I want to go to Japan probably the summer of 07 for a bout a week or so, but before I go i have some questions:

1) Does anyone know a website that can help me learn Japanese?

2) How much money should I bring with me? I was thinking $3,000USD would do it. (Me and another person is going)

3) Is it ok if I don't completely know Japanese and start talking in english? Does some Japanese peopel know english?

4) What should I see while in Tokyo?

Thanks^u^

Wow! I wanna to go Japan!:(

Let's start off with the basics. Do you know Hello, Thank you, Good evening, Good night or Good bye in Japanese?

konichiwa, arigato, kom ba wa, oyasumi, cha na/ne. excuse spelling but my pronounciation is correct. It's ok knowing the basics but that is going to get you no where. You really need to learn at least a level 1 japanese language before thinking about going to japan to ask simple questions like directions and what you want to eat/ drink plus how much things cost. I got a cd for xmas and my mum got it for me off of ebay. your best option is to look on places like ebay or amazon

I've never been to Japan, but I do know a bit about the language.

1) Does anyone know a website that can help me learn Japanese?

Websites suck. Go with a program like Pimsleur or RosettaStone.

3) Is it ok if I don't completely know Japanese and start talking in english? Does some Japanese peopel know english?

English is taught in middle and high school, but it's not very complete. I would highly recomend you increase your background in Japanese Language rather than take you chances on finding someone that understands you.

I know how to say: Excuse me do you speak japanese? No I don't. Do you speak Japanese. I know a little bile Japanese. Are you American? Yes I am American. Baka=Idiot/Fool, Ichigo=Strawberry, Konichiwa=Hi Hi=Yes, Ire=No (Think I speel that right), Ohiogozaimas=Good morning, and arigato=Thank you. Thats all I know right now.

if i'm correct konichiwa would only be applied durin daytime, not too sure though, but hi is actually spelt hai. no is iie......i sounds like e and the e sounds like eh. so so you would put those 2 together and its kind of dragged out abit. so its kind of sayin ee eh. good morning is ohaio and im not too sure about the gozaimas. but im not really the expert in japanese the people to ask would be m and angelic. but its good that your at least learning so keep it up

Okay Maybe on friday I'll go buy the pimsluer thing. Is that thing any good?

It's better to actually learn Japanese in some kind of education or training. It can be quite a hard language to learn, and I definitely wouldn't suggest anyone to study it "just cos it's liek t3h anime speek and so kewl" if you get what I mean.

http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/learn-japanese.asp?

It is kinda expensive, but I use the Pimsleur program (I own all three) and I can somewhat understand Japanese and I haven't had any professional classes on it yet. Mind you, this does not teach you how to read Japanese (that, itself, would be a very long road; anyone up for some radical studies?), but it does teach you how to properly speak and forumlate common sentences; especally for travelers/business trips. The CDs provided in the first level total up to about 15 hours of audio tutorial, usually with two people having a discussion, and then breaking it down into sentences, with call and response. (eg. Announcer: This would be a typical way to ask someone directions for a place to eat. Listen to the conversation.

A: Sumimasen
B: mM?
A: Doko ni ikeba shokuji ga arimasu ka?
B: Watashi wa Misemasu.

Announcer: Imagine yourself on a train and would like to get someone's attention, so he says: "Excuse me"

A: Sumimasen

Announcer: He will repeat this word part by part. You will repeat each part trying to make your pronouncation as close to his as possible.

A: Sen *pause*
A: Masen *pause*
A: Masen *pause*
A: Sumi *pause*
A: Sumi *pause*
A: Sumimasen *pause*

Announcer: How do you say "Excuse me" in Japanese? *long pause*

A: Sumimasen

And thus it breaks down each word in the conversation into the syllibles we all know and love.)


It's a good starting point for learning (Polite) Japanese.

Like Angelic said, and from personal experience, I have learned that their really is no subisitute to taking classes on a foriegn languages. No matter how many books (I own 6 complete books; and many, many text tutorials) or how many hours of audio, I still make so many mistakes, and there are quite a few blanks that cannot be explained without a teacher. This program will only offer as a quick fix for your trip (mainly because it's an introduction to the Japanese language, but, judging by your list of words you know, it will not be waisted). If you're truly deducated, find a class and have the teacher teach you.

I've heard of good results from the rosetta stone (http://www2.rosettastone.com/en/individuals/languages/japanese) program, but I've never actually used it.

Baka=Idiot/Fool, Ichigo=Strawberry, Konichiwa=Hi Hi=Yes, Ire=No (Think I speel that right), Ohiogozaimas=Good morning, and arigato=Thank you. Thats all I know right now.

