Ohayo Gozaimasu Tokyo!

[photek]

So I'm leaving (moving) from Norway to Tokyo, talk about huge change, huh ? So I'm looking for any sort of guidelines as I will spend most the time strolling along alone for the first weeks to get familiar with the city, but if anyone has some stuff or tips where to go, what to see etcetra I'm all ears.

[Samwise]

Don't go on any game shows.

[climbjtree]

Step 1 - Learn Japanese.

Step 2 - Go to Rapongee.

Step 3 - Pick up amazing hot Brazilians with your new language skills.

Step 4 - Die happy.

[Teleku]

Step 1 - Learn Japanese.

Step 2 - Go to Rapongee.

Step 3 - Pick up amazing hot Brazilians with your new language skills.

Step 4 - Die happy. of multiple STD's.

Correction.

Roppongi is dirtastically dirty.

[climbjtree]

But man, what fun! And I do appreciate the spelling correction.

[photek]

I googled it, looks fun! STD's, yay! Lovely info for a semi-paranoid guy Already on the learning Japanese part and it will be my sixth language. When perfected, I shall play Japanese games and laugh at Japanese puns, oh the joy!

[schild]

You know 6 languages? Christ, go work for intelligence.

[Oban]

You know 6 languages? Christ, go work for intelligence.

No, people who know more than French, Spanish and English are usually gay and therefore are not appropriate for intel work.

[Ookii]

After making a statement like you know 6 languages you have to list them.

[Oban]

So I'm leaving (moving) from Norway to Tokyo, talk about huge change, huh ? So I'm looking for any sort of guidelines as I will spend most the time strolling along alone for the first weeks to get familiar with the city, but if anyone has some stuff or tips where to go, what to see etcetra I'm all ears.

Where in Tokyo are you planning on living?  What about work?

Make sure to have your local guide help you with setting up a bank account and getting the whole key money thing out of the way.  

Great thing to do is go to the basement of a department store, buy some food, take the elevator up to the roof and enjoy an awesome view of the city while eating some tasty snacks.  The fruit is very large in Japan, grapes the size of plums are to die for.  Also, anything baked will be very buttery and rich, mmmm...

Avoid Calpis and any Curry for the first month.

Drink lots of green tea, any green bottled one will do, from vending machines.  You will be sweating up a storm in July and August and the vending machines keep the green tea nice and cool.

Try not to grope any females on the train, that honour is reserved only for Japanese men.

Pick up a Japanese woman, avoid the Russians and Brazilians.  American women in Japan are to be avoided at all costs!

Find your local bar, get some yakitori and try and make some friends.  Drink a lot to prove that you are a god.

Find your local noodle shop, eat some cold noodles for the first couple of months while it is hot outside.

Get a bicycle, anything under three hundred that looks like everyone else's bike is a safe bet.

GET AN AIR CONDITIONER.  Seriously, your refrigerator will thank you.

[photek]

After making a statement like you know 6 languages you have to list them.

1) Mothertounge - Serbo-Croatian / Bosnian. (Oral / Written) Understand all Balkan languages / most Slavic languages like Polish and Russian.
2) 2nd - Norwegian.  (Oral / Written) Speak and understand most Scandinavic languages with the exception of Finnish. Icelandic or "Old Norwegian" I can also understand.
3) English - Duh.  (Oral / Written)
4) German - (Oral / Written) And to a limited degree some Dutch and some various dialects in Belgium makes sense, some make none.
5) French  (Oral / Written) - ...French.
6) Learning Japanese now through some net stuff, but two years in Japan will prolly shove it down my throat rapidly.

Oban - thanks a lot. Will answer once I am done with the dinner.

[Ookii]

My one big tip for Japan is to be able to read Katakana before going there because everything will either be in English or Katakana, the latter being English in Japanese letters (for the most part).

Asking pretty girls, "Kekkon shimasuka?" is also win.

[Oban]

[photek]

Where in Tokyo are you planning on living?  What about work?

