ahh... I've been there but I was too young to really remember
but we wore the kimonos and kneeled in front of the dinner table and slept on a futon :3
I can faintly recall that

[img]http://i.imgur.com/9BHy24f.png[/img]

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Going there was something i really wanted to do it was almost a dream to go there until 3 years ago when i finally gone there.
I had a good time but nothing worth over 20KCAN that's the price it costed me to go there and come back.
I could have just paid something like 5K and would have got a much better time somewhere else.

it seems i'm with majority
fifth option

[img]https://i.imgur.com/lHjrfaR.jpg[/img]

Quote from NightSwan

Quote from Crenshinibon

The poll doesn't totally apply to me. I lived there for 2 1/2 odd years, so I don't think that quite qualifies as a "visit." haha.

It was excellent in many ways, and awful in many others. Like any other country around the world, there are ups and downs to life there, and certainly being a foreigner will always cause unique complications. Nothing's perfect, after all. I certainly wouldn't trade the experience for another, though.

I'm sure I'll be back eventually.

Like raging Japanese grannies giving you death stares?
🤣

Never been, wouldn't mind visiting.
Hear there're maid cafes there. I never say no to seeing a dirty fantasy. ;p

Yes. Things of exactly that order 🤣

Oba-sans are scary. It's like that line from Popular Hits of the Showa Era: "They always say that when humans are extinct, the only living thing left will be the cockroach. But that's BS. It's the oba-san." This one time I didn't sort my trash properly. I thought I might die. At least the religious solicitors leave if you pretend to speak Russian instead of English... :/

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NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

I've been to Japan several times, each time not longer than 4 weeks though. It's funny though how each visit you tend to focus on different stuff. The first time I still had that "everything here is perfect"-vision so obviously, Japan seemed like how I thought it'd be and more. Second time I started to notice the little things i didn't notice before/differences between Japan and my home country and did not really know how to react to these. Hint: don't try to think too much about certain Japanese 'habits' and especially try NOT to think like this: "This is weird, I don't like it! In my country they'd ...", because that's just a formula for a disastrous Culture Shock. Third time, I'd seen most of it so I could finally start living like a normal Japanese person would. Nothing really surprised me as much as the first time, nor did anything really disgust/confuse me either. That's basically how my 'visits to Japan' went.

Well, I'm currently living and studying in Japan, and have been for most of the year. There are occasional difficulties with living here, but over-all I love living in Japan.

"The reaper is always but one step behind me."

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i would love to go and live in Japan for a few years.

My interest started through manga and it caused me to want to experience the culture for a bit. I would really like to try some of the food lol.

Im planning to learn Japanese and move there by 2014

Thanks for choosing my pool 🙂

Chidori
[img]http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/265/0/6/sasuke_chidori_3_by_bobelite12-d6nhbfq.gif[/img]

I've wanted to visit Japan for some time now, but lately I'm thinking about studying there. However, due to the whole financial crisis I don't know if I'll be able to pay for japanese lessons here and then university fees and living expenses in Japan... Not to mention the cost of the tickets to get there... 😢 😢 And of course let's not forget my over-loving mother who doesn't want me to go that far away. >_>

I've been in the air port in both Japan and South Korea before but I don't think that counts. I wanted to go and visit ever since I went through the air port when I was 5 just cause "I was there" that was before I even knew what the country was called.

I stayed there for 1 night to switch planes! xD
Not sure if it counts if you were there for less than 24 hours

too bad there isn't a "I went there to switch planes" option lol
I don't remember much cause I was young
but I do remember the bus driver being on the opposite side
the hotel had a breakfast buffet
and... that's about it

but I plan on going there again for a proper trip someday~

I've been, it was alright. Far, far too over-rated by... well, everyone though.

The amount of Japanophiles and such choking the internet however has made me embarrassed to say I went there. Why can't people just react to Japan like any other normal country? Why to they have to go all "OMG JAPAN!!! I WANNA GO NEXT YEAR FOR THE SUGOI CULTURE!!!! ^_______^"... and such.
China is just as different, but never have I seen anything even close to a "omg China!!! Xie Xie , I can't wait to visit!!!"

