What's Japan like?

Perfect Balance

Perfect Balance

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I saw the thread about what the UK is like, then I realized this was a great way to find out a question that has been bugging my for a long time, since my love for japanese cars and tuning is making me consider moving there in my future life.

If anyone has been there, of know a lot about it, then what is Japan like, whats it like to live there?
 
It's interesting. Different. And approximately nothing like your average western, teenage, Initial D fan thinks it is.
 
ZOMG ANIME LOL *peace sign*

No, really, Japan is probably a pretty neat place. Probably very crowded though. I'd like to see what it's like in those sweatshops that our PS3's are being made in :D
 
Duke
It's interesting. Different. And approximately nothing like your average western, teenage, Initial D fan thinks it is.
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Well, I know it's not like Initial D, what they do in Initial D is way too publicized for some law enforcement to not have found out. You can't drive around with a bunch of vans and tuned cars that say "Project D" on them and expect police not to get suspicious. What I want to know is what normal city life is like. I see lots of videos of japan, and it looks very crowded, but thats about all I know.
 
Weird. Crowded, people work crazy hours, and the traffic is, well, horrible.

And it's funny how they interpret Western culture.
 
Duke
It's interesting. Different. And approximately nothing like your average western, teenage, Initial D fan thinks it is.
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yes i do believe thats what you call it.(lol sounds like we are discusses recent fossil foundings)

my freind goes over to japan once a summer for about a month.
and he says that the teenagers there are turning away from the traditions and going towards somewhat like what teens wear over here in the U.S

Another thing is that it is very crowded in the big cities, almost like amsterdam but with out the river sliding through it.
correct me on this if i am wrong.
 
Thats what you said in the 'Whats England Like' thread, TwinTurboJay, exept it was 'Hamburgers eat people' :lol:

I've never been, Im not really wanting to go either
 
Oosaker, along-time GTP member would probably be the expert on this. You might want to PM him.

From what I gather, it's probably very different from a city to a rural area; the Western ideal seems to latch onto the rural aspect of Japans' culture, even though it's been left behind for years by most of the recent generations of Japanese.

Just a thought. I'm not abandoning my avatar.
 
George Morley
Thats what you said in the 'Whats England Like' thread, TwinTurboJay, exept it was 'Hamburgers eat people' :lol:

I've never been, Im not really wanting to go either
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and to top that all off

McDonalds eats us Americans, in Seattle,Washington there is a McDonalds every 1-4 blocks.

I also heard that street racing is huge in japan (no s***)but its almost 3 times the size over there than it is here in the U.S
Ok to turn away from the racing, i also believe the schools run all year around or somethin like that.
 
The police don't chase you if you're going faster than they can go.
 
It's a fairly interesting place to go unless you want to go at any cost. The people there do have some wierd items about, and noise is pretty constant in the city. Street Racing is huge, but not at the point where it rules every road.

Plus, a lot of people's taste in modified cars can be quite strange. They'll modify anything....
 
Sounds like Pompano Beach; they'll put rims and a noisy muffler on a toaster.

There's some weird things for sale in Japan...it seems anything and everything is marketable.
 
Theres not many members from Japan to give input so there's probably not going to much accurate info except anything that's rather vague.
 
240^drift
and to top that all off

McDonalds eats us Americans, in Seattle,Washington there is a McDonalds every 1-4 blocks.
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No, it's Starbucks that's on every street corner here in Seattle. :)

240^drift
i also believe the schools run all year around or somethin like that.
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I'm not sure whether school runs year round, but I know that after a day at school, they still have a lot of homework. Then at night many would go to tutoring classes, which gives them more homework to do.

Their teenage years culminate at the college entrance exams. If they can do well and make it into one of the top colleges, then they're pretty much set for life.

The pressure to succeed in school is insane there. That pretty much goes for the rest of Asia too, but not to Japan's extent.
 
Everyone has thee big purple eyes that twinkle, all the girls are amazingly hot, and all the cars are fast domestics. Oh, look up Silent Library, funny stuff!
 
I was there for 3 weeks some years ago with my then Japanese girlfriend. Amazing place! Filled with history, wonderful countryside and landscapes, generally friendly people (those that I met anyway), beautiful beaches and seas and tons, and tons of porn!
I mean, good grief! You should see the manga in Japan..it would make your brain fry! :crazy:
"Love hotels" are popular too. They're basically motels but used generally by dating couples for an evening of rumpy.

I'd happily live in Japan...if I could afford it and speak Japanese (I know half-a-dozen basic phrases). The cities can be like neon wonderlands and the countryside like a scene from a Kurosawa movie (minus the Samurai). I had a fabulous time!
 
Well I've flown into Osaka but didn't leave the airport. Then I flew from there to Okinawa. Which was pretty nice. Loved the water there. The people are really nice. And, pretty much any Asian country has a way better work ethic than Americans. Once I came back I really realized how lazy we are.
 
