(Part 2) Top products from r/japan

I am Filipino-American born and raised in the US. The only difference is when I first visited Japan, I had some (pathetic) Japanese language capability and I spent 3.5 weeks there with a 7 day JR pass.

> I'm 24 years old, from the US, and I only speak English as I am a Korean American.

Here's the funny thing. When you step outside of the US, you'll just say you're American. If you say otherwise they may try to start using different languages on you or asking you questions you can't answer which is pointless so you end up clarifying you're American anyway.

> Anyone know how racist and xenophobic they will typically be towards Asian Americans like me?

There isn't much xenophobia if you don't understand Japanese and you claim you're there for travel as an American. The reaction is more along the lines of, "oh, nevermind" if they were seeking information or "oh that's nice" because it is understood that you're not going to be there after a few days.

For Asia I've been to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Of the 3 I would say South Korea has the most immediate xenophobia and racism. In Japan the odds are generally in your favor for getting help even if you can't speak the language. The trick in Japan is to ask anyone that is working like a train station attendant, someone working at a store/restaurant etc. If those people aren't available, then ask someone that is standing around waiting for a friend or someone to show up.

What will be different compared to say a white American's experience is people may assume you are Japanese if you look anything like a Japanese person. If you obviously look Korean, then there might be some other differences. If people assume you're Japanese, they tend to treat you like they would a Japanese person but it probably won't matter because you won't understand what they say to you anyway.

Basically I wouldn't worry about xenophobia and racism if you don't speak the language and you're there for a short period of time. Japanese people's true thoughts won't come out until later in your relationship anyway.

> I'm also a little worried that I don't know any Japanese

You will want to pick up a Japanese phrase book. Here's a few:

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Japanese-Phrasebook/dp/1742201865/

http://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-Japanese-Phrase-Dictionary-English/dp/9812681574/

The most useful phrase you will use: "sumimasen".

If you want to try a restaurant that doesn't have a menu with pictures, your best bet is to go with "osusume" which is asking for the recommended dish. However, some restaurants don't really have this concept. For example there is not really an "osusume" if you show up to a purely kushikatsu/kushiage restaurant. Also some kushikatsu/kushiage places they'll just keep serving you until you tell them to stop.

If you're having trouble communicating but the person is obviously trying to help you, try writing it down or showing them how it is written on paper. Japanese English writing/reading capability tends to be better than their speaking abilities. Also you may be pronouncing Japanese words incorrectly.

> Any good guides?

I have yet to come across one. This is generally true of any travel. The locals will always know something the guidebooks know nothing about. Things also change really quickly especially in Tokyo.

For example the guidebooks may not mention anything about "you-shoku" which is western style Japanese food. Despite the name, it is actually different from what I've had in Europe and America. They probably also won't mention that super trendy Udon place in Roppongi. Or Donquixote stores. Or Uniqlo stores and the fact that hemming is a free service.

On my first trips before I gathered a lot of Japanese friends, my strategy was simply to ask the hostel/hotel receptionist for recommendations. They usually have something to suggest. Hostel (not hotel) receptionists usually have more creative ideas as they tend to be younger and have done some sort of travel themselves. Hotel receptionists on the other hand are often a little more rigid. This isn't because that's how they normally are but rather just the formalities of Japanese style formal language (keigo).

Tokyo is also 3 dimensional. By that I mean the best places are often hidden on the upper floors of a building or the basement levels and they won't have a huge sign (there's too many signs anyway). The train stations can also be pretty confusing; not all train exits/entrances are equal.

> I'd also like to possibly see the hot springs

They're called onsen and scattered everywhere in Japan. For a better experience you may have to travel outside of Tokyo like to Hakone. I'm no expert on this but I will say they usually have a "cold" pool where the water is...cold. I couldn't manage to submerse myself in it.

> gardens

I don't know of any good gardens in Tokyo, but there is the Imperial Palace East Garden.

> anime merchandise

Akihabara.

> I also really want to see the universities in Tokyo (Univ of Tokyo, Nihon Univ, Tokyo Tech) and possibly meet the college students there.

That's nice but also very optimistic. If you know someone, it's probably great. If you don't, I think it's going to be hard to get around unless you're a naturally charismatic or an outgoing person. If you want to do something like this you're better off contacting someone in Tokyo beforehand and meeting them when you get there. I say this not because I don't think you can do it on the spot, rather you're probably underestimating the difficulties of not being able to read anything and not being able to communicate in English. If your trip is only 6 days in Tokyo, there isn't a lot of time to experiment.

