Rezz

Lol, I thought it was too hardcore 'Motor Magazine' might have some useful info in it if you want more of a 'credible' mag to look at... but at 780 yen I don't think they have anymore upcoming development articles than say 'Xa Car' or 'Best Car' do at 300-odd yen.

Funky: All of 'em mate I think they all have their 'credible' information AND their outright speculative articles. Thats coming from me who actually reads and translates most articles of interest. Alot of so called 'Japan experts' can't even speak the language, let along read it... and they pass judgement and say "oh those Jap magazines are just full of crap"... little do they know that all the articles are quite honest about the crdeibility of their info. Poida: One word: Kinko's ) trust me it ain't cool... I moved to Japan in June 2000. I really wanted to see JGTC cars in the flesh at Suzuka circuit... thats all really... I didn't really like J-girls (although they grew on me - or I 'grew' on them hehe ). I had a working holiday visa so I had enough money to support myself without work for 6 months, so in the beginning I took it easy. It wsn't so hard to 'find my feet', I met some pretty cool people when I first got here (which was really easy... everybody likes Aussies... well except Kiwis) so I had a helping hand. My first job was landed 4 months after I arrived, and was really easy to negotiate... BUT, I had to relocate to country Mie. That was difficult at times (lonely) but I can owe my confidence and mental fortitude to that experience alone. Other jobs were equally easy to get, but as has been told to me numerous times, being 'not exactly ugly' is the #1 reason for that. Yes, I can see myself staying for at least another 2 years. As time wears on and my Japanese gets better, I could probably stay for another 10 years... it all depends on timing. If it's time to go, it's time to go. If I could do it all over again, I would've come here in the mid-90's (just from the money making aspect). But other than that, I think I've had the time of my life really. I've always loved Japan and I couldn't see myself living anywhere else other than my fathers native Germany. About the only regeret I have about coming to Japan is not studying the language more before I came. I think I've missed out on 2 or 3 awesome opportunities (one with a very rich young lady) because I couldn't speak enough Japanese... oh well.

Alright... Back to Q+A guys. Sorry Akihiro.

あきひと、「ごめんね、お名前の漢字をしらない」あなたのＳＡＵのメンバーの口座が変わったことがわかった。なぜ変わった？

Yeah, it's in Romaji... Japanese postal workers can read Romanized Japanese place names no worries. In fact the address could probably written backwards and it wouldn't make any difference.

Good questions Poida... I was wondering when somebody would ask about this. Firstly, the address above WILL get to your house, but you could make it easier for the postman by writing/typing: Tokyo-to Taito-ku (Negishi-chou) 2-17-1-404 JAPAN 110-0003 ** 'Negishi' sounds very local, you may not need to put this in the address but please verify with a Japanese aquaintance. Secondly, the postman usually has access to the back of where all the mailboxes are (you may not be aware of it), so if the package can fit in the mailbox he'll leave it there, if not, he'll put a receipt in there which you can then take to your local post office and retrieve the package (you'll need ID for this - last time I got asked to produce my Gaikokujin Tourokusho or Foreigners registration card). I guess it's pretty obvious that packages aren't left at the front door.

Hahahaha!!! You like bronze women Akihito? I like Ganguro!!!

Wel... there it is. PROOF that Aussies copy the Yanks, no matter how sh*t... no matter how stupid it is...

Who's Bronz?

Akihito! Do you have a question about foreigners??? Hahaha

No... SUICA Card is JR Higashi (East) Nihon only... in Osaka we have ICOCA Card it's exactly the same thing. I get mine from machines marked 'ICOCA' (obviously) and I can choose the 'monthly pass', it expires one month from the activation date that you decide on. The monthly pass allows you to travel infinately between 2 selected stations (eg: Osaka <---> Ashiya for me) but thats it... if you travel outside those 2 stations you have to pay extra. It's really only good for commuters like me. ^^^ I love the choice of animal for ICOCA Card... no other than a blue Platypus.

Am I gay? When have I 'openly expressed love for another bloke' on the forums??? I think the question should be "Are SAU members other than Rezz ghey?" ;) Having said that, it does worry me when members PM me and say "...if you're ever in **** (city) let me know..." Yikes.

This is really interesting about the Coke taste thing... honestly I don't think they're any different. Are you guys tasting them side-by-side? Maybe it's just me...

I wouldn't say Japan had any more compulsive buyers than any other country... what about when (ok, ok, I can't think of a better example right now) Windows '95 was released? You had people even in Alice Springs lining up outside PC shops at midnight the night before the release waiting for the store to open... thats compulsive too right? It's just presented by the media in western countries as a wierd kinda compulsive behaviour of Japanese people... did you know that in Japan they're shown news reports of Americans lining up outside movie theaters 5 days before waiting to buy movie tickets for the latest Brad Pitt extravaganza? So here the reverse applies... Japanese think westerners are compulsive fad driven buyers... especially at Christmas time.... Japanese are just trying to keep up with the west it seems.

