The Japan thread

This thread will be about Japan.
I will post general information about Japan and how to go and survive there. You could also buy travel guides (what I recommend), but I will describe most points from the POV of a gamer.
If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Let's start with the flight.
Choose a company of your confidence. I can't give too many good tips on the flight itsself. From Europe the prices are reasonable.
My last flight I payed for myself was about 900$.
The prices depend on the season. Cheapest is around March or September. (This is for Europe, I don't know how America is...)

Staying in Japan:
The probably cheapest way to stay in Japan are youth hostels. Prices are from 1500 up to 5000Yen (15-50$)for a night. Hotels are more expensive.
And don't fear hostels, they are better than their reputation.
Japan Youth Hostels Inc. have an English homepage where you can even place your reservation.
One hint: You should NOT be afraid of cockroaches or big jumping spiders when you go to Japan.
If you want to stay longer, you should look for so-called weeklies or monthlies, where you get discount for staying longer.

lol this is interesting. Are you kidding about the jumping spider and roaches? How much are hotels there?

in the hostels do you get your own room, or is there fear of your things being stolen by other people staying there?

I'm NOT kidding about scaring stuff. I hate spiders as hell and there are lots of them.
I only saw 1 cockroach, though.

Hotels are from 40-??? $.
If you don't take the Hilton it's not so expensive.
Before my flights home I always stay at the hotel seagull. They have a free shuttle to Kansai airport and the people are very friendly there.
A night in a double room there is 9800Yen. That's 4900Yen for one person. That's not bad.
You might find even cheaper ones in the Tokyo region.

This is a very typical spider. You find them everywhere.

Oh I hate those!!

There are also smaller ones that jump around!
And the big ones are so fast! Unbelievably fast.

Japan is a very safe country.
Probably nothing will be stolen. Of course you shouldn't let your stuff lay around...
You also have single rooms in hostels of course.

I'm not especially scared of spiders, as long as they aren't venomous, so that's not a problem for me. I think I'm going to have to start saving up for a trip as soon as I get a few other things taken care of.

Im very interested in going as well! when i turn 18 im definitly taking a trip there sounds great!

AFAIK the spiders are not venomous.
The spiders in the picture are outside. Inside the rooms are smaller ones that are jumping around. They are called "fly-catching spiders" that's why they are seen as good spiders. I hate them anyway.
Look at the 3 pics on that homepage:

40$ for hotels isn't bad.
And most of the hotels have an onsen (hot spring) for free use.

I always have something in my reach to kill those.
After some time you really grow accustomed to them, though...
I don't like them, but I can live with them now... And when they least expect it I whack them.

They are definitely NOT a reason not to go to Japan.

40$ for hotels isn't bad.
And most of the hotels have an onsen (hot spring) for free use.

That is a definite advantage, you can't beat a good hot spring

although that gets me to thinkng... I had a game for my DreamCast called Quru Quru Onsen I believe, any idea what that would mean?

kurukuru or gurururu means as much as "turning round and round" and onsen is "hot spring"... What kind of game is that??!
I found an official Sega site

Did you play that game?
As far as I understand it's an online game where you can chat and play games like Mahjongg, Poker or UNO with other members...

I love Japanese hotsprings... many of them are outdoor. They are especially cool in winter. Lying in the hot spring, it's snowing a bit... That's so great.

Please wait for Episode 2, an episode without spiders, but about food and other survival stuff in Japan.

yeah, it was online, and since all of the servers are down I didn't get a chance to do much with it. it could have been a rather fun game. I know it did have UNO and a few other smaller games that I could play without connecting to the internet.

A good reason to go to Japan...

One word-

...

...just kidding.

Those spiders look like the one's in Okinawa that we called 'Banana' Spiders...

Have you ever heard them called that? Just wondering if that was an unofficial universal naming of them.

No. They look like this...
I think.

That's them! hahaha

I knew that I remembered their name, but couldn't remember what they looked like!

haha zen thats hilarious!
Nice!

waahaa!!!
If all spiders were THAT cute I wouldn't mind.

Great pic, ZEN!

When you go to Japan, what would you eat and drink?

Going to restaurants, the first thing I was positively surprised about is that you can get as much water you want for free.
In Germany you have to order and to pay for water. I don't know how it is in the US.
In Japan, water is free, refreshingly cold and quite delicious.

Sushi: It has become known also in Europe and in the US, too, I think. So-called "running sushi". You sit before a small conveyer band and you take the food you like from the belt.

It's wrong to believe that they only serve sushi there. You also get cakes, pudding, other sweets, fried chicken pieces, salad, etc...
Everyone can go there and find something he likes.

The price of what you eat is determined by what color your plates have. It's different from restaurant to restaurant. E.g. something on a red plate costs 100Yen, blue plate 200Yen and so on.
The cashier comes, counts your dishes and gives you the bill. That's easy and very cheap.

Another place to eat are ramen/soba/udon places. They sell all sorts of noodles. Soups, fried noodles ar something.

What you get is really big and much and cheap. (Of course there are expensive places, too. You just need to check before going in.)
Best think for all people picky about food: You can choose which ingredients you want or you don't want. For those who don't like squid, have it removed.