I'm not sure where I'm going to live yet on a long-term plan, currently I have booked a hotel for four weeks (mother is in management of Choice hotels here in Norway so this I got really cheap). I work as a game designer and write as main, artist and musician as second so I have a massive plan set up for work which is the reason I am moving to totally change my environment and in need of inspiration. I have saved up a few bucks to stay in Tokyo without issues for at least two years and at this point I expect to have quite some work completed.

Make sure to have your local guide help you with setting up a bank account and getting the whole key money thing out of the way.  

Most definitely will.

Great thing to do is go to the basement of a department store, buy some food, take the elevator up to the roof and enjoy an awesome view of the city while eating some tasty snacks.  The fruit is very large in Japan, grapes the size of plums are to die for.  Also, anything baked will be very buttery and rich, mmmm...

Avoid Calpis and any Curry for the first month.

I'm a health freak and my eating habits are rather strict so buttery stuff is to be avoided for a little, the massive grapes sound fantastic. Great tip by the way (roof enjoying). Avoiding Calpis / Curry = check!

Drink lots of green tea, any green bottled one will do, from vending machines.  You will be sweating up a storm in July and August and the vending machines keep the green tea nice and cool.

Awesome, I love green tea, its a part of my everyday intake.

try not to grope any females on the train, that honour is reserved only for Japanese men.

Pick up a Japanese woman, avoid the Russians and Brazilians.  American women in Japan are to be avoided at all costs!

Find your local bar, get some yakitori and try and make some friends. Drink a lot to prove that you are a god

Find your local noodle shop, eat some cold noodles for the first couple of months while it is hot outside.
Get a bicycle, anything under three hundred that looks like everyone else's bike is a safe bet.
GET AN AIR CONDITIONER.  Seriously, your refrigerator will thank you.

All great tips. Seems Tokyo, as I kinda knew beforehand, will be my cup of tea and suit me perfectly. The environmental change and lifestyle changes will be massive though, but I'm looking forward to it.

Ow yeah, does Tokyo have any Compton ?

[Oban]

So which hotel?

Each area of Tokyo is different, but I have never been through a bad area.  You are white and male (I assume), so you should not be hassled at all.  Closest thing to Compton would be the commissary in Okinawa.

Did you get your visa already?  Kind of odd to go over there without a job for such a long period of time.  Assuming you are going legally, always carry your alien card.  Seriously.  Also do not do drugs in front of others or ask for drugs, the cops look down on that sort of thing. 

[Margalis]

It's pretty hard to not eat healthy in Japan. Be prepared to eat lots and lots of Miso soup though.

Also keep in mind that basically everything is cash onry.

For just hanging out and getting the lay of the land I would go to Shinjuku. It's a major station, has a giant bookstore, has a bunch of day and night life nearby, etc.

I second learning Katakana, it's not hard and it will be helpful.

I'm not sure about bad parts of Tokyo. Rappongi is dirtier than the other parts I've seen.

[photek]

Copypasta from my mail :

Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa
TOKYO, JP ,TOKYO TOWER 3 KILOMETERS
3-13-1 Takanawa Minato
TOKYO JP 108-8612

I have googled it and all and it looks great to me. It also covers most my needs (internet!) and I get it very reasonable. Visa and all documents are already settled. And yeah it is a long time and as nobody is paying for the work I do during the period it will eventually pay of once I'm near completion. Also I heard something about Japan Rail Pass, I assume I should get one of these ?

[photek]

Also keep in mind that basically everything is cash onry.

I hope there is an ATM on every corner

[lamaros]

Being able to afford living in Tokyo for 2 years is a "little bit of money"? What?

[Oban]

A JR Rail pass needs to be obtained before you land in Japan.

Shinagawa is not bad and at least your hotel is near a JR station.

As for cash, it is handy and needed for the subway but most places take visa and/or mastercard these days.  The bank you choose *may* allow you to sign up for a JCB card as well which is accepted pretty much everywhere.

After eight days when you get bored of Tokyo, try taking the train out to Hakone or Kamakura.  Enjoy the trees and stay in a ryokan.

If you are not locked in to Tokyo, you might want to spend a week or so in Osaka and see if you might want to set up shop their.  I really prefer Osaka to Tokyo for business and for pleasure, but to each their own.

[Oban]

Being able to afford living in Tokyo for 2 years is a "little bit of money"? What?

