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File: 1712338703926.jpg (135.06 KB, 512x341, 京都桜.jpg)

No. 1952006

It's sakura season!
A thread for

>Traveling

Have you been to Japan? Do you wanna travel to Japan? When and where? What are your tourist recommendations? What are the overrated places? Best locations to eat and stay? Best experiences?

>General leaving

Do you live in Japan? Do you plan on living in Japan? What are the reasons for you to move to Japan? Are you currently studying, working, or both? Are you a nikkei or full gaijin? How is life in Japan as a woman? Do you plan to stay in Japan for long? The good, the bad, the neutral.

>Language

Do you speak japanese? Are you trying to learn japanese? What is your studying methods?

Etc, etc.

Share tips, recommendations, complaints, experiences or just pics!

No. 1952012

I think it would be nice to visit while the yen is weak. Too late to see the cherry blossoms unfortunately.

No. 1952015

>>1952012
There's always next year! I have a first time trip planned for spring 2025. Would love to hear from people that have went during sakura season if it's too crowded. One thing I'm worried about

No. 1952022

i hate japan

No. 1952055


No. 1952061

>>1952022
also curious bc i've always wanted to travel there but i'm scared of their moids lol

No. 1952222

>>1952061
I went there twice for vacations and never had to deal with men, some guys tried to chat me up but I just kept walking, I'm kinda socially invisible so that helps.

No. 1952344

I hope I can visit next year in September, I'm a poorfag and the plane ticket alone costs about 1k Euros, which is more than what my monthly salary was.
I envy americans and those who can afford to go there, I'd have to save for at least 6-8 months.
I'd stay at least 2 weeks, preferably 3 and I'd visit Tokyo and Kyoto, but I'd like to visit the north too.
I want to try the food and visit the cute parks and botanical gardens, but also the anime and manga shops.
I think I'd like to live there but only temporarily , you will forever be an outsider regardless of how good you speak the language.

No. 1953327

I went there and loved it. Wanted to go back with my Nigel but he has a DUI and you can't go if you have a criminal record.

No. 1953746

File: 1712436476072.gif (3.51 MB, 498x498, um.gif)


No. 1954477

>>1952061
The only times I haf issues with persistent guys in Japan were with non Japanese guys. Including an Indian guy who was mostly likely a pimp trying to traffic young Indian women, I won't go into details but he thought I was Indian which was the reason why he started talking to me in the train on my way home, told me weird shit about having a job offer for me at his friend's place but without any budiness card, saying his friend could let me li e at his place for very cheap and only fuck off once I got close to a small police station on my way home. If you ever encounter gaijin hunters at worst they'll ask for your Line id but will never contact you if you give it to them.

No. 1955482

>>1952061
SEAanon here. Mentioning my race because I'm fully aware of Japanese xenophobia. I was with a group of non-SEA friends when I visited major cities, Tokyo and Osaka, but Japanese mostly keep to themselves. Because of the pandemic, many more stores started becoming contactless through ordering machines (with other languages including English instructions). I'd recommend coming home before 10pm especially during happy hours on Friday if you want to avoid drunk salarymen and homeless people. I've noticed lots of local working women had this brisk walking "do not talk to me" face so you might just have to adapt that as well.

No. 1955497

>General living
>Do you live in Japan?
Yes
>Are you currently studying, working, or both?
I’ve been working at a youth theater company for going on 5 years now
>Are you a nikkei or full gaijin?
I’m a white burger
>How is life in Japan as a woman?
Very easy in my experience, people don’t harass me on the street like the unsavorables in the city at home. I haven’t experienced overt sexism (or racism) but also I don’t date so idk
>Do you plan to stay in Japan for long?
I really don’t know

>Language

>Do you speak japanese?
I’m good enough to do my job and have surface level Japanese friends but far far far from fluent. It’s my bad for not studying. If the conversation isn’t full of vocabulary I don’t know my listening is very good I think, and people have complimented my pronunciation/natural way of speaking. But the biggest thing holding me back from full potential here is language (I didn’t study because every year I think I’m gonna move back the next year so it won’t be worth it to study)

>Share tips, recommendations, complaints

Travel via hostels not hotels, do night bus instead of shinkansen (if you’re able to sleep on buses). Do not do any animal related cafe/zoo/thing except maybe cat stuff, they are all miserable.

