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Doctor Q in Japan
- Thread starter Doctor Q
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DEFINATELY go to the Apple Store in Ginza. It is by far the nicest Apple Store I have ever been to.
Have a great trip. I know you'll love it.
Have a great trip. I know you'll love it.
I will do as you suggest. I'll start by going down to 23.9 hours per day. Luckily, I'm used to cold turkey. We host the family for Thanksgiving each year, and cold (leftover) turkey is what I have for lunch for the following month.wdlove said:
Helloooooooooooo, kitty! I've been to a Giant Robot store here and to be honest I don't know how to characterize what they sell.yellow said:
I was going to say yes, sneak in the baggage, but then skubish (see below) posted just in time! I have an abacus, in case of power failures or if Excel crashes, but it's a Chinese abacus, not a Japanese one. As for electronics, I'm debating whether it would be fun to have a Japanese version of a well-known video game. I wonder if I'll meet Mario and Luigi in person? Or do they live in Italy?powermac666 said:Any chance of sneaking me in your baggage? I'll carry your abacus for you.If I were going to Japan, I'd probably want to spend my time in Akihabara (sp?), glorious citadel of cheesy electronics and video games.
Thanks, very useful. Whether or not it's expected that tourists know and follow the customs, I plan to try my best. For example, one of my guidebooks said to hand gifts to people with two hands; nice to know. It was harder for two friends of mine who went recently. Their ancestry is Japanese but they live in the U.S. and speak no Japanese. But since they look Japanese, everyone expected them to act and speak as the Japanese do.EGT said:
Which brings up another question: Is there a good Japanese <-> English translation website? I haven't had much luck with Google's beta version or www.babelfish.altavista.com.mkrishnan said:Ano... gaikokuryokou ni omedetou gozaimasu ne! Sore wa totemo tanoshii, asobi na koto to nozomimasu.
I will certainly follow both of your suggestions. Some tourists I talked to said they wished they had heard that warning before they went. They had to ship their luggage from hotel to hotel since it was too big to travel with. I'm bringing a small rolling suitcase and a duffel bag. So... yet another question: Is it hard to find laundromats if hotels charge an arm and a leg for doing laundry?skubish said:
Doctor Q said:
There's an excellent one for words and kanji, but I do not know of one that is any good for phrases and sentences. That one of which I am thinking is this:
http://dict.regex.info/cgi-bin/j-e/jis/S=48/inline/dict
I went to Takayama last summer, it was really cool (it's in the next prefecture over from me.) Make sure you try Hida gyuu, which is the local beef. It was GREAT. Getting there early in the day or later is best to avoid the crowds.
As for memory cards and such, most electronics shops will make prints for you, and most likely burn CDs for you, too. Get your memory cards state-side though, they're expensive over here.
I'd get a phone card while still in the US, I think it might be cheaper there. I use a BB phone to call home so I'm not too sure. If you do bring the iBook/PowerBook, you could use Skype. I stayed in hotels in Tokyo & Kobe which offered aDSL in the room. In Tokyo I paid ¥1000 for 24 hours, and in Kobe it was free to the first 10 people who asked Hook up the DSL, fire up Skype and you'll be all set. Broadband over here is blazing fast.
Any other questions?
As for memory cards and such, most electronics shops will make prints for you, and most likely burn CDs for you, too. Get your memory cards state-side though, they're expensive over here.
I'd get a phone card while still in the US, I think it might be cheaper there. I use a BB phone to call home so I'm not too sure. If you do bring the iBook/PowerBook, you could use Skype. I stayed in hotels in Tokyo & Kobe which offered aDSL in the room. In Tokyo I paid ¥1000 for 24 hours, and in Kobe it was free to the first 10 people who asked
Hook up the DSL, fire up Skype and you'll be all set. Broadband over here is blazing fast.Any other questions?
Doctor Q said:
I use JEDI for my light translations (single word, short phrases).
a thread on going to japan on one the other forums i visit. It's a long thread, but there's some interesting info to be gleamed.
another newer thread on stuff to do.
Take me with you! I can collapse my body to fit in a suit case! I want to see hot japanese school girls! I want to see tokyo! I want to see everything!!!!!!!!
PLEASE I BEG YOU!
And if not, at least take some pics of some hot girls for me.
