#in case it don't fit i can either exchange or get store credits

[duoduotian]

just spent my future OT pay on a top that i'm not even sure it will fit

[i-growl-growl-growl]

Hii, I wanted to ask you something, I read that you study in Japan and my friend asked me a while ago to go with her to Japan to study there because I wanted to study abroad cuz Europe is boring lol and so she asked me and I really don't know about it, could you maybe list some bad and goid things from your experience there ? That'd be helpful I think thanks for your time bubs❤

You should definitely take the chance to study abroad here, or where ever you have the ability to go, if you ever get the chance.

I would just like to start off by saying that many people come here excited to explore Japan but often leave disappointed because they had expectations that were far too high to ever be met. If you’re going to come to Japan be open minded about how it’s not going to fit every stereotype and every rumor that you’ve been led to believe about it. A lot of people come here believing that all of Japan is this futurist wonderland, like in all of those sci-fi movies, and although it does have its advanced technological aspects it isn’t the entirety of Japan that is like that, in fact it’s mostly just the major touristic spots that are typically that way. A lot of people also come here thinking the exact opposite, that it’ll be like stepping into a land that has been preserved by history: they’ll see samurai, sumo wrestlers, and geishas walking around in their kimonos everywhere, that is also not the case.

Now, I can tell you that this is going to be pretty lengthy so strap yourselves in and prepare for “a long ass ride.”

From my experiences ((and overall just random information that I think would be benefitial for you to know)), lets start with the BAD/shocking ones:

  1.       I don’t know what the bicycling situation is like in Europe but, here in Japan, bicyclists will use the sidewalks alongside normal pedestrians. The sidewalks are already pretty small, and considering how crowded it can get, things can get a bit scary when you find yourself having to play chicken with a bicyclist on the sidewalk. Always have one ear clear of any headphones or earphones so that you can hear the bicyclists approaching you from a distance so that you can prepare yourself to move out of the way. Japanese bicyclists will tend to not move out of the way for you so, if you find yourself in the position of playing chicken with them and you think you’ll have the chance at winning…. you won’t! They will ram your ass into the concrete OR stop dead in the tracks right in front of you and wait for you to step to the side for them. (I have a personal story that goes with this situation that explains why I have such an undying H.A.T.R.E.D for bicyclists here in Japan but it’d take centuries for me to write so I’ll leave it out.)

2.           Bring a small bar or bottle of soap that only you will use and carry it with you in your personal purse or bag because many of the public Japanese bathroom DO NOT have soap, if they do then it’s usually a single bar of soap that everyone who has been in the restroom has used.

3. & 4.     This isn’t an experience that I had because I did research before coming here but make sure that you bring a laptop that will work in Japan and make sure that you have a phone that is unlocked . There are many laptops that WILL NOT work once you try to convert them to work with the Japanese…… (I forgot what it’s called)….. computer systems……..     Luckily my laptop is an ASUS which works wonderfully in Japan. Unfortunately, I don’t know what other laptops work in Japan after being brought from other countries so I can’t help you much in that aspect. If your laptop isn’t compatible to work in Japan then you’ll have to buy one in Japan (which could be a hassle because you’ll have to convert it to function in a language that you do understand etc. etc.) As for the phone, unless you have worldwide coverage, you’ll need to order a SIM to put in your phone so that it’ll work while you’re here. Many international students weren’t aware of both of these things and found out that their phone was locked so they couldn’t remove the original sim and put the Japanese one in so they had to buy new phones in Japan (which is a pain in the ass) or they had to buy a new laptop. When ordering a SIM, if that’s the route you’re going to take, you have the choice of Data only or Voice and Data. Prices will vary depending on the provider you’re going through, how long you intend to use their SIM, and how much data + voice calling you want to have each month. I’d personally recommend that you go through SakuraMobile (the provider I’m using).

5.       It is rude to eat or drink while you are walking around or sitting in public. On a hot summer or fall day, this will REALLY SUCK because you’ll want nothing more than to take a few swigs of your water, or whatever beverage you have, to cool you down. There will also be days where you want to rip open one of your snacks and eat it at the park or as you’re walking or waiting for the train or bus but you can’t, because it’s rude.

6.      Blowing your nose in public is EXTREMELY rude. DO NOT  blow your nose in public, EVER! If you find yourself to be in a pickle because you have allergies or have a runny nose you better run to a convenience store and buy yourself a good pack of surgical masks to put on over your face. It is considered a kind and considerate thing to do, especially if you are sick because no one wants to catch or spread germs.

7.      make sure you know where you can use you credit card to pull out cash because Japan is a cash based country. It is RARE  to find a place that will take credit cards, especially foreign credit cards. AGAIN, this could be where convenience stores are of convenience to you: convenience stores will often have an atm within them that accepts credit cards from various countries and you can use these to get cash so long as you pay an exchange fee for the transaction. Be aware that, if these atms do accept your card, you know how much you can withdraw within a 24 or 48 hour period because it’d suck for you to spend all the money you have while thinking you can just withdraw more once you run out only to find out that you’ve maxed out how much money you can take out within the specified 24-48 hour period.

8.        CROWDS!!!!!!!!!! If you hate crowds you’ll hate Japan. Even if you don’t hate crowds you’ll simultaneously learn to hate crowds but learn to live with them at the same time during your stay in Japan. If you think Japan is crowded based off of what you’ve seen in animes, movies or tv shows or based off of horror rumors that you’ve heard from friends, family, or online and you wonder if it can really be that crowded… yes it is. IT’S WORSE ACTUALLY!!!! The rumors about being crammed against each other, packed in the trains or buses like a can of sardines is NO FUCKING JOKE!!!! If you’re a person who needs their personal space… good luck finding it in Japan, most specifically when on public transit. Tokyo, by far, is the ABSOLUTE WORST when it comes to crowds.        ((just some personal advise, try and avoid Tokyo unless you’re going there just for a few days or a week. the crowds suck, it smells bad, the people aren’t as friendly as those in Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nara, everything is expensive, and the public transportation is an absolute bitch to get around!))

