Original post by 1 Human being 1
What did you like about it?
What did you hate about it?
What did you hate about it?
Awesome, watch comedyshortsgamers vlog.
Original post by TheAlchemistress
Awesome, watch comedyshortsgamers vlog.
CSG?! Haha I don’t watch him
There's so many things to list so I'll try not to go into a super in indepth review. here's some topics from my own experience (first time in Japan, 3 week stay in Japan).
Yes it can be expensive but most things are also of high quality.
The culture over there is also very different.
For example, it's normal for us in the UK to say Please and Thank You to people serving us at restaurants and cashiers. However, it's normal to ignore them in Japan, as your social status as a customer is higher than their role.
It's also odd to do things like asking and pressing the floor on a lift for people and holding doors. Trains are also dead quiet. It's quite bad manners to chat too loud, be on the phone or play audible music.
In all, culturally, very different. Some people find it difficult to adjust but on the whole it's a very beautiful place if you can look past the cultural and language barriers. It's very clean and has a strong recycling culture (you won't find public bins anywhere, you need to take it home and sort it).
Shopping is lots of fun and there are many huge underground shopping plazas, complexes and department stores built into train stations. You'll find something to do everywhere, especially in places like Osaka and Tokyo. We went with practically no budget and with so many desirable things to buy, our suitcases filled up very quickly.
Shopping for clothes was pretty addicting for my GF as the clothes there are much cuter. Be warned though, if you're not petite it can be hard to find clothes that fit you as many fashion shops only stock one size. As for shoes they don't do shoe numbers, more like S,M,L.
As of writing, VAT over there is 8%, so it's very low. As a foreigner you can often claim back some or most of this on your purchases if the store facilitates it.
There is a strong trade/in culture, so you'll find many stores have a desk for buying 2nd hand goods. Because of this you'll often find products neatly packaged that will almost always fool you into thinking they are new but with varying prices to reflect their condition. In general people look after their things, so you usually can't go wrong getting something 2nd hand.
Japan is mainly a cash country. Major department stores and some shops will take debit/credit cards but some also reject foreign cards. Other than that expect to pay with cash most the time. Be well stocked!
Convenience stores, also known as konbini, are truely convenient, as they're open 24 hours! They can warm up ready meals for you there, useful if you don't have a microwave in the hotel. The food is often prepared fresh everyday so even konbini food can be good.
On the topic of food, it is generally inexpensive and of excellent quality wherever you go, even at the cheap places. My favourite thing is that you can often go for oo-mori, which is basically a larger portion. You can even go beyond oo-mori if you're very hungry! Great for big eaters like me.
On the topic of discrimination, for some people they experience it a lot but others less so. Personally, as a Chinese person who is a near fluent Japanese speaker, I too experienced racism but only when I was with my GF. She's Catalan and pale as snow. Some didn't like what they saw and made small microaggressions, such as coughing at us, etc. Some shop/hotel staff were generally unfriendly towards foreigners. It was OK when I was by myself, probably because they couldn't tell I'm a foreigner. We are very respectful and polite people, so it wasn't like we were loud on the train or being rude with anyone to deserve that treatment. At the end of the day every basket has a few rotten eggs, and given it's a 99% Japanese ethnic population, international barriers still very much exist.
+ Food, high quality products, beauty of the country, respectful people, low crime, good events, excellent night life, excellent shopping, excellent public transport, convenience stores are convenient, kyoto is beautiful, lots of cute and cool things to see and buy, lots to do in general.
- Culturally very different, some racism towards westerners, can be expensive, crowdedness, some basic Japanese required as not everyone speaks / willing to speak English / signposted, weird hotel room configurations with paper thin walls, train stations can be confusing, not all foreign cards work, mainly a cash country.
Yes it can be expensive but most things are also of high quality.
The culture over there is also very different.
For example, it's normal for us in the UK to say Please and Thank You to people serving us at restaurants and cashiers. However, it's normal to ignore them in Japan, as your social status as a customer is higher than their role.
It's also odd to do things like asking and pressing the floor on a lift for people and holding doors. Trains are also dead quiet. It's quite bad manners to chat too loud, be on the phone or play audible music.
In all, culturally, very different. Some people find it difficult to adjust but on the whole it's a very beautiful place if you can look past the cultural and language barriers. It's very clean and has a strong recycling culture (you won't find public bins anywhere, you need to take it home and sort it).
Shopping is lots of fun and there are many huge underground shopping plazas, complexes and department stores built into train stations. You'll find something to do everywhere, especially in places like Osaka and Tokyo. We went with practically no budget and with so many desirable things to buy, our suitcases filled up very quickly.
Shopping for clothes was pretty addicting for my GF as the clothes there are much cuter. Be warned though, if you're not petite it can be hard to find clothes that fit you as many fashion shops only stock one size. As for shoes they don't do shoe numbers, more like S,M,L.
As of writing, VAT over there is 8%, so it's very low. As a foreigner you can often claim back some or most of this on your purchases if the store facilitates it.
There is a strong trade/in culture, so you'll find many stores have a desk for buying 2nd hand goods. Because of this you'll often find products neatly packaged that will almost always fool you into thinking they are new but with varying prices to reflect their condition. In general people look after their things, so you usually can't go wrong getting something 2nd hand.
Japan is mainly a cash country. Major department stores and some shops will take debit/credit cards but some also reject foreign cards. Other than that expect to pay with cash most the time. Be well stocked!
Convenience stores, also known as konbini, are truely convenient, as they're open 24 hours! They can warm up ready meals for you there, useful if you don't have a microwave in the hotel. The food is often prepared fresh everyday so even konbini food can be good.
On the topic of food, it is generally inexpensive and of excellent quality wherever you go, even at the cheap places. My favourite thing is that you can often go for oo-mori, which is basically a larger portion. You can even go beyond oo-mori if you're very hungry! Great for big eaters like me.
On the topic of discrimination, for some people they experience it a lot but others less so. Personally, as a Chinese person who is a near fluent Japanese speaker, I too experienced racism but only when I was with my GF. She's Catalan and pale as snow. Some didn't like what they saw and made small microaggressions, such as coughing at us, etc. Some shop/hotel staff were generally unfriendly towards foreigners. It was OK when I was by myself, probably because they couldn't tell I'm a foreigner. We are very respectful and polite people, so it wasn't like we were loud on the train or being rude with anyone to deserve that treatment. At the end of the day every basket has a few rotten eggs, and given it's a 99% Japanese ethnic population, international barriers still very much exist.
+ Food, high quality products, beauty of the country, respectful people, low crime, good events, excellent night life, excellent shopping, excellent public transport, convenience stores are convenient, kyoto is beautiful, lots of cute and cool things to see and buy, lots to do in general.
- Culturally very different, some racism towards westerners, can be expensive, crowdedness, some basic Japanese required as not everyone speaks / willing to speak English / signposted, weird hotel room configurations with paper thin walls, train stations can be confusing, not all foreign cards work, mainly a cash country.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by 1 Human being 1
CSG?! Haha I don’t watch him
He went Japan last week so he made vlogs there.
Original post by TheAlchemistress
He went Japan last week so he made vlogs there.
Really?
Are there any Japanese person o. This thread? I feel kinda lonely.... 😂
I don't really understand the question. Is it in terms of food, language, everyday life at work or school? I was born and lived in Tokyo for nine years and I've come back to Japan occasionally for schooling so.... Yeah.
I don't really understand the question. Is it in terms of food, language, everyday life at work or school? I was born and lived in Tokyo for nine years and I've come back to Japan occasionally for schooling so.... Yeah.
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