The worst thing about Japan is the constant fucking inescapable NOISE and SWEAT. multiple recordings playing overtop eachother, beeping, car noises, yelling directions pointlessly, everything. The summers especially in my area are brutal and feel like 6 months long, and once they’re over they blast the heat on the trains and in buildings so you’re sweating in your cold weather clothes.

No. 1955506

>>1953327
TIL i can never go to japan because I have a misdemeanor speeding offense on my record. Wow. feels bad

No. 1955588

>>1952006
I'm kinda considering going back to Japan to live there for a year or two because my job sucks ass but I already went there on a working holiday visa and you can only get one per destination in a lifetime. And the pandemic happened soon after so I couldn't stay the whole year. I feel like I have no options to go there even as a language teacher because I'm ESL and while my first language is kinda in demand I doubt it'll be easy to get a work visa that way. As for other destinations for a working holiday visa, none of them interest me all that much. I can't see myself going to Canada or Australia because of the cost of living in these countries even if they're the most popular destinations among people in my country. It's so frustrating. I don't see myself going there on a student visa because I'm about to turn 30 and I hated studying, even though my only real issue in Japanese is my lack of vocabulary anf how many words I forgot since I graduated.

No. 1955596

The Japanese are utter dicks to ALL foreigners. The cities are horrifically densely populated and the non-historical tourist destinations are based on cheap gimmicks and weirdness for its own sake. You won't be treated well unless you are visibly rich, and even then, they want you to spend your money and then fuck off to your country immediately. It's not a big deal if you can't visit the country.

No. 1955598

Also they think of Westerners like Westerners think of African Americans. It's not a good feeling.

No. 1955605

>>1955598
>>1955596
I faced way less racism in several months in Japan than in just one week in my own country so idgaf.

No. 1955629

>>1955596
Not true, this is what copers who can’t live here always say
>>1955598
Like another race of people? Wow so terrible

No. 1955633

>>1955629
>Not true, this is what copers who can’t live here always say
Coping with the fact that most foreigners in Japan live in tiny apartments with undignified jobs and next to no rights? lmao
>Like another race of people? Wow so terrible
Let's not be so disingenuous

No. 1955637

>>1955633
All the foreigner engineers I know make the same salary and live the same lifestyle as Japanese, and they don’t even speak the language. “Most foreigners” are English teachers and IT monkeys and they make no less than what they deserve. Cope.
What rights do you even mean?
I even know a foreign guy that literally stabbed another guy and only got a few months in prison. You’d think such a terrible place would deport his ass.

No. 1955639

>>1955637
You keep saying "cope" as if it's such an achievement to live in a country that doesn't want you there. It's only a plane ticket away and unless you're poor it's perfectly affordable. So you know one person who got lucky with the law. And I know multiple people who got kicked out of the country for no good reason, were constantly harassed by the authorities during their entire - legal - stay. What's the point of giving a single example as if it proves anything?

No. 1955641

>>1955639
Again I ask, what rights?
There is no way they were kicked out for no reason. Could you explain?

No. 1955645

>>1955639
And no it’s not just a plane ticket away. Even for bottom of the barrel English teacher jobs you need a college degree if you’re an American, and if you want something better than that you need to be able to speak the language if you’re not a high skill STEM person who can work for a foreign company.

No. 1955725

>>1955633
It's either that or white people who have no clue what racism is, who went to Japan and who were shocked and appaled that someone gave them a compliment for their blond or red hair. I wish I were joking I had several classmates like that in uni after doing a year in Japan in an exchange program, meanwhile they were treating me and my friends like a actual retard for not being white like them. You can't make that shit up.

No. 1955815

>>1955725
asian countries not treating people well that have non-white skin is common knowledge too. just dont got there if you aint white.

No. 1955822

>>1955815
Japanese don't treat people of European descent well either. They just don't notice it because they generally don't acquaint themselves well with enough Japanese people. Basically, to Japanese people, Europeans are less bad than Africans, or South Americans, but still not good.

No. 1955827

>>1955815
Anon I went there, I'm not white and I've always been treated WAY better than in my own country. Not saying it was perfect but nobody tried to assault me and call me racist slurs while commuting, I managed to get a basic part time job in less than a week when it took me years when I was a student in my own country, and I'd say the "worst" thing that happened to me regarding my race was gaijin hunters politely asking me if I'm latina like twice.

