I am going to Japan next May to participate in the 2011 Aikido festival.

Has anyone here already been to Japan and can you give me some tips for getting around?

I don't read or speak Japanese (yet), but am planning on working on learning at least language basics over Christmas break and through next semester.

I'll be going in a group of 6-8 people, so suggestions for hotels and restaurants would be appreciated...:)

Also, what are the must-see places? After the festival we are planning on taking a week or so to travel around for awhile and play the bug-eyed tourists for awhile...

I haven't named a specific location since chances are we'll be all over playing the part of the bug-eyed tourists....

Without a specific location it'll be hard to get any suggestions.

Learn vocabulary over grammar.

If you have string together a few words coherently, it won't be as bad as standing there staring at the wall trying to remember if places use the "e" particle or "ni".

I am going to Japan next May to participate in the 2011 Aikido festival.

Has anyone here already been to Japan and can you give me some tips for getting around?

I don't read or speak Japanese (yet), but am planning on working on learning at least language basics over Christmas break and through next semester.

I'll be going in a group of 6-8 people, so suggestions for hotels and restaurants would be appreciated...:)

Also, what are the must-see places? After the festival we are planning on taking a week or so to travel around for awhile and play the bug-eyed tourists for awhile...

I haven't named a specific location since chances are we'll be all over playing the part of the bug-eyed tourists....

Be careful with what you eat and although it may seem picky, take note as to how it is prepared. I do not mean to belittle any kind of Asian cooking, I am a big fan, but there are some things you need to avoid based on some research I have done about traveling/eating internationally.

The Number One thing to remember when traveling to another country, especially one like Japan that relishes under/uncooked seafood, is that your digestive system isn't like that of the Japanese, and that that part of the world is home to critters you'd never be exposed to elsewhere. You don't want to spend any part of a nice adventure puking or shitting yourself constantly or worse, coming back with a parasite. This has happened to several of my friends who travel in Asia and Africa.

Water-borne parasites are something that you can easily infect yourself with eating foods that are poorly prepared or cooked in untreated water, ESPECIALLY in Asia. A recent episode of "Monsters Inside Me" on Discovery highlighted the Asian Lung Fluke which apparently infests 80% of all crabs used in Japanese cooking and must be thoroughly cooked to kill, yet there are many food vendors that will offer it with insufficient preparation.

The one thing I do know is that what we call "Hibachi Grill" in the West is called teppanyaki (or something similar) in Japan, and its where you're likely to find most Americans eating...(really Westernized Japanese grilling). Stick to foods you know, or that you know will be cooked for non-Japanese stomachs.



"Transmission of the parasite P. westermani to humans and mammals primarily occurs through the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood. In Asia, an estimated 80% of freshwater crabs carry P. westerman"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragonimus_westermani

I hate to say it because one of the fun things about traveling is enjoying local cuisine but W. Rabbit is correct you have to be really careful or you will have a great tour of the bidets of Japan.

Language - learn the pleasantries. The Japanese and all Asians for that matter appreciate the effort.

Time difference will be 12 or 13 hours for you. I'd recommend you try to sleep on the plane when possible. You won't be able to sleep well for a couple of days, but around day four you'll start to feel it. Being your first time in a new country, the excitement will help. You may consider buying some melatonin supplement to help you get your clock right. Coming home is the killer. Going there is not so bad.

Take lots of money. It was good in Japan when the yen was 240-260 to the US$ (USMC early eighties). Just Googled the rate at 81 :-( Every time I've been in Japan on business trips, it's by far the most expensive leg of an Asian stay.

Food - I've never had any problems while in Japan. China is another matter altogether. Still, I'd recommend that crab and other bottom dwellers be cooked. No worries with the fish. HOWEVER - this all depends on where you're eating! I'd recommend staying away from the open market type vendors. As with anywhere else in the world, you're at the mercy of the person preparing the food.

Water is usually good in Japan, but I drink the bottled stuff anyway from force of habit. If you're in a good hotel, there's no worry. Still, changes in water affect some peoples digestive track if you know what I mean.

Without knowing where you're headed, it's hard to recommend places to see. There's a heap of historical places. Like anywhere else, prices for everything will be better if you're not in the tourist traps or major cities.

What style of Aikido do you practice if I may ask?

Thank you all for the info- this will only be my second time travelling internationally (1st time was to Auckland to visit family, so we didn't have to worry about food/water/money then) so I'm looking for all the suggestions I can get....

hungryjoe, I was in United States Aikido Fed. under Senseis Sakamoto and Takeguchi; also trained a lot under Sensei Slater, who was also really involved in Judo, so some of the Judoka on the forums may have heard of him...

