Japan Trip

[Elumi]

Yay! I'm excited to go to Japan (this August and I heard it's going to be hot)! We're meeting a friend in Tokyo and I was wondering if anybody could name us some nice places worth visiting in our week and a half stay -- not enough vacation at work. Thanks!

[Gaijinian]

You should check out Nikko.

Saru wa ki kara ochiro

(Even Monkeys fall from trees)

"(A) monkey fell from (a) tree."
Saru datte mo might be "even monkyes"
ne
Also, "ochiru," not ochiro

[Elumi]

Gaijinian wrote:
You should check out Nikko.

Where is Nikko?

Saru wa ki kara ochiro

(Even Monkeys fall from trees)

"(A) monkey fell from (a) tree."
Saru datte mo might be "even monkyes"
ne
Also, "ochiru," not ochiro[/quote]

Ah, arigatou. So, do I say Saru datte mo ki kara ochiru?

[Gaijinian]

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-7 ... ko_nikko-i
About Nikko;)
(Do a yahoo image search, it is a GREAT place. With a monkey shrine!)
http://laeren.zoggins.net/japan/galleri ... onkeys.jpg


~ temo means even (if/though)
Takusan tabetemo futoranai
Even if I eat a lot, I won't get fat.

So, Datta (past of da/desu) becomes datte

Saru datte mo, ki kara ochiru
(and to make it sound cool, add "deshou")
猿（さる）だっても木から落ちる（でしょう）。B);)

[clay]

August in Japan... One of the (very) few reasons why I am not living in Japan anymore

I also arrived in Japan in August when I first moved there. Boy was it hot. I had grown up with air conditioning and living in an apartment without one was intense. But by the end of September everything is nice again though.

Here is an important word to learn: ムシムシ (mushi mushi) or 蒸し暑い (mushi atsui) which means 'HUMID.' Of course it depends where you live, but I couldn't remember Florida as being that hot and humid.

Not to dampen [pun intended] your fun. I am sure you will enjoy Japan! Where will you start out? Will you get a JR Rail Pass?

[Elumi]

clay wrote:
August in Japan... One of the (very) few reasons why I am not living in Japan anymore

I also arrived in Japan in August when I first moved there. Boy was it hot. I had grown up with air conditioning and living in an apartment without one was intense. But by the end of September everything is nice again though.

Here is an important word to learn: ムシムシ (mushi mushi) or 蒸し暑い (mushi atsui) which means 'HUMID.' Of course it depends where you live, but I couldn't remember Florida as being that hot and humid.

Not to dampen [pun intended] your fun. I am sure you will enjoy Japan! Where will you start out? Will you get a JR Rail Pass?

Ah! You just dampened my spirit already... kidding! Of course I'm used to that hot weather... lived in the Philippines for 20 years anyway and survive (I don't remember how). "Mushi atsui" is a nice phrase. I'll probably use that a lot there.

I think a JR Rail Pass has been my co-worker's advice too. He told me that Kyoto is a nice place to visit if I can spare some time. I wanted to check the palace too.

You have any plans to go back and stay there?

[Elumi]

Gaijinian wrote:
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-7 ... ko_nikko-i
About Nikko;)
(Do a yahoo image search, it is a GREAT place. With a monkey shrine!)
http://laeren.zoggins.net/japan/galleri ... onkeys.jpg

Domo Arigatou! You're so helpful! Thank you so much!

~ temo means even (if/though)
Takusan tabetemo futoranai
Even if I eat a lot, I won't get fat.

So, Datta (past of da/desu) becomes datte

Saru datte mo, ki kara ochiru
(and to make it sound cool, add "deshou")
猿（さる）だっても木から落ちる（でしょう）。B);)

I haven't taken -temo and datta yet. Mmm... so instead of using desu I use datta for past words? I didn't think desu has a past form also... but I'm learning. Yaya! Thanks Gaijinian! By the way, does your nick mean foreigner?

[clay]

Someday, we plan to live half the year in Japan and half here in Florida. Right now it is a dream, but who knows?

