An old school friend of mine is coming to Japan in November, but he's not all that excited about the trip. He said, "I must admit traveling to Japan is a bit scary. Seems incredibly foreign to me." This is exactly the kind of image that Japan is projecting to the world, and what the newly formed Tourism Agency is up against if it is to catch up with Japan's Asian rivals. Read what Japan can do to attract more tourists in this Japan Times editorial.
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I did a parody of the article...True, that D300 price is not so different fron new. If the guarantee is 12months on...I misread the title. I thought it was about skitching, so I was quite disappointed...I should have wrote that book. Hell, we Americans are the masters of pulling one...Jason>> I hadn't considered used. I think I'm still below the technology...Have to pass on this. Maybe it'll come around again when I'm in Japan ^^;...I think I can come up with something interesting....Good policy to have....Interesting. I remember seeing this stuff in the states a long time ago. I always...Alfie, you have no qualms about buying used bodies? I have bought used lenses...
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Japan is no Thailand. It's expensive here, so most tourist have to travel on a shoe string budget when visiting Japan.
I don't agree entirely with this article. The author makes it sound like Japan is not accommodating at all when in fact it is accommodating. I have traveled to over 12 different countries on 3 continents and none were as accommodating as Japan.
Do you think that this becomes a point of pride among gaijins - that they've managed to create a life for themselves in a place where many others fear to tread?
I must admit I don't get the concept of Japanese Shopping Holidays especially for those coming from North America and Europe.
Electronics, art/ceramics and other souvenir type things aside, I actually shop less here than at home because none of the clothes fit me!
Now a foodie tour I could understand
Maybe if the image of Japan for people is Akihabara, I can see how it might be scary.
The primary issue is that it's freaking expensive to travel inside the country! Ha ha.
I've lived in Japan for over 5 years and still have somewhat of a fear of traveling due to the huge cost and that it takes a major effort to expunge oneself from the grasp of Tokyo as neither driving, taking a train, nor flying out of this city are easy for their own reasons.
That said, I've had friends from Florida who have taken two long trips around Japan and love it.
I was surprised to hear there wasn't English on train signs before 2002. I guess I shouldn't be since there are still quite a few stations (Jiyugoaka) that lack sufficient English signs.
The article is just plain wrong about English signs. Big cities have had English on road and rail signs since long before 2002.
A quick tip for those inside Japan wanting to do some travel (and don't know this one yet) - use Japanese travel agents like JTB or the JR people as much as you can. It's sooo much cheaper than internet prices! We were booking a couple of holidays last month (for November and Sapporo in February) and the hotels I had looked at on the net were more than 50% cheaper with the agency and were bundled with travel which was cheaper too.
The agencies at the large stations and shopping malls often have English speakers (and we found that it wasn't necessary anyway lol)
I think the little mentioned problem of `no gaijin` notices needs to also be addressed.