I live in Japan!

[kyo_9]

hello.. I'm currently studying in Ritsumeikan University.. and during my studying here.. as a gaikakujin, it is kinda hard in the beginning coz sometimes the lecturers speaks very fast that it is very hard to hear what the lecturer's saying.. but it only a matter of time to adapt it.. and believe me when I say that studying here is very enjoyable..

[nellyaudrey]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

You`re completely welcome to dress however you like, anywhere you like. Just don`t expect people to be any more accepting of it in Japan than in your home country. Actually, if that is your style, why not dress that way now? I`m not sure where you`re from, but when it comes to fashion - despite all the claims of the internet - Japan is actually MORE conservative than even the US.

I will be honest and say that I don`t understand why people think that they can dress like that in Japan when they don`t have the courage to do so at home. People will look at you and think you`re just as weird here... Probably even more so, as you`re not even Japanese.

I 100% agree! They only reason that the people in Japan are dressing the way they want is because they have enough confidence to do so. If you want to wear a costume all the time in America, you can. No one will stop you. It's the same in Japan but in Japan when the people stare because of the costume, the people wearing the costume strike a pose. They don't get all flustered and change.

And though there are some cultural differences, mocking is the same in every language. If you can stand it, do it. If you can't, then don't blame it on your country.

[ir6010n]

helo
i recently started livin' in japan and im 17^^
so... my japanese isnt tht good-///-
there are sooo manything that im not use to
and hav trouble with i hope tht u could help
me actually i hav sooo manything to ask bt
my no..1 problem rite noe is bout mobile phone
do i jus go to the shop and buy it or what????
i will ask u more question later, if its ok wiz u???
THX sooo much!!! ^________^

[Dennehy]

Hello Nyororin,

I have a couple of very basic questions regarding life in Japan.

Is it difficult for a foreigner to find suitable clothes/shoes? I'm a large male myself, large as in that I'm quite tall (6'3/191cm).

What, in your opinion, is the best thing that Japan has to offer that other countries that you have experience with, don't have?

What is the number 1 sport in Japan?

What's typical Japanese weather?

Thank you for your time

[HimeJin]

Nyororin,
I'm so happy I found this forum. It was just a search and find situation when I was at work one day. I was reading through the pages and noticed the posts were so old, then I got sad. But as I got into the more recent pages I see that your still answering people's questions. Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time out to do so.

I agree with you that you can't learn Japanese by doing book studying. I'm 21yrs old. I studied Japanese from 10th grade till my 1.5nd year in college. I was horrible at studying so it was even tougher for me to learn over 20 new words and grammer each day. I never liked learning languages in school. They always seem to try to finish the book and never actually help you so you could use it daily and not just memorize it for a test.

I'm looking to save up and go visit Japan for the first time. I don't know when that will be though. I've wanted to visit for the longest time. I'm pretty independent and when I want to go somewhere I'll just hop on/in a plane/car and drive/fly off. So whenever I get the chance..

:-)

[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by Dennehy

What is the number 1 sport in Japan?

I'm just taking a shot at this, but I'm going to assume Soccer.

What's typical Japanese weather?

That depends on what part you live in. Some places have really cold, harsh winters, where as other parts might have mild, cold weather. Summer months as well. Could be really hot and humid in some places, where as up north, to my knowledge, it's not as hot.

[Henbaka]

Originally Posted by SSJup81

I'm just taking a shot at this, but I'm going to assume Soccer.That depends on what part you live in. Some places have really cold, harsh winters, where as other parts might have mild, cold weather. Summer months as well. Could be really hot and humid in some places, where as up north, to my knowledge, it's not as hot.

Since you guys are on the topic: Does Tokyo get any real snow during the winter? And I don't mean pansy-whansy melting little flakes...

[imeka]

My friends saw snow in the Hakone area, which is somewhat close to tokyo. They had a snowball fight and blamed my sensei for starting it. One of my guy friends started scaring my other guy friends in the onsen. Usually people use a towel to cover up a little, but he didn't seem to care. I wish I could've gone. But I already went last year to kyushu so I couldn't.

[nellyaudrey]

I'm going to study abroad in Japan for 9months (1 academic year) starting this october. I'm really excited and i'm not worried about the japanese classes or meeting japanese people. but the closer i get to leaving, the more i worry about what it will be like. thanks to everyone that posted on here. the stuff is really helpful.

But my question is, is there anything that i should know to bring?

[kpauner]

Originally Posted by nellyaudrey

I'm going to study abroad in Japan for 9months (1 academic year) starting this october. I'm really excited and i'm not worried about the japanese classes or meeting japanese people. but the closer i get to leaving, the more i worry about what it will be like. thanks to everyone that posted on here. the stuff is really helpful.

But my question is, is there anything that i should know to bring?

easy! MONEY! you never go wrong with money!

joking aside;
Nyororin and everybody else, what is your experience with banking in Japan for a foreigner?