Moving to Japan in a few months. What can I do NOW to prepare?

[soundune]

Ciao superfutur-ers

I will be moving to Japan after graduation in March. I will be living there for 2 to 3 years. Is there anything I can do in the present, besides the obvious - take japanese language classes - to prepare for the years ahead? Thanks in advance for any and all help!

buona notte

[poly800rock]

watch anime......and start watching porno with your hands in front of any genitalia...

[xcoldricex]

Sakura-chan Gambate!!!

[darkanimal]

Start packing, start converting all your currency to the mighty yen.

[Servo2000]

What are you doing in Japan, by the way?

[Blues]

Well, I've never been to Japan, so I'm not an expert, but maybe a useful item that you might want to find out about is the J Rail pass.

For a set fee, they give you unlimited rides on most railways in Japan. The usefulness depends on how often you plan to travel throughout Japan. They come in 7 day, 14 day and 21 day passes (Like a Metrocard, if youre from New York City...I'm not sure if other places use it in the US. Anyway...). You can even reserve seats before you board. You can only purchase this pass OUTSIDE of Japan. The price may or may not be an issue for you. Depending on your plans, you may want to get other passes instead. The J-Rail Pass cant be used everywhere and it cant get you certain accommodations. Here is a break down of most of them http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

You might also want to see if you can open a bank account there. You can only do this if you have an Alien Registration Card (required for those staying in JP over 90 days). If you want, you can use your own credit card at some post offices and use the international ATMs if it's more convenient.

I'd also suggest getting a mobile phone too. Your cell might not work in Japan, so try getting a cheap prepaid one, or whichever one suits your needs.

Miscallaneous stuff, make sure to get outlet/plug converters. It shouldnt really be a problem I think, but it doesnt hurt to be prepared. Shop at Uniqlo, have fun, enjoy yourself and what not.

[Servo2000]

For having never been to Japan, you seem awfully well informed, Blues.

Hell, you even appear to speak Japanese.

[Blues]

Thanks for the compliment but my language skills are still lacking though. In highscool, I began to teach myself some Japanese. So I read about what it would be like to visit. I don't have free time to study these days...

[artificialsky]

get used to the idea of unshaved pussy.

[poly800rock]

ha. funny and true!

[so-so]

Where are you going to be living? Judging from the "after graduation" and "2-3 years" sounds like a JET type of thing to me. So, pretty much, get to know the area you'll be living in I suppose. If you're going rural, you could start researching int'l drivers licences in Japan, supposedly the driving test is pretty hard, both people I know who've taken it have failed it at least 1 time each, which I hear is really common.

Also, if you're going to a specific area that might have a dialect, look into that too so there's a bit less of a "what the fuck is going on..." type of thing.

UMMMMMMMMMMMMM, since you're from Seattle you'll probably do fine for clothes, just remember that summers will be far more humid and winters will be colder (with some exceptions, okinawa etc)

Start watching Japanese TV now on youtube. It's the best thing ever.

Also, oddly enough I'm leaving april to study abroad for a year in late march/early april. (I'm a UW'er too).

[Cameland]

thanks for the useful info blues. ill definatey be getting one of those passes once i go.

[isdenn]

japan uses the same style power plugs as the us so plug converters shouldnt be necessary. they run on some weird voltage but my computer worked fine over there, and a camera i bought there works fine here. i didnt really plug anything else in so i cant provide a fully authoritative opinion on that whole thing though.

learning to speak japanese would be good since youre staying there for so long. if you can learn to read some katakana and hiragana i think you'd have a much better time. strictly speaking though, you can get by with english and a very basic repertoire of japanese.

[djrajio]

You won't be able to use a JR Pass if you buy one since it requires a visitors VISA stamp on your passport. Assuming you're living in Japan legitimately, you'll get an employee and/or student VISA. JR stations won't honor this.

Welcome to Japan.

Enjoy your stay.

[Blues]

Thanks for the clarification djradio. I guess the pass is available only to short-term guests. It would be crazy if you had a guy staying for three years and getting such a discount. I need to find out more stuff... not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon.

[soundune]

thanks for all the great info, everyone!

