Useful Points When Visiting Japan

[Tsuwabuki]

I need to think more about what to add, and I am not entirely sure I agree with everything previously said by the other legal residents of Japan in this thread...

I'm going to run it around in the back of my mind for a few hours.

[MMM]

Did you come up with anything?

[Tsuwabuki]

Still thinking. You and Nyororin hit most of what I would have said.

I really do feel that if you're serious about learning the language, rural Japan is a better choice. Having spent extended time in cities, I have been lead to a belief that in general two things happen:

1) people try to speak English to you more often/all the time
2) more stuff is in English

I love rural Japan. Most of the people in Fukuchiyama can perhaps count to twenty in English, say please, thank you, and hello... and that's it. I really had no choice to learn Japanese. I think that living in Tokyo or Osaka would have let me be lazy, and I wouldn't have learned as much.

But... still thinking. Maybe the above only applies to me?

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki

Still thinking. You and Nyororin hit most of what I would have said.

I really do feel that if you're serious about learning the language, rural Japan is a better choice. Having spent extended time in cities, I have been lead to a belief that in general two things happen:

1) people try to speak English to you more often/all the time
2) more stuff is in English

I love rural Japan. Most of the people in Fukuchiyama can perhaps count to twenty in English, say please, thank you, and hello... and that's it. I really had no choice to learn Japanese. I think that living in Tokyo or Osaka would have let me be lazy, and I wouldn't have learned as much.

But... still thinking. Maybe the above only applies to me?

I am just ending a 2 week trip to Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, and today was the first day anyone approached me in English (staff at a department store). But you bring up a good point.

As much as urban life appeals to me, rural Japan is a completely different experience with its own unique charms.

Certainly more stuff is in English in the city, but at the same time I would say it surprises me how little stuff is in English in a place like Tokyo, considering how many foreigners live/travel/work there.

Without knowing other parts of Asia, Japan feels like a difficult place to be a tourist in (compared to a place like England). I see two kinds of foreigners on the trains: those that know where they are going, and those that are compeltely lost. I wish I could say the percentage was 95%-5%, but it seems more like 75%-25%.

[darthlobo]

I think Americans want to see Tokyo most of all because it is the only big city that we are aware of. Also, as was said above, there's a greater chance of a native citizen knowing enough English to help a vistor find what they are looking for. I also think that visitors would feel more at home in a city environment than a rural environment.

Thos are great tips, by the way. Thank you for sharing.

[Tsuwabuki]

Originally Posted by MMM

Without knowing other parts of Asia, Japan feels like a difficult place to be a tourist in (compared to a place like England). I see two kinds of foreigners on the trains: those that know where they are going, and those that are compeltely lost. I wish I could say the percentage was 95%-5%, but it seems more like 75%-25%.

Shoulda told me you were down my way, could have met up in Osaka for coffee or something.

I have lived in Korea, and I spent two weeks in Taiwan. In my opinion, Japan is not as aggressively tourist-friendly as Korea or Taiwan, but that is largely because Japan doesn't really need to be. I would not say it is that difficult, but about equal to other Asian countries, assuming you are not already able to speak the language. I do not speak Korean, and I do not speak Chinese. I spoke basic, basic Japanese before living in Japan, so my experiences, even the touristy ones, are not really that comparable.

I have also been to France and the Netherlands. I spoke French at the time, and I found that France was easy to get around, but largely because the French absolutely positively refused to speak French to me. Drove me insane, as I was on a FRENCH CLUB trip for school. In Japan, I sometimes see a disconnect when I speak Japanese, but it isn't intentional to ignore my Japanese ability. In France, it was intentional. Parisians especially lived up to the stereotypes. Those from Marseilles and the coast? Nicest, most laid back people ever.