Given that, here's my recommendation for what you should do with your 6 days:

Day 1: Morning: Tsukiji fish market. Afternoon: Ginza.

Since you're jetlagged anyway, Tsukiji early morning. I don't know if they still open the fish auctions to the public, but if they do you will have to take a taxi at 4:30am to make it in before the crowds. Otherwise you can take the first train in the morning. It is best in the morning as you see the weird looking carts driving around.

If you're not too tired, you can head over to Ginza which is two stops away by subway.

Day 2: Morning: Asakusa Sensō-ji. Afternoon: Ueno Ameyoko market, Ueno park if you want. Afternoon/Evening: Akihabara.

Asakusa Sensoji is a famous temple with a walkway that has many shops. The area around it is also Edo-period-ish and has a bunch of shops you wouldn't normally find in other parts of Tokyo. Food is cheap.

Ameyoko market in Ueno has a lot of cheap food products. Stuff like dried fish, fruits, etc.

Akihabara is the anime/electronics/maid cafe area.

Day 3: Morning: Shinjuku. Afternoon: Harajuku + Meiji shrine. Evening: Shibuya

These are are primarily shopping areas. Shinjuku has the Tokyo metropolitan building which has a free observatory. You can go up there can get a free high level view of Tokyo.

Harajuku bridge on Sundays sometimes has people cosplay. If not there is Takeshita street which has lots of shops primarily targeting high schoolers.

Near Harajuku is also Meiji shrine. This is a big shinto shrine but it's a bit of a walk.

Shibuya has Hachiko crossing. Lots of videos on youtube and pictures of this crossing. Shibuya also has a lot of restaurants and cafes.

Day 4: Kamakura

I would actually want to spend 2 days here as you'll need to do a lot of walking to get anywhere. A lot of historical sites/shrines/buddas/etc. Don't bother with the beach, however, it isn't worth seeing.

Day 5: Morning: Odaiba. Evening: Roppongi.

Odaiba is reclaimed land with a bunch of funny looking buildings on it. Sometimes they have real-size Gundam's there. I don't know much about it. There's a Toyota showroom there and a Fuji-TV building I think. There's also a statue of liberty over there.

Roppongi is not really my favorite place but it's worthy a visit I guess. It has a high number of foreigners, bars, clubs, and restaurants. There's also Tokyo Tower there. (But it is probably overrated now that the Sky Tree is open.)

Day 6: Whatever else you want + shopping/packing.

Night stuff:

If you're into the American club/bar scene and you must have your fix in Japan, you've got the foreigner bars/clubs in Roppongi or more Japanese clubs in Shibuya or the most famous Ageha (take the bus from Shibuya). Note: since the trains stop after midnight, the clubs/bars will be dead until ~11pm. Everyone goes from 11pm till 5am and whoever is left takes the first train in the morning.

I highly recommend you make a friend or organize meeting someone before hand because the better stuff should be done in groups:

Izakaya. Japanese Pub would be the translation. But it is organized more like a restaurant. I guess it would be similar to a Korean style bar except the food in Izakaya is usually pretty good and authentic.

Shabu Shabu. It's a hot pot with boiling water. But it is not Hong Kong style where they put flavoring in the broth. Instead you each the meat and vegetables individually first. Then with the left over broth you usually have noodles or rice mixed in with it.

Karaoke.

Food:

I'll let you look up each item.

• Okonomiyaki
  
• Yakitori
  
• Yakiniku
  
• Kaiten-Zushi
  
• Kushikatsu/Kushiage
  
• Katsu curry
  
• Udon
  
• Ramen
  
• soba
  
• you-shoku
  
• takoyaki
  
• oden
  
• tenpura
  
• Mos burger
  
• gyuudon
  
  If you want to drink "sake" the correct word is "nihonshu". If you want the better kind ask for junmai daiginjo.
  
  If you're really into sushi, you should try to find a place that serves real wasabi made from the root. It doesn't really have the horseradish properties of powered wasabi. If you want to be ruined for life try a piece of good ootoro.
  

Politeness rules in all countries, but possibly nowhere is it more important than Japan, so all the usual "first phrases" are your go-to firsts here as well: please, thank you, excuse me, hello, good morning, good evening, etc. Then there's survival phrases like "where is the toilet/train station/police box/etc."