Stay away from the Western food and Japan is not that expensive.

[photek]

Being able to afford living in Tokyo for 2 years is a "little bit of money"? What?

Not a little, but note that I live in Norway. One of worlds most expensive countries. I had to work for a seven month period here and save up to affoard two years in Tokyo and sell lots of my loots. Decent appartment in Norway costs about 1500-2000$ per month (rent). A computer costs 3000-4000$ (Core2 quad etc), PS3 costs 900$. Games cost 125-150$. Mobile phones (Nokia N95) costs 1200$. This should give you an idea.

EDIT : Too many butts

Ow yeah, food is also very expensive here. A large BigMac menu (we dont have supersized) costs 20$.

[lamaros]

Being able to afford living in Tokyo for 2 years is a "little bit of money"? What?

Stay away from the Western food and Japan is not that expensive.

Really? I've not visisted as yet but I have a friend who's lived there for the last year and more and he's said it's pretty expensive. He's a reasonable judge so I just assumed it was along the lines of the expensive cities I've lived in/visited.

Not a little, but note that I live in Norway.

Ah yeah, I was forgetting the Norway bit.

[Oban]

If you want to eat hot dogs and drink Budweiser every day, then yeah it is expensive.

[lamaros]

If you want to eat hot dogs and drink Budweiser every day, then yeah it is expensive.

I don't have any friends like that. Also, I'm Australian. We drink beer. 

[Teleku]

If you want to eat hot dogs and drink Budweiser every day, then yeah it is expensive.

I don't have any friends like that. Also, I'm Australian. We drink beer. 

If your going by Budweiser as your fake beer gauge, then I can safely say you guys don't. 

Also I heard something about Japan Rail Pass, I assume I should get one of these ?

As Oban said, you have to buy it before you go to the country.  Its kind of odd, they don't offer the passes domestically at all.  But if your a foreigner, it's an INSANE deal.  Like, for the cost of what 3 or 4 trips on the Shinkansen would cost, you can get a pass that lets you get infinite rides for 21 days straight.  But again, they don't sell it domestically, so prepare accordingly if you want to travel around when you get there (and it is a hell of a deal).

For cash, one helpful tip is to realize that every post office in the country has an ATM (and post offices are all over the place there).  On top of that, the post office ATM's are really good about accepting most cards.  Most Japanese ATM's will only accept the bank of which they belong to (I believe, didn't test it to much), but I was able to use my Bank of America debit card (it was a visa) at all of them, which could pull money right out of my account in dollars and convert it to yet, at an actually pretty good conversion rate.  If you are setting up an account in Japan that you are dumping all your money into this might not matter, but its great to know as a foreigner, since most of the other ATM's will spit your cards back at you.

I lived and went to school in the Osaka/Kobe area, so I cant really say to much about Tokyo (I visited it several times, but I didn't really get to know it in the way that living for a year around Osaka lets me know it), so I can't offer a lot of advice there.  As he said though, maybe come check out the region.  I vastly preferred the Kansai region as a whole (IE Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto.  They all sort of grew into one mega city) to Tokyo, which just doesn't have as much soul or character to me.  The Kansai region is old Japan, so theres a lot more cultural type stuff to see, and has a very unique character (they also have their own dialect, which fucks with would be Japanese learners).  Also, the food there is much better (Okonomiyaki, yakisoba, takoyaki >>>>> all).

Also, while it's true that getting most western food is expensive, the odd stand out to this is McDonald's.  You can still get a hamburger there for 100 yet (less than a dollar).  Towards the later half of my year stay in Japan, when money was starting to run low, I ate more McDonald's than I have in my entire life living in America.  I started to asses things in terms of hamburgers.  Like, I just walked out of a restaurant, still kind of hungry (because the fucking Japanese give small portions on almost everything), thinking, "Man, I could have gotten 9 Cheeseburgers for that price instead."  So hey, if your starting to go broke hit McDonald's.  They are, litterally, on every fucking corner in Japan.  The density is insane there.

Oddly, the only other Fast Food restaurant you see there, which is almost as populous as the McDonald's, is KFC.

