CEONSS

Xac wrote:I went to Harajuku a few times. I presume you went down Takashita street too? There 's a nice temple no so far from there though which often holds Japanese weddings...a weird experience as everyone but the bride has to wear black!

I miss Akihabara, all the electronics shops in one place! It's not what it used to be anymore though. It's been taken over by all the perverts with their school girl fetish crap, costumes, manga and all that stuff. I used to go to buy electronic components, broken PCs, second hand computer parts etc, you could get really interesting stuff there for low prices. A good shop I used to visit was called Akizushi denshi. I think it's still there, it was doing well the last time I visited, but that was about 5 years ago now.

I miss the low crime rate, the lack of aggression you get from people, trains that are efficient and run on time, the karaoke (what did you sing BTW?).

One thing I miss a lot is the vending machine system, it's amazing. And I'm not talking about the crap in the media about used girl's panties machines (I never saw any such thing, but everyone goes on about it when you mention Japan). What I mean is you can put a 10,000 yen note in a machine for a 200 yen drink and get change! These machines must be full of money, but they don't get vandalised or robbed. You can also get hot coffee in a can. The machines are well maintained and I never ever had a problem with them, they just WORK!

When coming back to Japan, I used to get off the plane at Narita, pick up my car from the car park (where it would have been valeted - and left for up to a month for what you would pay at Heathrow for about a day), drive to a petrol station, watch the pretty girls are they washed my windows and put fuel in the car and drive home feeling strangely at home but not at home...

Clean toilets? Ok, you might have space age ones in the modern buildings, but you never went into the countryside much then? Some there were absolutely awful!!! Also, most places rarely have soap and people just rinse their hands under a tap (or from the little pipe that refills the cistern) after using the toilet, which is a bit disgusting! No wonder they bow and don't shake hands! But seriously, I had food poisoning more times when I was in Japan than anywhere else I've been.

I lived in Germany for a while, but that's a whole different kettle of currywurst!!!

I 've never been to that shrine. But then again, I saw plenty of shrines, esp in Kyoto. xD

Akizushi Denshi sounds vaguely familiar. But yeah, Akihabara is equal parts electronic shops and anime mecca by now. I went there a couple of times, too. I didn't buy any electronics when I was in Japan, though, because the plugs and voltage in Germany are so different.

People really aren't aggressive there. Still, I don't miss the attention you will get as a foreigner. On two occasions, people secretly took pictures of me.
I kinda like the Japanese police because they aren't scary at all and very helpful, but apparently they check foreigners a lot more for bicycle theft. And particularly if you are a tall, male foreigner, some people will be afraid of you due to crimes committed by foreigners...

As for karaoke, I went with friends to sing pretty much every week and by the end of the year, I had certain karaoke songs that I sang every time. I usually sang Coldplay, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Goo Goo Dolls, the Killers, some ABBA and Simon and Garfunkel even, and some Japanese songs. I sing a lot of songs by guys, so I need to raise the pitch. I was lucky because the group I went with had a similar taste in music. By the end of the half year that I knew those people, we all knew each others' songs. Good times!
What did you sing?

The vending machines are amazing. I miss them, too, esp in the summer.
One morning in Japan, I woke up because it was really loud outside. I wondered what the heck was going on. Later, I saw that there were two vending machines in front of my house (never mind that the was one right across the street and two others a few meters down the street already...) . Incidentally, they were the super cheap ones (100 Yen a drink) and had Mountain Dew, my favorite drink (which are really hard to get in Germany). I was really happy about that.

I know how you feel. After a while, you get so used to being in a certain place. It almost felt as if I had been in Japan all my life and my life before Japan grew very distant. Sometimes I forgot which country I was in until I stepped out of the door and saw all the Japanese people.... xD
I guess I could have stayed longer, but at the same time I also thought it was time to go home after that one year. How long did you stay in Japan?

I was mostly in Tokyo. But yeah, I remember a few disgusting toilets now....especially those traditional toilets that are just a ceramic hole in the ground that you need to crouch over... Ergh. I avoided those as best as I could. And there's usually no paper to dry your hand after washing them because everyone (except for me) always carries those small towels with them....

I had food poisoning once, but I ate my kara-age chicken two days after the expiration date, so I think that was my fault.

Germany, too! Awww.... Well, what's the verdict?
And speaking of Currywurst, I was surprised that there was no Currywurst in Japan. Considering how much the Japanese love curry (always two curry items on the menu in our cafeteria each day), I thought they'd have some for sure.