Uhm, it's more casual to just say ohayou I think. :think:
(+it's spelled hai o; )

Think of it this way, when you go to another country (ex. France) you will probably just want to learn the basics instead of getting into lots of detail. I recently went to Mexico and I knew very little Spanish. Also think about where you will be staying, do you know anybody living there? Take care of things like where you will be staying ahead of time over the language, try staying somewhere that you know people will speak english.

E- @ ohio (oh sh*t XD)

lol ohio is a state in america. ohaio is good morning

Actually it's ohayou.

Anyone know what 'Shimas' means? They say it every other word.

nope XD

1) Answered above ^_^
2) I think that is a good amount but just so you know food and stuff cost more in japan @-@ i go around every other summer.
3) Some speak english i bet .... but its good if you know a little. Its not bad if you dont know japanese cus i dont know alot. I have friends thata help me though.
4) depends on what you like okies

Anyone know what 'Shimas' means? They say it every other word.

What happened to Gand's thread on language?
Er-- Isn't it something like at the end/ in the end?

shimasu is the last part of many verbs (benkyoushimasu - to study, kekkonshimasu - to get married, hairimasu - to enter, shimasu - to do) so you hear it a lot.

How about E-Z language? This program is pretty old!

:heh:

I agree with the University of Arizona's opinion:


While this software claims to teach seventeen different languages, it really teaches vocabulary and short fill-in-the-blank phrases. Language teaching involves much more than these two abilities. If the software were intended for a 2 - week tourist to the country of the target language, then perhaps what the software offers would be enough.
The “facts” presented seem to be lumped in to the program. In the Spanish component, there is no continuity, one scene might be the Incan pyramids and the next might be a diver from Acapulco Mexico. The explanations are in English and they offer no more than a visual entertainment of some kind with no real content of the culture and no context of any kind. It offers a very generalized array of beautiful places in Latin America (including Brazil – where Portuguese is spoken). For a tourist this information may be misleading, expecting to see scenes of these types on their trip, yet finding out that they are actually located thousands of miles away.
In summary, this software may be just as helpful as a traveler’s pocket dictionary. It offers helpful vocabulary and expressions, and if the user has a really good memory, it’ll be useful for his/her stay in Spanish speaking country. However if the objective is to learn the language, the user would be better off looking elsewhere.

I find Pimsleur useless because I'm not an aural learner...

Anyway there's a thread for Japanese language Q/A (http://forums.ichigos.com/showthread.php?t=6037).. stay on subject here.

Japan Pwns.

It's like the Uber coolest place ever.

to topic creator: get a japanese teacher best way to learn japanese. or do what i did and educate your self though books. Also you dont really need to know japanese if you are in a major city since most people speak english and there are english signs all over the place.

@XetroxIV- I'm gonna go to Japan in summer 07 for 3 weeks! but i'm going HK for 2weeks first! i think i'm going on holiday for nearly a whole month! ^_^ weee!!

Although i'm going to Japan with a Japanese friend (her parents have got a house there) so i don't need to learn much of hte language. Watching anime has helped me pick up quite a bit in the language, although they're mainly small phrases...

ok.. there's some serious response required here. I've been there and done that, so I'd consider my answers rather accurate.

1) No. Websites won't help. Never. Ever. Carry a Jap<->Eng dictionary if you must, and don't be afraid to use it. They won't be angry for making them wait a little while you look up the words.

2) Depends on your tastes and requirements. If you need to have food/sleep/transport etc, AND spend, 3 grand for two people might not cut it, especially if u want to drop by Tokyo disneyland or something. Travel by bullet train is expensive as hell.
If you're going to be staying at youth hostels, use the subway and pretty much stay within Tokyo metro, you'll have something like 1k to spend in Akihabara and Shinjuku. Hell I lasted with $1200US alone for two weeks.. so who knows. If you use your head, you can get some massive discounts.

3) Ok so you can speak a little Japanese (I'm presuming you know some Japanses, right?). Some Japanese guy comes over to you randomly while you're out at the mall, and asks a lot of questions in Japanese. You think you'll be able to respond back? Hell no.

They LEARN some English, but remember they're Japanese. They'll pretend they know less than they actually do, for the fear of screwing up. "I'm sorry" is about all you'll get if you ask around in English.

You might run into the occasional foreigner if you get lost in the big shopping districts, but don't keep your hopes up. I once ran into a Russian.

4) Staying in Tokyo strictly,

Ueno Park - They still got the wild life preservation area I think.. well something of that sort. Big park in middle of the city.

Shinjuku + Station area - The few blocks around the subway station are massive shopping centres. Nice browsing.

