My son is going to Japan next month to teach English in Miyagi Prefecture for at least a year. Mrs. BEvans and I are going to go visit him for 10 days or so (probably in late August/early September, after the Olympics) and I know very little about planning a trip to Japan. Any info/tips appreciated.
U really think players are going to duke without being paid over Kentucky?--Gilbert Arenas, 9/12/19
Clean socks. Wear those with the toes in them and confuse the locals.
Last edited by kingcat; 02-18-2020 at 08:01 PM.
“Before I leave I’d like to see our politics begin to return to the purposes and practices that distinguish our history from the history of other nations,
“I would like to see us recover our sense that we are more alike than different. We are citizens of a republic made of shared ideals forged in a new world to replace the tribal enmities that tormented the old one. Even in times of political turmoil such as these, we share that awesome heritage and the responsibility to embrace it.”
-Patriot and Senator. John McCain
Get your royalty checks from the Super Terrific Happy Hour automatic deposited.
You're welcome.
Plan for the long flight in advance, things like compression leggings can help prevent swelling due to sitting for so long. Also, my advice is to adopt the timezone of your destination when you get on the plane to help mitigate jetlag.
Other advice:
Don't be afraid just to walk aimlessly throughout the cities and try random things that are crazy or weird. Some of my best trip memories in SE Asia have involved doing just that.
Also, depending on the parts, Japan is VERY crowded compared to the USA. It will get overwhelming at times, this is normal. Just accept it, take a break in a cafe and then jump back into things. I had to do that from time to time in Saigon and it helped immensely.
My brother is stationed outside of Tokyo (Navy), I will ask him if he has any tips/advice.
Eat breakfast at McDonalds. Kyoto was great! It's the old capital, Kyo To, versus the new capital, To Kyo. Geisha district. National women's university. Oh, wait, the Mrs is coming with. Truly, in the geisha district I felt like a rube who just fell off the turnip truck. "September Morn" my grandmother would say. Getting on a plane or train is "stampede". I felt like a stranger in a strange land for sure.
Learn to like eating rice if you don't already. At every meal, every day. Oh, yeah, I have heard somewhere that the Japanese love Kentucky Fried Chicken. IDK if that is true, but I heard or saw that somewhere.
Maybe Ribbonfish will chime in. He lives there.
Let me give you some tips AFTER I see Duke going down now...Originally Posted by KSRBEvans
Okay, here it goes.
First, as you are already aware, there's Wuhan coronavirus spread in Japan. I would say it's not as bad as Italy, South Korea or Iran when you consider the majority of those infected counts come from the Diamond Princess cruiser ship. And especially not so much in Sendai/Miyagi yet but be sure to have your son carry lots of surgical masks from States. You just can't find one easily in Japan now. Very important. Wear it from the airport he's departing. Take it off once at immigration but that's it. Also bring alcohol hand sanitizer if possible.
Back to the topic, like Pedro says, it's a long flight to Japan. More like 10 hours depending on the jet stream you go against. Are you flying out of JFK? Detroit? O'Hare? It'll be a long one for sure. And may I ask where you are arriving in Japan? Tokyo has two airports, Haneda and Narita. Haneda is in the bay area with easy access to the downtown. Narita is located in suburb and trains or buses connect you with Tokyo and other areas. If you can pick, I would recommend Haneda (HND) over Narita (NRT).
So, obviously you along with your wife will eventually visit your son in Miyagi, who would spend a year there teaching kids in school. It would be a fantastic experience for sure. You take Shinkansen, or the bullet train you may call it, from Tokyo to Sendai, the capital city and the biggest in the area. Max speed at 320km/h (or 200mph). Would be an interesting one onboard.
More to come but may I also ask what you are looking to do in Japan? Would you like to visit somewhere specific or want to eat something you wanted for long? Would be glad to be of your help.
The Japanese do love KFC. Tell them you are from Kentucky. It is a great conversation starter.
Real Fan since 1958
Thanks! It turns out our son will be in Fukushima prefecture (Date City) instead of Miyagi. It's a little concerning since it's closer to the site of the disaster, but what we're learning is that it's generally OK in that area as long as you stay out of the exclusion zone. (Any info you may have on that is appreciated.)
