Houseteks Guide To Tokyo

[Kaicui]

dude take singapore airlines if u live in the states

700 usd - JFK airport nyc - tokyo international

nd yep

never take cab! it'll cost u more than just a arm and leg

and shopping, imo harajuku isnt as good as people picture it to be. But on the other hand..my style isnt exactly harajuku

[Housetek]

Originally Posted by Kaicui

dude take singapore airlines if u live in the states

700 usd - JFK airport nyc - tokyo international

nd yep

never take cab! it'll cost u more than just a arm and leg

and shopping, imo harajuku isnt as good as people picture it to be. But on the other hand..my style isnt exactly harajuku

yea i only shop in harajuku for accessories or crazy nick nacks...

i prefer omotosando and shibuya

[Housetek]

Quick tip for Holiday travel and just traveling in general to Japan regarding credit cards and atm cards.

Many cities in tokyo have atm machines that take mac cards. Citi bank is your best bet. you can check the website and see which atm cards it takes.

Also visa/mastercard are best cc's to have. Discover/american express and others usually dont get accepted.

...now that i think about it discover is barley accepted any where in the states 2 haha.

any ways.

be sure to have extra traveling money and a good credit card.

Futhernote be sure to call ahead and tell your credit card company that you will be traveling to another country and accept overseas charges.

i was stuck in Narita once cuz my Credit card company kept on declining the over seas charges, i had to get on my skype and call the company up and have them authorize it personally which took an hour to do =P.


Happy holidays and safe travels, ill be in Vietnam til january 6th so i wont be posting so much after December 11.

[Cyclamen]

About Credit Cards. I'm never in trouble in Tokyo, where I take my cash with my VISA from ATMs at Citibank. But every time I travel somewhere else, I bring a lot of cash with me. In small towns it's almost impossible to find an ATM that accepts international cards! So remember people, always take some cash with you.

Originally Posted by Housetek

with the way i set it up, people from other countries can call my skype and it gets forwarded to my cell and i talk for free, and they are not charged internationally.

Man, that's a great idea! I never thought about that.

And you mentioned Don Quihote!!!!! That's the best store for random stuff and presents (they sell even electronics, clothes and food at good prices). For another random shop, check out Village Vanguard, it's basically a book store with thousands of random accessories, toys, houseware and presents. They're both the best to get funny presents for everyone at reasonable prices.

[Housetek]

Originally Posted by Cyclamen

About Credit Cards. I'm never in trouble in Tokyo, where I take my cash with my VISA from ATMs at Citibank. But every time I travel somewhere else, I bring a lot of cash with me. In small towns it's almost impossible to find an ATM that accepts international cards! So remember people, always take some cash with you.


Man, that's a great idea! I never thought about that.

And you mentioned Don Quihote!!!!! That's the best store for random stuff and presents (they sell even electronics, clothes and food at good prices). For another random shop, check out Village Vanguard, it's basically a book store with thousands of random accessories, toys, houseware and presents. They're both the best to get funny presents for everyone at reasonable prices.

waaah your stayin in Yoyogi?

i lived there for like 2 months.

i use to play at the Taito Arcade next to the Jr station every day b4 i take the train.

[Housetek]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

HoseTak (please excuse the name calling toward you. I am still jealous over the whole JF God thing, and demeaning you helps me feel better about myself ), this might be a deranged question to ask you, seem as I think you have little interest in the area. But you seem to know much about Japan, and I am haveing trouble in my own searching.

Do you know any gym in Japan that teaches full time traditional style (not matter what style, just must be traditional. I.e. Karate, Aikido, Judo, Kendo) martial arts to English speaking students. Me cant find anywhere, and I wanne come to Japan...

mm wow thats a tough one....ill do some research on that for you.

[Kaicui]

^lmao at tenchu hating

[Enkidu22]

Great guide, thank you for all this effort to make life easier for peoples who, like me, want to go to Japan one day.
But I have one question: is it common to meet foreigners working in bars, restaurants, clubs or other such jobs? How big of a chance would a long haired, handsome (^_^), fluent in japanese foreigner have to find jobs like those? I heard (and saw in TV) that it's easy in China but what about Japan?
Thanks in advance

[Housetek]

Originally Posted by Enkidu22

Great guide, thank you for all this effort to make life easier for peoples who, like me, want to go to Japan one day.
But I have one question: is it common to meet foreigners working in bars, restaurants, clubs or other such jobs? How big of a chance would a long haired, handsome (^_^), fluent in japanese foreigner have to find jobs like those? I heard (and saw in TV) that it's easy in China but what about Japan?
Thanks in advance

actually, alot of foreigners work in bars and stuff.

mainly cuz alot of them dont have work visa and they pay under the table haha.

but yea... about 5 of my friends work as bartenders they are from all over

[Enkidu22]

Originally Posted by Housetek

actually, alot of foreigners work in bars and stuff.

mainly cuz alot of them dont have work visa and they pay under the table haha.

but yea... about 5 of my friends work as bartenders they are from all over

Thanks for the info Housetek
I'm so happy to hear that ^_^ I always wanted to live in Japan but since I'm not a native english speaker it would be difficult for me to get english teaching job (the most popular job for a foreigner in Japan), so I started thinking about the above jobs as my chance for the start. Now I know it's possible, thank you.
But is it possible to make a comfortable living with such jobs? Also do you ever meet anybody who get a working visa to work as a bartender, waiter or alike?