Going To Japan - I need help!

[ZombieBunny]

Hello all

I need a lot of help lol. You see, I want to go to Japan for about 2-3 months total, or even more if possible but I have to see near the time I go.

What do I need to do to be able to go over there? Here are questions I really need help answered because I am completely new at this type of stuff. Remember also that my husband might go too, so these questions would be for two people. Any help from people who have actually gone to Japan would be great !!! Anywho, here are the questions:

1. What do I need to do to get started? (planning my trip)

2. Do you recommend learning some Japanese before I go?

3. If I dont plan on getting a job (and only staying for 2-3 months) How much money do you think I should bring? (for staying somewhere, food and travel)

4. If I want to stay longer (and need a job) where do I go to get one? (what should I go for? - I have no skills to Teach anything LOL)

5. What do I need to do to find a place to stay at?

6. What is the bare minimum I should bring with me? (clothes wise and such)

7. Should I consult a Travel agent before leaving?

That is all the questions I can think about at the Moment. Any OTHER advice also would be GREATLY appriciated. Please if anyone can help me out I would be most grateful.

Thank you so much!
-Zunny

[Cloud]

Are you asking me for advice?

[usamamo]

First of all let me tell you how amazing it is over there. I am sure you will enjoy it. I went in '96' for 2 weeks and I am going again in August for 2 weeks. So with this I offer my help.

1. OK. Planning. The first time I went, everything was planned and booked. It was great to have that certainty. But it doesn't leave much room for wondering off the track. But then again, if your are going for months it doesn't much matter. This time we have only booked our first 2 days and our last day. I think a little bit of planning doesn't hurt. Another thing is it depends what time of year you go. If you go in nice weather and it is a popular time of year, I would strongly recomend planning. Hope that helps a little.

2. The first time i went I didn't know much Japanese. We had an interpreter though. I am currently learning Japanese because there are alot of places where it may be easier to know some of the language. For example - asking directions. I don't think you would need to speak fluently but the basics should do to help you along.

3. I would suggest bringing a heck of alot of money. It is quite expensive in Japan. Hotels can be rather expensive and so to is some food. Even staying at a temple for 1 night costs $150pp. We are taking a few grand with us when we go, but we plan on spending alot on cels, and other things too.

4. Can't help you out with the job thing, soz.

5. Internet is a great place to search for places to stay. The travel agents around here are not very helpful so I look everything up on the net. You might find that your travel agents know a bit more though, I don't know.

6. Bare minimum. Whatever you feel comfortable with. If you are moving around alot though you don't want to be lugging suitcase after suitcase with you. A little bit of common sense in this area is all it takes.

7. Definatley ask your Tarvel agent what they know and how they can help. It is a good starting position. Gather all the pamphlets you can.



I hope I have helped you in some small way. If you want to know anything else just ask.

[Lynxa]

Wow, 2-3 months is a loooooong time. I know when I studied abroad in Vienna for two months I took $12,000 and that just barely covered me (excluding airfare). And from what I hear Japan is EXPENSIVE. My two week trip to Brussels and parts unknown from thence last December cost about $2,500 (excluding airfare) but we did a lot of moving around.

In most countries a tourist's visa expires in 3 months (In South Africa it's a month, I don't know what it is in Japan) and after that you're in "questionable immigration status" land. As far as getting a job, that would be very very hard to do without the requisite paperwork (I worked in England for about 8 months and the hoops I had to jump through to get that visa were phenomenal ). You could always hope to find an under the table job, but I'd guess that not speaking the language would hinder that quite a bit.

I always make it a point to at least know a few basic words of a language before I go anywhere. Lets face it, Americans have a bad enough rep at this point in time, why reinforce the negative "dumb ethnocentric American" stereotype? People appreciate it, even if you're not doing it right

Dang, I had a REALLY good japan info site bookmarked on my old computer that went kablooie, I'll see if I can scare it up for you. Check out www.statravel.com if you're still a student, they usually have great airfares and sometimes good package deals that they keep small so there's still that "travelling with friends" feel instead of the big group cattle car feel.

Awwww, now I want to go on another trip!!!!

