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| Thread ID: 87234 | 2008-02-13 20:56:00 | I'm off to Japan, need some tips | Jan Birkeland (4741) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 640020 | 2008-02-13 20:56:00 | So I'm off to Japan for two weeks from next week. Just thought I'd check here to see if anyone's been and can recommend stuff to do/see. I'll be up North in Niesko for the first week, skiing, and in Tokyo for a week after that. Only thing I have locked down is to go to Ahikabara electric town in Tokyo. Also, there's a lot of confusion around cellphones and if they work in Japan, does anyone here have experience with what phones work? (ie GSM or cdma etc) |
Jan Birkeland (4741) | ||
| 640021 | 2008-02-13 21:07:00 | 04 in Japan other's GSM didn't work .. not sure now. I heard something new now may work. But on the other hand, I think Voda does not roam in JP anyway .. so you may limited to getting a prepay or contract there. JP does have Vodafone there but when I was there they ran on a different network. Not sure now. Get the rail pass if not have not .. JP Travel Bureau or something was cheapest if you get via travel agent it can cost 50% more. This has to be enrolled inside NZ, cannot be done in JP. You get access to unlimited usage with the shinkansens (bullet trains). For prices, electronics not that worth it, not the cheapest. No warranties, I bought a digital SLR and had to be sent back to Japan for servicing. Best advice is learn Japanese. They don't speak English. Not even taxi drivers, train workers or even the Police. I spent 3 weeks for real travelling experience - culture and stuff - I went from Tokyo land then train to Sapporo and then back to Tokyo to see outskirts of as well, then to Fukuoka (Hakata) then to Beppu to Hiroshima and that Miriyama Island then Kyoto then to the outskirts like Hemiji etc., to Kyoto to Osaka and flew back home. My regret was spent too too much time in Tokyo and Hakata should of seen more like Nagasaki and Kagoshima but that is my travel style .... Edited, yeah I went to Nara as well :), Nikko, Mt Fuji. |
Nomad (952) | ||
| 640022 | 2008-02-13 21:14:00 | The only English words you'll recognise there is Nissan and Toyota. | qazwsxokmijn (102) | ||
| 640023 | 2008-02-13 21:16:00 | For Ahikabara check warranties, they may not be supplied with the official manufacturers warranty. That's what I head from others. So in NZ you may not be able to send back to JP for servicing. Worldwide digital stuff are becoming warranty from the country purchase of origin only. That is if you bought the official item then you have the official warranty but you need to send back. Ahikabara may have grey warranties .. in other words parallel imports. But do check. Edit. If you wanna eat .. they tend to have plastic color models of food in bowls and stuff outside on the window with the prices, so you may end up doing a lot of pointing :D Some of the higher places may speak english thou and may have english menu's but most do not. Meals are great they are served in sets and stuff .. and they look v nice, v attractive even breakfast how its wrapped with seaweed strings. Sometimes I think what does NZ have, great landscapes away from city, NZ has no nice architecture, food, culture, history. Its not a France, Italy or Morocca, or night life city, city of lights or shopping place like Shanghai or HKG or JP or NYC. Oh yeah .. would be good to get the hotel address and places you wanna go like train station etc. written in Japanese so the taxi driver can know how. One time I was in Osaka and I booked into a less known hotel and he had to ask another driver and then had to go into the Police Station and ask but he gave me a big discount for the fare. :) |
Nomad (952) | ||
| 640024 | 2008-02-13 21:18:00 | The only English words you'll recognise there is Nissan and Toyota. And those are really Japanese.... :lol: |
wratterus (105) | ||
| 640025 | 2008-02-13 21:26:00 | Read up on the place where you are going to stay . As mentioned earlier, rail pass all the way and try get some phrases under your belt if you dont know any of the language . I was lucky to find an old army mate of mine living over there but still struggled trying to communicate for simply things . |
rob_on_guitar (4196) | ||
| 640026 | 2008-02-13 21:55:00 | Be prepared for some pretty tough security at many locations . Learn to love saki and don't eat whale meat . Practice this phrase: Haji me-ma shi te . (Watashi wa) Jan Birkeland des . Niu Jirandu des . Dozo yoroshiko . This translates roughly to a polite greeting: How do you do . My name is Jan Birkeland . I'm from New Zealand . I'm pleased to meet you . Excuse the spelling of my Japanese to English! - it can be written in a few different ways . The (watashi wa) is either very formal or child-like - it's not often used in casual conversation . Accompany the above with a very slight bow of the head . (I had to divide one of the Japanese words cos the PF1 word ban *'d it out! :lol: ) And be careful about saying "hi" if a street walker approaches you - in Japanese it means yes! :D |
Greg (193) | ||
| 640027 | 2008-02-13 22:05:00 | try get some phrases under your belt if you dont know any of the language. Good point. Jan, if you need some more casual day to day phrases let me know - I can dig out my old tutorial book. |
Greg (193) | ||
| 640028 | 2008-02-13 22:16:00 | My friend's Vodafone Blackberry didn't work there when he travelled in late November last year (to Tokyo). | somebody (208) | ||
| 640029 | 2008-02-13 22:44:00 | For prices, electronics not that worth it, not the cheapest . Probably better to rummage through their rubbish dumps for stuff thats obsolete there and not even out here . :rolleyes: |
pctek (84) | ||
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