Comments on: 10 Tips for your first trip to Japan

By: William

William — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:30:19 +0000

Well when ever I have had difficulty in Japan, I have always had someone help me. Most tourist places like Hotels, and other places have English speaking staff. Even in UniQlo the clothing store, we have staff that have a badge that says English speaker.

I wasn’t really referring to people in the street, but more about touristy places. But I guess it all depends of the area of Japan.

By: Justin Karow

Justin Karow — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:56:23 +0000

“Anyone under the age of 40 should have had a good education of English with most young people having better grammar and writing skills than many Australians.”

Who are these “many Australians” that you speak about? How can you make such a claim?

Also, you say “a good education of English” yet I can walk out of my apartment right now and expect to succeed in only having a *very* basic conversation with any young Japanese person. Anything more than that would be the exception rather than the rule because of shyness, inexperience, low confidence and dare I say – inability – as was pointed out previously. I’m talking about random young people on the street here, not kids who have just left and English class or on their way to one.

By: William

William — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:13:47 +0000

Some great points, bikes really are the best way around, however I have to disagree with point 1. After traveling in other parts of Asia, I found Japanese pretty good at English. Anyone under the age of 40 should have had a good education of English with most young people having better grammar and writing skills than many Australians. However, some Japanese may be quite shy to reveal their ability.

Learning a few basic Japanese words will earn you a lot more respect, and people will often open up a lot more after hearing a few Japanese words. Im not saying you need to be fluent, however, knowing how to say 10 or so words can make or break your experience.

By: lance

lance — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:12:32 +0000

another tip for job-seekers in japan. use gaijinpot.com at first. useful site and lots of helpful friendly expats on the forums. just dont feed the trolls.

By: lance

lance — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:10:31 +0000

No problem Steve. I’ve lived in Tokyo, Japan for about a year studying Japanese and teaching english, and i plan to work there again after graduation. If anyone needs recommendations for bars/nightclubs/restaurants/hotspots, just ask!

For example, one tabehoudai (buffet) you cant miss out is Carne Station in Ginza. It’s run by Hanamasa, the largest meat provider in Japan. 1098 Yen (around 11 bucks) will get you unlimited meat and a HUGE array of other foods and vegetables. just look it up and see for yourself

btw, club ageha is also a sick venue, including outdoor pool. biggest and most poppin club ive ever been to. i think it fits over 10,000 if all the rooms are opened.

By: Leo

Leo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:09:37 +0000

Haha great article! It will really help the people who have never been there. Although, getting around Japan and finding things to do isn’t all that hard. One place to go to in Tokyo has to be Harajuku. Tons of stuff to see and do. Also, there are other cities in Japan besides Tokyo; like Kyoto, Osaka, Yokohama and other places that arent so dense like the big cities. I guess they would be the suburbs of Japan, but are still just as fun.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:31:21 +0000

wow, those vans chukkas are expensive. LOL.

thanks for this one 7tune!

By: Steve Neumann

Steve Neumann — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:53:56 +0000

Tom, Derek, importpunch, Thanks for the feedback!! We’ve got tons of ideas for lifestyle related articles!

Thanks fmws, I enjoyed writing it!

KoguchiPower, We’re working on a similar article focussing on How to relocate to Japan, find a job, etc

lance, thanks for the tip, i wasn’t aware of that mag!! I’ll be sure to grab a copy on my next trip

By: fmws

fmws — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:41:12 +0000

that was fun, thx for the info.. I like the 1st one lol, Dora the Explorer was funny

By: Justin Karow

Justin Karow — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:46:46 +0000

KoguchiPower: You can drive in Japan with an international drivers licence. The only time you need to get a Japanese drivers licence is if you stay in Japan longer than the time allocated on the international licence and still want to/need to drive. Some people have stayed in Japan for many years and just gone home to renew their internationl licence every time they needed to (and visit the folks).

Lance: Good points, I don’t live in Tokyo and was wondering what the local magazines were titled over there.

By: KoguchiPower

KoguchiPower — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:17:43 +0000

You guys are awsome!
If everything works out Im gonna study/work (combined) in Japan for a few months but have absolutly no idea what to expect.

Is it true that Japan doesnt allow forgeirn- (or any other international-) driverslicense at all? And that you’ll have to order a Japanese drivers license at your local (home country) Japanese Ambadsy???

(Might want to buy a something cheap RWD to play a bit with it ^^ but can you license a car in japan when not being a japanese citicen?)

Any info would be more that welcome
Thumbs up for 7Tune!

By: lance

lance — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:24:06 +0000

Great general tips. I HIGHLY recommend picking up a Metropolis Magazine at the airport as well. full of useful information and upcoming events. Helped me greatly with restaurants and car events like D1GP Odaiba. Speaking of Odaiba, you have to take a 2-day trip there. Theres a lot of car events on weekends (especially Sunday) in the empty parking lots.

Be ready to spend a lot of dough though for the nightlife in tokyo. If you want to save money and drink a lot, 300bar in Ginza will do the trick as well.