Here is one of my standard karaoke songs:
[video][/video]

You went to Kyoto? Did all the touristy stuff I suppose...saw the golden temple, got a photo standing next to a geisha etc and got temple fatigue?! I certainly did. Once you’ve seen one, you’ve pretty much seen them all. One place a lot of people go to is Niko, a bit north of Tokyo. That’s full of the things...of course when anyone comes to visit, you have to take them to the temples and you have to go through it all again and again. You get totally templed out very quickly!

Most modern electronic stuff uses switch mode power supplies which will work from 90 to 240 V, you just need to check when you buy. But a lot of the things I picked up were just small electronic components or PC parts like old CPUs, RAM etc.

I once got descended upon by a coach load of old retired “Baba” (grannies) who must have been in a photography club when I was sitting in a cafe in Ueno park. They would not stop taking photos of me...I know I’m weird, but not that weird! People with blond hair seem to attract the most attention and also if you are a girl they think you will have loose morals because of the way they view western women on TV.

BTW, when I mentioned watching the Japanese girls washing my car windows at the petrol station, I didn’t mean in any kind of lurid way, just as a kind of metaphor for the way Japan is. Everything looking nice on the surface, but underneath, things are rotten. I’m looking at them and while pleased I don’t have to clean the windows and pump the fuel myself, they are polite and courteous - and it’s something nice to look at, I’m wondering sadly, how many of them are involved in “compensation dating” to pay for their kawaii Hello Kitty looks?

I only had a couple of run ins with the police there...once I left my car parked in the street and it was about to be towed away, another time I got stopped for speeding...but I got let off very lightly and I didn’t get a fine or anything.

I miss the karaoke box...the good thing is you can adjust the key to suit your voice, I suppose you did that? There’s usually a remote and you just slide it up or down. Then you can use the same remote to order food and drinks! What did I sing? All sorts of stuff...from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, to the classics, like Hey Jude, Yesterday...Simon and Garfunkel. Don’t tell me your favourite is Bridge over Troubled Water? ;-) And of course there was Roy Orbison!

Then the next day going to the vending machine for a Pocari Sweat to help you get over your hangover! The best beer was: Sapporo>Asahi>Kirin>Suntory, in order of quality. If you were in a place selling Suntory, you knew your headache would be twice as bad in the morning!!!

How long did I stay in Japan? If I were a poet I would say something along the lines of: “Long enough to forget the melody of my mother tongue.” i.e. too long!! When you first arrive, no-one can understand you. You speak too quickly for them and use too many complicated words. After a while you get used to dumbing down your language so you can be understood, even to the point of copying their grammatical mistakes. Then when you come back to your home country, you realise you’ve forgotten how to speak properly! Also, it’s very bad for your mental health being in a country like Japan, where everything is so twisted and illogical and you are often isolated with little support. I would not recommend staying there longer than 18 months to 2 years. I stayed there much longer than that, it was more than 4 years

I did find one German restaurant when I was there. The food was good, but the owner would just go on and on about his pension in Germany and how terrible it all was...

I suppose you tried the katsu-kare? Awful stuff...indigestion on a plate! They think making a curry involves just sticking lots of chillie powder in a sauce! I did find some proper Indian restaurants, although even there, the food was oriented to the Japanese market. No Basmati rice, just sticky Japanese rice.

Germany...well that’s another essay! It’s a tough thing to explain in a few sentences as Germany is a big place and being quite a young country is really an amalgam of small states. Each one is very different from the others. Most of my experience is from Northern Germany.

I like visiting Germany, but Germans do like rules...lots of rules and Ordnung...the people are friendly, except those that work in shops...the beer is good and also cheap. You can drive any speed you like on certain parts of the autobahn. I like the way people say what they mean and mean what they say...and contrary to popular belief, Germans do have a sense of humour!

Are you in the schutzenfest part of Germany? Great excuse for drinking beer almost nonstop for 3 days!

I like the song clip...nice guitars! I could never read the Hirigana fast enough to sing the Japanese songs...and now I've forgotten so much of it. I can just about remember a few lines from ue o muite arukou...and that's about it!