[duotrouble]

Oh fun! You should have a blast! I've been twice and am planning my third trip soon.

1. What do I need to do to get started? (planning my trip)

Money! And of course the time off from work helps too.

2. Do you recommend learning some Japanese before I go?

This depends on where you're going. If you're staying in Tokyo with maybe a day trip to Osaka, then no. You don't need to speak any Japanese since most natives speak some English and English is written everywhere. You can get around with no real problems. However, if you're traveling further out into the country, then I highly recommend some common phrases. I went to Mishima and no one understood me. I felt VERY foreign.

We took Japanese/English dictionaries with us and practiced common phrases every time we were in our hotel room or riding on the bullet train. (No kidding.) It never hurts to know a few things.

3. If I dont plan on getting a job (and only staying for 2-3 months) How much money do you think I should bring? (for staying somewhere, food and travel)

Remember first that you can only stay 90 days. That's how long your visitation visa is good for in Japan. After that, you'll have to talk to the US embassy. My father's rule of thumb was always have $100 a day for travel. That doesn't mean you have to carry that much cash. You just have to be able to access that much somehow. They have ATMs just like the US that accept the universal language of VISA.

4. If I want to stay longer (and need a job) where do I go to get one? (what should I go for? - I have no skills to Teach anything LOL)

Can't help you there. Sorry, you have to figure that one out yourself.

5. What do I need to do to find a place to stay at?

Are you talking hotels, etc? Going to a Japanese travel agency is the way to go. You can book a lot of things easier, faster and cheaper than wasting a lot of confusing time on the internet searching or waiting until you're there in person. Before you go, make sure you've looked at a map of Japan. You'll need to know where you want to stay. Tokyo is a big place. Do you want to stay in the city limits of Tokyo or one of the burbs? Remember, Tokyo is more expensive than say Shibuya and everything is only a few minutes away by train.

6. What is the bare minimum I should bring with me? (clothes wise and such)

Think about what time of year it is and what the weather's going to be like. weather.com is a great place to go for international weather. They also have places you can go to do your laundry or have the hotel clean your clothes for a good fee.

7. Should I consult a Travel agent before leaving?

See question 5.

The main thing is think about why you're going. What do you want to see while you're there? Where do you want to go? Everything else should fall into place.

Traveling is fun! Don't let it stress you out.

[Cloud]

Why don't you just download me to your computer?

[duotrouble]

Why sure, Cloud? I didn't know you liked me that much.

[Cloud]

So I taught you something new.

[duotrouble]

No comment.

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

Zunny, you gotta take me with you!

Just stuff me into a bag and drag me along.

[DevoVamp]

Since everything with me was more or less arranged through Nova, I'll stick to food: (although, if you have a university degree in any field, you can apply to Nova to teach English, as long as you're a native speaker)

I'm finding the grocery stores seriously cheap for food, and if you happen on one that has a bakery or something, you can get things like these long buns (kind of like a baguette, only thinner) with what looks like a hot dog already baked in it. If your hotel has a microwave in it (I was in New York once and the hotel rooms all had stoves and little kitchens) then you can get those not so little noodle bowl things. There's also packaged things like noodles, and sushi and stuff that you can reheat. The sushi bars, the ones with the revolving counter that you pick the plates off of, is also supposed to be really cheap, too.

Bring your most comfortable shoes!!! Trust me! You are going to end up walking a lot.

[kittens]

I think already you got answers But yeah it is EXPENSIVE to stay.... (ok it depends on which area but still....)

I really cannot say so much b/c I am from Japan and I do not usually have trouble......

I hope you have a great trip

[ZombieBunny]

Thank you for everyone who responded

Alot of this advice is great!

Anymore advice will be very welcomed too!

I appriciate it!
-Zunny

[ZombieBunny]

hey all

I was just wondering if anyone can recommend a good travel site so I can get prices and such? i'm having a hell of a time lol Also does anyone have a hotel they recommend staying at?

Thanks a lot!
-Zunny

[jcaliff]

I always used to use mytrip.net, which seems to have been bought out by rakuten.

http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/

The Japanese version of the page typically had more options for hotels, but if you aren't fluent I suggest using the English page.