Ideas on Travel to Japan

Probably because it's an expensive country to visit. You can do it on the cheap, but on the cheap compared to other countries throughout SE Asia, not really.

I thought I'd made some posts long ago about Japan, but you can read my blogs from Japan to get more info. Also, if you look at all the blogs from Japan, there have been quite a few, but not everyone participates in the message forums. You could probably gain some good info from others blogs. Just a thought. Reply to this

Japan is a very expensive country to visit and really has nothing worth seeing. Mt. fuji is nothing compared to nearly any real mountain in the Cascades, The Rockies, Alps, Andes, Himalayas. Any temple Japan has is easily excelled by a thousand in any of the other Asian countries. Why bother to go to a country whose only offering is that it is the only country to experience nuclear warfare firsthand. Save your money, go to Thailand, Cambodia, or even Korea where not much is cheap except clothes. Reply to this

I've been living in Japan for just over a month and it is wonderful. Yep, it's expensive, but being a student I have found ways of travelling cheaply. Those love hotels or youth hostels are cheap and camping would be woth looking into during the warmer months. I have not been to any other countries in asia, so i can't compare, but Japan is definately worth it! I'm here to study Japanese, but I've found that even if I ask a question in Japanese, be it on a train or at a market, people try to answer in english. I think the most difficult thing is being practically illiterate, but the language problem isn't bad. Note: I am based in a small town and I can get by easily on the small amount of phrase-bookesque Japanese I have learnt. Reply to this

If travelling to 83 countries in 50 years has given you all this "experience", then how can you say about Japan "Why bother to go to a country whose only offering is that it is the only country to experience nuclear warfare firsthand."? Anyone who has never left their front room, but has either an encyclopedia or access to the Internet, could tell you about contributions to the human race that have come from Japan.

Mt Fuji has never been advertised as any sort of climbing challenge, so trying to compare it with mountains in, e.g., the Himalayas, is not really a valid comparison.

Though obviously whether or not somewhere in the world is worth seeing is very subjective, UNESCO seems to think that Japan has 13 places worth giving World Heritage status to, whereas Uzbekistan has 4 and Myanmar 0. That's an objective opinion compared with anything you or I can give.

I'm not sure what you mean by "flimsy" - in a country as earthquake-prone as Japan, I'd say that anything that's stayed around for several hundred years deserves a better adjective.

If Japan is the only one of the 83 countries you've been to where you've been insulted, then you've led a charmed life. But if someone doesn't speak Japanese, like most foreign visitors to Japan, and all they experience is the helpfulness of the local people, then why would they care? Xenophobic behaviour comes in many forms, and I think I'd rather be referred to using informal language than be refused service, spat at, physically attacked, etc. Reply to this

for jade Apparently you have read something that I haven't. Beyond your lack of grammar, your reasoning is somewhat askew. How can I say that it is only a bother to go to Japan? Very simply. There is nother, absolutely nothing there that is worth looking at from my point of view. Now, tell me precisely what it is that Japan has contributed to the human race? Hmm. The slaughter of 300,000 people in Nanking. The slaughter of 430,000 in southern China. The theft of corporate secrets from the U.S. and subsequent sale to the U.S.S.R. The violation of contracts between Boeing, Texas Instruments, and every single company that Japan has dealt with. That, jade, is verifiable. In 1980, Japan sold secrets concerning the technology of the U.S. submarine screws to the soviets. They sold blueprints of the F-15 to the soviets. they sold fast process reactor technology to North Korea, then turned around and cried about it to the world. Trustworthy? Honorable? You toured Japan and thought it was nice. Hooray for you. Subjective. UNESCO is one of the most politically biased organizations on earth. I can only think of one that is more influenced by bribery and politics and that is the Pullitzer prize awards. Tell waht is so lovely about a temple made of wood that is restore with new logs every year. Last for several hundred years. You jest. The spot has been there that long, but as an original building there is not one piece of wood that has not been replaced several times. Now consider the Minaret in Khiva. It has been there several hundred years without anything but an occasional wash to remove the dust. You and eurfirst trip view it from the point of a tourist. I had to work with those people. I went into the relationship expecting honesty, courtesy, and respect. I believed that as long as I was honest, that would be returned. I knew the culture, the language, and what was expected of me. As a tourist, or even as a teacher who might be working there, you will never know the inner workings of the japanese business world. I do. I have no use for the country, the triteness of their tourist attractions, nor for the surface politeness of the people.
Yes I have been insulted, imprisoned, detained, shot, stabbed, spat upon, and in many other ways, in many other countries, been mistreated simply because I am white or american. ONLY in japan, however, have I been lied to and cheated while being told that the contracts were exactly as promised. Only in Japan have I been subjected to the demeaning mannerisms that they believe we are not aware of.

You are entitled to your opinion from your politically correct, lofty viewpoint. I will not deny you that. I am biased, but only because I have reason for it. You go ahead and dance through the flowers believing that the world is just one big happy wonderful place that only needs understanding. enjoy. I will go about my business with caution, and I will also look for the weeds in the flower garden. You did not say just how vast your travel experience is, nor whether it was only as a tourist, or if you had worked in foreign countries. I grow weary of your ilk, so say what you will. I will not look at this forum again, and have only done so this time because I felt your immature judgement needed a reply that might help you grow into a thinking adult since it is obvious you have not yet reached that point. Reply to this

hindu - actually I lived and worked in Japan back in the '90s and early 00's, though even if I hadn't my view on what Japan has contributed to the human race would be no different. I agree with Savage - this thread has wandered off topic, but at least now people have some background as to why you are dismissing Japan as a holiday destination, and hence can treat your initial post with that in mind.

If you want to continue this discussion in a more appropriate forum, then please feel free to PM me. Reply to this

Hindu has real problems. Consider what he says and compare with what ALL others on this site have posted. I once had a terrible experience in Amsterdam with a hideous witch of a woman. Ruined my whole experience there and I could have transposed that experience to saying all Dutch were like her. Fortunately, years
later, I had a Dutch girlfriend.

Moral: Don't let one or more bad experiences ruin your idea of a country.

One also has to look deeply within themselves and they may want to change some things. Short story, a man came to Japan and asked how people were here. He was asked how were people where he came from. He
said they were narrow minded, deceitful, insulting, demeaning. He was told that people are the same here. Later, another man came by and asked how people were in Japan. He was asked how were people where he came from. He said they are extremely courteous, friendly, honest and a joy to be with. He was told they are the same here. Reply to this

If can be very expensive to eat Western food and stay in Western type hotels.
Several people have made suggestions on less expensive places to stay. You
can eat delicious "bento" type food sold at train stations and department stores
or eat where locals do, like noodle places, etc. You can see what they sell by
looking at displays and just point to what you want. There is no "l" sound in
Japanese. Thank you is pronounced a-Ri-ga-to. Don't miss visiting Kyoto of
all the places to see and Tokyo can be interesting, too.

As far as being cautious, it may apply to the older generation who had a strong
group orientation. There was a saying, "The nail that sticks up will get hammered
down." Someone else might say you are not being cautious but impetuous. Reply to this