Intresting post and such there Mib.Im not very good with such kinds of debates im afraid,but all i can say is about my experiances there and my next experiance in Japan.The first time i went to Japan,i stayed with my girlfriend in 2005,i was nervous about everything there,about how the people would feel about me espicially with living with her and about how the people would take to me when im walking out and about in Japan,naturally worried,i got there and got through fine,homesick a little but apart from that, i had no problems at all.It helped having several friends who guided me around and to introduce me to neighbours and such so i think perhaps if you have Japanese friends and people around you,then it would be far easier to be accepted in Japan.

My second trip just last year was better then the first,i again had many friends around me and travelled to many different cities with my friends.I actually went christmas shopping alone and bought several things.The good thing is the lovely female shop assistants in the stores i went to couldnt wait to help me, they would try and talk with me and assist me though they knew no english,i had an embaressing incidet one time but the women were just as embaressed as me and all apologised and said gomen nasai and arigatou politley,we all laughed and just didnt have any problems.Same in a game store as i bought a japanese video game,she couldnt speak english but was only happy to follow where i pointed, smiled and helped me, it was the same in every store i went to. I was approached several times by a group of 15 year old lads when i was playing football alone who played football with me,and they were very polite, curtious and fun, we played football for many hours and tried to talk about footie before they left me and said bye bye.I met a brazilian soccer coach and his son and Japanese wife who also treated me so nicely, so for my own experiances, i had a wonderful time not just with my friends but by myself, i met and was helped by so many wonderful Japanese people,young and old.

Did i experiance any problems? Not really,though my gfs mom was worried about me staying with her though it was more about her worrying about her daughter then me being foreign.I tried and had an interview one time with a man who was very helpful but as i didnt have a Visa,i couldnt work at his small place.
Iv never had any problems there really,everyone was kind to me,helpful and polite.Noone really made fun of my Japanese and tried to assist me the best they could.I think just when i sat down in a train or i sat in a restaraunt alone,people would look, or stare towards me, but most likely because they are curious...or maybe im just simply a good looking guy ^-^ (kidding!).Iv never had any problems and i think english speakers maybe more popular because the Japanese love to learn english espicially British english these days.

Everyone i met, my girlfriends family,shop assistants, freinds, my friends friends, Joshi stars ect were wonderful and maybe in my trip soon will i maybe find out some unplesentness but i dont think i will.I have so many friends there that if i have any trouble,ill be looked after by them.iv never had many problems and living in japan is something i really cant wait to do ^_^.Sorry this is very long and poorly written,hopefully it makes a little sense.


-- Edited by Totoro101 at 18:18, 2007-07-04

-- Edited by Totoro101 at 18:21, 2007-07-04

Your post puts my dull effort to shame, nice stuff Glowlad ^-^.I think so to,working and just visiting to Japan is a huge difference.I think just for many Japanese, to see foreing people is something a lot of them are not used to,so they would stare and wonder.According to a lot of my friends as i mentioned,most of them are quite shy around foreingers,and some actually would like to talk to them,but are scared of their poor english.Japan is so beautiful though and is such a great place,its impossible to say anything bad about it, as you can read from my experiances above,iv only ever had truly positive things happen for me while i was there :).

thank you ^-^, i try my best Glowlad!

hmm..I guess its natural for foreingers to be around Tokyo, Yokohama, Hokkaido and even Chiba,.But iv been to quite a few places where there isnt anyone other then myself as a foreinger,such as Ofuna,Iruma,Sagamo ect ect.I had a lot of eyes peering at me i can tell you but honestly,i dont think its a problem,my friends always say its just curiosity that japanese would look at foreingers,nothing so bad.I remember a little bit of an icident in i think it was Ikebukuro where an old man tried to steal some beer and a woman came chasing after him and took them back,and another with this girl just randomly bumping into people and looking like she was drunk as a skunk.To be honest, i kind of like the attention because iv never had people really take notice of me in my life and it feels good to be around people who like me and others who seem curious about me and try to help and talk with me :).

Im trying to psyche myself up for apply for a teaching job in Japan...I meet the minimum requirements...native English speaker and a Degree, but I don't fancy my chances of getting it.

The Japanese work ethic could be a shock to the system, and I don't want to come across as a lazy gaijin, (which I probably am!)

But the broader quality of life in Japan appeals to me, totally reliable transport system, clean street, SAFE streets.

For whatever reason, Ive sledom felt happier than in those two weeks in Japan...somehow, it felt as though I was in a place where everything fit me, unlike in England, where a trip to the local shopping centre is increasingly an ordeal!

GLOWlad wrote:

---

The Japanese work ethic could be a shock to the system, and I don't want to come across as a lazy gaijin, (which I probably am!)

---

My cousin worked over there for a couple years in banking and it drained the hell out if him. Obviously it's different from teaching but they do have a strong work ethic other there and they work long hours. My cousin was sometimes called in to work at the drop of a hat - even on Xmas day. But then again, it's that efficiency and industrious attitude that makes Japan such a successfully working and evolving nation.

-- Edited by Man In Black at 19:12, 2007-07-23

Its about getting the balance right between work and play, if the Japanese just relaxed a touch more, were easier on themselves, then the place would be a Utopia...as it is, its still the best place Ive ever been.