And should there really be people who can't find anything they like, you still can go to McDonalds. They are everywhere. It tastes the same on the whole world. (I don't like McD, though...)
For all who didn't know: McDonalds makes the most profits in Japan! Even more than in the US!

When there are questions about food, feel free to ask and to discuss.

See you again at Episode 3. (About what could that be? Hints and requests are welcome)

Going to restaurants, the first thing I was positively surprised about is that you can get as much water you want for free.
In Germany you have to order and to pay for water. I don't know how it is in the US.
In Japan, water is free, refreshingly cold and quite delicious.

Really? That's strange that you have to pay. In England you get as many free jugs of water as you want in restaurants. In fact a barman once told me that that it is illegal to refuse people who ask for a free glass of tap water in bars and pubs (and probably restuarants too).

When I went to Hong Kong we went to a restaurant where they gave you unlimited free green tea. There was a girl whos job it was to go around and make sure everyones cup was always full so you never ran out. It wasn't a particularly expensive restuarant so I got the feeling that was a normal custom in Hong Kong. I was definitely impressed!

Hong Kong is also a great palce for pirate games and systems and other cheap electrical goods. Unfortunatly I was on my way to spending a few months in New Zealand so couldn't really buy anything. Anyhow this is a Japan thread so I'm going a bit off topic!

That's no problem. HK isn't too off topic. in HK, too.
In fact there are restaurants in Japan, too that serve you green tea for free.

What I heard is that you can get free tap water in German restaurants for it. And only if you ask.
In Japan most of the served water isn't just tap water, a place where I like to go serves very good water from a nearby well.
And you don't have to ask for it, they always come around and fill your glasses up.
That's a serVice I miss here in Germany.

Yeah here in the US its free at most places...
I cant imagine having to pay for water!

This post is about how you find videogames in Japan.
When you search for NES (=famicom), then you will have to search for used software. So I'll concentrate on shops and chains where they sell used stuff, but I'll also mention some other places.

The place I love most is Book-off. I went there nearly every day. The name says book-off, so they mostly have books and comics. But they all have video games, DVDs, CDs, Laser Discs and more. You can make great finds there.
I made a photo of my members card.

Another place I loved was Famix. Famix like Famicom.
They are specialized on video games, but they also have DVDs. I saw some very interesting things there. My members card.

My stamp card there.

When you get the card full, you receive a 500Yen bonus.

My next members card is from a DVD shop called Limb. They also have CDs and games. Only new stuff, though. Limb shops are inside of "Best" electronic markets.

This is a used book chain. They also have games. Again my members card from there.

Another little used game and book shop I used to go.

And another one.

This one with the whale is a chain again. You should find it in the whole country. Books, CDs, DVDs, games. I found lots of Famicom stuff and a cyan Gamecube there.

Another little shop in my wife's hometown. My members card.

I used to have more members cards, but can't find them now.

That's a pic of how a typical used bookstore looks like.
Don't be afraid of bookstores. Most of them also sell games and stuff.
So in most cases when you say bookstore, you also say gamestore.
And most of them have huge prOn (

That funny pic with the kneeling guy says "old books". Most likely they also have games.

That's how it looks inside. Cool, eh?
And that's a small place.

The paradise for a gamer:
MANDARAKE.
You better bring your Platinum American Express. They sell the rarest thibgs in the world. I saw handhelds there for 1000 bucks and more.
They most likely have EVERYTHING!

Look out for that sign, get inside the shop and make big eyes. Mandarake is a dream for gamers and collectors.

Thanks to ImageShack for

Interesting fact: My Microsoft Word (TM) doesn't know the word "Playstation" or even "Gameboy", but of course it knows "Xbox".

To be continued in some time. Now I have earned me a short rest.

Please feel free to ask any kind of questions and discuss about everything.

Cool thread Manuel, i'd love to go there,the Japanese are so much further and have so much more to play.
I'd buy all my games i'd really want and send them to Holland,the games there are much cheaper aren't they?

Thanks.
I'm glad you like it.

Games are really much cheaper in Japan. Even new ones. Consoles, too.
The DS costs about 14000Yen, that's about 100Euro. The official retail price for Europe is 149.99Euro. That's just ridiculous.

As for used Famicom games, they sell from 20Yen. Thats about 15 Euro cents or 20 US cents. Of course those are weird games nobody wants. The interesting games start from 100Yen. That's 1 US $. Ridiculously cheap.

You should get a plane ticket. The prices are quite low now. KLM often has specials, from what I saw last year they sell tickets to Japan from 520 Euro. That's really cheap.

I couldn't help but post this pic. When I was in Japan, I was simply astonished when I saw this, so I took a picture (sorry about the quality, I didn't and still don't have a digital camera)...

It's a Tower Records... SEVEN STORIES TALL!

I'm not sure if there are any that big in North America, but I was virtually in heaven when I saw that place! Like a little kid in a candy store!

It was a bit pricey, but it's Tower Records.

Tower Records. The one I was always in didn't sell games. Perhaps they have games in the bigger ones.

And when that has astonished you... There are video game shops in Tokyo of the size of that Tower Records in your photo. 7,8, or even 10 stories full of games and stuff.