I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert at Japanese history but... during the Edo period in Japan, missionaries from different countries (particularly Portugal) where based in Nagasaki in Kyushu and where chiefly trading goods, but also trying to spread the word of God. The emporer at the time saw that his people were being converted at an alarming rate - the ladies were getting married to foreign guys etc - so he sent a whole army there to basically arrest and/or kill all the foreigners and basically close Japan to the outside world for about 200 years. The effect this had was akin to the Rennaiasance in Europe, it was when Japan really developed it's own individual culture. So having said that, people even today still have this 'curiosity mixed with ignorance' of other cultures amongst some older people... and even some younger kids. These people are a minority though, so more often than not Japanese are either genuinely shy or they are afraid foreigners are going to babble some strange language to them. It doesn't help on the foreigners part that Japanese language is so hard All the Japanese people (other than my in-laws) that I've spoke to about this all are aware of the apparent 'uncoolness' of the Japanese penchant to be ignorant or even a little hostile to other cultures and really view it as the #1 reason why Japan isn't progressive as Western countries.

It's a curtesy thing... taxi drivers started doing it years ago in order not to blind oncoming cars and pedestrians. Eventually (as alot of stuff happens here) everybody starts doing it. The trouble is, people forget to turn the lights back on after they start driving again, so it's not really a good idea. I don't do it myself. Another thing people may have noticed is that Japanese use their hazard lights to park... or change lanes... or illegally double park... almost like they can do whatever they want *IF* they put the hazard lights on.

I think it's to aid in parking... so the driver has a better idea of where the front of the car is, has the little light at the top for *cue 80's robotic voice over* n-n-n-n-n-ight p-p-p-p-p-parking...

Your right, to 'qualify' for a working visa you need a degree... Working Holiday Visas are given in 6 month blocks, each block is extendable a mximum of 2 times, for a total of 18 months. You *must* reapply every 6 months! We just had one of our Canadian teachers taken into custody at Kansai Airport because he overstayed his original 6 month working holiday visa by 6 months.... he flat out forgot to reapply!!! If you want to stay in Japan after your Working Holiday visa has been used up (after 18 months) without a degree, your best bet would be to take Karate lessons and apply for a 'Cultural Visa' (in that order). The Cultural Visa is given in two 1 year blocks, for a maximum of 2 years. I believe it IS illegal to work on a Cultural Visa... so you have to show Japanese Immigration evidence that a) you're actively taking lessons of cultural importance, B) show decents funds held in a bank account and/or show a letter signed by your parents/guardians that they will support you for the duration of your Cultural Visa. ;) then all will be fine.

Btw Shan... Tanabe is pronounced 'Tah-nah-beh' remember? Someone on here sent me a PM aaaaages ago *insisting* it's 'Tah-nay-b'... because his best mate was half Japanese or something LOL.

'Wakimashita' means 'it boiled' in polite form... don't you mean 'Wakarimashita'?Anyways, on the News in Japan, they're using general polite forms with all verbs (ie: verbs in the past tense end in --- mashita) and in Japanese the basic sentence structure is 'Subject - object - verb'... so it's likely that they don't just say 'Wakarimashita' at the end of every sentence (although in an interview it could) it's more like they're using a multitude of different verbs in the past tense... hense you hear '---mashita' all the time while watching the news.

I got a question for you guys that are thinking about coming to Japan: Do you think Japan has become more 'accessable' for tourists (Aussies in particular) in the last 5 years or so? I ask because every 2nd guy I meet is either Canadian or Australian...

Hahaha me review porn? I'd just be like "she's a stunned mullet... crap... NEXT!" x 568. sock: Actually, theres English translations on alot of things... I wouldn't say they're everywhere, but someone who has absolutely no knowledge of Japanese could easily get around Japan... you just need to be on the ball... some of the translations require a pretty open mind as to the meaning. geno8r: the cartoon porn actually is a cultural thing. An old Japanese artist (can't remember his name, maybe IG can research ) used to paint these images with octopusses getting it on with a lady. Very famous stuff, everybody knows about it, the girls even kinda fake roll they're eyes when you mention it (yeah, like they wouldn't wanna be raped by and octopus... yeah right ) but the cartoon porn is just an extention of that. I think what Sciby said is right too, the censorship laws here are very outdated, eg: other forms of sex goes uncencored, but the MOMENT PUBIC HAIR IS SHOWN... damn get that video editing going to blur out the muff... or doodle whichever is in shot.

Tanks for pointing that out buddy, I would've just dumped a whole 2 teaspoons of salt in my coffee otherwise. Cheers bigears!

^^^ Haha IG I haven't come across a canned coffee I like... Coffee Boss (silver can) is drinkable... just. It's not canned coffee... but who likes 'Mt Rainier'? That stuff is the best!!!

Coke is the same *taste* though.... I thought that was the question?