When I started classes at Virginia Tech I officially switched over to Kodokan Aikido under Sensei Truman Capone because of location circumstances.

i agree with hungryjoe about the food thing, i've never had any issues with eating japanese food in terms of it making me sick. other places in asia deserve that sort of caution, but in my experience, not japan. i don't eat street cart food anywhere, though, and although i do eat fish, don't eat meat or shellfish.

if anyone in your group is a vegetarian (and it's an aikido group, right? so there just has to be at least one vegetarian) they are in for a really hard time getting food. no two ways about it.

things to do? go watch a class at the kodokan in tokyo. the spectator area is open to the public and the class schedule is on their website.

Don't try natto. But suggest it to your friends.

Don't go to Tokyo Disneyland, it sucks. Although they have the Cirque Du Soleil show "Zed" at the theater next to Disneyland.

Drink chu-hi and habu sake.

Something i've been told but never tried,is to eat yoghurt as first meal in a new country. If you're not used to the local cuisine then yoghurt is what you should be looking to eat first.

Anyone else feel free to support or deride me on that though.

What city are you going to?

W. Rabbit is an idiot and as usual is commenting on something he knows nothing about.

You will likely be depressed at the quality of your local produce after visiting Japan.
That said, i live in one of the most expensive places in the United States and the prices here for most goods are half the price that they are in Japan, seriously.
Be prepared to stay out late and spend much money if you are in the city.

There are tons of "western-friendly" meals in every town.
You can order rib-eye steak, for example, in most izakayas (late night drink/eateries).
Even the nationalized school lunch system would be palatable to most westerners, despite popular notions; pasta, curry, stew etc...
That said you should by all means eat what ever is put in front of you in Japan.
The food quality is generally much higher than in the US imo.
Live it up!
Eat some sea urchin gonads and natto!
You might like it!

Drink Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin beers - they are excellent. Beware of nato, raw octopus tentacles and wasabi (wasabi is like horse radish on steroids but it is good). Try okonomiyaki, yaki tori and sashimi/sushi (worth doing in japan if you've never had it before). If you can't stand Japanese food then there is always Moss Burger:)

If you are staying in Tokyo and want to see where the young Japanese people hang out then check out Shibuya, Shinjuku and maybe Ueno. If you want to drink where the foreigners go check out Roppongi - just don't get too drunk and get into a fight with any gangs or groups of Marines. Interested in electronics - check out Akihabara. Want to visit a pink salon - Kabukicho, Yoshiwara lol!

I woudn't worry about knowing any Japanese language, young Japanese people and salary men love to practice their English and will often approach you if you are just looking at the map on the underground. Do make sure you have a small book of critical phrases just in case - once you leave Tokyo and and the major cities you will find more people with zero English.

Do as much training as you possibly can, you won't find Japanese martial arts taught the same way anywhere else in the world (mindset, culture, skill level and teaching method etc).

Here's a weird one - there is no litter on the streets in Tokyo and there are no garbage bins. You need to deal with your own litter.

The most confusing part of Tokyo is the train service - there are loads of different lines and change over points are likely to be frequent. Study your route before you get onto the train, take note of the number of stops between destinations. The train will probably be extremely crowded and you may not be able to see the station names and it is easy to misunderstand the driver announcements if you can't speak Japanese.

Have fun, Japan is a great place to visit - although it can be infuriating to live there!

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DO NOT GO TO ROPPONGI. I almost beat the **** out of some Africans/Moroccans because they are fucking rude. Stay out of the subway, its not bad but your not Nihonjin.

Sumimasen goes a long way. Give up seats in the train to older people. Eat everything the food in Japan is awesome I never had a problem with anything even the street food and I have a weak stomach.

Luckily there is always a temple or some historical place in virtually every section of Tokyo. So standing around gawking is easy to do.

DO NOT GO TO ROPPONGI. I almost beat the **** out of some Africans/Moroccans because they are fucking rude.

lol I used to work in Roppongi, it can be a tricky place alright but if you are with people who know the scene than it can be a cool place for night life. Stay away from Gas Panic, that's the club to avoid if you want to stay out of trouble. Not much else in Roppongi besides bars, clubs and strippers and hostess bars. If you're a Hard Rock Cafe type you can stop by for the t-shirt then grab a few pints of Guinness around the corner in the Irish bar:-)

As far as the trains go, get a passmo, its a card you can re-use and re-charge. It's way more convenient than screwing around with the ticket machines.

As far as food goes I agree with the consensus that you should eat everything, I've never had any trouble with anything (besides natto. That and balut will make me vomit just from the smell now)even street food. Actually I highly recommend trying the street food.