The place for everyone to go is Akihabara district in Tokyo. I haven't been there myself ( ), but I plan to.
Akihabara is the "Electric Town". You get everything that has ever been invented there. EVERYTHING.
I hope there is a way I can get there this summer.
Of course I'd take lots of photos and post them here.

Well, this one didn't sell any games, either. I saw the next to last pic you posted and was reminded of this pic. Back then I wasn't really into games, so I wasn't searching, either. I was mainly on the hunt for CD's not released over here. Lots of fun running around it, though!

Another neat little used game store chain.

At the time I'm trying to make a little vocabulary of games that might help in Japan. Just wait a little.
As some people can't display Japanese, I'll make a graphic of it and post it here.

My copy of Microsoft (c) (TM) Word (TM) now knows the words Gameboy and Playstation and Famicom.

Well, folks, I made a little (yes, little ) vocabulary that might help people find used games in Japan.

Basically look out for those words. I think most of them are self explaining. When there are questions, please ask.
And also if you have requests (do you want to know another word in Japanese?) , post them.

I now know my schedule of my next trip to Japan.
Tickets are already reserved.
We (my wife and me) will leave Germany on July 17th with Emirates for Dubai and from there to Osaka.
We will return on 8th October.
Yeah, over 10 weeks in Japan. It will be great.
It costs quite much, but it's worth it. 727.54 Euro per person. That's around 973$. Thinking of the very long distance it's not too expensive, though. And the Emirates A340-500 has 500 entertainment channels, video on demand, 10inch monitors on every seat and in-built videogames... and that's in economy class!

And still the best is: Free luggage is 35kilograms!

Sounds like an excellent way to spend your summer! Do you know what games they have on board? When I flew with Singapore Airlines they had a bunch of SNES Games. Now that's class!

I don't know exactly, but from what I heard and read previously it's a selection of SNES Games.
What games it may be, the flight will be fun I think. At least, my wife is there, too.

Pick up some Famicom stuff while you're there! (I guess that's a given, huh?)

I wish I could go to Japan once more. It was a blast! I'm sure you're anxiously awaiting the day! Have fun on the trip!

OK, I've measured, and I'll be able to fit inside a suitcase if I can hold my breath and go without food for a few days I should be OK, can I go with you?

When you're... let's say under 20 kilos it's ok.
And you have to come to Germany.
By the way... what would be cheaper? Canada-Japan or Canada-Germany?

I'm sure it will be a great time. I'll post my finds and other stories in this thread here. And probably lots of pics, too.
I'm sure I'll get much interesting famicom stuff. And if I'm lucky a cheap Dreamcast and such.

Did I tell already?
My wife's grandpa is a Buddhist monk and has a neat little temple. We'll live there. We'll have to help a lot, i.e. cleaning every day or prepare festivals (yay, festivals!!). Grandma has cancer and her stomach was taken out completely, so she can't do much any more at the time. That's why we go to Japan for such a long time.
Who wants to see photos of the temple? (Please raise fingers)

I'd like to see some photos of the temple. I did some work for a buddhist monk two summers ago, he was from vietnam though. He liked me because he said I was calm, and asked me to live there with him on several occasions. but the problem with that is, they don't eat meat, and don't have women...

Luke - meat and women = not so calm anymore

In Japan it's ok to have women.
It's just during the "training", in Japanese it's called "shugyo" 修行.
During that time you won't get meat or something.

But at my grandpa's house we always get very good meat. 100 grams of that cost over 10$!! Man and it's good.

Ok, then I'll search for some good pics and post them here the other day.

Now it's time for some photos!
There are so many I want to show... And the number will increase this summer.

Let's begin with my grandpa's temple. It's called "shonenji" 正念寺.
You could translate it with "Temple of the sincere ideas" or something. You can do a lot of interpretations with the Japanese characters.
On the photo you see the temple on 31st December 2004. The decoration in fornt of the main hall was made by grandpa and me. And I put the colored flags on.

Another photo on the same spot some days later.

That's the main entrance to the temple. Inside there is a big chime. The bell is tolled 108 times on new year's midnight to expel the humans' 108 bad behaviours after Buddhist belief.

The next photo shows my wife, me and grandpa. He's a Buddhist monk and one of the highest ranked priests in his sect.

Next is the water well. The well has very good water and it's said to preserve your youth when you drink it. It's quite famous in all Japan. This temple was on TV and in national newspapers several times.

This is the treasure of the temple. It's a Buddha statue made in the Kamakura period, which was from 1185-1333, so it's probably over 800 years old. It's made mainly from gold and quite pricy I think. I don't even dare to touch it...

Next pic is of the so-called jizo 地蔵, it's a Bodhisattva who looks over children and travellers (and the underworld). Those are said to be very gentle. The green little bucket in front is made of fresh bamboo. That year this was my work. Yes, I made that.

Next pic is the sight from the living rooms towards the main hall ("hondo" 本堂) of the temple. That's just so Japanese I have to show everybody. Like from a photo book.

And a nice little Japanese garden on the other side of the house.

Following are 4 photos as an overview over the city (it's called Onomichi) from a hill. The water you can see is not a river, it's the sea. The Seto inland sea. (Look it up on the map. )

And a pic of another nice temple in the city. Isn't this very postcard-ish?

