a little off topic: japan

[D'yer Mak'er]

Anyone went there?
A friend and myself are thinking about going next year, it looks like its gonna be pretty damn expensive.

[Somedude21]

Indeed, it IS expensive. All island nations are, considering that they have to import most of their stuff. But otherwise, make sure to have a good time and not be a typical "American tourist".

[D'yer Mak'er]

How do I not be a typical American tourist?

[ToyBoy6669]

tip well
don't act like you are too important
don't get angery with people who don't speak english
Eat with chopsticks, and don't lay them on the table

try new things

[Somedude21]

How do I not be a typical American tourist?

Actually, ToyBoy, you don't tip in Japan. If you leave money on the table, chances are that the restaurant owner (or whichever employee sees the money first) will run out and find you to give you the money.

But some tips...

- Learn a little Japanese. Nothing too fancy, just some basic phrases.
- Don't get angry with people who don't speak English (Japanese people are notorious for having no or very bad English).
- Don't leer at women. Despite what the culture might show you, women still don't like being treated like sex objects.
- Don't take offense at things. Japanese culture is different than American culture--some things that might mean something to us, might mean something completely different to the Japanese. It's a little hard to explain...but I suppose that I can just tell you to take things in stride and don't blow your top.
- Whatever you do, don't express any kind of anger at all. Anger is seen as a sign of weakness in Japanese culture, and so showing anger will make you look like a moron.
- Whatever you do, DO NOT POINT AT SOMETHING WITH YOUR INDEX FINGER. Considered to be extremely rude. Just gesture toward what you want to point at with your hand.
- Do not set your chopsticks down on a table. There's a specific holder that you'll be given at every meal to put them down on.
- Don't go asking around about "nyu-ha-fu" ("newhalf". Think, Japanese for "shemale"). People will just look at you like you're some kind of freak.
- It's considered polite to slurp your noodles. Something of a sign of respect to the chef.
- Do NOT order beef. It's horrendously expensive there. Not as good as American beef, anyway (unless you go for Kobe beef...but good luck coughing up the moola for that).
- Try not to laugh at all the bad English that you'll be seeing, such as on T-shirts and such. :P

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head at the moment.

[D'yer Mak'er]

I already know a small bit of Japanese, I've been interested in their culture for a few years. I can't speak it yet, but I can communicate using it on a computer. Sentence structure and grammar and the like mess me up though. I'll never be able to read Japanese script.
I'm generally a very quiet, nice person, hopefully no problems respecting them. Perhaps my introverted tendency will have a use there?
Haha, wasn't gonna go around asking for shemales.
Another friend of mine has been there before, and said that if you want, you can buy a jar of school saliva bahaha. I want.
Thanks for the tips. We're hoping to go in June, which is still a large enough amount of time away to get into more about it.

[ezed]

How do I not be a typical American tourist?

Actually, ToyBoy, you don't tip in Japan. If you leave money on the table, chances are that the restaurant owner (or whichever employee sees the money first) will run out and find you to give you the money.

But some tips...

- Learn a little Japanese. Nothing too fancy, just some basic phrases.
- Don't get angry with people who don't speak English (Japanese people are notorious for having no or very bad English).
- Don't leer at women. Despite what the culture might show you, women still don't like being treated like sex objects.
- Don't take offense at things. Japanese culture is different than American culture--some things that might mean something to us, might mean something completely different to the Japanese. It's a little hard to explain...but I suppose that I can just tell you to take things in stride and don't blow your top.
- Whatever you do, don't express any kind of anger at all. Anger is seen as a sign of weakness in Japanese culture, and so showing anger will make you look like a moron.
- Whatever you do, DO NOT POINT AT SOMETHING WITH YOUR INDEX FINGER. Considered to be extremely rude. Just gesture toward what you want to point at with your hand.
- Do not set your chopsticks down on a table. There's a specific holder that you'll be given at every meal to put them down on.
- Don't go asking around about "nyu-ha-fu" ("newhalf". Think, Japanese for "shemale"). People will just look at you like you're some kind of freak.
- It's considered polite to slurp your noodles. Something of a sign of respect to the chef.
- Do NOT order beef. It's horrendously expensive there. Not as good as American beef, anyway (unless you go for Kobe beef...but good luck coughing up the moola for that).
- Try not to laugh at all the bad English that you'll be seeing, such as on T-shirts and such. :P

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head at the moment.

What he says......been there four times. Go to Amsterdam. Japan is like visiting a pinball machine. The food sucks unless you're rich.

[Galadriel]

I lived in Japan the summer before last (living as a boy still). It was an interesting place, and definately somewhere I want to visit again. However, if you don't like seafood (like me) then the food gets old really quick.

What somedude21 suggested are really good tips. I think you should read over that list a few times. I will emphasize (since someone posted otherwise) not to tip in Japan... most people don't get too upset over it, but it can be considered rude, and you're putting the burden on them of hunting you down to give the money back. I will add too, whatever they feed you, try to finish it. If you leave anything, you are saying "I don't like this."

You should probably also keep in mind that Japan has what has been historically one of the most isolated cultures in the world. That doesn't mean they don't interact, they do very well, it's just that when they borrow something culturally, they re-interpret it in a way that makes sense in terms of their own culture. So sometimes you will see something you recognize, but it doesn't mean quite the same thing there.

As for the money thing, I think this is something that is not so cut and dry as some people present it. Yes, Japan can be unbelievably expensive. It can also very cheap in places, both extremes exist. In my case, when I lived on the outskirts of Osaka, I rented a cheapass dorm from Osaka Prefecture University and the food in that area was not very expensive. I lived off of practical nothing except for the time I spent traveling.

Now, fitting our HA theme I will also mention that I hung out at a couple nights at some of the tranny bars.. it was expensive but fun. I didn't tell them I was T, mostly just hung out and observed the culture a little bit, sang some karaoke, drank some beer, it was nice. They're fairly easy to find in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo if you are interested.

[MrMurdock]

The wikitravel article is a good help, especially with regards to the trains

http://wikitravel.org/en/Japan

[TJT]

Nothing wrong with demanding an apology for Pearl Harbor is there? My Mom went to her grave grieving for her cousin killed in that lil' episode and I tend to hold grudge.