Anyway, he'll be taking a nonstop flight to Tokyo NRT from O'Hare, then staying overnight before taking the Shinkansen to Sendai. He'll be there for a few days of training before traveling to Date City. It's about 13 1/2 hours flying time, and he's definitely going to get plenty of masks and hand sanitizer before going.
The general idea is we want to visit Tokyo, Kyoto and where our son lives, and perhaps also Osaka and Hiroshima. How much time in each, what we should see while we're there and any other areas we should visit...we're just now starting to gather info. My wife and I are interested in history and would like to learn about the local culture. We'd also like to try the local foods and check out markets, too. So thank you for any thoughts you have on this.
Last edited by KSRBEvans; 02-26-2020 at 02:51 PM.
U really think players are going to duke without being paid over Kentucky?--Gilbert Arenas, 9/12/19
they also like bourbon
Flying in Japan is interesting, as they have cameras under the plane so you can watch the wheels hit the ground. Summer is incredibly hot and humid. Beer is sold in vending machines like Coke is here and I still like the Japanese beer I drank there--large silver can, name escapes me--a sign I drank too much maybe. I found food to be a challenge and expensive. Having an accurate watch was good because phone charges can be very high. Had it turned off most of the time. I was in Kyoto as I said, walked all over, stayed up by the women's university. Also was in Fukui on the west coast, and in Tokyo. Tokyo scared me it was very big, the train confusing, etc. Fukui and the west coast seemed like normal life.
Also, Hyatt Regency Kyoto up by the women’s University was a nice place to stay
Guess I would have a little time to add to this thread on Friday but the beer bigsky is talking about must be Asahi Super Dry. It’s corona all over here everyday, every hour. Even a part time KFC employee is found infected.
One thing I heard about US is you guys started drive-thru diagnosing, which may not be the best move to make. It enables you to be tested easily while, if positive, you rush to a clinic or a hospital for treatment, which only contributes to consuming medical resources and might end up preventing the worse from being hospitalized quickly. IDK what’s Germans are doing to deal with the virus but they seem containing it pretty well so far.
Hope your son staying safe so far in Japan, BEvans.
We just have our national high school baseball tournament cancelled, which is often compared to NCAA tourney. People go crazy cheering when local schools move on to national stage. It shows you how the things are going so bad with this coronavirus.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Thanks, ribbonfish. He's not there yet--scheduled to fly out 2 weeks from today. At this point it's still a "go," but as you know the schools are out and it'll be interesting to see what they plan to do after break ends in early April. I'm giving no more than 50-50 odds that he actually travels. He continues to prepare and he's doing everything he can to stay well. He practiced social distancing before social distancing was cool.
U really think players are going to duke without being paid over Kentucky?--Gilbert Arenas, 9/12/19
Kind of good to hear and somehow relieved as it would be tough to deal with it when you are so far away from home and got nobody there to rely on.
Guess Japan would be day-to-day by then. Rather on DL now. Just hoping everything to be back to normal in a few months.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I spent a month in Miabashi. Felt very safe the whole time I was there. Food and travel were difficult for me. He doesn’t need to expect McDonalds or any other fast food to compare to what he has here, cause it doesn’t. Menus will be close, but taste won’t. Like some said earlier, they have beer and cigarette vending machines everywhere, even on the streets. To a degree, society is very open. I was surprised to see how my hotel room was arranged when I arrived. It was also very small. If he is in hotel, he needs to be prepared to turn the power on to his room with his key. I learned to stuff a tooth brush in in the key slot when I left for short times. If he is tall, he will stick out and he will definitely be gawked at. The guy I was with was 6’5 and we couldn’t go anywhere without being watched. We found it to be quite entertaining.
Thanks westtncat. Yeah, he's 6-3 and about 250 so I expect he'll be the subject of attention now and then.
But he's excited. He flies into Narita on the 26th, staying in a capsule hotel (not my idea of a good stay, but he's been dying to try one since he learned about them) and then flying to Sendai the next day. (He decided to fly and not take the shinkansen because it would be easier logistically.)
U really think players are going to duke without being paid over Kentucky?--Gilbert Arenas, 9/12/19
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks