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05-21-2011, 10:18 PM
I work for Toshiba, so I go to Japan for both play and work. Why did I avoid Azubu and the gaijin strongholds cause as you stated they seem to be full of the F-tards you spoke of... The guys that want to bag themselves a Japanese woman and the woman who go hang out there so they can meet a gaijin. To me those locations are like training wheels for gaijin...
Yes, there is good shopping to be had in those areas but seriously there is no shortage of good shopping in Tokyo...the Japanese thrive on it. Omote Sando/Harajuku, Shimokitazawa, Ginza...Kyoto has tons of great places, Osaka, etc. Pretty much every city in Japan has a great shopping arcade. Those areas also seem much dirtier to me as many of the people are gaijin or US Military out for fun, they bring the same bad habits and attitudes have have in their respective nation. It's kind of the same reason I have no urge to go to Australia, not that I don't like Australians, Great people! It's just that it seems very much like the US. I go to places to experience different things (food, fashion, environment, culture, and people) Going to a place that looks and feels just like SoCal but with a Aussie accent?? Pass, I could go to NY for less and still get a different accent. That's me though, hope that covered it  
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05-21-2011, 10:31 PM
I'm very different to you. I don't make choices about where I travel based on the people or culture. I travel the world mostly to see the natural world not the human one. Mostly to see mountains. The whole people, culture thing is secondary to me. I also don't travel to see cities. I have really disliked most cities I have ever been to (including Tokyo). I avoid them as much as it is possible on my travels now.
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05-21-2011, 10:42 PM
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Reading hiragana/katakana can be helpful but you will be hard pressed to actually read or write it but it can give you basic clues when reading a sign. Heck, most Japanese still have a hard time due to Kanji and having several meanings...show the same Kanji symbol to several people and you can get a different meaning every time. That's why it's never a good idea to get a "Japanese" tattoo  Try and find a genre of shows you like and look for a English subtitled version of it after you have done some word building...it gets you use to hearing a native speaker talk and you slowly pick up on the words you know and build from there. I watched Bleach My first trip to Japan "Sumimasen, (Place) wa doko desu ka?" got me pretty much everything I needed. If they spoke English they usually recognized me as a foreigner and replied back...if they didn't they usually pointed the direction I needed to go or just walked me to the destination .It shouldn't be hard to meet Japanese friends, they want to learn about you just as much as you about them. Many times when I was out eating at a ramen shop (Ippudo sooo good) people would ask me where I was from and just start asking me tons of questions. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to sing "Hotel California" at a karaoke bar.
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05-21-2011, 10:51 PM
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. I love nature as well and when I go to Japan I try to go in Oct-Nov for the beautiful fall colors (we have no seasons in Socal). I try to balance 50-50 between city and nature...last trip I spent time hiking Mt Aso and relaxing in Yufuin, god I loved Yufuin will be back there again. I could be at home in either city or rural. The nature in Japan is simply amazing and breathtaking...my friends alwys get mad at my pictures and say "How many pictures of tree's can you take"---not enough 
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