Why did you go to Japan?

[Samu-kun]

They think foreign women talk really loud, drink a lot of beer, and are very emotional. So you should actually shout and act all crazy-like to fulfill their expectations. XD (No, I'm kidding, don't do that.) Actually, compared to the Japanese, you probably do speak more loudly and express your emotions more frequently. I've always suspected that the Japanese are actually Vulcans... or something like that.

On the other hand, you might end up meeting some crazy Japanese woman who considers herself a yankee (no relation to the American word Yankee) who'll be shouting all crazy-like.

I wouldn't worry too much about it though. The Japanese are very polite with guests, so you should be able to get around fine. If you ever need help, just ask a police officer. The police prescience in Japan is very high and they're universally professional, so they should be able to help you with directions.

Old merchandise might be difficult to get in Japan unless you know where to look. In general, anime has a four month expiry date. As soon as the new season starts, the old stuff gets dumped out and gets replaced with the new! Your best bet is the second hand market via Mandarake, which has a good selection of older material at discount prices. But Akiba might not be of much help, since anime's pretty disposable entertainment which people forget about the moment a new series starts.

I've actually heard stories that Hong Kong is a better place than Akiba if you're looking for older material...... In general of what I've seen in Akiba, you're probably only going to find merchandise for current animes and eroge and very popular hits from the past eight years. (Lucky Star, Clannad, etc) Mandarake stores stock older material, but the focus is on things from the past ten years.

[TrickWithAKnife]

Well, that's... depressing...
I wonder what they think of foreign girls?

As far as I know, there isn't that reputation for foreign girls.
And I wouldn't say the majority of people thing foreign guys cheat, but it's the people who do think that way that I tend to remember.

The downside is that I'm so shy I even trip up on my words in English, so there's little to no chance I could communicate with people very well... ;_; They might get offended that I looked down while speaking or something... But maybe there's a niche for shy foreign girls and I could work at a maid cafe and get mad tips just by blushing and stammering a lot.

Ahh, but you get to play the "gaijin card". This means if you don't speak much, people automatically presume it's because Japanese is difficult. Japanese people generally don't expect foreigners to speak much Japanese either.
I tend to be shy meeting people the first time too, but the gaijin card has made everything so much less uncomfortable.

[Sapphi]

They think foreign women talk really loud, drink a lot of beer, and are very emotional.

Hmm, maybe they're onto something, there are a lot of people around here that do that!

Old merchandise might be difficult to get in Japan unless you know where to look. In general, anime has a four month expiry date. As soon as the new season starts, the old stuff gets dumped out and gets replaced with the new! Your best bet is the second hand market via Mandarake, which has a good selection of older material at discount prices. But Akiba might not be of much help, since anime's pretty disposable entertainment which people forget about the moment a new series starts.

Hmm, I figured so. I wonder if they have as many second-hand shops in Japan as we seem to have in (my part of) the US.

That's interesting about Hong Kong, I didn't know that... ahh, I want to travel the world. This thread is torture, lol.

Ahh, but you get to play the "gaijin card". This means if you don't speak much, people automatically presume it's because Japanese is difficult. Japanese people generally don't expect foreigners to speak much Japanese either.
I tend to be shy meeting people the first time too, but the gaijin card has made everything so much less uncomfortable.

I guess that's true. I would just be worried about the *cough* OTHER effects of that card... I mean, even at the Japanese market I go to in Chicago, there is a clerk at the bookstore that doesn't seem to like the fact that "foreigners" are buying things. He got upset because my friend handed him the money instead of putting it in the tray on the counter... lol

[Samu-kun]

Gaijin card is a great thing. If anything goes wrong, you can just bow and say, sumimasen gaijin deSSUUU and all will be forgiven.

It was a hella lot more difficult for me, since I looked Japanese and I couldn't pull the gaijin card as well as my friends. One time, I accidentally walked into some creepy peep show place where you could grope female employees in a themed train car because I thought it was a restaurant. If I had looked like a gaijin, the doorman would probably have shouted at me that I didn't want to go in there. XD

For anime merchandise, you want to be in a major city. There's actually a lack of anime stuff in most regular towns. I think there are two major Mandarake stores in Tokyo, and two in Osaka. I don't know about other cities, but I think there's bound to be at least one!

Japanese stores will be happy to serve foreign customers. Most stores will go to pretty far lengths to help you find what you're looking for. (Although some minimal amount of Japanese is required to tell the employee what you're looking for and to understand what he's saying back. XD)

[LVUER]

Old merchandise might be difficult to get in Japan unless you know where to look. In general, anime has a four month expiry date. As soon as the new season starts, the old stuff gets dumped out and gets replaced with the new!

