Safari changes sites to japanese addresses automatically!

[shiv]

Hi,
I just moved to Japan last week. At the moment, we are piggybacking a connection from someone's internet connection in our apartment building. When I try, for example, http://www.google.com, it automatically goes to http://www.google.co.jp - it seems I cannot type in google.com without getting the japanese site showing up. This is the same with some other sites as well.

Anyone know what this could be?? Is this normol...?

Thanks for any tips or solutions,

Shiv

 

[mkrishnan]

Yes, it's normal. It has nothing to do with Safari. Either Google and/or your ISP (my guess would be Google) are redirecting you to the Japanese versions of the websites because you have a Japanese IP address. The idea is that it reduces cultural hegemony on the internet. That is, otherwise, Japanese and British and so on would have to do everything as google.co.jp and yahoo.co.uk or whatever. So sites detect your address and feed you to your country's homepage. Except of course that in your case, you don't read (it seems) your country's language.

Many sites let you pick a country on the splash page and then save it. Otherwise also if you have accounts with the sites (e.g. if you have a GMail account with Google), when you are logged in with your account, it should override the country bias and take you to the national site for the nation you lived in when you made the account....

 

[shiv]

That makes so much sense!
My gmail works fine. That's one thing my wife was worried about, that the gmail would also start redirecting us to a japanese version.

Thanks for the info, that saves us the concern of it being something else!

 

[mkrishnan]

You might also be able to find proxy service in the US (which means that you act through a secondary server with an IP address in the US or wherever, so that everyone thinks you're coming from there also), but it probably would not be free. I can't think of an easy way to make your computer look like it is logging in from the US or another country otherwise, though... good luck!

 

[shiv]

I think the healthiest solution at this point is we have to start really picking up on our kanji!

Thanks for the help and tips!

 

[mkrishnan]

By the way, I visited your PBase. Nice work! I hope you get to use some of those lenses while you are over there! Ganbatte, ne!

 

[seanf]

When I try, for example, http://www.google.com, it automatically goes to http://www.google.co.jp - it seems I cannot type in google.com without getting the japanese site showing up.

As others have said Google always redirects you to the Google Country site based on your location. If you don't want this use http://www.google.com/ncr and you'll always go to the .com site.

Sean

 

[bousozoku]

I think the healthiest solution at this point is we have to start really picking up on our kanji!

Thanks for the help and tips!

Change Mac OS X to Japanese and you'll soon become accustomed to it--sink or swim, ne?

 

[mkrishnan]

Change Mac OS X to Japanese and you'll soon become accustomed to it--sink or swim, ne?

I'm actually tempted to do that just to practice my Japanese.

 

[Calvinatir]

change your DNS to a US DNS server..i.e. 4.2.2.2 or 4.2.2.1 they are both US DNS Servers run by Verizon

 

[mkrishnan]

change your DNS to a US DNS server..i.e. 4.2.2.2 or 4.2.2.1 they are both US DNS Servers run by Verizon

Oooh, I didn't think about this. Is this sufficient? And will these DNS's work even when you are not using Verizon as an ISP, for instance?

 

[Calvinatir]

Oooh, I didn't think about this. Is this sufficient? And will these DNS's work even when you are not using Verizon as an ISP, for instance?

Yes they will, they are standard DNS servers

 

[bousozoku]

I'm actually tempted to do that just to practice my Japanese.

Remember where certain things, such as System Preferences, are. It may be important to returning to a language you know well.