And one you shouldn't leave out when talking about Japan is the cherry blossom. I've hundreds of cherry pics, but I had to choose one. I like cherry blossoms.

Here we went to eat sushi. As explained in a post above, you pay for how many plates you have. What you see above was about 4900Yen (49$), when I remember right. Not bad when you consider there were 4 people who ate quite much.

I had to take that photo. The text says "made in Onomichi".

Here we're climbing on the nearby hill. Nature is really beautiful around that place. And those so-called torii (鳥居) are everywhere. Those gates are an archway to a Shinto-shrine.

Last but not least for today is a photo from a nearby city called Tomono-ura. It's very beautiful there. The building looks very Chinese. I like it.

How do you like my photos?
Please tell me your thoughts.

Great pics indeed! Very nice photos! And we finally see Manuel's face.

That Buddha statue is sweet! I wonder how long something like that took to make back then. I don't blame you for not touching, I'd feel... wrong. You're wife is very pretty, and grandpa looks pretty excited! How is the ranking structure for Buddhist monks?

Oh yeah, what does it say on the bamboo bucket you made?

wow, a lot of those images are just amazing! one day I absolutely HAVE to visit japan. if I thought I could do it, I'd move there full time!

Nothing very special though.

Thank you.
We once asked him about ranking structures and he didn't like the question. There are no ranks he said. Typical answer, eh?
But when it comes to big decisions in the sect, he is asked and he's teaching stuff once a month in Tokyo where there is the "hq-temple". Yay.

It says "long life".

I think you could do it. In bigger cities English is ok and you could easily work as an English teacher at a language school. There were many Canadians at the English school my wife went to.

I stumbled upon a photo I wanted to show you, especially to Saito.
I hope he's still around?
It's a koi with a big red dot on its forehead.

2 more photos.
That's the whole koi-pond.

Nagasaki at night. Unfortunately it's a bit blurry cause I didn't have a tripod.

I took those last year in Nagasaki on February 20th.

Nice pics. Manuel. Enjoy your stay at Japan. Hope you have fun. Sounds like a blast. Have fun!

I will have fun. It's the first time I spend August in Japan.

There will be lots of festivals, fireworks and stuff.

I try to post as many pics as possible here in this thread.

me and my fiancee were talking 3 or 4 months ago and after we get married, we're spending our honeymoon in Japan. she didnt really care where we went and let me choose. and me, being a big anime fan and a huge video game fan, I had to say Japan. that and katanas kick ass. to be honest, I hate the way the U.S. government is being run and I'd really like to move and live in Japan...(and get the hell outta here before G. Bush blows us up.) any tips on good paying jobs that some american kid that only speeks english and a LITTLE bit of german could get? and any tips on appartments or houses?

manuel
I envy you on your upcoming trip. I love anime and Japn has such a neat culture. I've never got to leave the US, except for a trip to Canada once.
No offense to any canadians in here, it just wasn't an exciting trip.

murder_killz
I feel the same way. The goverment has basically f'd my husband and I so far up our asses that we will be in pain for years. Specifically the I.N.S.
Plus the embassy workers were very rude to my sister in law for no reason; even yelling at her in front of other people. So bascially they suck.

except for a trip to Canada once.
No offense to any canadians in here, it just wasn't an exciting trip.

I AM GREATLY OFFENDED BY THIS STATEMENT!!!

in actuality, I think Canada thrives more on the skiers, and cottager types, we're not all big-city folk with huge populated centres. we have... Toronto... and... Edmonton... and, uhh... that's about it.

When you consider that our population is 1/10th of the US population, and the enormous land mass up here, we're pretty spread out.

hey manuel, what kind of jobs could an american get in Japan?

NES-Luke
I'm sure I'd love to visit Canada if I were a skier, but I can't ski and I don't like wilderness. To me Canada isn't all that much different than the US (Minnesota especially, culture wise and landscape wise).
When I think of vacation, I think Adventure! Excitement! An environment way different than my own. So, although Canada has many wonderful things going for them (such as healthcare and friendly people) it's just not exotic enough for me. Besides, it's only like 7 hours away from where I live.
So if I did or have truely offened you, I hope you accept my humblist of apologies.

Japan would be more of a culture shock. because I've looked alot of stuff up in the past few days and from what I can tell, USA + Japan = 2 different worlds. Im not joking when I say I want to move there. if I could get a job there now, I'd be on the next flight to Japan tonight. all I'd take would be my cloths and my NES stuff... 'cus thats all I have... Im too cheap to buy anything else.

From what my husband says he doesn't think you could play your US NES stuff in Japan unless you got a different POWer cord (or POWer converters), TV ect.
But he's not 100 percent sure.
I know he can't play his sinclair spectrum machine here because here in the US we use NTSC and in his country they use the PAL signal. In some countries they use SECAM signal.

...they sell A/C POWer cords over there for the NES... they got to... stop it! I dont want to hear that! lol j/k yeah I didnt think of that. I should be able to pick up a new A/C POWer cord over seas.

I'm just saying... look before you leap!
It would suck to go all the way over there and not be able to enjoy you NES!