Would agree with what you both said :).Im still quite nervous about the trip,very scared actually but it should be alright.Ill be staying with a friend and her mom and sister, so ill be sorrounded by cute girls ^^.The japanese people are a serious race,they dont tend to show to many emotions which when i stayed with a host family last year was quite uncomfertable as i was feeling down but they couldnt assist me as they didnt understand what was wrong with me.Again iv had many great memories of being there though,never a moment of unpleasentness,though when i was playing futsal,the coach was instucting all kinds of things but i couldnt understand what he was saying,fortunatly,he was very kind.Im quite lucky really to have a lot of good people around me.
On my to do list is to...

take pictures with Joshi girls
Take purikura with my friends
Go to Disneyland sea
Buy Japanese dvd movies
Spend time with my gf
eat more japanese foods
Watch more Japanese Tv
Do Karaoke!
Visit Kyoto,Hokkaido,More of Tokyo
Take in Japanese theatre
ect ect

So i have a lot of plan but with only 450quid spending money i doubt ill be able to do much as i want! Ah...i cant wait!

Take purikura with my friends

This comment worried me some... Is this some kind of hardcore drug?  Japanese for crack Coccaine or something?

Karaoke is one thing I aimed to do last time but didnt manage, hopefully Ill manage it in future...
I didnt see many Karaoke baras as such, but I saw plenty of those big Karaoke places where I guess you rent out private room to humiliate yourself with Karaoke, rather than public bars.

Tell you what I miss...all those vending machines...your never more than a few steps away from the next one in Japan, and a nice refreshing Pocari Sweat.

Too much information Re: Your bowels!!!!! :D

Im a Veggie so Sushi etc are off the menu for me anyway.

About vending machines, say you bought a can of coke from one, where do you drink it? Its just I heard eating and drinking in the street are very much frowned on in Japan so I was alwasy wary of taking a quick slurp of coke in the street. But its odd to have so many vending machines and not expect people to drink!

GlowLad is correct - the Japanese don't like people to drink while walking in the street. Stopping at a nearby bench is fine as is going to a park where such restrictions are removed. But drinking freely from a bottle or a can like we do is frowned upon. It's not prohibited but is considered bad manners.

I'd have a problem out there as I have a dehydration problem and thus have to have a bottle of water with me at all times, and of course it is worse in the summer.

Hey if you are discreet like turn your back when drinking or step into a doorway or behind a lamp post then you should be fine. Just drinking in front of people is considered rude.

And stop copying my symptoms. How can I wallow in self pity if there is someone else the same as me?

Well I consulted my father about it from when he was out there but that was 10 years ago so maybe they've grown to tolerate it a bit more since then. But if you get some weird looks from some of the other natives then at least you will know why now.

-- Edited by Man In Black at 23:30, 2007-07-25

Just make sure you get online and have a Totoro's Diary on here or something.

Konnichi wa! Glad to hear you've arrived safely Totty! Have yourself a good time!

Good stuff Totty!

They say the best way to handle the jet lag when crossing another time zone is to try and stay awake until your usual bed time in your own time zone then crash out and you should be right as rain the next morning.

Best thing for Jet Lag as with a lot of other 'problems' is drinking plenty of water. It's a rehydration thing...

sorry to double post, just been so busy here recently no time to do much else. Today met 4 of my good girl friends, went to karaoke and stayed quiet because im absoloutley shy..no chance for me singing, took lots of purikura and eat sushi. Quite nice but have an upset belly. now im going to rest more and relax,went shoping to.Took a tour of some samurai houses here in Sakura chi, absoloutley beautiful things they are, old japanese kitchens, old japanese samurai armour, ect ect, stunning stuff.

So whats the wrestling scene/MMA scene like out there currently and how is Benoits death being taken over there?

phew absoloutley knackered. Have walked and walked and walked non stop for the past 3 days! Well Firstly, thanks mib, secondly about the wrestling scene and mma stuff Dark M, i dont know to much whats going on there sadly, though there is some cool k-1 shows on at night which i try to watch but i dont tend on watchin mma so its not my kind of thing.The Chris benoit story..well iv seen a few magazines and newspapers which has some things about it and its quite a big thing in some of them but i dont understand a word! Ah i wish i knew japanese.Mostly iv been to a joshi show anyway which ill talk about in the joshi section of sports (absoloutely fun and i met my wife yuki!!! Wooow!).

Thank you nymvette, my belly still a bt painful but im fine now hehe.Its absoloutley amazing here, i spent last night watching hanabi, the firworks are incredible and we had a huge dinner at japanese restaraunt eatin okonimiyaki, pizza, sake (i drunk coke but my friends drunk and got a little plastered so i had to take care of them as i dont drink!) and wen around the local town, played football with some japanese guys which was cool to and saw joshi. knackered!!

Its great out here sympth! Im not doing much recently though, other then relaxing and stuff as im almost broke in the space of one week...still ill get some more money soon i hope!
Its SCORCHING hot in japan right now, my face is browner then its ever been and even when i sleep, i sweat buckets. I hate this weather man..I must have drunk 100 cherry cokes in the last one week alone, im not even kidding. Tomorrow im going to Akihabara, the place where the otaku love. Cant wait to go there. Also going try buy Koda Kumis new album and a giant hello kitty doll for my sister. Lots to do.

arigatou mib, i guess i have a thing for koda kumi! Recently not up to much, just looking to book a trip to a joshi show next 2 weeks and a NOAH show as well if possible, got some more money finally so that was cool.Funny thing happend yesterday night as i was walking with a friend through the streets of beautiful Ikebukuro when i was stopped by some cute japanese girls and we had our pics taken together, honto kawaii!! When im back in england will post some pics but cant here at moment. Played my new wii with my friends and it was good fun.Today iv been to laz,y just going to convinece store and such, trying to learn japanese here as well so always keeping busy and the food is fantastic. Im already planning
for my 2008 trip here! Im drinking far to much though, must have gone 100 bottles of all kinds of pop and fruit juice in the last one week. Going to meet some more friends tonight, all gorgeous and all coming back with me to the UK ^^ so lucky me!

Yeah don't be greedy Totty - share your shoujo bounty with your friends!