You should definitely get a phrasebook. I used the Berlitz Japanese phrase book & dictionary during my two 2-week trips and it was invaluable. Here are the essentials it lists in the inside front cover:

• Hello - konnichiwa
  
• Good bye - sayounara
  
• Yes - hai
  
• No - iie (sounds like "yeh")
  
• Excuse me, pardon me - sumimasen
  
• I 'd like ... - ... ga hoshiin desu ga
  
• How much (money)? - ikura
  
• How many? - dono kurai
  
• Where is the ...? - ... wa doko desu ka
  
• Go ahead - douzo
  
• Could you help me? - onegai shimasu
  
• Thank you (for food) - gochisou sama deshita
  
• You're welcome. - dou itashimashite
  
• Please speak more slowly. - yukkuri itte kudasai
  
• Please repeat that. - mou ichido itte kudasai
  
• I don't understand. - wakarimasen
  
• Do you speak English? - eigo go dekimasu ka
  
• I don't speak Japanese. - nihongo ga dekimasen
  
• Where is the bathroom? - toire wa doko desu ka
  
• Help! - tasukete
  
  Edit: standardized my romaji. "ou" is a "o" sound lasting two syllables: "sayohohnara." Repeated characters are also such two-syllable sounds. "ii" is "eeee." consonants doubled make a halting stop: yukkuri - "youk - kurē"

I agree with the previous posters; talk with her (in simple sentences until you can figure out her level) and find out about her interests. Using her interests for discussion/activities will help break the ice and make the time more interesting. It may be helpful to have several kinds of activities since your lessons will be so long; a "warmup" game or free talk in the beginning, short reading activity with questions, phonics practice for letters she has problems with, showing her some common idioms and asking her what she thinks they mean (and then explaining), doing a mock-interview to help her practice answering questions, etc. Collocations are something that my Japanese students have problems with because their textbooks don't usually teach them which words sound natural together. You could even buy a book about idioms or collocations if you are so inclined-- this book looks good (http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Idioms-English-Phrasal-Collocations/dp/0131411764/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1311644804&sr=8-5).
I am using a different book
(http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Idioms-English-Phrasal-Collocations/dp/0131411764/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1311644804&sr=8-5)
with my adult class and I choose which lessons to cover based on their interests. It's rather high-level, though.

Good luck, and don't worry too much. Even if you just chat for the entire two hours, you're giving the girl the chance to actually use and further develop her English skills. If she walks away with more confidence speaking English, it's a win.

[Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850, edited by Karl Friday]
(http://www.amazon.com/Japan-Emerging-Premodern-History-1850/dp/0813344832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373561568&sr=8-1)

This is an excellent compilation of short but informative scholarly articles on various topics in premodern Japanese history. All the articles are written by scholars who are expert researchers on their field, and because the articles are modified for the format of the book, they never get too in-depth or tedious as many academic works do.

I read the whole thing cover to cover and ended up using some of the articles, and more importantly works cited in my senior graduation thesis on historical revisionism in protohistorical Japan and Korea. If you are interested in any of the topics it has references of where to go from there. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese history up to the Meiji era. Check the table of contents on Amazon's Look Inside to see if they are what you are looking for.

With all due respect, I'm pretty sure I DO get it. Just because something has been done one way in the past does not mean that is the way it must be done in the future.

Here in 2017, we are seeing 2 very important things happen around the same time- the rapidly falling prices of solar panels (some thanks to China) and the rapidly falling prices of fuel cells. Toyota's first fuel cell stacks used ~90 grams of platinum, and the Mirai only needs ~30 grams. The next generation FC stacks from Honda/GM claim to only need ~7 grams- equivalent to the amount in catalytic converters in every ICE car on the road.

Mass production of fuel cells has just begun, and the price will plummet as time goes on. China has just begun to mass produce them. Fuel cell stacks will be cheaper than ICE's very soon.

A US Company called Nikola Motor plans to build a US National Network of >350 Solar Hydrogen fueling stations. It's not only possible, it's going to happen, even if Nikola doesn't do it.

Here's a great book that details how the present and future are different than the past when it comes to Solar/Wind Hydrogen production: Solar Hydrogen: Fuel of the Future https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Hydrogen-Future-Mario-Pagliaro/dp/1849731950

Heh. Probably get downboated for this, but a friend of mine in Japan told me once, "Just by virtue of being a gaijin in Japan that speaks Japanese, you'll be able to qualify for a higher quality of girl than you could get back in the 'states." I still think it's pretty much true due to the tendency of Japanese women romanticize the West.

For those of you down voting me, you need to read more. Start with Straitjacket Society: An Insider's Irreverent View of Bureaucratic Japan by Dr. Masao Miyamoto a well-known, Yale educated psychiatrist.