[poly800rock]

Thanks for the clarification djradio. I guess the pass is available only to short-term guests. It would be crazy if you had a guy staying for three years and getting such a discount. I need to find out more stuff... not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon.

i was hanging out an aussie kid in tokyo that was buying a child's ticket for literally everyday for like 9 months. kid was 22, looked like he was ~30. and the thing about japanese culture you'll find out compared to western cultures, is that if you're a tourist, and even in general i feel, correct me if i'm wrong djrajio, is that japanese culture is very non confrontational. so the kid went everyday on the subway with a kid's pass and either 1) no one noticed 2) no one would say anything about it to him after he slid his pass through or 3) worst case senario, they made him pay the difference of an adult fare.

Japan is a strange place. the lights and flash of tokyo are amazing, and still are amazing when i go back. However, after the 2nd time, i don't know if i can really handle living there. It seems like if you don't fit in, speak the language, and know the ropes, its a pretty alienating town. If you plan on committing to any 2 of the 3, you should find yourself in probably the most amazing situation ever. Although I hear the work hours are insane.

what to be excited about?

amazing food- there wasn't one thing i ate in tokyo that i didn't like. usually i'm fairly indifferent towards a lot of food, but EVERYTHING in Japan that I ate I really enjoyed. I can't even tell you what the food was, or what it was called. Ramen is life man.

clothes- this goes without saying..if you're a thin build guy or short guy, japanese/asian clothing in general will actually fit you

girls- japanese girls are hot

milfs- alot of them have kids already

nightlife- is insane. subways stop at midnight and bars don't close til 5AM.

just enjoy it, where will you be living?

[Analyst]

Sounds like its going to be quite an adventure.

Moving and working outside of your home country feels like you're on a permanent vacation. Have fun!

[englandmj7]

What are you doing in Japan, by the way?

I would be curious to know as well....sounds like fun.

[mizanation]

soundune, don't worry about it too much, you're gonna be fine. i can guarantee you 100% that you're gonna have an awesome, awesome time--with or without any preparation.

i'd say, do things that you won't be able to do for a while. hang out with your family and friends, hang out at your favorite spots. oh, and before you leave seattle, go to dick's and have a dick's delux with fries and a shake. and jack in the box for a sourdough burger. and red mill for a red mill delux. and minnie's for their tomato basil soup. oh, and definitely get some fish and chips at ivars!

man, haven't been home in years.......

[soundune]

well, i wasn't going to say, because i didn't want to incur any political wrath from the masses! but i'll be graduating from the University of Washington in March (1 quarter less than a 5th year!). While at the U I was(am) in Naval ROTC.

So, sometime soon after graduation I'll be moving to Yokosuka, Nippon. 45 minutes outside of Tokyo, 30 from Yokohama.

I am extremely excited (I don't think I'll quite understand how excited I really am until I'm there) to move to Nippon. I've lived abroad, except for Uni, for my entire life. All in Europe, and I am very excited to explore another culture and country of this amazing earth. Plus, Tokyo is fucking CRAZY. I love big cities and they don't come much bigger.

and, of course, I love style, kicks, clothes, etc. so I'm way excited for that reason, also.

AGAIN, thanks so much for all the help, and keep it coming. I know I always love helping people out when they travel/move to places I've lived/travelled. thanks!!

[englandmj7]

well, i wasn't going to say, because i didn't want to incur any political wrath from the masses! but i'll be graduating from the University of Washington in March (1 quarter less than a 5th year!). While at the U I was(am) in Naval ROTC.

So, sometime soon after graduation I'll be moving to Yokosuka, Nippon. 45 minutes outside of Tokyo, 30 from Yokohama.

I am extremely excited (I don't think I'll quite understand how excited I really am until I'm there) to move to Nippon. I've lived abroad, except for Uni, for my entire life. All in Europe, and I am very excited to explore another culture and country of this amazing earth. Plus, Tokyo is fucking CRAZY. I love big cities and they don't come much bigger.

and, of course, I love style, kicks, clothes, etc. so I'm way excited for that reason, also.

AGAIN, thanks so much for all the help, and keep it coming. I know I always love helping people out when they travel/move to places I've lived/travelled. thanks!!

Awesome man.

[Kasper]

smoke as much weed as you can, it's insanely expensive over there, not to mention stupidly dangerous (we're talking about prison time and most likely deportation). army personnel have a different status than student/worker so you might want to inquire about that (in regard to opening a bank account, getting a keitai, etc). some stuff that is somewhat hard to get (deodorant, american food, etc) should be available at the base so i wouldn't worry about that. and about plug, current is almost the same (100 V) so almost all appliances will work perfectly, although i have heard of thing that needed a lots of power working slowly (things with a motor, or a desktop). also, plugs in japan don't have a ground (only 2 horizontal plugs),so buying a couple of adapter (they're like 1$ at home depot) can be useful if you're bringing things with a 3 plugs power supply (plugs have the base might have 3 plugs though).

so-so : may i ask what school are you going to study at? i was at Waseda last year and had a few friends from UW...