Akiharabara - For electronics, don't buy at shinjuku. Its about 10% cheaper here, AND another 20~30% cheaper if you go to the right stores (and haggle if you can)

Meiji Castle - Might be a little far from the youth hostels, but if you can afford the rides, get your money's worth and visit some damn historic sites.

Catch your timing well and you might be able to drop into a Komike, visit the original anime convention. They have those damn often.

Tokyo Disneyland - Why not?.. if you've got the 1 week Shinkansen pass, might as well go here too for the hell of it

Temples.. I think there's one or two around Tokyo, but I didn't go so meh. See if you can find any info on them before you go.


Honestly though, You won't see much at Tokyo. Its a nice place to work and shop around, but if you want the "I want to see Japan"/old school tourism, You want to go to Kyoto with its ancient shrines and castles. Kansai area's pretty cool too, its got all the stuff Tokyo has anyway. If you don't fear the dialect.

So 3,000USD won't do it then how much should I bring if I visit Tokyo for maybe a week or so?


Thanks
XetroxIV ^u^

If I were you, I'd start thinking of why you want to visit Japan. Is it really Japan you're interested in or is it the fact that anime and Square are from Japan? Japan isn't all like it's being portrayed like in anime you know? In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be disappointed by it.

If I were you, I'd start thinking of why you want to visit Japan. Is it really Japan you're interested in or is it the fact that anime and Square are from Japan? Japan isn't all like it's being portrayed like in anime you know? In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be disappointed by it.

Have to agree here, you can easily find lots of places in America that are dedicated to anime as in Japan.

Yup.. you go to Japan for genuine tourist reasons. If you're there just for anime&co, spend the money on road trip to American conventions. =_=

I intend to go myself at some point. but im goint to see the shrines, the bullet train and some of the wooden forts, apparently they rebuild them when they get old, to keep the technique alive and because a wooden castle isnt around forever.

I'm not going for the anime/games, I'm going for the shrines/tourest attractions. And Tokyo Disney Land. Food(2 weeks) Hotel(2 weeks) Clothes/other stuff(2 weeks)

I'm in Japan as we speak and i've been here for the past few days......Tokyo is pretty awsome but shopping is mostly what i did there, when i moved on to the countryside i was like WOW! In fact....im currently sat at the top of a mountain after climbing a 150m rock face (i loove climbing :heh: ) and the sights i can see here beat huge buildings any day ^_^ too bad i have to climb back down again cos my hands hurt from gettin up here <_<

Oh yeah! as for learning the language.....i speak japanese fluently after learning through books and listening to tapes so thts what i suggest ^.^

I took a few Japanese lessons.. It's really hard and long and painful to learn but it's a beautiful language.
There are a lot of good advices in this thread so there's not much to say.. Taking lessons is a pretty good way to start I find.
I intend to go to Japan some day once I can talk a bit more fluently.

I'm in Japan as we speak and i've been here for the past few days......Tokyo is pretty awsome but shopping is mostly what i did there, when i moved on to the countryside i was like WOW! In fact....im currently sat at the top of a mountain after climbing a 150m rock face (i loove climbing :heh: ) and the sights i can see here beat huge buildings any day ^_^ too bad i have to climb back down again cos my hands hurt from gettin up here <_<

Oh yeah! as for learning the language.....i speak japanese fluently after learning through books and listening to tapes so thts what i suggest ^.^

You say you're in Japan, your IP adress says England. I believe the IP adress. Also, don't talk bullshit about learning Japanese from books and tapes, it can't be done. Get over it, you're not cool so stop acting.

XD clocked

And another thing, how could someone post a message on a forum from the top of a mountain? Even if you have a laptop with a wireless connection, no one's gonna bother putting a wireless link up there.

You say you're in Japan, your IP adress says England. I believe the IP adress. Also, don't talk bullshit about learning Japanese from books and tapes, it can't be done. Get over it, you're not cool so stop acting.
lol, how embarrasing

Learning Japanese from books and tapes and other media can be done. The friend who made us go to Japan learnt it purely from such. I couldn't tell you if it he was fluent or not but he got us where we needed to be and do and such.

It's possible to learn Japanese through anime...but in my opinion, it's better to understand the basics through formal language first, since it's easier to understand the verb roots and endings, adjectives and conjugations, etc.

I learn Japanese myself, and I found I can learn words through lyrics in word, since there are so many Japanese lyrics site, I'm pretty sure, it can help u.
Bring a dictionary, or some sort of translating device...I guess as long as u can order McDonalds and a place to stay, i'm pretty sure u'll be ok...also, if u have a chinese background, or learn the kanji, it should help u a lot too =)

*learn how to buy stuff, and ask directions!!*
Ganbatte ne!