I know, Im just kidding around. I just didnt think of that before and that would make me a sad NES Gamer to get off a REALLY long flight and try to Hook my NES up and my first night in Japan I die from over 1200 volts of POWer surging through my body.

thankfully for you, Japan uses NTSC as well, so you should be OK on that. I'm not sure about the shape of their POWer outlets, but I'm quite sure 110v is the standard there as well, so you should be just fine.

I don't need to move to another country, I feel happy here so I have no reason to move to another country. If I had to move to another country, I would go to England or Australia.

I live in america and the only thing thats good about it is the fact that you can voice what you think, good or bad about the government and they cant do anything about it. the thing I hate is that no matter what you say, they still wanna do things like they did 100 years ago. times have changed and so should the government. Im willing to give up a few rights if it means I can live somewhere, where the government cares about more than themselves. usa is a good place and all, but they need to change alot of things to make it better. but this is a Japan post so no more america talk from me.

well I did alot of resurch and found out that just for one person to fly to Japan would cost atleast $1,111 USD and thats booked 5 months ahead of time. I found a bomb ass hotel called Homeikan Hotel thats in Tokyo for only $117.70 for one person to stay 2 weeks. so all in all it would cost atleast $1,500 USD just to get there and have a place to stay. so for me to go, I'd like to save up $2,500 before hand. I want my fiancee to go with me but I highly dout she can save up $2,500 USD... but Im not gunna pass this up. I cant, I'd be stupid to pass up being 18 years old and in Tokyo, Japan for 2 weeks. that'd kick ass. ...she's gunna be pist if I go with out her but damn, I cant pass Japan up.

In Japan it's probably best you start as an English teacher.
Everybody can do that and the Japanese pay very much.
When you're in Tokyo, there's always the chance that you can get in TV shows or movies. They often need foreigners to make their shows cooler.
If you're big, muscular, preferrably blonde with blue eyes, you could work for a host club. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, you go out with rich business women and take money for it.

Trips to Japan are expensive, but it's definitely worth the money.
For me it's good that I have a place to stay and needn't worry about that.

If you're big, muscular, preferrably blonde with blue eyes, you could work for a host club. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, you go out with rich business women and take money for it.

*looks in the mirror*

blonde - check

blue eyes - check

6 feet tall - check

muscular - well... that needs some work

hmmm, sound like an interesting idea

... I hope Roll doesn't see this thread

could you be an english teacher over there with a G.E.D? just in case you dont know, but you might, a G.E.D = High School Deploma. if I can be a teacher on that, Im getting the hell outta America A.S.A.P

"Eikaiwa" or English Conversation schools are a big business in Japan, offering Japanese people of all ages the opportunity to practice their English communication skills with native speakers in small classes or private lessons.

Nova, Geos, Aeon and ECC are the leading conversation schools, each operating more than 200 schools across Japan. In addition, there are countless mid sized and small language schools.

The major conversation schools operate recruitment offices overseas, including the USA, Canada, UK and Australia. The requirements to get a job differ from school to school, but many require little more than a university degree in any field.

well that sucks. maybe I could give private lessons... I dunno. maybe they'd pay for my degree if I left america and went over there? Im gunna look more into this 'cus Im not joking. I want to live in Japan for real.

Hey Manuel... could you do me a favor man? I don't know if you'll be anywhere around Tokyo (I expect you may, though), but there is a certain area that I would like to see photos of if you don't mind.

When I was over there we hung out and partied in the Roppongi District (not really the highlight of Japan, but...). There was a McDonald's restaurant on a corner where you could order your food from the outside, and behind that McDonald's there was a Hard Rock Cafe. That's about the best description I can really give besides on the other side of the street from McDonald's was a few blocks of bars and what-not.

If you know of or can find that area, it'd be sweet! Here's a pic of the closest pic I have to it.

It's not really TOO close to it, but if memory serves me correctly, as you look down that rail system, the actual area I am describing would be to the right of it. As in, the road runs perpindicular to the rail system.

If you have time, that is!

okay, I spent about 2 1/2 to 3 hours looking stuff up and some jobs in Japan that dont requre lots of schooling are working at a bar, waiter at a restraunt, or fast food. I personally like the bar idea but you have to be 20 to even buy a drink in Japan. and a few other jobs are what Manuel posted earlyer. between Manuel and what I've found on the internet, I've got ALOT of good info. thank you Manuel and thank you internet.

@Roth: I would do you the favor, but I'm quite far from Tokyo in a small city called "Onomichi", which is in Hiroshima prefecture and on the shore of the Seto inland-sea. Sorry.

For all who aren't that good in Japanese geography, here's a little map.

Many people teach English as private persons, so there's no need for a degree or something.
I don't know whether you need a degree for English language schools or not... But basically it's comparably easy for foreigners to find a job.

@Luke: Muscles aren't THAT important.
And hosts really can earch money. Rumors say that attractive hosts get presents from women that are worth like thousands of dollars and that every time they meet.
Would be cool, but doesn't work for me because of 2 reasons:
1) my wife wouldn't allow it
2) I don't have the looks anyways.

manuel

Do female "hosts" make good money?
(not that I could, I'm married)
Just curious.

Of course. I can't think of much jobs in which you could earn more.