PLEASE I BEG YOU!
And if not, at least take some pics of some hot girls for me.
krimson said:
Thanks, krimson!
This seems to use the same back-end that the one I have been using uses, but it looks like the interface is greatly improved.
I've gotten three recommendations in the past few days that visiting Kamakura is a must. After looking over our plans, we decided to shoehorn yet another city into our busy schedule. It means giving up some wandering-around time in Shinjuku and the visit to the Koishikawa Korakuen stroll garden in central Tokyo I had planned, but the change seems worth it. So now we have 14 cities on our itinerary (5 starting with letter K).
Thanks for the translation link, mkrishnan. And krimson for that and also the jdorama threads.
While I'm in Japan, shall I drop in on the president of Sony Corp. and offer my opinions on the music negotiations?
Thanks for the translation link, mkrishnan. And krimson for that and also the jdorama threads.
I wonder if they serve it at the ryokans? I'll probably cause a great stir by accidentally wearing my hiking boots onto the tatami mats, but nevertheless we're going to try Japanese style accommodations.5300cs said:
Great, then that won't be a problem. Yes, I got the memory cards here already - 1.25GB of it, and it's only a 3 megapixel camera. I took test shots at the three jpeg compression levels my camera offers, both indoors and outdoors, to test which level to use, since that affects how many shots I can take in a given amount of RAM. I'll take all shots with medium compression, but with maximum resolution, since it's not a high-resolution camera but I hope to make some 8x10s out of the best shots. I can save RAM by deleting the bad shots at the end of each day, like 49 of the 50 shots I will have taken of one deer in Nara Park.5300cs said:As for memory cards and such, most electronics shops will make prints for you, and most likely burn CDs for you, too. Get your memory cards state-side though, they're expensive over here.
Hmmm. I heard the opposite from other travel tipsters. Has anybody out there really done comparison shopping? The first one I saw here was $1 per connection plus $1 per minute, and I certainly want to do better than that.5300cs said:
If you see everything, it will spoil the air of mystery. But since you are as compressible as my jpegs, sure you can come along. Meet me at 35.3 north latitude, 138.7 east longitude and we'll get started from there.Onizuka said:
While I'm in Japan, shall I drop in on the president of Sony Corp. and offer my opinions on the music negotiations?
I haven't been able to find out something seemingly simple about Japan Rail Passes. Even the agency we bought them from doesn't seem to know!
If Joe Tourist buys a 7-day JR Rail Pass and activates it on a Wednesday at noon in Japan, what day and time does it expire the next week?
Is it good until the next Tuesday at noon, the next Tuesday at end of day midnight, the next Wednesday at noon, the next Wednesday at end of day midnight, or some other time?
I don't need guesses, I need a definitive answer, because it will determine which days we take which trips to certain cities, to get the best use of our passes.
If Joe Tourist buys a 7-day JR Rail Pass and activates it on a Wednesday at noon in Japan, what day and time does it expire the next week?
Is it good until the next Tuesday at noon, the next Tuesday at end of day midnight, the next Wednesday at noon, the next Wednesday at end of day midnight, or some other time?
I don't need guesses, I need a definitive answer, because it will determine which days we take which trips to certain cities, to get the best use of our passes.
Long distance travel cards are ace. Never bring one from home. They're never cheaper, as far as I know.
To call Canada (home) from Australia right now, it costs me $0.025 AUD per minute (I think), and no connection fee. Convert it to USD, and its even cheaper.
May be different in Japan, but even if it's 10x more expensive, it's never more expensive than the cards you bring from home. Those cards are for over-concerned parents who don't want their children to be unable to call them from overseas when they want/need to.
Sounds like an international version of the Ugly American. OK, I will hide the fact that I'm loud, rude, boorish, and culturally insensitive. And I won't complain that they are speaking a "foreign" language.Mechcozmo said:
Seriously, I will have the dangling camera (although it might be in front of my face much of the time), but we do favor wandering around over formal tours, except that we'll use the Goodwill Guides (English-speaking volunteers) at some of the historic sites because we will learn more that way.
That's why we will visit the Apple Stores whenever we come close to one. I'll need to go in there and breath the air to rejuvenate myself!w_parietti22 said:No iBook!!! I would die!
