|
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
07-29-2011, 09:45 PM
Quote:
|
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
07-29-2011, 09:59 PM
Quote:
My photos from Japan and around the world: http://www.flickr.com/dylanwphotography
|
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
07-29-2011, 10:21 PM
Quote:
 departure.. arrival.. luggage.. exit! Bingo^^ edit: omg I just realized this lol Are you guys really saying they don't have English signs in Narita Airport or am I just tired?? I LOVE It 
|
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
07-29-2011, 10:35 PM
Quote:
|
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
07-30-2011, 06:49 AM
Quote:
 Hmm, well my expectations were pretty high to start with but there were a few things that were better than I thought. - The arcades. Trust me, Tokyo arcades are just unbeatable. I never expected them to be THAT great! They have about 8 floors of pure epicness. I spent a good few hours in just one arcade once, they're that massive. They put every British arcade to shame. - Shopkeepers Almost all shopkeepers shouting 'Irasshaimase!' when someone enters a shop was awesome. :L But sometimes there'd be someone who kept saying it and would put on REALLY funny voices when he said it, and I always had to hide my laughter. :L Other smaller things like the trains, back streets and peacefulness of out-of-Tokyo places were also a lot better than I could have imagined :P About the English: Outside of Tokyo, English is even less spoken, if you can imagine that even possible! In Tokyo you may find a few people capable of speaking English, but outside the city you'd be lucky to find one in a day, which was extremely helpful by forcing me to use my Japanese to the limits. One problem was understanding others though. Outside of Tokyo, even if you look like you're struggling, they don't hold back. They throw their most complicated words and sentence structures at you, and at their regular faster pace. That meant that while they understood everything I said, I understood only one or two sentences. So be prepared for a listening challenge straight in at the deep end! The best thing though, as I mentioned, is that no matter whether you're in Tokyo or not, almost all people will initially try to converse with you in Japanese. And a lot will even continue to do so even if you make it known that you don't know Japanese. This may be an annoyance for some, but to others like me and you it's a great way to practice and is a little relieving to know that the Japanese still hold onto their language well. Quote:
I see what you mean by saying it's good for tourism, but I still think it's unfair. I am a little biased because I do find English signage annoying, and to me it's nothing but slow culture loss on show. I've been to countless other countries that have an even bigger booming tourism industry and they have signs in nothing but their native tongue, and some even don't have announcements or station guides on their trains, not even for the locals! Yet I've never seen any problems, nor have I had any. Anyway, as to why I said it's unfair. What about French tourists who can't speak Japanese or English? Germans? Dutch? Italians? What if they can't speak English or Japanese? But surely they manage fine or we'd have Germans, Italians, French, Dutch etc roaming the streets of Tokyo in a lost daze. Maybe more speak English than I think, but I don't know.
|
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
07-30-2011, 08:20 AM
I know when i travel to Japan in the next year or 2 throughout the whole flight i'm going to be really excited but when i get there i won't jump about like a idiot. I'll just be really happy inside knowing i have finally reached Japan.
|
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
07-30-2011, 11:28 AM
Quote:
|
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
07-31-2011, 12:11 AM
An unexpected comment Bobby. You didn't have a go at her for not jobbing around like an idiot!
Let me tell you guys,I was really excited about going to Japan(I mean really REALLY excited) but when I got there I did just act like it was normal. Yes I was with my mum but I really didn't want to leave when we were leaving,but I didn't act differently. You would have to,I don't know,just ignore the fact that these are Japanese people and ignore that they are being reserved and that if you are a weaboo then you will want to do what they're doing. You would have to be completely ignorant of everyone around you. It does extremely unlikely that even the weabbiest of weaboos would be kissing the ground and yelling! Are you sure that's not just being a loud obnoxious tourist?!
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
It was really interesting to read your experiences about Tokyo, and deffinately gave me something to think about. Did you have any reactions/perceptions that changed for the better, though? I am shocked at the amount of written English avaliable too, especially as one of my main reasons to go is to become fluent, it's a reief to hear though that English isn't as widely spoken - although are your experiences of these just confined to Tokyo, or are they widespread perceptions? 
