know that much about the seedier side of things.

How's the temperature down in Fukuoka? I went to Nagoya last summer and almost passed out exercising, even in the evening. That was crazy!

I live in Tokyo by the way. :smile:
Original post by Mimikyu
Looks like you're covered! Edminzodo probably knows a lot more about this than I do.

What I would do though is bring them food from where you live! It can be something as simple as a local sweet, biscuits... something that can easily be divided or is in individual packaging! Japan is crazy about food souvenirs, and they'll love you for it. (If you're stuck... a couple of multi packets of penguins would be perfect! The packaging is cute and you don't really get anything like it in Japan. If you can get special edition flavours, all the better.)

No shoes in the house, although I think that one is pretty basic.

And don't be shy. Say what you think and be yourself. They wouldn't host if they were not interested in interacting with people from other countries.

Last thing: Look at what you can do in their local area and mention it to them. A lot of Japanese people tell me stories about having foreign guests who were desperate to see the Sumo... even though it wasn't on anywhere near where the family lived. They want to be good hosts so those kind of requests can stress the family out a bit. Look at realistic things you can do with them in the local area (I would say up to two hours away is a fair enough request). It will make your experience more fun too.


@Athena64


This is great advice. I bought my host family some shortbread biscuits, which they loved, and also British teabags, amongst other things. I would highly recommend visiting the local area, too. I was fairly near Tokyo but I asked to see the 'real Japan', rather than lots of tourist areas, and I was taken to an absolutely amazing Japanese department store, which was HUGE. I also got to walk through some rice paddies and go to restaurants with no tourists, which for me was more important and special than going into central Tokyo, which I did as well.
Original post by Mimikyu
I have been living in Japan for over 3 years now, so if there is anything you want to ask... go ahead.

I'm a 25 y/o female however, so I probably do not know that much about the seedier side of things.


do you watch anime, if so what do you like?
Reminder it's nearly midnight over there so they're likely sleeping, if they don't get back to you right away ^^
Original post by Mimikyu
I have been to the Pokemon centre more times than I can count. I love it~! And yeah, it does look as amazing as the pictures. However, I know a lot of older fans are disappointed that the Pokemon centres focus on the new generation pokemon however.

Recently because of Pokemon Go however, a lot of goods for the older generations have been popping up!

As for atmosphere, it's a huge shop with a few pay for play games tucked away in the corner. The staff are lovely, the store is bright and clean and it's a pleasant shopping experience. They usually have a lottery at the weekend and sometimes they have an event where you can "fish" for Magikarp (They're magnetic fish and a rod with a magnet on the end.) If you have a 3DS they're usually giving away a Pokemon for the latest game, and a lot of the time they have an exclusive move-set or are shiny. They will also have a poor worker come out in a Pikachu suit at the weekend for the little kids to say Hi too, and very occasionally there will be an amazing cosplayer who goes through the store and makes comments about the goods. (Recently they had all the team rocket/plasma etc leaders visit stores which was pretty cool.) Each Pokemon centre also has region exclusive goods which makes you just want to visit them all!

Definitely worth a visit if you come to Japan.


That sounds absolutely amazing! Especially for such a long time fan as myself. I've always wanted to go to the Pokemon center, and now I do even more so. Thank you so much for all that info! Also, how expensive is the merchandise there?
So my ambition is to be a vocalist there - and do it professionally. I am pretty serious about it so I hope I dont sound cheesy XD
how likely is it to find, say, talented band members in cities like Tokyo/ Yokohama etc? Or are there events where all the music enthusiasts go to meet each other/ perform? Kinda like open mic nights i guess??

Also, do you have any idea if getting a degree in japanese only will make me less employable for anything other than teaching? Because I want to be able to support myself in some job whilst I work on getting my musical career together :P
Since we`re at it, how is class etiquette there? I imagine generally kids would be much more disciplined than these creeps I went to primary and secondary with XD
I hope you don`t mind me asking - is the teaching pay in big cities enough to live comfortably (pay rent, eat out occasionally, afford some luxuries like a weekend out in another city every couple of months etcetcetc)

Aaaand finally, how easy/ difficult would you say it is for a foreign artist to promote themselves there (bearing in mind the style of music is in japanese)?

Sorry for so many questions!! ~~

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