And another thing, how could someone post a message on a forum from the top of a mountain? Even if you have a laptop with a wireless connection, no one's gonna bother putting a wireless link up there.
Cell phone browsers (assuming there's service). I've hopped on IRC from a 5500' mountain in the San Gabriels before XD. Technically they could be going through a proxy in England... but that's pretty unlikely.

There's no way anyone is going to be fluent with just books and tapes, though.

She died. There's a brief explanation about her IP in there, too.

sorry call me cold hearted which i dont mean to be but im a bit sceptical about this. it's just it was all a bit too sudden and i've been around long enough to see multiple fake stories so i just haven't taken it to heart

sorry call me cold hearted which i dont mean to be but im a bit sceptical about this. it's just it was all a bit too sudden and i've been around long enough to see multiple fake stories so i just haven't taken it to heart
seriously, i agree with you, i was just waiting for someone else to say it. the 'letter' in the tribute thread conveniently explains the IP?

I kinda don't really believe that. Having a mother send an email to online friends from forums and quoting someone off of MSN. :mellow:

E- I'd also believe that if I died, my mother would type with correct punctuation and spelling.

I agree, but I didn't want to be the first one to say it. People tend to jump me whenever I say something like that you know?

Not to mention the timing was sort of off. April 8th, 2006, 01:42 pm was her very last post, and Constaneum posted the dedication at April 8th, 2006, 08:04 pm. That gave her ample time to have read Angelic's comment and the ones after it right before Gand's. If she was even able to post seven hours before her death, after a
150m fall, that's pretty amazing. About her birthday, too.

Not to mention her writing syntax shifts from being proper, but then in the quotes it is all short-handed and erroneous, to out of the quotes and being erroneous, back to being proper. It's like she wrote it in one draft and forgot midway to write correctly and shifted again. It flawed.

And everything else that the people above have already mentioned.

It's all too coincidental.

Topic: Wikipedia (http://wikitravel.org/en/Japan) has a travel guide.

If this story is true then it is truely sad. However, I have these burning issues that show me that this story is bullshit:

- 150m is the equivalent of a 50-story building. Humans cannot survive that. If she did then it would certaintly make the news. There's nothing in any Japan, US, or international news sources.
- IPs do not get "mixed" up. Do you know how routers work?
- Why would her mother mention an "ip mixup" or even mention forums? Wouldn't she be more concerned with her daughter's funeral and informing close friends and relatives?
- An English mother named her daughter Sakura?

Also what's already been brought up:
- dominate_ze_vorld's timing issue.
- what Meer and Angelic said.

Really, what enjoyment do you get by making these things up? I'm going to remove the thread in Compositions. If you want to post re-post that composition, I suggest you do so with an apology.

Either that, or dig yourself further in the hole by trying to explain all of the bove.

Ichigos seems to attrack arseholes who like to fake deaths =_=; Ah well...

anyway, back on topic \o/

yeah.. topic... I wish vB had a way to split threads like IPB... :unsure:

Anyway, coming from the States, would anyone recommend a US carrier or JAL? My trip is still a year off so I haven't priced anything out yet...

I just read the blog of someone I know who's in Japan right now, he went to view the cherry blossom the other day. I'm so jealous T_T

He should've recorded it for you and put it on utube or something. I would've liked to see such an event. I don't suppose it'd be anything like the majestic scene towards the end of the Last Samurai, would it? :P

That's be gnarly to see in person. That's right, I said a retro 70's surfer dude word.

I want to go to Japan probably the summer of 07 for a bout a week or so, but before I go i have some questions:

1) Does anyone know a website that can help me learn Japanese?

2) How much money should I bring with me? I was thinking $3,000USD would do it. (Me and another person is going)

3) Is it ok if I don't completely know Japanese and start talking in english? Does some Japanese peopel know english?

4) What should I see while in Tokyo?

Thanks^u^

1: yeah, so everyone else has already stated what i wanted to say.