I've been in Japan for 3 days, I loved it!

I took the the bus from my Hotel to Kansai airport then took a bus into Tokyo and a train back, I took the bus so I could see the country side better. I was surprised Tokyo isn't as crowded as I expected (trains did though)

From my experience Japanese people were very polite to me and were very helpful with the limited english most had. I found it funny when I walked up to a McDonald's counter as soon the the girl saw me she flipped over the menu on the counter to the english side, handy!

I did see quite a lot of modified and other great Japanese cars while I was there, nice for an car enthusiast like myself. I would love there for a few years in my life time.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to explore Japan like I would have loved too, next time I go back I will stay longer and check you mt Fugi and other beautiful historical sights.
 
Duke
It's interesting. Different.
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That's pretty much it. I found it almost impossible to describe to people after I got back from a year in Okinawa.

People would always ask me what it was like, and I could only reply "Well, it's... different."

I mean, you can describe it easily enough.. bad traffic, crowded, very narrow streets, generally nice people (always a batch of "Yankee Go Home" folks on Oki, though). Lot of shops. They love their games, that's for sure.. We used to go to an arcade that puts to shame even the best ones in the States. I played PS1 long before anyone over here did.. hehe. A&W burgers.

And anyone who's been to Oki knows the Naha Music Club, yes? ;)

But that doesn't really do it justice. There's a "feeling" that the culture itself gives you that really can't be put into words. So in the end, all I end up saying is "it's different" from what we know here. On the whole, it's not really that different.. they put their pants on one leg at a time like we do. They love their kids. Cities, roads, buildings. It's the same, but... somehow not the same. It's.... different.

I just thought of another example. I noticed in the TGS '05 trailer for Fatal Inertia.. the race ends, and there's all these totally out-of-place flying women that zip around saying "YAY!!" in celebration of your victory.

In ways I can't even begin to describe, that actually makes sense to me.. I understand it somehow, and I'm perfectly okay with it. It seems almost normal, even though an American developer would never dream of putting something like that in a combat-racing-flight-sim game.
 
They all read animated porn on trains.

Steak costs 100 dollars US.

Otaku cafes are in abundance.

Everyone has mechs.

They all drift. Everyday, delivering tofu.

Shibuya district is fashion central.

Cosplay is actually a fringe trend.

Note, most of this is made of or extremely generalized :)

a6m5 can answer the rest him being from a Japanese descent and all :)
 
MdnIte
They all read animated porn on trains.

Steak costs 100 dollars US.

Otaku cafes are in abundance.

Everyone has mechs.

They all drift. Everyday, delivering tofu.

Shibuya district is fashion central.

Cosplay is actually a fringe trend.

Note, most of this is made of or extremely generalized :)

a6m5 can answer the rest him being from a Japanese descent and all :)
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lol well put.
when you say "Everyone has mechs"
what do you mean by that?
 
Food there is the best in the world, pretty much.......... then again, I might be a bit biased. I was born and raised in Japan. Grew up in town called Tsunashima, located inside Yokohama. Over there, everybody has easy access to different types of food. I love Japanese food, but there are very wide, international variety. The food/restaurant I miss the most would be a tempura soba at my favorite tachisobaya(standing noodle shop). And yes, they have great Chinese food there as well.

I think you guys have the right idea about Japan. It's crowded, roads are narrow, people are polite, gaming is huge(especially arcades like Jedi noted). It's a very different and interesting country. Stuff about cars are true too. They like their tuned cars and street racing/sporty driving. ;)

I've met only one person who didn't like visiting there, and that was because everything was too small for him(he went there to see his son play corporate league basketball). :D

If you can afford to visit there for couple of weeks, I think you should. If you are remotely interested in Japan, or are looking to experience a very foreign culture, you should have a blast over there. Don't forget that key word there in the beginning though, if you can afford to. Yes, it can get pretty costly there.

Since I moved to the States in the '87, I'm bit out of touch with Japan. My only visit there was in '94(!). Don't worry, I still got my Japanese Passport that I just renewed, so I can go back anytime. Couple of members I know who are more familiar with more recent Japan are Speedy Samurai and Max DC. Oosacker, I haven't seen him around for a while......

Edit:
MdnIte
They all read animated porn on trains.

Steak costs 100 dollars US.

Otaku cafes are in abundance.

Everyone has mechs.

They all drift. Everyday, delivering tofu.

Shibuya district is fashion central.

Cosplay is actually a fringe trend.

Note, most of this is made of or extremely generalized :)

a6m5 can answer the rest him being from a Japanese descent and all :)
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Everything I left out, MdnIte covered. Sweet....... :scared: :D
 
They've got square watermelons, too.

You know a country has a major space issue when they actually have to modify the size and shape of fruit...
 

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