Kyoto is probably my favorite city. If you go there DEFINITELY visit 二条城 ni jou jou (Nijo Castle). I love that place. It has so much history. That is the exact location where the Edo period ended. The Shogun handed over power to the emperor. Here is a site with good info:
http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/kyoto/nijo.html

JR Pass is essential if you plan on visiting several cities. If you are planning on 2 or so stops, then I wouldn't get one, but if you want to go from Tokyo to Fukuoka, the JR Pass is a great value.

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en01.html

Let me know if you are going to Ishikawa ken. It has Kenrokuen in Kanazawa which is one of the 5 or 6 famous gardens in Japan. But that isn't the only reason for going to Ishikawa... It has my favorite Indian restaurant :p

Planning your trip is half the fun! (well, sort of...)

[Elumi]

clay wrote:
Someday, we plan to live half the year in Japan and half here in Florida. Right now it is a dream, but who knows?

God? Yeah... I feel like it's crowded there already but I would like to live near Hokkaido and try a rural area. I'll teach English (although I'm not that good in it!) or Tagalog (Filipino language).

Kyoto is probably my favorite city. If you go there DEFINITELY visit 二条城 ni jou jou (Nijo Castle). I love that place. It has so much history. That is the exact location where the Edo period ended. The Shogun handed over power to the emperor. Here is a site with good info:
http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/kyoto/nijo.html

Okay! I'll definitely make sure we visit that city then. JR Pass is going to take me there too, right?

JR Pass is essential if you plan on visiting several cities. If you are planning on 2 or so stops, then I wouldn't get one, but if you want to go from Tokyo to Fukuoka, the JR Pass is a great value.

http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en01.html

Much obliged!

Let me know if you are going to Ishikawa ken. It has Kenrokuen in Kanazawa which is one of the 5 or 6 famous gardens in Japan. But that isn't the only reason for going to Ishikawa... It has my favorite Indian restaurant :p

Planning your trip is half the fun! (well, sort of...)

Ishikawa ken looks interesting. I don't think my friend is aware of this place yet. It looks like they have beaches on this one. At this rate, I'll probably stay in Nihon for a good whole month! That would be fun!!! I'll suddenly do an LOA here at work and by the time I get back I'll be fired. Time to look for another job... My mind reels...

Back to Ishikawa ken, it looks like one of the Philippine island. I'll ask my friend if we can go there. He said that there is Mission trip he'd like us to join and they go to different cities but I don't know how long that will take. The most we can stay is two weeks unless I take an LOA.

~By the way, I thought Florida is scorching hot during the summer but there's always airconditioner, right? ~

[clay]

Ishikawa ken has noto hantou (Noto peninsula) Which has many beautiful beach areas.

Here is my page on Ishikawa ken:
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/readarticle.php?article_id=56

The restaurant I was talking about is Hot House：

http://www.hothouse.jp/

We ate there last December and it was just as oishi as I remembered it...

Everybody accused me of wanting to go to Kanazawa just for it. But they were right. B)

[Matsumoto_hideto]

ahha

im going in august too



but for a exchange


i have to definately check some of these places when im not in (koko!)

[Mukade]

Specifically within the Tokyo area (which I've only been to a couple times, so I'm no authority, but...):

Nikko is beautiful.
Check out some traditional drama at the Kabuki-za.
Do some shopping in Shinjuku (just avoid the Kabuki-cho area...especially at night)
See what electronics shopping in Japan is all about at Akihabara.
Sample excellent ramen from all around Japan at the Ramen Hakubutsukan in Shin-Yokohama

The Ramen Hakubutsukan was the highlight of my trip to Tokyo. Excellent ramen. Neat atmosphere. Memorable experience.

-----

As far as the monkeys thing goes, that's a set idiom in Japanese, and it's:

猿も木から落ちる
さるもきからおちる
saru mo ki kara ochiru

[Gaijinian]

As far as the monkeys thing goes, that's a set idiom in Japanese, and it's:saru mo ki kara ochiru

Ahhh... OK.
I did not know it was an idiom...

Desu is "polite," "da" is the "informal" way to say it...
Deshita is polite past form
Datta is informal past-form...

For more on Nikko, check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikko
(It's worth it just to see the pictures!)