2: is that for both of you? or are those funds your own? if they are only for you, i'd say you could get by (going by the rationalization that i could get by with that)

3: if you're going to tokyo, its more diverse than the rest of japan. look at large u.s. cities. the chance of you finding a person that speaks a foreign language is higher in new york than say, smallville oklakansas.
also, in my experience i have found that the japanese people are a VERY polite, helpful, and accomodating people. i (am currently in japan now) went back to the states for christmas. upon returning to japan, my flight was delayed in detroit, which translated into me being late and missing my flight to sapporo. the couple next to me randomly started me in a friendly conversation, "hey, where are you from, why are you here, having fun? blah blah blah" and we got on the subject of my flight (ah, we were on the train) and they said "dude! (not really, but this is my english adaptation) you're not gonna make your flight!" i looked at my watch, and sure enough, my plane was taking off in five minutes. i felt despair sinking in.... i didnt know what to do.... but that couple busted out their cell phones and called the airport to arrange another flight for me! (i call that God's blessing). lesson learned: japanese people are friendly, and would probably like to help you out. just try asking them!
another thing to consider is that english is a compulsory class in both jr and sr high. so most students can do "a little". it has been my observation that being able to speak english is something that most japanese buisnessmen want, just like a nice suit.
so when (yes not if) you find someone who speaks japanese to help you out, be sure to compliment their english. no matter how good or sucky they are. its not required by culture, but it would be a real nice thing to say to them. and, they will likely be encouraged by your polite behavior, and not as timid to approach other foreigners in the future. and be sure to say thanks.
to answer your question: yes, most japanese people speak a little bit of english.

4: i dont live in tokyo, so i cant give you insider info on any hole-in-the-wall cool nifty places that the majority of people dont know about. from reading the other people's posts here, it sounds like there's too much to see in tokyo during such a short stay!! so dont worry, just pick what looks interesting to you and your friend.

(i actually havent ever been to tokyo besides narita airport. so i honestly wouldnt know what to do there. as far as sightseeing is concerned)

**EDIT**
and angelic: them some ubermod powers you got there! checking people's ip addresses never crossed my mind. in fact, i didnt know an ip address told you that.

I have never actually been to a cherry blossom festival :cry:. Odd but nevermind! They are great: watched one on freinds thing. (doesn't fit through translator well)

I know how to say: Excuse me do you speak japanese? No I don't. Do you speak Japanese. I know a little bile Japanese. Are you American? Yes I am American. Baka=Idiot/Fool, Ichigo=Strawberry, Konichiwa=Hi Hi=Yes, Ire=No (Think I speel that right), Ohiogozaimas=Good morning, and arigato=Thank you. Thats all I know right now.

I can help if you want! Pm me for vocab notes!

You could also post it here if you're actually capable of speaking Japanese.

what do you mean? I don't get it :\. Umm... anyway what do you want to know?

Oh I get it!!!! Here you go:

Basic conversatin Between Sir Jaso, Angelic and XetroxIV

Sir Jaso: Konnichiwa.
XetroxIV: Konnichiwa.
Sir Jaso: XetroxIV-san, kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu.
Angelic-san desu.
Angelic: Hajimemashite. Angelic desu. Douzo yoroshiku.
XetroxIV: XetroxIV desu. Douzo yoroshiku.
Angelic: Gakusei desu ka.
XetroxIV: Hai, gakusei desu.
Angelic: Go-senmon wa.
XetroxIV: Keizai desu. Anata mo gakusei desu ka.
Angelic: Iie, senega [Ichigo's.com] desu.
XetroxIV: Sou desu ka.

Sir Jaso: Hello.
XetroxIV: Hello.
Sir Jaso: XetroxIV, this is my friend. This is Angelic.
Angelic: How do you do? I'm Angelic. Nice to meet you.
XetroxIV: I'm XetroxIV. Nice to meet you.
Angelic: Are you a student?
XetroxIV: Yes, I am.
Angelic: What is your specialization?
XetroxIV: Economics*. Are you a student, too?
Angelic: No, I am Admin at Ichigo's.com.
Kimura: I see.


[how else shall i put it?]

*(just making topic of convo: what are you really studying?)

(no question marks? you dont have them in japan!!!!; spoken question mark: ka)

anything else you want? ^_^

Does this mean we're doing a language thing again Angelic?
Is there one still or did it die?
(Learning Japanese or French)

I just don't believe he's Japanese. I never believe people are from Japan when they claim they are, so I always run an IP check on them. They always fail, except for tom_from_winchell who has a Japanese IP address.

It's just that too many people think it's "sugoi" (cool) to act as if they live in Japan, cos that's where anime comes from.

edit: When people can actually prove they are from Japan, I will drop all accusions against them (of course) and apologise, but until then I'll remain rather suspicious about the whole matter. Too many people try to act like the are from Japan. Don't ever consider it a personal attack, I just don't like people trying to show off with a lie.

If we really have Japanese people around here, please report to me though. I need to practise for my exams =P

guys... we have a japanese thread: http://forums.ichigos.com/showthread.php?t=6037

this thread is already all sorts of derailed @_@