But there's one thing. Female hostesses often slide into prostitution.

I'd love to go to Japan. I doubt I'll be able to anytime soon, though. I'm in no position to ask for favors, but Manuel, if you see more Koi ponds, snap some pics and post them, will you? I'm a big fan of them. I have a small Koi pond in my backyard, and a lot of beautiful (albeit small) Koi in there.

My prize fish, a huge, beautiful white butterfly koi, recently beat itself to death in the filter... I'm bummed.

Arg! Oh well man, thanks for letting me know. I'll just have to find a way to get back over there sometime.

My plan for after uni consists of a gap year going round japan and china etc. then onto russia followed by eastern europe (places of culture etc.)
Unfortunately, Manuels description of a host is the exact opposite of what I look like!

I love koi, too, so be assured that I take pics of every pond I come along.

The idea with a gap year in Asia sounds cool. That may become the most interesting time in your life.
And even if you can't become a host, you still can appear on TV. That's fun, too.
I was on TV several times, but unfortunately I don't have it on video, cause it was always live, so I wan't at home to be able to take it on video.

Finally my tickets came and I'm so excited. 26 days remaining until I can go to Japan.

My tickets.

That's so cool! I'm jealous! How long are you going to be out there for?

Why is your little smiley dude holding a USA flag instead of a Japan one now. Have you been sent the wrong tickets?!

Why is your little smiley dude holding a USA flag instead of a Japan one now. Have you been sent the wrong tickets?!

OOPS???
I just clicked wrong... and didn't even notice. I'm too excited about Japan.
And as you allknow, Japan is the 51st (or 52nd??) state of the US, so it's ok.

That needs to be corrected.

Thanks for the hint, daynum.

TEN WEEKS

Check this out:

This site lets you see tons of the Western celebrities who star in Japanese commercials. Check out the Schwarzenneger and Stallone pages.

Thanks for the link. That's always interesting.

Most famous on Japanese TVs now is David Beckham I think. They give him millions for TV spots that are only a few seconds long...

The day before yesterday we finally reached Japan after about 15 hours flight and 3 hours stopover in Dubai (UAE).
It's between 34 and 37 degrees (Celcius) here every day. Quite very hot.
I didn't have the time yet to visit used game stores, but perhaps tomorrow I'll walk around a bit and look what they have here.

I'm making a blog about my stay. If you like you can look at it.

Feel free to leave comments there.

If you see an "BOOK-OFF" or "HARD-OFF" make sure to stop in, that's where I get a lot of my stuff. I'll try to post up some pictures of their sign so you can spot it from a distance.

I just picked up an original famicom there that just needed to be cleaned for 500 Yen (around $5 US).

Thanks, but there's no need for photos. Of course I know Book-off and Hard-off.
I'm a member there since my first visit in 2002. (I've posted a pic of my members cards somewhere in this thread.

Nice to hear that you got to Japan manuel. Enjoy your stay, and have fun.

Thats really cool manuel, and its good that you can keep us posted on whats happening over there!

Enjoy your stay Manuel. Wow, ten weeks, that's a long time but Japan seems really nice.

Thanks, but there's no need for photos. Of course I know Book-off and Hard-off.
I'm a member there since my first visit in 2002. (I've posted a pic of my members cards somewhere in this thread.

Ack! That's what I get for skipping pages. How do you get a member card and what are the benefits? Do they have a website for store locations?

There's some good info in this thread, I'm going to print out some of the gamer's translation guide and carry it around.

Someone had asked about the AC current in Japan. Regular US current is 110V @ 60 hertz (cycles 60 times a second, like a wave) Japanese current is 100V @ 50 hertz (cycles 50 times per second). The plugs are shaped the same and 100V and 110V are only 10% off, which isn't a big deal in electronics. The cycles can be a bit of a problem though for clocks and timers, but I haven't run into any trouble with my Japanese consoles or Japanese television on American current.

You just have to ask for a members card at the counter.
I think (I'm not sure) it costs 100 Yen, but you get a 100Yen coupon, so basically it's free.

You get a 50Yen discount coupon every 1000Yen you spend (5%). And if you sell something to Book-off, I think they give you 10% extra discount in form of a coupon. That's very nice.

There's some good info in this thread, I'm going to print out some of the gamer's translation guide and carry it around.

Someone had asked about the AC current in Japan. Regular US current is 110V @ 60 hertz (cycles 60 times a second, like a wave) Japanese current is 100V @ 50 hertz (cycles 50 times per second). The plugs are shaped the same and 100V and 110V are only 10% off, which isn't a big deal in electronics. The cycles can be a bit of a problem though for clocks and timers, but I haven't run into any trouble with my Japanese consoles or Japanese television on American current.

I heard in some places in Japan they have 50hz and some other place it's 60hz. Basically there shouldn't be problems with consoles and stuff.

Cool, I never thought somebody would actually print out that "gamer's translation guide". Tell me if it was of help.
If you need other words, just ask.

This is "Bookland", the place where I often go.
Today I bought a PS-game there (se "Game Finds") and outside the store they had a pile of books and CDs they gave away for free. So I came home with a big bag of free stuff. Unfortunately there was nothing game-related.