No. 1955831

>>1955822
Be real, you don’t speak Japanese and you’ve never lived there.(baiting)

No. 1955833

>>1955831
i doubt anyone in this thread here speak japanese or lived there for over 1 year lol

No. 1955837

>>1955833
I’m the anon who’s been here for almost 5 years and I speak it enough to understand what people around me are saying. I’ve never been treated with anything but utmost kindness and respect.

No. 1955839

>>1955831
I am part Japanese and I've been to Japan more than a dozen times. My family is wealthy so we've never had to deal with unpleasant tourist stuff either.

No. 1955843

Kinda sad how weebs living in Japan interpret basic formalities as "kindness". You will never overcome this wall of formality with the Japanese, other than a handful of weirdos who are interested in befriending anyone who is a foreigner.

No. 1955850

>>1955843
Wtf is kindness to you if not people not being courteous to you? People going out of their way to help you when you’re in trouble? Because they do that for me too. Keep being a crab.

No. 1955852

My wildest dream is to live in Osaka teaching english while I finish my master in applied linguistics

No. 1955853

>>1955843
who carses weebs will worship japan anyways no matter what you tell them

No. 1955856

>>1955843
I don't get why you care so much. I treat people like this too so that's actually a good thing from my pov. I wish people would be nice and respectful and leave me the fuck alone after our interactions are over, instead in my own country coworkers or classmates think we're all bffs until they want to backstab you, and you risk getting robbed or assaulted as soon as you go outside, even just shopping or eating outside means having to deal with weird, insulting retail employees or waiters just because they don't know how to deal with their own personal problems without taking it out on customers.

No. 1955888

>>1955856
NTA but in my experience weebs fall over backwards praising Japanese people for being sooooo nice, polite and sweet all the time as if it means they're enormously kind-hearted people by default rather than extremely formal and cold.

No. 1955916

>>1955888
That's more likely that the "weebs" come from cultures where the bare minimum of politeness is seen as super fucking weird or is expressed very differently. What's considered polite depends on each culture after all.

No. 1955938

>>1955596
Maybe if you live there long term and need to get a lease, job, etc. I imagine it can be difficult. Though I’m friends with a couple who moved there, both are tanned SEA from Europe and they both have good jobs and have a good lease on the outskirts of Tokyo. They both speak Japanese like natives though, so I dunno if that helps. Anyways it’s fantastic for tourism, stayed there for 1 month earlier this year with no issues whatsoever. My nigel is mixed and nobody was rude to him, and I have an English only SEA-American moid friend who stayed for a month alone and a lot of random salarymen were really friendly with him. You’ll be fine.

>>1955843
This is literally every country

>>1955888
I want service workers to be nice to me, I don’t like being glared at by an angry fatty who begs for tips at every other casual restaurant. Japan is good for that, it’s not an exaggeration to think that it’s infinitely nicer than many western countries. Yes there are European countries where people are more friendly such as Spain, but you also have to deal with pickpockets and more blatant sexual harassment (don’t let this scare you off though, I’d also recommend visiting there). Also if you speak Japanese and don’t look like a slob, you can make friends in Tokyo/Osaka especially even while visiting. It takes a bit of effort though. Usually having a common hobby helps.

No. 1955940

>>1955815
Never been to Japan, but I'm brown and was treated very respectfully in South Korea. I anecdotally know someone brown who had a perfectly fine time in Japan. I would believe that Asian countries aren't great about brown and black people, but whether it's compulsory politeness or just tourism PR, I was treated way better than in the US and a few European countries. I think the whole "Asians are soo racist" is a thing people say because it makes them feel like their country is more enlightened.

No. 1955973

>>1955916
>>1955938
Delusional weebs detected(infighting)

No. 1955976

Jesus can we not argue about racism in Japan, there are already a thousand people on Reddit crying about it constantly, debate it there.

Anyway it sucks that it's been such rainy weather in Tokyo while all the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Currently looking for a new job to get me out of my shitty one but all the job sites are either dancing monkey English teacher garbage or 100 years experience senior manager positions.

No. 1956012

>>1955976
At least it's not like in 2020 when it kept snowing while flowers were blooming. The weather was pure shit from what I remember. And then the pandemic got worse so iirc a lot of people still celebrated hanami but it was recommended everyone stays at home and some parks were closed, I did stay home and I still caught covid anyway.

