Merli's Japan Pics :)

[Rezz]

I've been to Japan 3 times and have never seen any of these gangs. Nor have I ever felt threatened in any way at all. In fact I felt as if it was the safest country in the world. I feel much more "threatened" in Sydney than most countries I have been to actually.

Japan rocks out. I plan to be visiting again some time soon. If not this year... next. I can't wait to fill up my luggage with great Japanese toys!

I agree wholeheartedly there, Justin... (cool name;))

Merli must've been very lucky to see that level of gang activity, in Hiroshima of all places. I'm like Dave and Troy, I see the motorcycles and scooter gangs more often than not, and they just basiclly make heaps off noise around 3am.

I have to disagree with this one though...

Leave them alone and they won't even give you a passing glance, except to say "すーごいですね！！がいこくじんです！！”　

I ain't NEVER had a Japanese male, let alone a gang member, say "sugoi" or polite form "gaikokujin" when talking about foreigners... more like "Why the f*ck are you here..."

To the guys that are considering coming here, just remember that Australia has 20,000,000 people, and Japan has 125,000,000... basically that means that there is a chance that you may never run into gangs at all (depending how long you stay).

[Merli]

I ain't NEVER had a Japanese male, let alone a gang member, say "sugoi" or polite form "gaikokujin" when talking about foreigners... more like "Why the f*ck are you here..."

I think their reaction depends whole heartedly on your own behaviour... My friends and I never encountered any hostility (joking or otherwise) from the locals because we were foreigners, nor were we ever called gaijins.

I believe it's because we weren't wandering around shouting out to all the girls "WHOA!!! DUDE!!! CHECK OUT THAT ONE!!!" "WANNA FU CK BABY??? $5 SUCKY SUCKY????" like several drunk American tourists that we saw.

I walked into a "Budweiser" bar hoping to find a few english speaking people to talk to for a while, and was confronted with a bar filled with loud, boisterous and obnoxious Americans, swaggering in their place and generally agressive behaviour so I promptly left...

Then again, I was only in Japan for 2 weeks so I probably didn't get a chance to see the locals true reaction to tourists... and perhaps I was oblivious to any hostile comments because I didn't understand them :Oops:

But my general feeling was that they were more curious than pissed off at our group's presence... And myself being Chinese, when I wandered off on my own, I blended in more than I thought I would and you should see the SHOCK on their faces when I reply back "Sorry mate, can't speak Japanese :D" in an Australian accent... In fact I thought they loved it when I said "osutoraria-jin desu"

[Demon Dave]

I have to agree with Rezz on that point...all too often I'm referred to as "Gaijin" by Japanese people that I don't know or don't know me. I think a lot of times there don't mean it in a derogatory sense, rather they're just ignorant of the fact we prefer the term "Gaikokujin"...

Though to be honest it doesn't bother me at all, hell I though it was rather funny learning that the loose translation of Gajin meant "Alien". That's why I decided to do add this sticker to my old car :)

[Pva_Glue]

LOL...

at japanese people dont call you lot ching or wog or lebs... or worst African American.

[Merli]

LOL...

 

at japanese people dont call you lot ching or wog or lebs... or worst African American.

That post made absolutely NO SENSE to me whatsoever

@ alien civic

@ civic

[Demon Dave]

Well, it was a Honda civic. If you have a look in the any Civic's User's Manual, page 1, line 1, it reads:

Thou shalt modify thy civic using as many stickers and rice add-ons and conveniently possible.

So, I was only following instructions when I carried out the mods...

[RiGo]

I just stumbled accross this thread and it rocks! I find Japan absolutely fascinating! I'm not sure if you're still in Japan or if you've left already, but please post more pictures and anecdotes if you have any more

[knore]

great thread guys.

Going to japan is on the priority list in the next 1-2 yrs.

Can one of u'se tell me how hard it really is to go over there not knowing any japanese?

Like ive been told alot of japanese people know english anway?