[Margalis]

The food in Tokyo isn't too expensive, except that for your money you get half as much as you do in the US. So if you are a fat American looking to stay fat then yeah, it costs a lot. However you get used to it and it becomes normal, although I never adjusted to the fact that most water glasses are absolutely tiny. Also note than the Starbucks in Japan has a "small" size. (Just trivia)

Some things are expensive, like some kinds of fruits and desserts and such. But if you are eating local fare it isn't bad at all. Personally I like nothing more than a giant bowl of Udon. It sounds a lot cheaper than Norway actually. I have no idea about rent though.

The rail pass allows you to take the train, which is different from the subway. If you are going to do any travelling at all you should get one.

Make sure to bring a camera to Harajuku. You can take pictures of the wacky Japanese high-school girls dressed up like happy goth Snow Whites, then check out the shrine/nature area. (Lots of crows)

When I was in Japan I enjoyed visiting Nara and Kyoto. Kyoto has more local flavor, and Nara has packs of mangy Japanese deer guarding a giant Buddha. Tokyo itself is pretty modern and sterile.

[Signe]

Good luck with your move!  I hope you survive!  If anyone here has moved across an ocean into another country, you'll know what I mean.     Seriously, though, I hope it proves easy and goes well for you. 

[Oban]

Also, while it's true that getting most western food is expensive, the odd stand out to this is McDonald's.  You can still get a hamburger there for 100 yet (less than a dollar). 

Because they want you to buy their sugar drinks!  It is a conspiracy!

Also, forgot to mention before... AVOID PIZZA AND ANY ITALIAN FOOD IN JAPAN.  While yes you can get Dominos and Pizza Hut in Japan, their largest size makes an oreo look like it is bigger than a car tire.  And Italian food... blech, it is like they think that the tomato sauce and cheese need to be put in a blender together for five minutes before pouring over the pasta simulant.

Learn to use chopsticks, go to a baseball game and eat a kick ass bento box while everyone else stares at you, the googly eyed gaijin.

You should really snag a Japanese girlfriend before your four weeks are up.  Having a local to show you around is invaluable and your hand will thank you too.  Don't worry about the odd noises she may make during sex, they are perfectly normal.  Also, the pill is kind of hard to get in Japan so no milky way wrappers, always use a proper condom.

Speaking of which, make sure you do not import any porn either in your personal effects or on your computer.  Japanese Customs Officers get angry about that sort of thing.  Non-pixelated pubic hair is bad, mmkay.

While the healthcare system in Japan is nice, you might want to look in to getting supplemental travelers health insurance and http://www.medjetassist.com/ just in case.

Oh, and stay the hell away from guys with tattoos.

[Margalis]

Yeah pizza is really expensive. One night we ordered Dominos for some reason, my Japanese friend's idea. We spent like $60 feeding 5 people.

[Oban]

Yeah pizza is really expensive. One night we ordered Dominos for some reason, my Japanese friend's idea. We spent like $60 feeding 5 people.

That is pretty cheap, did you just order two corn and cheese pizzas?

[schild]

$60 for 5 people is cheap as hell for pizza in America. For Dominos however, it's a crap price.

[Margalis]

What the hell?

Ok, maybe you guys eat two large pizzas each?

I htink we ordered something like one large and one medium with one topping each. At Dominos. In the US that's like $25.

[Murgos]

Yeah pizza is really expensive. One night we ordered Dominos for some reason, my Japanese friend's idea. We spent like $60 feeding 5 people.

That is pretty cheap, did you just order two corn and cheese pizzas?

Heh, I never got up the balls to try the fish eye topping.  Corn was very common as a pizza topping though.  I managed to find a good pizza place but it was run by transplanted Americans.  Also I second the don't eat the Italian sentiment.  Italians think American style Italian food is ketchup on noodles, the Japanese took that idea and ran with it.

However, traditional Japanese noodle dishes are excellent.  Also, the donburi will become a staple, there are a lot of types but the cheap stuff you can get everywhere is white rice in a bowl with stir-fried veggies and usually a little yakitori.  Tasty stuff.

[Oban]

Oh my god, now I am craving an oyako-donburi.

Bastard.