No. 1956024

I don't think I'll ever have the money to visit but I'll forever be amazed the big cities and the tiny alleys and the architecture in general. Not to mention how people manage to live in those small apartments.
I also like how the language sounds. Are there any apps (that isn't Duolingo) that anons would suggest for learning?

No. 1956039

File: 1712594599860.jpg (172.74 KB, 910x400, 711_image_1.jpg)

I want to go and stay in one of those Tokyo Disney hotels (at least while I'm at the parks) soooo bad.
The hotels in their Disney world Florida parks are also really gorgeous, but I love how themed the Japanese ones are.

No. 1956040

File: 1712594630439.jpg (425.97 KB, 1000x666, 273755.jpg)

Looking at planning a trip for 2025—I'd love to visit in the spring to see the cherry blossoms and other outdoor gardens but man the flights are crazy expensive. Like $2000-2600 vs $1300-1400 during other seasons so I'm looking at potentially going in September or October. Less hot, there'd be nice autumn foliage, kids would be in school so less foreign and domestic tourists hopefully, etc. Have any of you nonas travelled there in those months?

Also, is the Golden Route still the way to go for first timers? Some of the locations on it seem like they've been completely overrun by visitors although that's kind of inevitable. I wouldn't mind learning some basic Japanese if it meant I could go off the beaten path a bit to avoid massive crowds like picrel. I don't know how anyone could enjoy a trip when they're jam packed like sardines with thousands of other people all trying to look at the same things

No. 1956042

File: 1712594653276.jpg (142.46 KB, 910x400, 711_image_4.jpg)

>>1956039
So gorgeous.

No. 1956047

>>1956039
ugh I love cute novelty shit like this, I'd seriously love to live in a themed home

No. 1956076

>>1956040
If you’re looking to see flowers it’s not quite the same but you can also visit during plum blossom season in February. Depending on the weather you can also see the early cherry blossoms in late Feb too.

No. 1956178

I'm planning a first time trip with for next year, early spring-ish for two weeks.One of my must-dos is renting a kimono in Kyoto and the price includes them doing your hair. I think we'll follow the typical tourist route of hitting Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and maybe Hiroshima for the museum. The main thing I'm worried about is that I'm intolerant of fish and seafood of all kind in a picky eater way. I can smell and taste dashi in soups. I can taste fish when it's been in the same fryer if eating fried foods in the same oil. I was interested in staying at one of those traditional Ryokans but the meals they serve seem to be very fish centered like serving an entire tiny fish and it makes me want to kms. kek I hate how retarded I am about fish and I'll probably miss out on good food over it.

No. 1956190

>>1956178
>One of my must-dos is renting a kimono in Kyoto and the price includes them doing your hair
I really want to do this too, what an amazing memory it would be. The only downside is that I'll be travelling solo so I'll have to pull out a tripod and be an obnoxious tourist for a bit kek

No. 1956376

File: 1712616597218.png (245.46 KB, 663x522, ramendb.PNG)

What is your favourite ramen shop? Do you have recommendations, or opinions on certain spots?

No. 1956418

>>1956376
Unorthodox answer but the Yokohama ramen museum has a ton of ramen shops in its basement and it's decorated like a 1950's shopping street, you can browse a bunch of varieties of ramen and it was pretty delicious. It's super cute and I really recommend it (also because I don't usually eat ramen otherwise)

No. 1956468

>>1955633
I mean, as a burgerfag my undignified job and no rights can't even afford a tiny apartment so

No. 1956551

I hope Kanto folks are staying safe in this crazy rain today!

No. 1957217

I might move to Japan, probably Tokyo, and I have no idea if it’s something I would emotionally survive. I never went to Japan at all and my language skill is at 1% max. I’m an introvert and it’s hard for me to make friends. I have shit education could I even get a job? How is life over there? Is it better than Europe? Is it possible to find friends as a shy person? How is the food, is it good for your body? Do you feel like a freak when you are a 170cm woman? Do you feel like a freak as a foreigner in general? Are the beauty treatments as good as I think? When I think about it I get so scared but I’m also looking forward to it if I’m honest. Also yes I should learn Japanese I totally understand. And how are your reading skills nonnas?

No. 1957226

>>1957217
so you just randomely decided you might move to japan without even having visited the country? you are setting yourself up for failure already

No. 1957272

>>1957226
My bf wants to move back to Japan. We are planning to visit Japan together this year.