Haha, yes, I went to Kyoto (and Osaka) twice and got "templed out" a bit (nice term, btw). I went there once with friends to see it in fall (it was stunningly beautiful) and once again when my big brothers came to visit and I wanted to show them around. Didn't get to take a picture with a geisha, but that's fine. Btw, did you get a yukata or kimono when you were there?

Depending on where they came from, you might have been the first foreigner they've ever seen in real life. That sounds very amusing, though. What do you (or did you) look like? Dreadlocks, long hair, beard, tattoos? Blond people are always popular. But yes, I think the media is twisting a lot of Eastern people's perception of Western women. Our ideas of how much skin and which parts are appropriate to show are different, too. Thankfully, I dress rather un-girly and conservative (t-shirts and pants, no low-cut stuff) so I didn't have any problems in that regard.

Don't worry, I didn't take your words the wrong way. It's not as if I didn't look at some of the very cute hosts there.
One of my male friends left after just three months instead of finishing his year in Japan because he was horribly disappointed by the "two-faced people". You never know if they are genuine kind or really don't mind something.

I've heard some scary stories about the police in Japan. Glad to hear that you never had any issues with them.

I miss karaoke! Yes, that pitch-changing option is great. I use it all the time. (I actually needed several months to learn the song that I posted. It's really fast!) My favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs are Scarborough Fair (impossible to sing alone, though), Mrs Robinson and Sound of Silence. The Boxer is great, too. Bridge over Troubled Water is good, but not one of my favs.

Hahaha! Beer problems! I don't drink any alcohol at all and occasionally that was an issue (some people not understanding it and trying to get me to drink), but it was fine with all of my friends. We rarely went out to drink, though, because our group also included some guys who were too young to drink. The all-you-can-drink-alcohol option is restaurants was always very expensive, though.

I see! So you mostly used English while you were there?
I got the impression that you are mostly alone when you have a problem in Japan, because Japanese people aren't used to "burdening others" with their problems (i.e. asking for help) and prefer not to get involved with your problems, because that would be sticking your nose into other people's business.

I only tried curry once and the mildest one they had. I don't really like the taste and I can't handle spicy stuff (not even the ama-guchi), so I avoided curry from then on.

I'm from Northern Germany and that's where my family lives, spread over different cities. Currently I'm residing in Berlin for my studies. There's pretty much nothing you can't get here. And you've got so many different and weird people that I feel you can be yourself more easily here. That's very nice.
I miss friendly store clerks. One point for Japan right there.

I'd say Germany and Japan have about the same horrible amount of rules and regulations, not that I like that aspect much....

Whoever came up with the idea that Germans don't have a sense of humor clearly has never been here.

My hometown has a Frühlingsfest (spring festival), Schützenfest (in summer) and an Oktoberfest (in October, of course), so there are always opportunities to drink throughout the year. Pretty sure Berlin has the same.

EDIT: Btw, sorry for the late reply. I was intimidated by the thought of how long this reply might take. Sorry for my walls of texts.

hi Eman... welcome

Ten wrote:hi Eman... welcome

Working your way through all of the welcome threads?

Thank you!!!

EmanReleipS wrote:

Ten wrote:hi Eman... welcome

Working your way through all of the welcome threads?

Thank you!!!

yes finally got to you.. loads of newbies

hi eman, nice to see you here. that's awesome you went to Japan! watashi wa Furorida Minami Daigaku ni nihon go o benkyoshimashita. Did you do JET program? i thought about doing that but never did :/

theEssenceOfNoob wrote:hi eman, nice to see you here. that's awesome you went to Japan! watashi wa Furorida Minami Daigaku ni nihon go o benkyoshimashita. Did you do JET program? i thought about doing that but never did :/

Hey Sir Noobiness! Nice to see you here, too!

Sugoi desu ne! Nihongo-ga jouzu desu ne! I'm majoring in Japanese Studies at the Free University Berlin (Germany), so no JET program. Just a regular exchange. I did teach some "English conversation" (and German) as a part-time job while being in Japan, though.

Have you ever been to Japan?

It's funny how many people here speak Japanese (you, Xac, I, plus Dally wants to learn it). A growing community!

EmanReleipS wrote:
It's funny how many people here speak Japanese (you, Xac, I, plus Dally wants to learn it). A growing community!

I wouldn't say I speak Japanese

As so many seem interested, I thought I'd start this thread, did you see it?

http://www.ceonss.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=371

Happy birthday my dear Ema

♥



Can't wait to cya and bring you a present

Ani