It's quite sad really. Japan has been ruined by these guys.

I currently live in Japan, teaching English at a senior high school. I've lived in South Tohoku, in a town that likes to pretend it is a city, for over a year now. It's pretty rural, so there are very few foreigners here, but it means there is a prefectural wide foreigner community (which also has a lot of Japanese in it because they just like to hang out with foreigners). I've always wanted to visit Japan, but I've always wanted to travel the world, so Japan was just one on a list of many places. I came here on a total whim because I wanted a break from studying after university, and I wanted to learn Japanese.

I came here with absolutely no Japanese at all, maybe just konnichiwa and the honorifics I'd picked up from manga. In Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, it is easy to get around if you don't speak Japanese. People usually know a little English, and there are always English translations. Out in the countryside, however, you have to speak Japanese. Only place names are romanised and not many people can speak English. I found that people are so kind and helpful to me here, though. Once I was talking to an Ojii-san by the river in my town. I had only been here for 3 weeks and he was talking Yamagata-ben, so I literally had no idea at all what he was saying. I just kept nodding, smiling and occassionally saying "sugoi!" when it seemed appropriate. This went on for 20 minutes and at the end of it, I was given some watermelon. : D

I agree that it can be a challenge. I've totally lost all anonimity, everyone in my town knows me and the only time I blend in is when I'm with a crowd of foreigners, but then we all stand out together. It can be difficult when people are always watching you, but there are good sides as well. I get a lot of free food just because I'm foreign and after te earthquake everyone was really concerned about me, I had people coming to my house or stopping me on the street to make sure I was ok, asking me if I needed anything etc. My town wasn't damaged by the quake, but our supplies come from Sendai, so we lacked food and fuel. It was really comforting to have people looking out for me. When I couldn't call my parents to tell them I was safe, lots of people tried to help me contact them.

There are things about Japan I hate, but that is the same of any country. No country is perfect. I've met people who have this unrealistic image of Japan in their head, they've made it into some dream world which the reality of Japan could never match, so they become disappointed and go home. People should remember that, even if our cultures differ, deep down everyone is the same.

Quote from Crenshinibon

Quote from NightSwan

Quote from Crenshinibon

The poll doesn't totally apply to me. I lived there for 2 1/2 odd years, so I don't think that quite qualifies as a "visit." haha.

It was excellent in many ways, and awful in many others. Like any other country around the world, there are ups and downs to life there, and certainly being a foreigner will always cause unique complications. Nothing's perfect, after all. I certainly wouldn't trade the experience for another, though.

I'm sure I'll be back eventually.

Like raging Japanese grannies giving you death stares?
🤣

Yes. Things of exactly that order 🤣

Oba-sans are scary. It's like that line from Popular Hits of the Showa Era: "They always say that when humans are extinct, the only living thing left will be the cockroach. But that's BS. It's the oba-san." This one time I didn't sort my trash properly. I thought I might die. At least the religious solicitors leave if you pretend to speak Russian instead of English... :/

LOL!!!! Never mess with the elderly ladies in Japan. The whole bin sorting thing still baffles me after a year, once I resorted to trying to set something of fire to see if it was flammable or not. One time, two little old women stopped me on my way to the train station and started giving me the 3rd degree, only my Japanese sucks and they spoke Yamagata-ben, so I think I failed. 🤣

The pen is mightier than the sword...and considerably easier to write with.

How about this? Having your chance to go to Japan being given to students from a lower level than you?

The institute that I'm learning Japanese from offered five scholarships for one FREE year study in Japan.

I'd been studying there for three years for this. Showed how hardworking I was and am.
As a third year student, I Only had one chance to apply.

There were seven students who applied including myself.
5 first year students and 2 third years.
Third year students have more priority.

the result: the other third year and 4 first years got them.

I raged so hard, they had only been there for one year as opposed to me at three.
If anyone knew what the situation was like, you would Rage too.

😢

Used to live there...

I'd like to go, but I don't know Japanese (and will probably never learn) so I'll probably never end up going. I know you can have a great time without speaking the language (and plenty of my friends who don't speak it have been), but I honestly can't see myself enjoying it if I can't speak Japanese.

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