[dismalfuture]

^ dude, he's going to be a Naval officer, I don't know how much weed he smokes but I'm guessing it's none...

Seeing as though you will have the perks of military facilities, as opposed to being a student or civilian in Japan, that changes things quite a bit regarding what ou should prepare for life in Japan.

Having lived in Asia for awhile now (Korea and not Japan, though I feel most of the same applies), I feel the thing I miss about the States (apart from my family and friends, which is given) is the food. Food in Japan is excellent too in its own way, but you start to miss American food badly. You can buy any foodstuff you want at supermarkets in Asia for some price, but I miss the good $4.65 bowls of pho from home, proper SANDWICHES, Mexican food, real BBQ, proper ethnic, etc. Some of that is represented in Japan but it's going to be disappointing. For me, I can't sit down to good red meat without paying $50-$100 for it, whether that's me having to cook it for myself, or eating out. I mainly drink beer, and while Japanese beer is good, you want selection and not have to pay $3 for a can of beer at a convenience store or $8-10 for one at a bar everytime you get thirsty. The days of me going bar-hopping in college with $40 in my pocket and coming home with change has evolved into me running around town in Asia spending more like $200 a night and regretting it all the next morning. I'm guessing you will have access to military perks such as the BX, etc, which will help bring your cost of living down tremendously compared to civilians in Japan, and keep it pretty on par with life in the US.

Is this your first time living outside of the country for an extended period of time? I guess I'd just take it slow and how it goes, but make as many friends as possible no matter who they are, they become your lifeline when you're stuck out here.

Apart from the lower cost of living that military personnel enjoy in high-cost cities like Tokyo, the one thing I envy most is the privilege to bring a car over. I'd take a nice car to Japan and keep it fueled on BX gas. You guys can get super deals on cars and can enjoy them as Americans. I had a 540i during college, and in Asia, I walk everywhere or taxi it, not by choice, but because a car I would find acceptable costs $80-$100K in Asia and then $1500 a month to fill it with gas, insure it, and park it.

[djrajio]

So, sometime soon after graduation I'll be moving to Yokosuka, Nippon. 45 minutes outside of Tokyo, 30 from Yokohama.

So you'll be working for the military/Navy. I lived 30 minutes south of Yokosuka chou in YRP Nobi for a summer.

[tony_hige]

Get ready to become Charisma Man (a derogatory term, actually...it'll make sense once you get there). Stay away from Roppongi, no matter what your fellow gaijin pals tell you...Roppongi sucks ass.

[Kasper]

from my very limited knowledge of military life, i was under the impression that most young soldiers smoked/partied hard. ah well

i'm gonna back dismalfuture and say to be careful when going out, spending 150/200$ a night somewhat became the norm for me....

[soundune]

dismal,

university is actually the first time I lived IN america, spent my first 18 years in Europe. I'm going to UW, as I said, and my parents have live in Germany, so I'm used to living a LONG way from "home." so getting used to that won't be so much of a change. but, i'm sure living in asia where a 6'3" white guy will stick out like a sore thumb will probably be different than europe!

but, I am very excited. i want to live OFF base, and have Japanese neighbors I can hopefully get to know and become friends with. I would like to meet as many native people as I can, see as much of the country as I can. basically make the most of my time there.

any further tips along those lines would be great!

talking to friends here at uni, they all say i can get by without a car, living in Yokosuka. and from what you all were saying, it is quite expensive to own and operate one. perhaps biking to and from work is the answer and taking the train around the country (to tokyo) is best?

thanks!

[soundune]

any tips/info on "appartment hunting" in Japan would also help. i can't wait to have a place of my own after living with roomates for the past 5 years! what can i expect in terms of living arrangements? grazie

[so-so]

so-so : may i ask what school are you going to study at? i was at Waseda last year and had a few friends from UW...

Going to Aogaku for a year. Waseda was my inital choice (back in hs when i first considered this stuff), but because the restrictions to go to Aogaku are muchhhh higher (need to have taked 4th year japanese classes as opposed to only 1st year for Waseda) I chose Aoyama. Pretty much just because I have a lot of japanese friends who go/went there and because the other americans there will be similarly motivated and (hopefully) not clingly to each other because they are uncomfortable.