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| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - General Chat - Fun in Japan |
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beneficii Broom Hatter                  Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6300 days Last view: 6296 days |
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| Mmm, just got back from a 2 week+ stay in Japan. Right now, I'm in no condition to tell too many stories for some reason. Perhaps they will all come to me as time goes on; nevertheless, I can relay a few things:
When in Tokyo, stay at the Juyoh Hotel! For some reason it's not mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide, but it's cheaper than staying in the hostels (the cheapest of which is like 3800 yen a night). The Juyoh Hotel costs 3200 yen a night to stay at (about 30 bucks) and has free Internet access and free WiFi Internet access. The curfew is at 1 am instead of 11 PM like those damn hostels. You get your own room which is actually clean with a tatami mat under a table and a futon. You don't get your own bathroom, but it's right down the hall. The place is actually pretty clean and nice and has a more traditional Japanese atmosphere. There's a lobby on the 1st floor which is very small and personable, you can meet a lot of people there, both foreign and Japanese. Search the Internet for Juyoh Hotel Tokyo and you'll find out how to reserve and stuff. Well, my post started off like an advertisement, but seriously that hotel and hotels in the area of that hotel (all off the Minami-senju subway station exit) are cheap and decent. The Tokyo International Youth Hostel on the other hand was a rip-off, at 3800 yen a night, you had to share a room with like 3 other people and you had to pay 100 yen for 15 minutes of Internet use. The staff are jerks, and the Japanese friend that I travelled a lot with says she thought it was like a prison, such as with the way they do announcements. One time, she has brought food for us to eat (because the food served at the hostel was of only 1 kind and sucked), she got 2 trays, one for each of us. And I put some of my stuff on the tray and ate with her, when suddenly the chef came up in front of me, and said "No" twice. I responded with, "Sumimasen?" Then he said "No" 2 more times and took all my stuff off the tray and onto the table and then grabbed the tray and took it back with him. He didn't do the same to my friend. She recommended that I write a complaint in Japanese, which I did, and turn it into the staff. It read something like: "Ryourinin wa shinsetsu ja arimasen. Nanimo iwanaide, torei o toriagemashita." The actual characters I used: 料理人は親切じゃありません。何も言わないで、トレーをとり上げました。 This translates roughly as "The chef is not nice. Without saying anything, he took up the tray." I gave the note to the hostel staff, and I saw the staff fold it up and take it into a back room without asking me any questions. Luckily, someone told me about the Juyoh Hotel and I made a reservation. Anyway, not only that but when I was coming home, I was at Chicago-O'Hare as part of a connecting flight. Well, the flight to Memphis itself was hard to get on. First, the gate was at C1, then they moved it to C8 (where a flight to Vermont had just been cancelled because the flight attendants called in sick), then they moved it to C7. And, as absolute proof that Ninja AE runs that airport, they got a plane for us that was too small for our flight. As I was boarding and moving to the back rows (I was assigned seat 16F), by the time I made it to row 7 or 8, the flight attendant called out saying that there were no rows beyond 14 and told us all to get off the plane and back to the gate. It turns out they got a 50-seat plane for a 70-passenger flight. So, after much deliberating amongst the airport staff, they decided to declare the flight oversold and began asking for volunteers to take later flights (and they needed at least a dozen I remembered). Only a couple volunteered, so they began to read off the names of passengers one by one who were allowed to board. As they got near the end, I worried that I wouldn't get picked, but I was picked as the last one. Once I was called, the flight was full. Only problem, there were still at least 10 people trying to board. I don't know what happened to them, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they're still stuck in Chicago. Their checked luggage was not taken off the plane, so their luggage went ahead of them. I was a bit anxious too, as there were some power supply issues on the plane during the flight, when the flight attendant couldn't get power to her phone. But we managed to get on the ground and land and all that and now I'm home! Anyway, I'm just sort of spilling the contents of my mind here, so sorry for the disorganization. I'll probably make several other posts with even more stories as I reflect back on my trip. It's just that these 2 things were of the foremost on my mind. |
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Cruel Justice I have better things to do.  Since: 11-18-05 From: At my house! Last post: 6297 days Last view: 6297 days |
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Lol, "Nono!". 
What the hell was his problem? Insulted because you had food he hadn't prepared perhaps. Sounds like you had the time of your life. If there was anything else that outrageous, please tell us more.  |
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Metal Man88 Gold axe It appears we have been transported to a time in which everything is on fire! Since: 11-17-05 Last post: 6296 days Last view: 6296 days |
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| Sounds interesting. I'm planning on moving there some day, so, I better read up on what I can find. | |||
Skreename Giant Red Paratroopa  Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6303 days Last view: 6296 days |
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| The plane ride thing sounds scary. Nothing quite like finding out that the seat you bought didn't exist... And the odd power supply thing always gives you such a good feeling about the ride.
Okay, I'm going to be stupid, but what does sumimasen mean? |
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Yoronosuku Toss Tortoise Since: 11-17-05 From: Massachusetts is my new home.. Last post: 6296 days Last view: 6296 days |
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I means sorry  I'm glad you had fun when you were there beneficii ^^ Tokyo is such a big place so its easy to get caught up in everything. Glad that you still managed to have fun even though your living arrangements were not very good  |
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Sin Dogan   860  Uoodo Original Blend Armored Trooper Votoms Canned Coffee! Since: 11-17-05 Last post: 6301 days Last view: 6300 days |
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| Doesn't it also mean thank you?