No. 1957275

>>1957272
You're gonna move to another country just because your moid wants to? You're pathetic.

No. 1957279

>>1957217
>>1957272
Do you even know anything about the country? It doesn't seem like it tbh. I wouldn't upend my life and move somewhere where I can't even speak the language, have never visited, etc. What happens if your boyfriend dumps you? You'll be stuck there alone until you can figure out how to get home.

No. 1957280

>>1957272
Does Japan give residency permits to jobless foreigners who don't even speak any Japanese? If not, the rest of your questions are completely moot.

No. 1957291

>>1957217
Is this bait or are you fucking stupid? It's insanely difficult to get residency there as a foreigner, even if you're fluent and have lived there for many years on visa. It's a wonderful place to visit, but permanently moving to a foreign country where you can't speak the language is stupid no matter what.

No. 1957303

>>1957217
Just don't go

No. 1957307

>>1957275
>>1957279
>>1957280
>>1957291
Lmao nonnas. There is not much that holds me in my home country so why not try something new when still young.

No. 1957319

>>1957307
Then why ask all those frantic questions dumbass, you're even visiting this year. Just learn Japanese and move

No. 1957322

>>1957272
Moving to germany with my moid exfiance was a mistake. Out of all the places you could try, you're going for a pornsick women hating country that will discriminate against you for being a foreigner, being a woman, not knowing the language, and being tall?
You also really believe your moid will refrain from participating in japan's ultra degenerate porn culture? You should think about what you're gonna do if you find him with gravure magazines of underaged girls or if visits a soapland. Why does he even want to go there?

No. 1957330

>>1957217
How would you even move there? With a student visa? A working holiday visa? If you somehow really go for it do your own research and consider actually studying Japanese hard because otherwise you'll feel left out from pretty much everything. As for jobs, it depends on a lot of things, if your education is shit maybe you'll just be able to become a part time language teacher (depending on your first language) or work in conbinis or stores popular with tourists. Maybe. As for your height, you'll have a hard time finding clothes your size when shopping, unless maybe you're skinny and flat.

No. 1957335

>>1957319
NTA but every one of you is only encouraging her by replying to that naive first message with all the stress of your shitty little life. Learn to communicate, holy shit

No. 1957338

>>1957335
>NTA
>same esl typing style
ok

No. 1969366

Is it still worth it to get a JR pass? I know they've gotten ridiculously expensive but I'm planning to move around a lot this summer.

No. 1969378

>>1969366
I'd say at this point try to see wichi trains you plan to take during your trip compared to how long your trip will be, and compare it to the price of a JR pass. Because I did that before the JR pass got super expensive last year and the pass was more expensive than what I planned to buy without the pass and I went to several cities in the span of three weeks last year.

No. 1969495

>>1969378
>>1969366
JR pass always looked like a scam to me.

No. 1969507

I knew there was discrimination in Japan but the anons in this thread made me realise it might be worse than I thought? Should I not go? Would I be treated worse than my white friends?

No. 1969524

>>1969507
You'll just as ignored as your white friends by the rest of the population. If you look racially ambiguous maybe you'll have a few Indians and Pakistanis asking you if you're from India or Pakistan because they're happy to see their fellow countrymen or whatever. Discrimination is much more likely to happen if you live there than if you visit the country as a tourist, the worst thing that's gonna happen is maybe that some stores and bars will refuse to serve you because workers don't speak English there, or if it's in a super touristic area maybe they're just sick of crazy tourists, like in Kyoto. I already said it but I face more racism in one week in my own country than I've ever faced in Japan in the span of months. If you want to move there for work long term and you don't want to stay in a sharehouse you'll have a hard time dealing with finding your own place according to some of my friends, one of them told me it got a lot better once she married her Japanese husband and started using his family name. A random guy I met there has been using his wife's family name for the same reason and gave their son the mom's family name to make things easier for him as well.

No. 1969534

>>1969366
You have to actually calculate it, you can google jr pass calculators. It's not a scam or a mystery, sometimes it works out better and sometimes it doesn't.

No. 1969555

>>1957217
>170 cm
Kek you’ll be fine. I’m 178 cm and my issue was finding clothes that fit. If you’re not an Amerifat you’ll be good. Food is pretty decent. Try to get a part time job while you’re there and start practicing to and write now.