I visited Kyoto and went to Nintendo headquarter in South Ward.

Some pics.

Unfortunately I can't post the photos I took together with Mr. Miyamoto, because he didn't want to float those around on the internet.

Awesoime!!!

Thanks for the pics Manuel, I hold you in high regards now

Same here, too.
Thanks Roth again for making me aware of Nintendo HQ being in Kyoto. I totally forgot about that. I had my head full with ancient temples, dragon festivals, old shrines, geishas and ,and, and...

You should have asked for a job

Saw this on digg, thought you might be interested, manuel.

Thanks for the link.
Nice page. I already saw a lot of castles, but not so many famous ones yet.

I've been getting more and more into these off-the-wall Japanese games lately, and I was going to post this in the "Weird Games" thread, but I would have double-posted, and this thread seems more appropriate anyway:
It's called "Zunzunkyou No Yabou." You run around to various places in this world, and kill people that are dancing. (The difficulty resembles Robotron; the dancers just surround you), when the dancers are finished off, your character laughs with a very sinister tone.
I was just wondering if anyone knows what the title words mean? I've also gotten Bishoujo Janshi Pretty Sailor 1 & 2, and have no clue as how to play them. Help, Manuel?

looks like it says "Disco Cousin" in the screenshot, that could be the name. Manuel will probably know.

Looks more like "Disco <b>Queen</b>" to me..

EDIT: Well according to the English name seems to be "Ambitious of ZunZun"

I guess it's Disco Queen, like poo said.

Without seeing the Japanese characters it's kind of hard, but yabou means "ambition", "aspiration" or sometimes "treachery".

kyou could be the postfix for a religious group.　E.g. Christianity is "kirisuto-" in Japanese.

Assuming that it could be "The ambition of the ZunZun(religion)â€.

Let's see...
I checked on google and found out that it's written
ずんずん教の野望in Japanese.
So I guess my translation should be correct.

hahaha, i guess it does look alot more like 'queen'

Assuming that it could be "The ambition of the ZunZun(religion)â€.

Let's see...
I checked on google and found out that it's written
ずんずん教の野望in Japanese.
So I guess my translation should be correct.
Ha! That would make sense, since the "hero" seems to be dressed like a priest/monk. Slaughtering all those poor defenseless "sinful" dancers !
Thanks for the translation...I also downloaded that "Mario's Picross" you suggested in another thread; I'm working on figuring that one out.

Glad I could be of help.
And have fun with Picross.

Look at these nice Gaming stores:

Arcade: SEGA WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks pretty good.

These are some nice pages.
Ah, those pics bring back memories... *sigh* How much I want to live in Japan.

These are some nice pages.
Ah, those pics bring back memories... *sigh* How much I want to live in Japan.

I also want to live there, But the high cost and they won't let me stay there because there really ins't a reason too, Just for the video games and the food.

If you find a good job there you'll get a visa.
It's very helpful to have a university degree. At least a bachelor, better an M.A.
I don't think Japan gives you a visa for game hunting and enjoying their food.

I guess it would be good to travel around first and "test" the country.
I know of people who loved Japan, travelled there and were a bit put off by the many people and their habits.

So my recommendation is first to go there for travel only and THEN think about living and working there. And I recommend everybody to go to university if you want to work in Japan. Some people find work there wthout a degree, but it's a helluva lot easier as a university graduate.

I don't think Japan gives you a visa for game hunting.
Lol, maybe that depends on how many Nintendo products you buy, and how much pull Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto have with the government over there!
One of these days, if I can get out of this hole I'm in, I'd like to visit too.

That's another thing again.
If you pour some billions ($, not yen ) into the Japanese economy, they might even make you a Japanese.
But if you had so much money it wouldn't matter what natiuonality you are. You'd just travel around the whole year and always tourist visa would be more than enough I guess.

There's also the MIND BLOWING INSANE internet connection speeds. Some of the speeds from that lil red dot when I notice the peer list in uTorrent are unbelievable.

I don't know the upload speeds, but down they have 100Mbit as a sort of standard now. My wife's family got Hooked up to "hikari fiber" last week and they now have a 100M connection. Yahoo broadband also offers 100M and 50M.
Internet is fast there.

Hey guys! ... and gals!

Time to bring that topic back up.

I have been thinking a lot these days. And by a lot I mean: A LOT!
In the end I have come to the decision that I will leave Germany behind and move to Japan with my wife and kid next year.
My schedule so far:
I will work full-time from now on until the end of May in the company I had a part-time job for the last year. Working full-time will bring an increase in per-hour salary. Basically I'll save all the money and fly to Japan in mid-June 2008.
I would fly earlier, but our child will be born in the mid of January and we want to wait until the boy is about 5 months old before entering a plane.

In Japan we can rent a house from my wife's grandfather. Rent will be FREE until I find a job, so he said. Very nice offer from him. I will only have to pay for gas, water and electricity.
I have already found some companies in Japan that look for translators who work at home and send in the translations by email. I could do that from Germany, too, but the job descriptions say that due to government regulations one must live in Japan, so I'll go there.

In my free time (to earn some pocket money) I could try to get a job as tourist guide in the city (it's a city of 80000 in Hiroshima prefecture).
I could also try to make some money on vintage video games via eBay or the likes.

