d man

hi everyone, please, i need your help!!! <BR> <BR>i am going to be studying in tokyo for the best part of a year soon, and i'm a bit worried (it could just be nerves) because i'm currently studying japanese and economics at university, and part of the course is a year in japan. i want to live in tokyo like a true japanese person would (i love the idea from what i've seen/read about, but i want to konw how to live it out). i'm young, single (attractive, of course!) and i want to do everything just right! please help me! what should i expect? what do i need to remember? what should i do differently? how is living in tokyo different from what i'm used to? just give me any information you have. thanks. <BR> <BR>if you can help me, then pleeeeeeease do - i could do with all the advice i can get! <BR> <BR>arigato

Florence

I'm sure you'll get more qualified answers about many specific points of a student's life in Tokyo nowadays, but in my experience, living like a *true* Japanese is beyond what can be done. There's a limit to what a Westerner can take (try natto for breakfast if you really want to feel like a real Edokko) and the Japanese will allow (they get testy when you become too good at the language) ... Also, there is no end of unspoken rules in Japan, and not a single chance that you'll get them all right. Don't worry too much, though. The Japanese are also very, very indulgent for our mistakes. <BR> <BR>Anyway, my best advice would be to engage in some sport with your fellows students or at the local sports club. That has done the trick for me (and the dozen students I've sent there thereafter) and I'm returning yearly to the same friends, shops, restaurants, dojos and suchlike in Shitamachi (Yanaka and Sumida ku to be precise) for the last 15 years. <BR> <BR>Try to find the manga "Dai Tokyo Bimbo Seikatsu" (try www.mangajin.com), that tells about how to live cheaply in Tokyo. It's fun and very informative on how a young, broke, and somewhat lazy guy copes there. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

d man

thanks, florence, for the advice. keep them coming in

Steve Mueller

dman, <BR> <BR>Where will you be in Tokyo. At a university? I spent a year at the University of Tokyo as a visiting scholar, so if you are going there, I can give you a lot of specific advice. <BR> <BR>If you are at any university, you should have no problem finding fellow students that are fluent in English and more than willing to help you out. Sooner or later, you will also find yourself making friends with other foreigners (gaijin) and they will also help you out a lot. Although not impossible, it can be difficult to develop close friendships with Japanese acquaintances. My best friends in Japan included only a handful of Japanese, most were Egyptian, Indian, Russian, British and even one Iranian. <BR> <BR>The vast majority of Japanese will be very gracious toward you, but be prepared for occasional encounters with xenophobia (e.g., shop signs that say foreigners are unwelcome, etc.). Japanese society is slowly overcoming centuries of isolation, and their attitude toward foreigners is somewhat ambivalent. As a westerner, you will have it easier than most gaijin.

Florence

It's true that making close friends is not easy in Japan, but spending your time with other foreigners is one of the things the Japanese are always complaining about Westerners, together with our pretenses at explaining their society to them. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

dman

thanks, advice so far very welcome. anything else????

Steve Mueller

dman, <BR> <BR>Here is a list of books that I recommend: <BR> <BR>Read Japanese Today by Len Walsh (Charles E. Tuttle Company) explains the 300 most common kanji, which will help you read street signs, etc. <BR> <BR>Kanji Pict-o-graphix by Michael Rowley (Stone Bridge Press) has mnemonic-type representations of more than 1000 kanji. <BR> <BR>Kana Can Be Easy by Kunihiko Ogawa (Japan Times) has mnemonic methods of learning hiragana and katakana (you will definitely want to learn the latter). <BR> <BR>There is a booklet titled "Academic Year in Japan" published by The Japan-United States Educational Commission (Fulbright Program). The only contact information I have is their address: 2nd Floor, Sanno Grand Building, 14-2 Nagato-cho 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100 Japan. <BR> <BR>Hope this is useful. You still haven't said where you will be in Tokyo.

d man

thank you