And by "breathe the air," you mean "Log onto MacRumors because I'm addicted."
Don't worry, we understand.
And don't forget to use their Macs to upload your photos to. Bring a blank CD along, and all is well.
Don't worry, we understand.
And don't forget to use their Macs to upload your photos to. Bring a blank CD along, and all is well.
Others have said this, but I'll reiterate it. My favorite times when traveling have always come when I've stopped touristing for a time, and just people watched - a family feeding ducks at a pond, grandmothers haggling at a market, etc. The only thing I can still perfectly visualize from Japan some 25 years ago are the Pachinko parlors. You'll enjoy your trip more if you are not exhausted rushing from sight to sight, and get a better sense of the ways people are the same and the ways they are different, which is the greater joy of travel.
So see the things you feel you need to see, but block off big chunks of time with no destination in mind and just park yourself at a spot that you noticed earlier in the day that held some promise.
So see the things you feel you need to see, but block off big chunks of time with no destination in mind and just park yourself at a spot that you noticed earlier in the day that held some promise.
Recommend that you take all pictures at the best your camera can do.Doctor Q said:
You can always shrink later on. However, you can never go back a get a more detailed shot. Well, at least until you come back over here.
See PM for many more things.
Sushi
I came to a clever tip in my research: to take advantage of jet lag to visit a fish market, like the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, in the very early morning, while you aren't sleeping anyway! Wholesale markets are best if you get there early when all the day's activities begin.
Our only plan for dealing with jet lag so far is that we scheduled very little the first day and a half, so we can stumble around in a daze while congratulating ourselves on finally making it to Japan.
Our only plan for dealing with jet lag so far is that we scheduled very little the first day and a half, so we can stumble around in a daze while congratulating ourselves on finally making it to Japan.
I just opened a fortune cookie that came with a Chinese take-out lunch. It says "Approach all areas of life with a bold enthusiasm."
I guess good advice comes from many sources!
I guess good advice comes from many sources!
Doctor Q said:I came to a clever tip in my research: to take advantage of jet lag to visit a fish market, like the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, in the very early morning, while you aren't sleeping anyway! Wholesale markets are best if you get there early when all the day's activities begin.
Our only plan for dealing with jet lag so far is that we scheduled very little the first day and a half, so we can stumble around in a daze while congratulating ourselves on finally making it to Japan.
dont wear anything (esp shoes) you wouldn't want smelling like faw fish if you go to the market. oh, and make sure your shoes have good traction on wet concrete.
The Tsukiji fish market is a great place to visit. You can take the subway to the station then it is a short walk. At the market area, or just outside may be a better way to say it, there are a few sushi restaurants. You might want to try some sushi for breakfast.Doctor Q said:I came to a clever tip in my research: to take advantage of jet lag to visit a fish market, like the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, in the very early morning, while you aren't sleeping anyway! Wholesale markets are best if you get there early when all the day's activities begin.
Our only plan for dealing with jet lag so far is that we scheduled very little the first day and a half, so we can stumble around in a daze while congratulating ourselves on finally making it to Japan.
And as you say, you will be up anyway. Most folks will awaken in the early morning hours naturally the first few days. About 1400-1500 you will hit the brick wall and want to sleep. By around 1800, you will probably be toast.
As for jet lag, I have no suggestions. Used to tavel back and forth a lot for my job. I tried many things. Nothing seemed to work well for me. I found that it was easiest for me to just go my normal routine until I pooped out. That would happen around the 3-4 day point. Then I would just go home early and crash.
The ease yourself into it routine never worked for me on either end.
Also, I bet that you will find it hard to "relax" after arriving as you will be so pumped.
BTW, the worst experience that I have ever heard of, was a couple that I met on top of Mount Fuji who were from Europe. The husband was suffering altitude sickness and both were very tired. Aparently their travel agent was a bit agressive with their tour plan. They had arrived at Narita, checked into their hotel, then went on their overnight climb the following day.
Sushi
krimson said:
Thanks for the warning.Yeah, but how do I know it will be fresh?sushi said:
I remember hearing about this diet a few years ago. I wonder if it really helps?
I have no pics to share so far, but that's because the trip isn't until next month. I hope you won't mind waiting a bit longer.Eevee said: