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The Japan trip resource thread 2.

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    Hello people. A slightly odd question here. Thinking of visiting Japan again with my girlfriend, and I'd like to see more of a small-town Japan rather than sticking to the big cities (I'm hoping that I might be recruited as the apprentice at a tofu shop and maybe accidentally become a drift racing champion, or something).

    My girlfriend is ethnically Chinese though and is a bit worried that people might not be too friendly to her if they realise that, due to the history of enmity between the two countries. Can anyone comment? What's it like being Chinese in small town Japan?

    It's probably an abundance of caution, but it's exacerbated by the fact that when we visited rural China a couple of years ago, some bars and shops literally had a sign saying 'No Japanese' on them. We realise rural Japan is totally different to rural China but, nonetheless, it's something that concerns her.

    I thought @Yakumo may be able to advise as I think he lives in a more rural area of the country.

    Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

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      Originally posted by wakka View Post
      My girlfriend is ethnically Chinese though and is a bit worried that people might not be too friendly to her if they realise that, due to the history of enmity between the two countries. Can anyone comment? What's it like being Chinese in small town Japan?
      I don't think you'll have many problems. I've spent a lot of time in relatively rural parts of Japan, with Americans who are ethnically Chinese and Korean; we never had any problems. In fact, the biggest problem was that Japanese people would assume they speak Japanese, which usually causes some confusion.

      I mean, racism is a thing in Japan. Even as a white/caucasian person I encountered some of it. There's certainly a chance you'll run into problems, but I don't think it's endemic.

      Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
      Cool, thanks. So my intention was to have the Shibuya Mark City building frame the top of the image on the right because I really like the look of that building and so the buildings lower approaching the left where the Tokyu building is. Except this new skyscraper would totally flip the balance. I might have to abandon the Mark City building and place the new skyscraper on the left and see the skyline to the left of that now.
      If it helps (which it probably doesn't, but still...) Japanese pop culture, in my experience, rarely depicts Tokyo's skyline as it actually is. The stuff in anime is often 1:1 from street level, but when using an elevated skyline view, they tend to use a "Frasier Skyline" - i.e. they cherry-pick buildings and arrange them pleasingly. This is because Tokyo's skyline isn't as recognisable as, for example, New York, where globally, it's expected that people have a perception of the arrangement of the buildings.

      A classic example is when CLAMP feature Tokyo Tower in their manga. You'd think it was this huge spire, with panoramic views of the flat area around it, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris (to which it bears a strong similarity) but the main observation deck is of roughly equivalent height to the forest of tall buildings around it, meaning that the view you get is less like this...



      ... and more like this...



      Tokyo's just so dense, which is in itself fascinating. But it's not like a high view in most cities.

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        Like Asura said, people will just assume she is Japanese until she can't speak the language.

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          There are **** loads of Chinese tourists in japan these days and if I'm brutally honest they're a pain in the ass. They don't wait in line, they are loud, messy throwing crap on to the floor and don't seem to understand basic manners. But they are main land Chinese and the Japanese put up with them without any public showing of ill feeling but they do have them. Not because they are Chinese but because of the above.

          I doubt your wife will be anything like the mainland Chinese that I see daily at the train station. So she'll be 100% fine. I don't think people will mistake her for Japanese either. I can tell the difference between a Japanese, Chinese and Korean easily after living in japan for 21 years. They way they dress is different for a start plus the look of the face and skin tone give it away. So I don't think people will expect your wife to speak Japanese

          Hmm, if you are looking for a smaller place to visit then try a few of the towns, smaller cities in Yamaguchi prefecture. It's full of history plus many of Japanese Prime Ministers are from Yamaguchi. The current Prime Minister's (Abe) home is actually 5 minutes away by car from where I live!! Of course he doesn't live there now but his parents do.
          Good historical areas are Hagi, Houfu,Yanai and Choufu (Samurai Town) in Shimonoseki City where I live. There's also Mazda's testing ground in Mine. This used to be a public race circuit until about 13 years ago when Mazda bought it. NOw it's private. I was lucky enough to use it once on a track day. It only cost 10,000 yen. Very cheap.

          Here's the circuit from google maps. https://goo.gl/maps/JVqt9wpssFw


          Link to an English Wiki page listing many places in Yamaguchi Prefecture - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...an_(Yamaguchi)

          By the way, Yamaguchi is next to Hiroshima too!
          Last edited by Yakumo; 16-02-2019, 12:34.

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            Thank you all (@Asura [MENTION=9333]kryss[/MENTION] [MENTION=1524]Yakumo[/MENTION]) for the advice, that’s reassured her a lot. Can’t imagine her being like the tourists you describe Yakumo!

            Some great tips regarding Yamaguchi too.

            One of the things we like to do on holiday is hiking. We’re very casual about it, we don’t break out the crampons etc, but we like visiting national parks and doing a bit of trekking about. For example, last year we visited Yosemite for three days and just did the easiest mapped hikes and really enjoyed it. I was looking at Gunma for this, is that a good place for it?

            Comment


              Originally posted by wakka View Post
              I was looking at Gunma for this, is that a good place for it?
              Heh, Gunma's actually my stomping ground, and yes, there are places to hike.

              That being said, are you aware you can climb Fuji? It's supposed to be relatively straightforward for anyone of reasonable fitness, and very popular.

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                I was not aware of that, no, but that sounds pretty cool - thanks. I’ll look into it. I’m thinking in broad terms at the moment about travelling from Tokyo by train to Kyoto, then potentially Gunma then down through the southwest.

                By the way - games shopping wise, I’ve done Akihabara and Den Den Town on my last visit. This time I’m not going to make those focuses. In small towns and cities, are there usually used games shops? Can I expect to find some opportunities to buy some bits and bobs?

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                  Originally posted by Yakumo View Post
                  There are **** loads of Chinese tourists in japan these days and if I'm brutally honest they're a pain in the ass. They don't wait in line, they are loud, messy throwing crap on to the floor and don't seem to understand basic manners. But they are main land Chinese and the Japanese put up with them without any public showing of ill feeling but they do have them. Not because they are Chinese but because of the above.
                  Yeah; I can't speak to your specific experience, but people in Japan are generally so polite and mindful - in fact, "mindful" is probably the best word - that people who aren't really stick out. I remember saying something similar to this to my parents before they visited, then when we were in Narita airport, we were passed by an American family. We could hear them (the dad was like Foghorn Leghorn) from the other side of the concourse, and then they blocked up the entire escalator when going up it (people normally stand to one side), totally oblivious to the fact that everyone in the airport was affected by their presence. My dad leaned over and said "yeah, I see what you meant now".

                  This isn't to say "all Americans are loud", as that's a stereotype - but it definitely rang true in this particular case.

                  I used to wear a union jack patch on my bag for this reason, as being caucasian, blue-eyed and pretty fat, people did assume I was American upon first meeting me. [MENTION=16665]Blobcat[/MENTION] and I went to Asakusa on a trip at one point, and we ran into a bunch of schoolkids who were on a field trip. Accompanied by their teacher, they were trying to speak to foreigners in Tokyo. They asked us "where in America do you live?" and we answered we were from England, not America, and they were really excited. It was very cute, one of them gave [MENTION=16665]Blobcat[/MENTION] a Doraemon sticker.

                  Originally posted by wakka View Post
                  I was not aware of that, no, but that sounds pretty cool - thanks. I’ll look into it. I’m thinking in broad terms at the moment about travelling from Tokyo by train to Kyoto, then potentially Gunma then down through the southwest.

                  By the way - games shopping wise, I’ve done Akihabara and Den Den Town on my last visit. This time I’m not going to make those focuses. In small towns and cities, are there usually used games shops? Can I expect to find some opportunities to buy some bits and bobs?
                  [MENTION=1524]Yakumo[/MENTION] might have a better idea about this. Certainly in the late 2000s they were pretty common in the larger towns and cities, perhaps even smaller ones - but that may have changed a bit by now.

                  Comment


                    Yakumo is spot-on, the Japanese will be able to tell your girlfriend isn't Japanese, I also can tell Japanese, Korean and Chinese apart and yes the Chinese tourists are a pain in the backside, the wife is always saying 'bloody tourists' when we go anywhere touristy.

                    That said I'm sure you both will be treated well, our part of Japan is rural, I'm the only foreigner I see when I'm over there and I've never had any issues - I help out the father-in- law out with the rice harvest most years and turn into a local rice farmer with all the garb, driving round in the kei-truck with all the other old geezers - it's great.

                    We're in Tokushima/Shikoku, lots to see there, world class surfing and white water rafting. Mountains and scenery. Biggest festival in Japan every year (Awa-Odori). Biggest Buddhist pilgrimage in Japan if not the planet (88 Temple), largest naturally occurring whirlpools, (O-Naruto) and if you are travelling by bus via Honshu you'll probably go over the longest single span suspension bridge in the world (Akashi Kaikyo).
                    Last edited by Anpanman; 16-02-2019, 22:13.

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                      My experience goes back a few years but I always found Japanese people pretty poor at telling who was Korean, Chinese and Japanese. I don't think that matters particularly though.

                      I would think that Chinese people would not get much hassle (and that may not necessarily reflect what people are thinking - they just would not be overt). Those Chinese tourist traits are seen around the world, tbh in all areas. To be fair, Chinese tourism is a fairly new phenomenon and they have yet to learn how to travel in a less obstructive way. I would imagine we would think the same thing about Europeans being similar from decades back if we were in the same locality. Just a reminder ;-)

                      I have always enjoyed the little bits of smalltown Japan I have seen - it is so lovely!

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                        I realise this is a big imposition but could someone just help confirm a couple of parts of a translation for me please? If the answer is no, I'll totally understand! It's this Shibuya Pixel Art contest. Their page is in Japanese and they are relying on an in-built Google translation for English and my trust in that is low given that it often turns Japanese into quite abstract poetry. The main things I'm just looking to be absolutely sure are the deadline and a confirmation of one part of the rules.

                        The page is here: https://pixel-art.jp/03/contest/ (you don't need to read the page - I'm posting anything needed here) and the relevant part is halfway down the page in the ENTRY応募内容 section. The English says the application period is February 1, 2019 (Friday) to March 31 (Sunday) 24:00. In Japanese it's: 2019年2月1日(金)~3月31日(日)24:00. That seems right knowing how they work out days and months?

                        A little below that in the 応募方法 section, the English seems to suggest you can apply any number of times but it is phrased awkwardly so I'm not sure. The Japanese is: お一人様、異なる作品なら、何回でも応募が可能です。

                        The last one is down in the notes and the Japanese says: アカウント非公開・ハッシュタグがついていない投稿は、応募対象外となります。 The English suggests that it means applying multiple times with the same pic will render it invalid. The reason I just want to clarify this is that the application for the contest is conducted through Twitter and Instagram and I want to check that, if I post it on both, it would render the submission invalid? I don't want to get knocked out on a technicality.

                        Anyway, I can stumble along with the Google translation so I don't want to put anyone out too much but if, just on a scan of this post, anyone reckons the English translation is spot on that would be helpful to know!

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                          Dates are correct.

                          The number of times bit says that you can enter as many different artworks as you like.

                          The [アカウント非公開・ハッシュタグがついていない投稿は、応募対象外となります] bit says your account needs to be public and the post needs to have the hashtag.

                          Confusingly, it then seems to say that Instagram posts need to have private mode on. I don't use Instagram but I'd have thought private mode should be off.

                          Regarding allowing multiple submissions of the same artwork on both Twitter and Instagram, it doesn't specify. I'd assume they won't allow it and that you'd have to pick one service per artwork.

                          One more thing - it says visitors to the event need to be living in Japan. I could investigate if that's because of posting invitations or something, in which case I'd be happy to handle that side of things. Speaking of which, I can try forwarding any questions for you.
                          Last edited by randombs; 20-02-2019, 23:34.

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                            Thank you [MENTION=2625]randombs[/MENTION]! I really appreciate that! Yes, I didn’t get what that visitors part meant because the google translate version seems to have come out a bit weird, using the phrase “bid to the” event. I wondered if maybe they were organising travel for winners within Japan to go but obviously couldn’t do that for people overseas but I couldn’t see anything that suggested that. I guess it only really matters if I stand a chance of winning! Going by previous winners, I think they go for exactly what I don’t do (very minimal style) and I did consider trying to push in that direction but then figured I may as well do what I do well rather than try to do what I don’t badly, if you get my meaning. Anyway, I will do my best!

                            Thank you again for the help. I really appreciate it! And thanks so much too for the offer to forward any questions. That’s really kind of you and, if I find I need to, I’ll take you up on it.

                            In other news, on my likely pointless quest to learn Japanese, I read a tweet in Japanese yesterday and understood it right away. That’s a big milestone. Flip side is I watched the two Battle Royale films last weekend and, in spite of doing a bit of Japanese every day for two months, I was able to decipher no more than about 6 words across both films. Obviously my vocabulary is still tiny but I think listening comprehension is going to turn out to be a big challenge. Anyway, it’s fun. It’s like solving puzzles.

                            Comment


                              Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                              In other news, on my likely pointless quest to learn Japanese, I read a tweet in Japanese yesterday and understood it right away. That’s a big milestone. Flip side is I watched the two Battle Royale films last weekend and, in spite of doing a bit of Japanese every day for two months, I was able to decipher no more than about 6 words across both films. Obviously my vocabulary is still tiny but I think listening comprehension is going to turn out to be a big challenge. Anyway, it’s fun. It’s like solving puzzles.
                              To reassure you a bit, I'm sure you know this as it's one of the first things you learn - Japanese has "ways of speaking" just like any language. Generally as a foreigner you'll learn middle-of-the-road Japanese which is semi-formal (so not casual-sounding nor "keigo", which is getting towards what we could maybe call "legalese"). This is quite different to the manner with which kids and teenagers talk, which can be present in things like movies and anime. Again, if you've never been there you've certainly read/heard this if you study Japanese; I'm just saying that it's not an exaggeration - it's absolutely true.

                              For a laugh, I'd recommend trying to decipher this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03x0bU2w9HI

                              Even after years of talking to my students, I could rarely understand them when I overheard them (they would slip into a slightly easier to understand form of speech when I talked to them). What cracks me up is that in the anime Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, which involves Japan after a catastrophe, there's a character who speaks with a strange diction, and it was only after a while I realised he's meant to be a foreigner, and he's speaking an exaggerated form of that learned Japanese.

                              The real protagonist.Clip from the anime, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress . Episode 1-12.Original TV animation.I don't own the contents of this video.


                              I like, however, that his Japanese isn't bad; the characters have no trouble understanding him. It's just that he speaks very "deliberate" manner.

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by Asura View Post
                                For a laugh, I'd recommend trying to decipher this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03x0bU2w9HI
                                Ha! I don't stand a chance! Yep, you're right and I have heard this so I guess I'm experiencing that but I think I'm probably also bringing some English language hangups to it as well, expecting certain things and sound differences that aren't there or are different in Japanese. One thing I'm really finding (or at least I feel right now) is how few sounds they have and so, as a result, many words are really like other words or, in some cases, are exactly the same. We have that in English too of course but it seems to be much more frequent in Japanese due to having fewer core sounds. So I often find listening to a sentence takes several goes as I identify which syllables belong to which words, even on slow language-learning podcast sentences. But familiarity will really help with that, I'm guessing, and a lot of it will just be about sticking with it.

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