And where do they dump all those things? Can we buy anime cheaper when it's expired? Though lots of anime fans say (and I completely agree) that anime heaven is not Japan though it's where anime creators lives.

Gaijin card is a great thing. If anything goes wrong, you can just bow and say, sumimasen gaijin deSSUUU and all will be forgiven.

It was a hella lot more difficult for me, since I looked Japanese and I couldn't pull the gaijin card as well as my friends. One time, I accidentally walked into some creepy peep show place where you could grope female employees in a themed train car because I thought it was a restaurant. If I had looked like a gaijin, the doorman would probably have shouted at me that I didn't want to go in there. XD

Same here then. I also looks like a Japanese. I still remember when I was in holiday and go to an international resort, the guide there thought I'm a Japanese tourist and offered me a service in Japanese.

[Samu-kun]

And where do they dump all those things? Can we buy anime cheaper when it's expired? Though lots of anime fans say (and I completely agree) that anime heaven is not Japan though it's where anime creators lives.

The prices for anime and eroge goods decrease pretty quickly as time goes on, so people usually pick them up as they go out of style. After that, they probably get shipped to places like Mandarake, which sell them at pretty low prices.

Of course, the most popular figurines are still pretty expensive! But you can actually buy four to five decent figurines from popular series that are roughly 3-5 years past with just $60 if you search pretty hard for good bargains. Of course, prices could have increased since I was in Japan three years ago too!

The same thing's true for eroge. A lot of really good games from about a year or two ago are available for like $30-40, but if you want the newest and greatest, you'll have to shell out the full $90+. =w=;

[Mink]

That's interesting about Hong Kong, I didn't know that... ahh, I want to travel the world. This thread is torture, lol.

Hey, Sapphi, you and I can go. I'm in the process of learning Chinese, so I can translate for you! 8D I warn you I'm better at reading/writing it than actually speaking it.

Sort of on topic, I haven't been to Japan, but my mom went in the 80's. My dad was stationed there, and I guess she thought, "Well now I have an excuse to go to Japan!"

[Destiny]

I will go to Japan for a year next year and went there for holiday once.
The reason is simply not explainable. I am extremly interested in arts and somewhere around 12 years old I noticed the arts and architecture of Japan, directly falling in love with it. I soon started liking the country more and more, getting information on stuff, getting japanese friends and all.

I also once thought about living there, but I will try to see about that next year.
Because a good friend of mine works in germany and japan and she has huge problems with japan even though she loves it.
The people there recognize her (of course) immedately and always treat her like a total noob about everything. She can speak japanese very good but instead of getting taken serious, everyone there starts the sentence with "Wow, you can speak good!" and often start explaining everything they say thinking she will not understand them without.
I even heard that children get bullied heavily when they do not look japanese there (one of the reason why there are schools for immigrant).

So I'm always kind of worried about my plans and I hope you reflect on what could happen too.
Moving to a country totally different from your own is heavy, especially when you do not look anything like the others.

[TrickWithAKnife]

I think the schools are getting better. Bullying isn't as common in Japan as it is in western countries, although I have no idea what Germany is like.

Yes, people will treat you differently because you look different, but remember it works both ways. You will be the new foreign student, which automatically makes you interesting.

It's also true that Japanese people will make a big deal out of silly things sometimes. It used to bug me that someone would always say "wow, you can use chopsticks!" whenever I went to a restaurant with new people, but I realised its just there way of trying to be nice, so I just smile and thank them for the compliment that they intended it to be.

I highly recommend coming to Japan, as it's a wonderful experience for people who are prepared to do things the Japanese way. The people who try to ignore Japanese culture and do things their own way don't enjoy Japan as much long-term.

Anyway, if you do move to Japan, I'd be interested in hearing your experiences. I'm making a game to help people who are thinking about staying in Japan, and to also teach some Japanese (which is optional), so I love hearing other people's troubles and fun experiences.

I intended to come to Japan for 6 months.  That was four years ago, and I'm still loving it here.

Hmm... Actually. This has given me an idea. I'm going to make a section in our game forum where people talk about their past or future trips to Japan.

[Duendain]

I came to Japan for mainly two reasons:
Food and to buy an armour for my Kendo.

Kyoto has a great store.
It was just plain awesome. Let's stick with that