Could use some help with my trip. (June '08)

[Housetek]

for the love of....
christ...

okay check out the Houseteks guides to Tokyo

goes over price, budges, and all that good stuff you mentioned.

as for phone i also have a full page on phones and stuff...

Also for further help check out the link in my signature for my youtube videos.

it also has a Video on traveling around and stuff and a Video specifically on Cell phones bc people are to lazy to rest the guides.

any specific questions feel free to ask.

dosome searching =D

-htk

[Housetek]

also if you privately wana chat contact me thru pm and ill walk u thru the proces s of what you need to do.

[Nao]

-removed, various reasons

[MMM]

In regards to a cell phone...if you are going to spend several hundred dollars so your mother can reach you 24/7, (and trust me, it won't be in the middle of the night for HER) I think you need to rethink it. If there IS an emergency, what are you going to do from 6000 miles away to help?

Give her your email and stop by an manga/internet cafe daily to check your email. They are cheap and most require membership, which is free.

I may be reading more into it than I should, but this sounds as much like a "vacation away" as a "vacation to".

Here is another example.

Many of the American troops in Iraq have daily access to email and video-phones. I have seen generals who have been in several wars say that this "connectivity" to home is actually worse for morale. The troops aren't able to seperate themselves from home, as their wives get on the Internet to aske them if they should paint the kitchen egg or off-white. They don't appreciate what the soldiers are trying to do.

A little seperation isn't a bad thing. It might make your trip better.

If I have assumed too much, I apologize, but I think getting a phone so people at home can reach you might not be the best idea. Let's see if they can go a month without you. I also think it is better for you mentally to "immerse" yourself, which may be a better mental health path if you really can cut ties, on a temporary basis, from home.

Part of it is that you are going to be going on a personal journey only you can understand. The phone calls from home I had the first 6 months or so I lived in Japan were very frustrating, as I couldn't explain my experiences in any capacity they could understand. That was frustrating on a certain level, as I was neck deep in something very exciting, but was reminded that the experience was my own and my own alone. Things eventually worked out (it wasn't as big a deal as I am making it sound), but you have a chance to be a whole new you for a month...(and you certainly will be a new you by the end)...and I think that might be easier if you can say "See you in four weeks!" and do it.

[Nao]

-removed, various reasons

[MMM]

If you can get a phone for 130 dollars, that isn't so bad.

But at nineteen needing to talk to your mother every day?

Everyone has their own thing. But my suspicions were right it seems, so the question is, how deep down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

What's the point of throwing yourself into a personal challenge, a walkabout, a rite of passage, if your "Escape Free" button is sitting in your pocket, 24-7.

If you want to go to Japan for a month...GO TO JAPAN FOR A MONTH.

I only say it in this direct way because, since my suspiscions were correct, my guess is that, indeed, your vacation will be cut short.

I have a friend who married a woman from California several years ago and now they live where I do in the Northwest. She has several siblings, but her "exodus" to a different state was almost seen as a betrayal. To put it briefly, her mother has been "on her death-bed" at least a half dozen times in the last couple years, requiring quick trips home or extended Christmas trips that go into the middle of January because mom "can't bear to see you go".

Imagine this. Imagine you COULD get a phone for 130 dollars. And you could talk to your mom every day. You might be eating breakfast or going to a club or visiting a temple or whatever. Phone rings. Phone rings. Phone rings.

Now imagine NOT having that phone. Imagine having the freedom of visiting Tokyo without knowing the phone could ring at any moment calling you back home.

I am not saying you don't or shouldn't love your mother...I would never be so crude... but you are 95% on the way to a life and mind-expanding experience. Save 130 dollars and take yourself to 100%.

[anrakushi]

when i travelled to china i used this insurance:
Travel Insurance - Columbus Direct (Australia)

but unfortunately it is of little benefit to you as it doesn't appear to operate in the US.. but it does in UK, NZ and AUST.

I think if you are prepared to spend $100+ on your mothers well being by having a phone, you should consider spending the cost of insurance for your own well being. while, as with all things like warranties etc you are very unlikely to need it, if the price is not too bad is it not a bad idea incase something does go wrong. especially if you get sick over there and it is a bit serious the costs can add up very quickly. If your luggage is lost, etc.. these are things insurance can cover.

i worked shorty in the insurance department of my university in australia for staff and students going overseas on university related trips. looking at all the files of things that went wrong and the extreme costs when they did, i think it is not a bad idea to have. once again though it is very unlikely and you probably have more chance winning some money in the casino than having a problem occur.

[anrakushi]

with what MMM said, you should definitely do that. i did not have much contact with my family while in Japan, none while in China the first 2 times (2.5 months worth) and that made the experience richer. so much so that i was converted to the east's way of living and in one way or another i will spend the rest of my days there.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by anrakushi

with what MMM said, you should definitely do that. i did not have much contact with my family while in Japan, none while in China the first 2 times (2.5 months worth) and that made the experience richer. so much so that i was converted to the east's way of living and in one way or another i will spend the rest of my days there.

It's a hard thing to explain, and I appreciate the support anrakushi. It's kind of like "trust us on this one", because if I say too much more, it might sound personal, and it that's the last thing I want to do.

[Housetek]

well the guide is a basis, for the most part it holds true, just the shopping is my personal preference, if its not yours then just take that out of the equation.

you finding 1000 ticket is common... but search again in a few months

and it'll be 2000 Tickets change from season, and depending on what day.

Also i DID mention that you CAN get tickets for as low as 600 (w/o taxes) and can cost upwards to 2000.


Furthermore in other cellphone posts people ask me the same thing, due to some new law people outside of the country cant get phones with out a alien registration card or what ever.


I got mine new prepaid phone from Soft bank in March of 2007. all i needed was my Passport and the address of where i was currently staying.


Also the phone that i show in my video is your basic Prepaid phone.

7,000 Yen roughly 67 bucks or something.

Comes with decent features. Camera, text, email, Infrared so you can scan those lil menus outside of restraunts and some stores also it has a slot for a micro sd memory card to store things.

I went to the Shop in roppongi to get my phone.

This is how it all went down.

I knew from the website that with the new law i needed passport and a address of where i was living.

I brought my reciept from Sakura house just in case (but they didnt ask for it)

they just needed an adress.

I came in, and asked for a English speakin sales person.

I asked for a prepaid phone with 3k yen of call time on it and i wanted the 7k yen basic phone.

She took my passport, scanned it gave it back to me, i filled out a quick form and signed it. (was in english)

After that they set me up with a new email that can be sent to my phone and taught me how to add minutes to my phone using the prepaid phone card.

within 30 minutes i was out, and 30 mins after my phone was activated, it was up and working.

They say wait an 30 mins to a few hours toget it running.

But usually it works in 30 mins.

I was there for 3 months on my own and using my phone method and just textin people to call me. I only used 2 prepaid phone cards in the span of 3 months.

Which cost around 55 dollars or so.

some people are different and will use more or what ever but i just had people call me back instead of me calling them cuz out going calls can be costly.

my parents and my friends were able to call me at any time they wanted 2.

and in case of emergencies where i needed to call my parents i sent up a skype out account to My parents house in America.

it all worked out perfectly cuz i was in japan for 3 months and skype in/out numbers only cost 12 dollars for 3 months.