For the time being the chance that I'll move to Japan is around 98%. Only if I find a really good job in Germany in the next 3 or 4 months I'll consider to stay a little longer, but for now I'll go.
I already checked flight prices and I'm lucky. The flight will cost us (3 people) only 1196 Euros for a one-way flight. Yes, no return ticket.
We'll fly with Emirates, via Dubai.

What do you think about my plan?
Any kind words are appreciated. (And yes, I know what I'm doing here.
)

Wow, manuel! This is really a big surprise. I think this is so exciting, and it must be for you as well.

First off, I love the plan. It'll probably take a lot of work, but the way I see it, you shouldn't have one doubt in your mind about this. Your wife is Japanese, you have a huge interest in Japan and the language thereof. You're fluent at the Japanese language, and you wanna work as a translator.

There are no odds against you. I'd say go for it!

I find this to be particularly interesting, because I have a long-distance relationship with a girl from Argentina. We've been together for four months now, and I really love this girl. I will visit her after high school. I know, it isn't as overwhelming as this, but one day if we stick together (which I'm sure we will) we have to consider this ourselves.

And by the way, you must be very excited about the son that you're soon having. I'm very happy for you, manuel. I know you're a hard working guy, and you deserve every opportunity you get. Your plan is well thought out, everything looks good as you put it.

I have only one question though. How does your other family members react to this. Do they support your departure?

Lots of good luck!

Thanks for the kind word, Chris. You're a nice guy. You should come visit me in Japan. (I mean that!)

I also wish you luck with your girl.

My family members weren't very happy at first, but they said if it's what I want to do I should stick with it. They'll support me.
My sister told me I shouldn't let this big chance go by. And I won't.

Thanks manuel.

Wow, really? I'd love to come and visit you in Japan, always planned to visit the country as well. It would have to wait until I have a job with a steady salary though, but I'll try to make it work.

No, this is not something you should let pass you by. You're making the right decision here.

And the reason behind why I'm nice, is because of a motto of mine. It goes like this: "Nice guys treat other nice guys nice."

Cool. Good motto.

If you visit me you can stay there for free of course.
It's not a very big city, but a very beautiful one.

Thank you so much for the offer. I'm gonna take you up on it. I'll try to raise money to go there someday to visit you and your family. But have to wait until I move out and get my own place and all first of course.

i recently imported a couple things.

Bomberman the 2nd attack for 64.
Akumajou Dracula famicom mini
Christmas NiGHTS
Deep Fear(saturn)
and
Rockman's Soccer.

Um, that's great, man. But with all due respect... What does that have to do with anything, if I may ask?

Raising his post count of course! ;D

Plan sounds very good Manuel. In fact, I'm a little jealous. I have wanted to move out of America for a good time now, however, now I'm stuck here (kid and wife who WILL NOT leave her family).

I wish you the best of luck for everything you have planned.

Thanks for the good wishes. That helps me a lot (mentally).
Why did you want to move out of America (if I may ask)?

And thanks, Aaron for that link. That's incredible and very weird.

Where would you like to go, logandbz?

That's great news, I don't know what to say except good luck and congratulation.
Hey, Manuel, let me ask you a quick question. some dirtbag I know wants to go to Japan and teach English (!) he's done a teaching qualification and all. however, I (and others) suggested he attempt to learn a little bit (at least) of Japanese - especially if he wants to teach there - but he said he won't as the whole point is you'll/he'll pick it up over there. He's crazy, right? I mean really, it doesn't seem like the kind of language you can just "pick up" especially as it's so different to English.

Hi David!
Sorry to break your image of Japan.
Your friend basically won't need Japanese in Japan at all.
With a teaching qualification he'll find a job quite easily. Hell, native English speakers find teaching jobs even without a qualification at all. The only thing you need is any university degree.
I wanted to teach English, too, you know. (I think I'm quite good at it) But nobody will take me, because I'm not native. It doesn't matter that I have a better punctuation, grammar and vocabulary than many native applicants. (Ah well, I'll stop the rant here...)

Of course Japanese isn't a language you can "pick up" en passant.
It needs dedication and interest. If you're interested the best place to learn Japanese is in Japan.
But if your acquaintance is a "dirtbag" as you put it, he'll most likely just look for quick amusement with some of his younger female students, when you know what I mean. If he's just a bit good looking for Japanese standards and if he wants and tries it, it will be like in a all-you-can-eat restaurant. Just with girls.
Lots of people want to teach in Japan just to have fun and (*let's say it*) sex with a lot of (cute) young women.
That's why the reputation of language teachers in Japan has deteriorated a lot in the last decade.

I assume said dirtbag will get along with English alone and come home after some years without knowing Japanese at all. I could be wrong, but that's how it goes in many cases.

Really?
Maybe it's just me and my friends then, but i'd attempt to learn a bit just out of decency I guess. (That might have sounded a bit rude, it wasn't meant to)
He probably does just want to go for the girls, even though he has a girlfriend (he's not very good looking though)

No, it didn't sound rude.
In fact, I feel the same as you do. If I'd go to another country I'd at least try to learn the basics of the language.