Enjoy Japan! I might... maybe be in Japan myself around that time...
B)

[Shibakoen]

I'm afraid you may have opened the floodgates. I've got many suggestions for the Tokyo area.

My personal favs around Tokyo are Kamakura (the old capital with lots of Temples, much closer to Tokyo than Kyoto), Roppongi Hills, Odaiba, and ESPECIALLY Harajuku for shopping, Asakusa for the sites (kinda touristy), Shibuya (just look for the Hachiko exit at Shibuya train station) and Roppongi for the clubs, Shimokitazawa had some great night life but I hear they're building a highway through it. Ueno has a park and a zoo and several museums. Basically just go around the Yamanote line in Tokyo. Almost every stop has something.

And definately find time to go to Yokohama. It's very close to Tokyo; I suggest the Tokyu Toyoko/Minato Mirai Line from Shibuya which unfortunately is not a JR rail line but it's not expensive at all, and since they just added new stops and new trains it's very nice (I took it to work everyday). The Yokohama train station has LOTS of shopping with several huge department stores, but the really cool stuff is a little further along the Minato Mirai train line. In Yokohama you can go see Minato Mirai with the Queen's Square Mall and Landmark Tower (the tallest building in Japan with the fastest elevator in the world) and the Kosomo World amusement park. Akarenga ('Red Brick') and Motomachi are great places to shop and Japan's largest Chinatown (Chukagai) are all REAL close. They've also got a really nice park there and the foreigners grave yard is right by Motomachi.

If you ever miss the western culture, Tokyo Disney Land and Disney Sea are very nice and it's on the way to Chiba prefecture. If you're looking for beaches, I have to suggest Shimoda in Shizuoka prefecture. It's only a few hours by train from Tokyo and it is very pretty, no, spectacular. There's this gondola you can take to the top of this mountain and you can overlook an amazing harbor. There's also an aquarium that has shows with dolphin and seals. This is actually the place where the western world first made contact with Japan, so there's quite a bit of history there. I think the 150th anniversary of the "Black Ships" is either this year or last year. I have a friend of mine (who features prominently in all my pictures) who is from Shimoda so I might be a little biased, but I really think you'd like it.

Where are you planning on staying and for how long? If you want to, you can probably rent a room in a gaijin house for a few weeks or a few months since hotels can be a bit pricey. If you want specifics on restaurants or anything as you narrow down the places you want to go, just let me know. One restaurant I have to suggest (it's kinda pricey but absolutely amazing food, very romantic) is this place called Queen Alice in Minato Mirai at the Queen's Square Mall. Well, this was supposed to be short, but as I thought of the places, more and more great memories flooded back to me. You can go see a baseball game, but I forget the name of the station the Giant's stadium is located, and there's a mall near there, too. Arg. I can go on and on. Anyway, I hope you find some of this helpful and if you'd like more info send me a private message or email me at shiba501(at)hotmail.com. Shiba, by the way, is the neighborhood I lived in while I was in Tokyo. It's right next to Tokyo Tower and pretty close to Roppongi and Azabu Juban and the Tokyo fish markets. I hope you have a great trip. Just think, at least you won't have to deal with the all the pollen from the Japanese Cedar trees.

[Elumi]

Mukade wrote:
Specifically within the Tokyo area (which I've only been to a couple times, so I'm no authority, but...):

Nikko is beautiful.
Check out some traditional drama at the Kabuki-za.
Do some shopping in Shinjuku (just avoid the Kabuki-cho area...especially at night)
See what electronics shopping in Japan is all about at Akihabara.
Sample excellent ramen from all around Japan at the Ramen Hakubutsukan in Shin-Yokohama

The Ramen Hakubutsukan was the highlight of my trip to Tokyo. Excellent ramen. Neat atmosphere. Memorable experience.

Ah--- sounds good. I would definitely check out Shinjuku (cause girls love to shop). But why do I need to avoid Kabuki-cho? and why especially at night? Mmm... mysterious...
But much obliged for these information.

-----

As far as the monkeys thing goes, that's a set idiom in Japanese, and it's:

猿も木から落ちる
さるもきからおちる
saru mo ki kara ochiru

Arigatou! Yeah, I really like this Japanese proverb.