"Miyamoto, a Tokyo-born psychiatrist who spent 10 years in the U.S. as a postdoctoral student at Yale and as a Cornell Medical College professor, returned to Japan in 1986 to join the Ministry of Health and Welfare. His years in the West ill-prepared him to accept Japanese group-think, which he perceives as an adolescent syndrome and a form of institutionalized masochism. He refused to sacrifice his personal life to it; chafed against the officially sanctioned gold-bricking that constituted much of his job; argued with his supervisors; and became isolated from his peers. Far worse, he shocked the bureaucracy by publicly criticizing it in articles and in this book, which was published in Japan this past September and became a bestseller. While Western observers have made similar criticisms of Japanese society, none have offered the same insider's detail and credentials. Miyamoto's account of his absurd experiences is streaked with outrage, but his descriptions of how laws are written, how budgets are made, how careers proceed and how workers behave contribute valuable social and psychological insights into Japanese society. " Following that you should be very motivated to learn even more so then check out The Anatomy of Dependence by Takeo Doi. Good luck.

While it may have been written in 1985, I would say that The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan by the late Alan Booth (also a compatriot of yours) would be a must-read before coming to Japan as you are - for an extended visit. Reading it may inspire you to look up some of the obscure places that he visited - although not necessarily all on foot as he did. Another of Booth's works published posthumously "Looking for the Lost" is also worth a read (not to be confused with Alex Kerr's Lost Japan - which is also decent although I think Kerr's book could benefit from a stronger editor when he delves too much into his pronounced artsy-fartsy fetishes)

My sources are all primary sources. I'm only pulling the primary sources out of wikipedia entry because it's easier to link.

But if you are interested in this, you can read Park Yuha's book in Korean The Empire's Comfort Women (this is her Facebook page in Japanese which has summarized her thoughts and where I got most of my ideas about going after the pimps)

https://www.facebook.com/notes/705074766186107

and you can read C Sarah Soh which I have yet to read:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Comfort-Women-Postcolonial-Sexuality/dp/0226767779

Needless to say, as scholarship progresses, Sansom is getting pretty dated. His coverage of pre-Asuka Japan can be downright incorrect (although, in his favor, the data didn't exist at the time).

For a brief coverage of Japan's premodern history, the latest work out there is Japan Emerging, edited by Karl Friday.

It is not as detailed as Sansom (as it moves much faster), but it incorporates the latest methodologies and scholarly consensus. I would consider it a good introduction.

I really enjoyed Lost Japan by Alex Kerr. It's auto-biographical and has some interesting insights from a Westerner who has lived in Japan and seen it change over the past few decades.

It's called "Samurai William" by Giles Milton. It's actually quite readable. Ten pages of endnotes in the back but still reads like a novel.

Here are a few good ones that I have read and would definitely reccomend.

Speed Tribes: Days and Night's with Japan's Next Generation
by Karl Taro Greenfeld

> http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Tribes-Nights-Japans-Generation/dp/0060926651/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267655889&sr=8-1

Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West
by T.R. Reid

> http://www.amazon.com/Confucius-Lives-Next-Door-Teaches/dp/0679777601/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267655960&sr=1-1#noop

Black Passenger Yellow Cabs: Of Exile And Excess In Japan
by Stefhen F. D. Bryan

> http://www.amazon.com/Black-Passenger-Yellow-Cabs-Excess/dp/0615268102/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267656194&sr=1-1

those should keep you busy for a while.

Jake Aldenstein (first non Japanese reporter for a major Japanese newspaper) wrote a book called Tokyo Vice, which has elements of what you are looking for. Its mostly about his life as a gaijin reporter, versus just being a gaijin.

I have the full dvd - hiLARious!
here

I used to bartend in a small pub - the Japanese customers liked it far more than the foreigners

If you are interested in an alternative point of view, read this. These protests are, in my opinion, unlikely to be instigated by the Party and more likely to be 'tolerated' to a certain extent.

For those who want a longer academic piece on the topic, Oleg Benesch's dissertation, Bushidō: The Creation of a Martial Ethic in Late Meiji Japan is freely available as a PDF. Think of it as a rough draft for his book.

Edit: Whoops, I just realized that the tofugu article cites the same link I gave.

Barely knowledgeable reporters? You mean the people who risk their job and reputations when they're reporting?

