What to pack?

[Strawberry_Juice]

(Not sure if this would be better off posted in the Culture and Living section, but I'm not actually going to LIVE there.)

I'll be going to Japan for nine days in mid-April. Just Osaka, Kyoto, (possibly) Nikko, and Tokyo. I've no idea what to expect weather-wise, and I've got to get all my packing done a good deal before I leave (long story).

All I can be sure about bringing right now is:

-camera
-socks
-underwear
-deodorant and other toiletries
-paper and pencils
-cell phone
-grammar and kanji dictionaries (I plan on conversing with the locals... though I have a good feeling they'll run away screaming.)
-extra spending money

I don't know what kind of clothing I should bring for this time of year, and please post any other nifty items that it would be smart to take along. And is there anything around this time of year in the area I'll be that I'll want to look into?

Suggest away!

[aKuMu]

heres a little information about the weather in japan in the different month
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2273.html
and also i dont think your handy would work there because of the different network (no gms)

[clay]

April will be nice in Kyoto.

Instead of a grammar or kanji dictionary, a regular dictionary would be more useful to lookup individual words you come across. I took my dictionary (was electronic, but paper is just fine) every where my first year in Japan. Especially in stores or looking up food items!

Definitely take paper or journal so you can keep a daily diary about all you are experiencing. You will appreciate it later, I think.

http://thejapanfaq.cjb.net/ is one of the best sites out there for preparing. Of course it is for those moving there, but there is a lot of good information for you too.

Have fun preparing for your trip!

[Strawberry_Juice]

clay wrote:
April will be nice in Kyoto.

Instead of a grammar or kanji dictionary, a regular dictionary would be more useful to lookup individual words you come across. I took my dictionary (was electronic, but paper is just fine) every where my first year in Japan. Especially in stores or looking up food items!

Definitely take paper or journal so you can keep a daily diary about all you are experiencing. You will appreciate it later, I think.

http://thejapanfaq.cjb.net/ is one of the best sites out there for preparing. Of course it is for those moving there, but there is a lot of good information for you too.

Have fun preparing for your trip!

That's what I meant by grammar dictionary. :p Well, that's what I'm used to them being called, anyway. I'll be taking a separate kanji dictionary as well.

OOOOOH sexy link.

[Strawberry_Juice]

abadoned wrote:
heres a little information about the weather in japan in the different month
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2273.html
and also i dont think your handy would work there because of the different network (no gms)

The group I'm going with has been instructed to bring cell phones, we'll be getting some calling plan or card or whatever for the trip.

[I-samu]

April is the best!

Just after the frigid cold, and right before the humid humid summer.
Light clothing is your best bet.

[Infidel]

Perscriptions. If you take any perscriptions then you need to make sure they are ok to take through customs. Also, Japanese pharmacies do not honor foreign perscriptions. So it is something worth looking into before going over.

[toraneko]

Re: The link in the 3rd post, the new URL for The Japan FAQ is

http://www.thejapanfaq.com

[Shiroisan]

Personally I'd skip Osaka and do Nara. It's also right near Kyoto but actually has significance imo. There really isn't much in Osaka that Tokyo doesn't do 1000 times better. I'm living in Japan now and have been all over; if you have any idea on the types of things you're interested in seeing, by all means let me know and I'll give you some recommendations.

[Shiroisan]

Wait wtf who bumped this?

[phreadom]

Wait wtf who bumped this?

What? You mean you don't like the 78 month necropost?

It's fine. It was correcting a broken link apparently. If you'd like I can just update the link in Clay's post and delete all these newer comments to set the world back in proper order again.