No. 1969565

>>1969555
how retarded are the sizing in clothes in japan? heard that you have to add at least 2 size to any clothes and hope it won't be too short

No. 1970062

>>1969565
Also meant to say practice reading and writing above.
It depends on the trends but L (sometimes XL) if you could find it) fit; punk clothes fit better but goth lolita not as good, sadly.
I think there are still shops that sell free sizes like goodwill but you have to hunt for it. I brought a lot of my clothes because I lived there for a bit and I was also on the lower end of my BMI at the time so clothes from Japan weren’t too tight. However it’s been over 10 years so they may have expanded sizes for foreigners or you have to learn how to sew.
They do have dressing rooms but they’re kinda sketch around foreigners and make you wear a bag over your head if you have makeup so it doesn’t transfer to clothes kek.

No. 1970589

>>1970062
>kinda sketch around foreigners
Huh? No they’re not

No. 1970634

>>1970062
Shops make everyone wear a bag over their heads because it's more hygienic, has nothing to do with being a foreigner. I've used the fitting rooms countless times and never even remotely had an issue.

>>1969565
It depends wildly on the style of clothing you're looking for. I personally tend to like looser fitting styles so as an American of average height/weight its not a problem, but if you're into the frilly department store brands that skew smaller, it can be hit or miss. It's totally fine to ask to try things on if you're unsure.

No. 1970711

How offensive are unshaven legs to japanese ppl?
i'm visiting soon, including onsen trips, but i really don't wanna shave.

No. 1970740

>>1970711
I bet it as 'offensive' as it is to Americans. Are you really a woman or a trolling moid?(scrotefoiling)

No. 1970840

>>1952015
Late but I got to visit Tokyo this year during sakura season. My advice would be to get to any sakura spots EARLY, like before 8 AM. It will still be crowded but at least it will be manageable. I went to see the sakura at night at Chidorigafuchi and that was nightmarishly crowded.

No. 1971026

>>1970634
>>1970589
All anecdotal but they didn’t let me or my friend try on clothes even though they had a dressing room with a spot open. I meant sketch like they didn’t trust us, not that they were a bad place to shop. As for the bag thing I also didn’t see anyone else requiring to use it. It’s more of a funny story than anything. Also, I just recalled, I had dyed hair and a punk look at the time so maybe that’s why they didn’t like me lol.

No. 1973868

The Japan related subs on Reddit are infested with mentally ill moids so I will rant here.. I passed N2 a few years ago and never tried N1 due to life circumstances, but kept self studying by reading newspaper articles and stuff. At this point I can comfortably read the newspaper but I just started studying N1 and holy fuck, so many unnecessary vocabulary and grammar! God help us anons.

No. 1973874

>>1973868
did you start learning Japanese by self studying or visit a course? Any books or other things you would recommend for someone who wants to finally start learning Japanese? It's been bothering me so much those past few weeks that I can't even read basic stuff that I finally decided to change it, kek.

No. 1973901

>>1973874
Hi anon I live in Japan and I’m a lifer at this point. I learned up to N3 by immersion and daily life but I was struggling to take my reading skills beyond N2 so I took classes for that. Now I’m somewhere between N1-N2 I guess. Sorry I don’t think my answer was helpful but I would say try to use anything and everything as a material: reading, grammar and kanji, watch YouTube videos otherwise you might lack in some ways and excel in others which is not my personal goal tbh

No. 1974968

>>1973901
thank you, nonna, don't think that I will ever move to Japan, so daily life won't help me learning, kek, but your advice was still useful. I just want to be able to read and understand stuff related to my job as they have some interesting work in Japan, but I see it the way you do, I wouldn't be okay with only being able to read, speaking and understanding is also a big part for me.

No. 1976141

How do you guys find speaking in Japanese? I can’t help but always default to English sentence structure when I output despite my listening/reading being fine

No. 1976371

Is Nara worth going to? I'm planning my trip for August (yeah I know worst season to go there but I do t have choice with my job) and I'm going to stay in Kyoto for a week to go to other places in Kansai, and I kinda want to avoid the overcrowded places (which is now impossible in Japan), and I feel like Nara is overrated.

No. 1976377

>>1976371
Just assume everything along the golden route (Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto-Nara-Nagoya) is overcrowded

No. 1976389

>>1976377
I'm aware of this, I was in Kyoto last summer too and thankfully once you avoid the most famous monuments you can discover cool places and appreciate them in tranquility, I was mostly wondering if there was anything to do there aside from the deers.

No. 1976776

>>1976371
The deer smell like shit. If you've ever been in a farm or a barn it smells exactly the same and the deer tend to block traffic from time to time and bite everyone who smell like they may carry biscuits. I only visited Nara for a day, it's a fun place to visit but at some point you might get sick of temples.

No. 1977994

>>1970711
It's not "offensive" it's just seen as unattractive. Onsen water gave my skin a rash btw, be careful.

No. 1978302

>>1976371
Todai-ji is pretty cool and awe-inspiring. Even after visiting other temples in Kyoto, I found Todai-ji worth visiting. Photos don't do it justice. Other than that, I wasn't too impressed with Nara. The deer are kind of neat at first but there are too many of them and there's too much poop. I am pretty jaded about animal-based attractions in Japan though and wasn't too interested in the deer in the first place. I would highly suggest visiting early in the day if you can. I was unable to visit until later in the morning and it was already too crowded. That definitely killed my enjoyment of Nara quite a bit.

No. 1979365

Do you have to make a reservation to go to an onsen/spa or can you just go there on a whim and pay when you enter the building? What about the ones with rooms for the night if you're too lazy to leave on time or arrived a bit late?

No. 1979373

>>1979365
Ryokans are super expensive, don't waste your money. Public onsens usually have an entrance fee you pay at the door unless specified otherwise, at least I've never encountered one you need to reserve beforehand.

No. 1979382

>>1979373
I wasn't talking about ryokan, I gave up when I saw how expensive they are. I saw that some of the big onsen and spa can take reservations, like the big one in Enoshima or the one that recently opened in Toyosu.

No. 1985562

>>1979365
>>1979373
Some ryokan with their own onsen in lesser-travelled destinations are cheap.

No. 1985656

>>1976371
The temples are nice, you can skip the deer, I agree with the other nonna. They're kind of scary kek they're very aggro about getting those biscuits from people.
Tangent but when I was there I saw one deer that was being shunned by the others that was clearly unwell and had some sort of sever skin condition going on… Makes me sad when I recall it.

No. 1986049

>>1985656
Whenever I see attractions in Japan that are just a ton of animals clustered in one location (i.e. the rabbit and cat islands), I can't imagine it being a healthy environment for them because there almost always seemed to be individuals that are very diseased. Disease transmission in such dense groups seems too high. It's unpleasant and sad to look at and a reason why I don't bother with those types of attractions anymore when visiting Japan.

No. 1986147

>want to go to Japan right after high school, don't do it because parents expect me to start studying immediately
>plan to go during university, keep postponing it so that I can get credits faster (and because I'm lazy/scared), then covid hits, just graduate and start working instead
And now I'm "stuck" being employed by the government, meaning I most likely won't be able to take (half) a year off until I'm way over 30, and therefore too old for work and travel or language school. I feel so much regret. I actually hate this job but my parents would be devastated if I quit just to follow some childish dream. Don't be as dumb as I was, younger anons, if you want something immediately go for it.

No. 1986163

>>1986147
Do you not get PTO to take vacations during the year? I know it’s not the same as like living there but still. You could also look into a leave of absence type of thing if you have certain right working for the government.

No. 1986166

>>1986049
I had that feeling when I saw a video about a cat themed train station in a more rural town. They have a an actual cat who is the “train station manager” and they keep her in a little enclosure most of the day and idk it was just kind of fucked.

No. 1986175

>>1986163
Of course I can take vacations but it's just not the same. A leave of absence is what I always thought I could take (actually my mom always "advertised" this job to me by claiming people working for the government have the freedom to do so) but then I found out that you are only granted that if you're a mom and/or after many years of working, so not for me.

No. 1986194

>>1986147
What? I see foreigners over 30 work and go to language school in Japan all the time. It's not impossible anon.

No. 1986244

>>1986194
Some of them may have their Japanese classes paid for by their companies though. Westerners working in STEM, as engineers, have more opportunities to be relocated in Japan if they want even if they don't speak a lick of Japanese so I wouldn't be surprised if these people could ask to get these classes paid for by their companies while spending all their time working in English with coworkers from other countries. I'm not OP but I'm also considering going to Japan as a student just for the language for one or two years and yet I'm about to turn 30 very soon. The thought of going back to my country, having to find another job there, having to find another apartment, etc. after the fact makes things complicated though so I get her.

No. 1986884

File: 1714556945295.png (145.57 KB, 1695x482, Screenshot.png)

>>1986194
For working holidays it's a law to be under 30, see pic.

>>1986244
>The thought of going back to my country, having to find another job there, having to find another apartment, etc. after the fact makes things complicated though so I get her.
For me it's kind of the opposite. Of course I'm no longer young but I still have nothing going for me (well except my job…) I have no bf, no children, I only rent an apartment, I'm still kind of "free". I'm scared that I meet somebody one day and then feel held back by that or that I go out of my way to never meet anybody because I constantly have that dream in my head. You also see many couples going to Japan but it's always just the gf following some guy while he goes and buys waifu figurines, not exactly appealing kek

No. 1986891

>>1986884
I'm free too in that sense but the housing market in my city turned to complete shit ever since the pandemic was declared and it keeps getting worse and worse, so finding a new place that's not overpriced after a long trip could be very hard. I'm single, have no kids, etc. so that's really the only issue but it's a pretty big issue.

>For working holidays it's a law to be under 30, see pic.

nta but you're right. However there are people above 30 who apply for language school in Japan and these school to all the work to help these people get a student visa. From what I've seen that means the Japanese classes cost a lot more than the exact same ones for younger people who already have a working holiday visa, since they don't ask for the schools to do more work beforehand.

No. 1986928

>>1986891
>From what I've seen that means the Japanese classes cost a lot more than the exact same ones for younger people who already have a working holiday visa
It's probably insanely expensive and on top of that you just know that the other "students" are likely mostly 50yo moids.
Maybe it's still possible for me to go, just no idea how atm. When I was younger I simply never researched something like that, and even if I had, back then 30 seemed so insanely far away.
Housing is extremely expensive in my country too and rn I live in one of the most expensive cities in europe/the world, plus my apartment is tiny and shitty, so I feel like it couldn't become much worse than that.

No. 1986929

>>1986049
I’m a big hater when it comes to Japanese animal welfare, but really I think Nara and the monkey park at Arashiyama are the only places I think must have happy animals. The deer come down from the mountains every morning, I think the monkeys must be the same. They aren’t caged like everything else. The deer biscuits seem to be made of decent ingredients too.
But man everything else is so depressing. Being an animal in Japan is bleak. Otters and owls kept in tiny cages all day, all night. Zao fox village was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my life. Pet stores selling 400000yen kittens and no joke 6000-50000yen Guinea pigs, which all just get killed when people don’t buy them. Animals exist here to be something to take pictures of and that’s it.

No. 1986962

File: 1714565965504.jpg (423.54 KB, 1200x900, photo2jpg.jpg)


No. 1987054

>>1986929
The worst zoo I ever visited was in Himeji. I didn't think a first world country like Japan would still have animals in such horrible conditions prior to visiting that wretched place. Makes me never want to visit a zoo in Japan again.

No. 1987070

>>1986962
legit left a review on it in 2018. I remember being confused because there were like no negative reviews on it then, and there was even a positive video on it from that one OG red headed jvlogger. I remember thinking what the fuck, is this the STANDARD of how animals are treated in these peoples’ countries or what…I’m glad things have changed and people know now.

No. 1987079

>>1987054
Could you please give more details?

No. 1987088

>>1987079
All the animals were in cages that were way too small for them. Many of these cages were nothing more than bare concrete with iron bars that you'd expect from a shitty zoo from like a hundred years ago. I remember the polar bear, giraffe, and lion cages in particular were way too small for such big animals. Parrots had signs of self-mutilation which is a clear sign of neglect. Many small mammals were repetitively pacing back and forth in their small cages due to lack of mental stimulation.

No. 1987133

File: 1714579675637.jpeg (374.15 KB, 1985x1070, IMG_2384.jpeg)

>>1987088
Yup sounds the same as Higashiyama, home of the famous handsome gorilla. The gorilla exhibit was ok. Everything else was awful. Elephants and bears pacing back and forth, walking in circles. 90 degree heat surrounded by concrete. And Japanese people see nothing wrong with it.

No. 1987788

>>1987133
>>1987088
>>1986929
Aquariums are the same. Visited the one on Miyajima and they had apathic sea lions and dolphins in small, empty pools…a nightmare

No. 1987849

Where can I buy long-distance bus and night bus tickets using cash? Is it possible to buy the ticket from the driver?



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