OK, sure you mean these books?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0231120338/?tag=annals

http://www.amazon.com/The-Comfort-Women-Enforced-Prostitution/dp/0393316947/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Comfort-Women-Postcolonial-Sexuality/dp/0226767779/ref=pd_sim_b_2

This ones from a Philipino woman

http://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Woman-Filipinas-Prostitution-Japanese/dp/0847691497/ref=pd_sim_b_4

And if you can read Korean, here are the Korean books.

http://www.yes24.com/SearchCorner/Search/List?query=%C1%BE%B1%BA%C0%A7%BE%C8%BA%CE&domain=ALL&theme=%C1%BE%B1%BA%C0%A7%BE%C8%BA%CE&detail_yn=Y&scode=026

Renewable hydrogen can be produced using solar and or wind energy. Here's a great book that lays it out http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1849731950/

Here's what Germany is doing:
>To date, according to press material provided by Mercedes-Benz, Linde produces half of the hydrogen for existing fuelling stations from sustainable energy sources. The gas is obtained from crude glycerol, which is a by-product of biodiesel production. Biodiesel, as the name indicates, is a carbon-neutral fuel produced from plant life and other biological sources.

>Linde also splits water molecules by passing a current through the water, with the electricity procured from wind power generation. http://www.motoring.com.au/news/2014/mercedes-benz/germany-builds-more-hydrogen-filling-stations-46711

Speed Tribes is a fascinating book about the Japanese underworld.

https://www.amazon.com/SmartBidet-Electronic-Temperature-Controlled-Functions/dp/B0128T2HQK/ (If you don't have kids and aren't prone to losing remotes.)

https://www.amazon.com/SW2034-01-Elongated-Washlet-Cotton-White/dp/B00UCIOWRM/ (If you DO have kids or are prone to losing remotes.)

There's also non-electrical versions that operate only on water pressure, but of course you lose seat heating, etc.

Lots of options to choose from.

\> Tools & Home Improvement \> Kitchen & Bath Fixtures \> Bathroom Fixtures \> Bidet & Bidet Parts \> Bidet Seats

To review the options :)

Edit: If you're looking for the OP's exact model it appears to be an Inax Clessence Elongated Electronic Toilet Seat with Side Controls (White Color), not a cheapy.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F6BG9GM

I am pretty sure those aren't american releases. See how they are sold by third party sellers, but not Amazon?

Whats particularly suspicious is the PG logo on the frozen case. That is not an American logo.

EDIT: The Frozen 3D release is definitely from UK. See here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frozen-Blu-ray-3D-Region-Free/dp/B00FZM8Z7I
The Maleficent release appears to be from Korea. (Although, it also has a 3d uk release as well.)

http://www.amazon.com/A-Guide-Remembering-Japanese-Characters/dp/0804820384

http://books.google.com/books?id=3ZHD9wdspXgC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q&f=false

This is actually a very good book that shows you all of the development stages for the "Official" Kanji (the ones most commonly used/expected to know when you get out of High School) if you're really interested/bored.

If you haven't read it, Samurai William by Giles Milton is a enthralling read. It was particularly good to have an insight into the early Edo period interactions between Westerners and East Asia.

That would be very useful. I might get Rosetta stone, just so I know something, and of course while I'm there I will have one of these with me at all times.

I'm going to make the opposite argument--dress to impress and go for a Toto. Only works if you have a nearby electrical outlet, though.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UCIOWRM/ref=twister_B07RYN6R5J?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

> I can tell you from experience that we apparently don't know English as well as they do

Haha, that point came up in The Blue-Eyed Salaryman - when the author tried to suggest to his Japanese superiors that they'd made a mistake in their English, they said he'd spent a long time in Japan and forgotten his English.

Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams by Karen Kelsky, Duke Univ. Press

I wish I had read this years ago

That was from the 2007 etiquette guide put out biannually by ラーメンズ. You can think of them as the Ms Manners of Japan. The updated version carries some slight changes, mainly regarding honorifics and such, and if you were Japanese you'd be expected to follow it closely or appear foolish/uncouth. However, as a foreigner, the sushi chefs would to expect you to make some mistakes.

Amazon.co.jp

Frozen 3D: http://amzn.com/B00FZM8Z7I

Maleficent 3D: http://amzn.com/B00PXVTP8E

The late Japanese psychiatrist & former bureaucrat Masao Miyamoto's 1995 book Straitjacket Society: An Insider's Irreverent View of Bureaucratic Japan...

Or, his 1995 in the UK (probably the same one Japanese Embassy officials in the US threw a fit over earlier):

• "CASTRATION" - THE MAJOR GOAL OF JAPANESE EDUCATION, AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO GOVERNMENT DEREGULATION
  
  
• Mental Castration, the HIV Scandal, and the Japanese Bureaucracy