Tips on getting around in Japan

Okay, I’ve had a few google hits regarding this, and I have had a couple questions over email.

So, I guess I will address this in a post so that I may link people.

Tips for Japan (from someone who has been only once, didn’t stay for long… but still does not want you to walk away from The Inane Asylum empty handed):

Use the word “Sumimasen”. Trust me. You’ll use it a lot. It means “Sorry” or “Excuse me”. It will come in handy for when you offend someone… or when you have to agonisingly squeeze past them on a train. Both of these things will happen. Be prepared.

If you are using the trains (and you will… constantly… about 95% of your time will be on a train. Get used to this), go to www.hyperdia.com as it offers you the various methods of getting from point A to point Zatoicihi. However, for the intrepid inner Tokyo adventurer, simply find the quickest way to the Yamanote line as that thing runs a circle around most of the city, and will take you to the major touristy type spots… except maybe Asakusa.

The correct pronunciation of Asakusa is not “Ass-ah-koo-za” like many idiotic Australian tourists think. It is pronounced “Ah-zuck-sa”.

If you think you’ve seen everything, go to Harajuku. The people there will freak you out. God knows what the place was like before Gwen Stefani made the place her bitch.

When paying for stuff, always use their little dish next to the till to hand over your yen. If you hand over a bill worth 10,000 yen, and the cashier says something you don’t understand, they are simply asking for more correct change. This statement is correct in 99% of cases. In the chance you experience the 1%, they are either thanking you for your business, or apologizing profusely… because they’re polite like that.

When going to see Mt Fuji, make sure you obtain a Hakone Free Pass at Odawara station. This will save you billions of yen, especially if you’re staying there for a couple days.

If you don’t smoke, be sure to get a non-smoking seat in the Shinkansen. Japanese smokers belch smoke like coal power plants. However, having said that, simply breathing the Tokyo “air” makes you wake up with the feeling like you’ve had a pack of smokes filtered through your organs.

Do not go to Japan in March. The scenery is an ashen colour, which only contributes to the feeling of cold. Wait until April for the cherry blossoms to come out. I hear the explosion of pink can kill small animals.

If you’re asked about “how many (something) you would like”, use your fingers to signal the amount. You cannot state the numbers you’ve no doubt memorized in your head, as they’ve changed the rules. For instance, when asked how many sugars you want in your coffee, you cannot say “ni” – the number of two. It is “futatsu”. However, the Tully’s coffee shop in the NS building in Shinjuku has a polite waitress who will patiently correct you, giggle momentarily and then no doubt slander you when you’ve left the place.

Speaking of Tully’s, if you walk past one in Ginza at the right time, you can score a free coffee. A girl with a tray full of coffees steps onto the sidewalk and offers you one. It is much needed sustenance for the weary traveler who belongs in Ginza as much as a puma belongs among a group of pigeons.

There you go… words of wisdom from someone who hasn’t really experienced much of Japan at all. If you have any queries at all, ask someone who has taught English over there. If you don’t know someone who has, then chances are you know someone who knows someone who has.