General: Japan

Advantages: Successful communication feels like an achievement
Disadvantages: It pays to invest some time and effort

<10> Communication Welcome to the third and final part of my top ten tips for visitors to Japan. Having looked last time at the potential pitfalls for gaijin (foreigners) in blowing their noses and taking a bath amongst other hazards, this time I'm dealing with the biggest minefield of the lot - the all-important business of communication. So here is tip number 10. The Devil's Language… The brick wall up against which most foreign ...
...course the Japanese language itself. It's said that in the sixteenth century the missionary St Francis Xavier, on discovering the difficulty westerners had in deciphering a single word spoken or written by the Japanese people, concluded that Japanese had been devised by the devil to prevent Christian missionaries from doing their good works there. Consequently Japanese, which seemed impenetrable to foreigners at the time, became commonly known as ... Read review

Advantages: Great places to visit, many things to do, new technologies
Disadvantages: some things are pricey especially the latest technologies, jet lag

I visited Japan last summer with a friend and we spent about a month there. We visited the following cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kyoto. ~Tokyo~ Tokyo is a lot like London. It's made up of a number of very distinct villages - each with their own character and often populated with a variety of characters - some of whom may only come out at night - and are not necessarily vampires! Most of the main areas in Tokyo are stops on the Yamanote Line ...
...Getting a day ticket to go round this line doesn't turn you into a train spotter. It is an ideal way to get your bearings and it provides a reasonable overview of the City. The streets of Tokyo are laid out in a grid pattern similar to those of New York and other larger cities. At first sight, each street not only looked the same but had remarkably similar names: Ginza 1-Chome; Ginza 2-Chome and so on. In any Japanese version of the board game "Monopoly", ... Read review

Advantages: Healthy;Visually Appealing;
Disadvantages: Expensive

Japanese food is gaining greater and greater acceptance all over the world. Naturally there is demand for Japanese food items by expatriates from that country but more and more non-Japanese are also acquiring a taste for this fascinating cuisine Perhaps the growing enthusiasm for this food reflects the belief than the clean methods of preparation, the neatness, the delicacy, visual beauty and presentation generates a high degree of confidence ...
...freshness and purity of the basic ingredients. This cuisine delights the senses! Japanese food, however, is not only visually very appealing, it is also healthy with its strong reliance on fresh fish, seafood, noodles, and the freshest seasonal ingredients. Authentic Japanese food is now widely available in the US, Canada, throughout much of Western Europe, East and South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and sushi bars have sprung-up in ... Read review

Advantages: breathtaking views and sights
Disadvantages: very expensive and racist attitudes

Bye Bye Arigato Sayonara was the name of a popular song in Japan when I was living there about four years ago. Translated, it means 'Bye Bye Thank you Goodbye' which kind of sums up how I feel about my experience there. I was living in Osaka, in the south of Japan, for about two years and have very bitter-sweet memories of my experience. The Japanese people in general are not that welcoming of foreigners in the big cities, though I believe that ...
...together more effortlessly. For a holiday destination, you will probably not encounter the same racist attitude as those foreign residents for whom it becomes a part of every day life to be pointed at and stared even cussed in the street. The sweet part of my stay though is the facinating cultural aspects of this proud nation. The scenery is also stunning, Kyoto and Nara being amongst my favourite places. Kyoto is full of zen gardens, temples, ... Read review

Advantages: Despite things being bizarre they're strangely enjoyable
Disadvantages: Everyone else thinks you're weird for liking them

Okay I have a theory. ALL JAPANESE PEOPLE ARE INSANE. I`m yet to be proven wrong. One advantage of this is though that they do create some of the most bizarre and wonderful things. So lets forget about the temples and castle these are the things you`ll really remember about Japan. 1.VENDING MACHINES Not bizarre in themselves but they are actually every where, millions of them. Most sell just drinks and cigarettes, some sell alcohol(now be honest ...
...drunken 12 year olds there would be lying about on the streets). They get slowly more unusual and bizarre, newspapers, pot plants, fast food. The most bizarre are the legendary vending machines that sell used school girls knickers, having not seen one I can`t guarentee that they still exist. Strangely though I haven`t found a single one though that sells chocolate or crisps! 2.ELECTRIC TOILET SEATS These are clearly one of the greatest inventions ... Read review