My cousin went there recently and told me about the culture shock experience he had. Also about the funky technology...Especially this one mp3 player that when you turn it, it goes to different menus/options. And I got this cool shirt with the kanji samurai on it. |
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VGFreak877 Kabu Since: 11-17-05 Last post: 6317 days Last view: 6299 days |
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Yeah, Tokyo is a hustle and bustle place, that's for sure. One thing that I found out quick is you don't do much travelling around there when everyone else is going to work. Fortunately, most of the time when I went out, it was after rush hour. The few times that I did go during rush hour, it was interesting being shoved inside the car and still more people piling in!  But I expected that, so I didn't really care. I was there the last week of March, first week of April. Time went by so fast there, that the two weeks was over before I knew it. Akihabara was a lot of fun -- seeing all of those electronics everywhere, and all the people dressing up in their unique clothing. Japan is definitely a lot of fun, as I plan on going back there next year.
beneficil, are you fluent in Japanese? If not, how long have you been studying? Translation Note: "Sumimasen" すみません also means "excuse me" when you're trying to get someone's attention politely. No, it doesn't mean "Thank you." (edited by VGFreak877 on 05-29-06 10:09 AM) |
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beneficii Broom Hatter Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6300 days Last view: 6296 days |
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| VGFreak877,
No, sumimasen (which also seems like it can be shortened to suimasen) can mean thank you. It can mean sorry, excuse me, or thank you. On the other hand, the less formal gomen nasai (or gomen na or gomen ne or even just gomen) can only mean sorry and excuse me, but not thank you. Er, I'm a little fluent. I got good practice while there and I think my Japanese has sped up. Still, I probably should go back to school or take some sort of other class to really brush up on my Japanese. But I think I am making progress; for example, when I was back in Chicago, I heard the 2 Japanese flight attendants talking amongst themselves and I could understand some of what they were saying. But yeah, I remember Akihabara. I remember that 9-story tall electronics store. It's fun going up story after story looking at all the cool stuff America doesn't have yet, such as massive printers and those chairs that can massage your back. Those chairs that can massage your back were fun, and the store people didn't have a problem with your using it and you can see salarymen coming out of work using them. You can also see the uniform that the receptionist lady wore on the first floor (same as at Narita Airport). In fact, uniforms were all very interesting in Japan; a lot of them seemed to be Victorian era stuff brought up to the modern era. I do want to go back to Japan and live there. I met someone there and we understand each other very well. She's starting a busienss where she paints murals and she's already getting some customers. So, yeah, I'm going back, definitely. Toward the end of my trip I was starting to get homesick, but now I'm getting a little homesick for Japan.  (edited by beneficii on 05-30-06 10:58 AM) |
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Surlent Koopa Back to the roots  Since: 11-18-05 From: Berlin, Germany Last post: 6308 days Last view: 6308 days |
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| 日本へぜひ旅行をしたい。しかし、お金がありません。
Aside from that it is good you actually complained about that, beneficii. In Germany many people easily seem to be too lazy to write a complaint and often take things as "normal", since quality of customer services in general sadly is dropping more and more here. And just here, with less money for everyone, we must stand up and act ... Japan has also its downsides and must not be regarded only with "always smiling", manga and such things, they already have but will have major demoprahic problems with pensions and such, due to a lot of older people living and even working past their normal expected duration they usually have to work to get "full" pensions ... But enough of that. It is nice you enjoyed your trip, this complex mix of older traditions (temples, [zen] buddhism, national holidays and others) and modern life just is interesting me, as well as the culture. |
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optomon Rat Since: 02-12-06 From: California Last post: 6300 days Last view: 6299 days |
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| I myself will be travelling to Japan in a week. I don't speak a flick of Japanese, and I will be very dependant on my friends. I really have no idea what to expect, it's kind of random that I'm going. Maybe I'll tell something about about when I get back.
btw, is there anything in Japan that is a must see? |
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VGFreak877 Kabu Since: 11-17-05 Last post: 6317 days Last view: 6299 days |
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| You know, I must not hear "sumimasen" to mean Thank You that much, which is probably why I forgot that it meant that. Thanks for correcting me, beneficii-sensei. Yeah, I know what you mean there Surlent -- I spent a lot of money getting the trip to Japan this year going. But it was definitely worth it, and I would definitely do it again. |
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beneficii Broom Hatter Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6300 days Last view: 6296 days |
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Originally posted by optomon Hmm, as for must sees, wakarimasen. It depends really on what you want to do. Do you want to look at old shrines, do you want to look at the modern aspects of Japanese life, or do you want to want to sit around in an ofurosan (public bath, which is really nice) all day? There are just so many places to go and many different aspects to explore, that not just one thing can be a must see. As for me, I went to some of the old shrines in Kyoto, the Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo, Akihabara (Tokyo) to see some of the latest electronics, to a storytelling session (I think in Ikebukuro, Tokyo) where you had all these cool storytellers come up and tell stories (of course, since I didn't speak much Japanese yet, I couldn't make out a lot of what they were saying--nevertheless, I think such exposure to the language was good and I laughed with the other people and felt like I participated, so there will probably be yet some benefit re that). So, it really is a cool place, and I plan to go live there at some point. In the latter part of my journey, I travelled with someone I met and she and I sorta lived together at one point. So, it appears that my place is in Japan, not here in America. |
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