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Now, on to the GOOD experiences:

1. & 2.        food is CHEAP and food is FRESH!!!! You will find that the convenience stores have pre-made foods that cost anywhere from $1 USD to $6. These include pasta dishes, salads, soups, miscellaneous snacks, sweets, drinks… you name it!!  If you look at the packages you’ll often find that NONE of the dishes are older than the exact day that you’re at the store OR, a good way to tell if they are older than 24 hours is you’ll see a red stamp on them that says 20% or 20cents… which means that you get 20cents to 20% off of that dish due to how “old” the dish is. In the entire 8 months that I’ve been here, I have never seen a pre-made convenience store dish that was still on the rack that’s 2+ days old.

3.           Convenience stores ARE ACTUALLY CONVENIENT! Not only do they have a variety of fresh food and the usual chips and other junk food to choose from but they also have microwaves that you can use for a small added charge to your total if you wish to have a dish heated up for you on the spot! They will also provide you with a choice of chopsticks, a fork, or a spoon as well as a damp hand towel to clean your hands off with once you’ve finished your meal.

4.        people are polite. When you enter a store or restaurant you will hear the word “irasshaimase“ (E-la-shy-mas-Ay) which means “welcome” and they will also bow to you. people will also apologize when approaching you or after bumping into you by saying either “sumimasen” (sue-me-mas-en) “excuseme/I’m sorry” or  “gomennasai“ (go-men-na-sa-E) “I’m sorry” depending on the nature and severity of the situation. Japanese people will also greet you with “ohayou gozaimasu“, or sometimes just “ohayou” (Ohio/ go-za-E-mas)) “good morning”, “konnichiwa“ (ko-n- knee-chee-wa) “good afternoon”, or “konbanwa"- “good afternoon.” They are also extremely helpful and will do their best to help you if you approach them and ask them a question, do keep in mind that many Japanese don’t speak must English or any other language so they may have trouble explaining it so they’ll try and settle for repeating it in Japanese over and over again until they think that you understand.

5.        Public transportation is convenient and cheap. Despite the crowds, public transportation is EXTREMELY convenient in Japan. There are different buses, trains and taxis that can get you ANYWHERE in Japan. It may be difficult to learn to navigate from the different railways when using trains but once you have it under control, it’s easy to get wherever you want to go. At the train stations there is a system where you go to buy the train tickets but, you have the option of buying a special card for $20 that you can recharge,I highly recommend that you get the card because it will become your best friend! All you’ll have to do it hold it up to a scanner each time you enter or leave a station and it will automatically deduct the cost for the ride rather than having to constantly pull out cash, insert it into the systems and tell them where your going, then insert the tickets into the gates each time you go somewhere. In Osaka the card is called “Icoca.”

6.     The food is DELICIOUS!! (and have I mentioned it’s cheap?) Please please please be open minded about trying new foods. No matter where you’re traveling, be open to trying some of the native dishes, especially in Japan. I know it can seem a bit terrifying but believe me, if you just tell yourself “fuck it” and grab those weird, unknown dishes/snacks or order something random from the menu- you WILL NOT regret it 99.9% of the time ((this is actually how I’ve come to find out what my favorite Japanese dishes are))

7.      You will have many chances to travel around the country. Take those chances and enjoy yourself! Japan is such a beautiful place with its historical and futuristic clashing culture and locations. The less chances you take, the more opportunities that you’ll find out that you’ve lost for making great memories, making more friends, seeing beautiful places, etc. Travel travel travel! Each city, each prefecture is drastically different from the last, so explore as much as you can as often as you can and don’t be afraid to try new things, don’t be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone.   

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More general information:

1.     cars won’t come to a complete stop for you as you are crossing the street, they will keep inching forward until you have passed them so that they won’t miss their light. It’s frightening to experience because there are times when you think that they’re going to run you over if you don’t cross the street fast enough but, believe me, they won’t run you over… they may intimidate you but they won’t harm you ever.

2.        It may be a bit hard to make Japanese friends. You may be thinking that you’ll come to Japan, make lots of friends, and speak Japanese a lot but it’s more than likely the opposite. You may make Japanese friends but they’ll want to practice their English with you so don’t get uptight about not having the chance to speak Japanese to them often. One great way to make it easier for you to make friends with Japanese people is to apply for speaking-partner programs through your school and/or apply to live in the dorms with local Japanese students ((this is how I’ve made 99% of my Japanese friends)). Once you’ve managed to make some Japanese friends, make them a deal that you’ll help them speak English (or your native language, or both) in return for getting to practice Japanese with them.

3.      You will become the minority here, no matter what part of Japan you end up going to. As a foreigner you will be stared at often and some people, especially the elders, will try to avoid you. Don’t be surprised if you find people staring at you and do not find it surprising if no one wants to sit next to you on the bus or trains, no matter how crowded it may get, because they may be intimidated by you as the “Gaijin” (guy-jin) “foreigner” that you are.

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There are many more experiences and much more general info I could give you but I feel like this post is too long as it is so I’ll leave it to you to look up.

I’d recommend that you learn some Japanese before you come to Japan. It may not be necessary but it would certainly be beneficial to you and your friend. There is a wonderful youtube channel and website that you can learn some Japanese from: JapanesePod101

There are many youtube channels that you can look up that can give you insight on what to expect and prepare. Rachel & Jun’s Adventures + Rachel and Jun (they have two channels), Sharmander, Ask Japanese, Abroad in Japan,  & Asian Boss to name a few.