[Demon Dave]

Not knowing any Japanese can be a bit of a disadvantage, but for a short vacation you're not really gonna suffer too much

Basically, if you don't know any Japanese you're essentially blind, deaf (and due to a lack of cultural understanding) pretty dumb too! :(

But, most Japanese people on seeing a foreigner will assume you don't know the lingo and go easy on you, maybe even try to speak a little English. Most adults can read and write English without too much trouble, but few can speak it well.

Don't worry about it too much though, most foreigners coming to Japan are in a similar situation. You'll find that the best recourse is the universally understand language of GESTURES!! Really, a few gestures here and there will help out a lot.

Learning to speak Japanese isn't too difficult, and you'll find that you'll pick up common words and phrases pretty quickly. Learning to read and write properly, well that's a whole different ball game...

[akeenan]

the first time I went over i knew no japanese. Its funny you never really think about how often you talk etc... Its weird walking into a store and trying to buy something when you have no idea about the countries language.... Sometimes it can be very interesting.

I have nothing but high respect for the Japanese. I remember rolling down the street in narita one night on my skateboard and people driving past in their cars would slow down and look driving along side me. I would wave and smile and they would do the same... It was great.

[sammus]

"Sorry for the blurred photos, I didn't know how they'd react to me taking photos of them, and they were all out looking for a fight so I didn't really want to get involved with gangs packing that kind of hardware."

a) do a 'crutch' shot... obviously hold the cam down there... with some prac you can get some good shots and B) you can get 90 degree lenses... mirror inside on a 45 degree angle pointing out a small hole in the side... either way you can get some good shots without anyone knowing.

Top thread man...

[Evo_Lee]

Indeed as Rezz and Dave have pointed out Japan is a very safe place, you can see elderly people walking their dogs around at 2-3am in the morning...or is that when they let them out . Seriously this is one thing I will miss about Japan the day I decide to move back to Australia.

[justinfox]

Hey forgot to mention: It's VERY EASY to get around Japan by train! It's SUPER intuitive! I get freaked out catching trains in Sydney (imagine what it would be like for a Japanese tourist in Sydney without a tour guide) but in Japan I just found it so damn easy to get around by train. Same with Paris actually but that's another story! It's also easy to eat in Japan! A lot of places have the food displayed out front... with life like (well sort of) looking plastic food models (hey Hobbyco should get into these!) and so at worse you could drag the waitress outside and point at what you would like! LOL! And if you don't like Japanese food (man it's so good) you'll find that a lot of the little restaurants you find on the street share the same dish..... spaghetti bolognaise!

[d0p3y]

Hmm, Definately gonna have to go on a trip to jp in jan05..

[sewid]

Well I have too been learning Japanese lately, both to speak and to read and write. My girlfriend is fluent in Japanese and being from Taiwan the written language is basically her first language,

I plan on going there and hopefully falling in love with the place as you guys have

[DCD]

Merli....just stumbled on this thread. Cool pix...and BTW I was the guy that was supposed to come and meet you guys at JUN and Veilside. Too bad it didn't happen.

I've been in Japan since 1993, on and off, and I totally agree with what Dave said about not noticing the "different" stuff as much as when you first get there. In my experience life in Japan changes continuously the more years you stay. My first 3 years here were great, but at that time I was going to an international school in Tokyo and didn't really get the full on experience of being immersed in a different culture. Thats the main reason that made me return once I finished with my uni studies, gave up a great job offer and decided to come back here and give it a proper shot. The last 4 years have been great, but let me point out that life as a gaijin is not always like that. There are certain periods where you start feeling very negative about everything Japanese...and others that you love everything about it. Its hard to explain but for a period its a real love-hate thing....untill you truly let yourself go and accept what has to be accepted. Not sure if this makes sense but its what I have experienced, and a lot of my foreigner friends that are here. Anyway...let us know when you are over next and we'll organize something:)

[sigsputnik]

this thread rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jetdat]

fantastic work Merli.....thanks for the thread.

[C-Red]

With reference to the seedier side of J, we were out late one night in Akasaka (Think Central Business District) in Tokyo - there was an armoured S Class Merc with 3 9mm bullet impacts in the 12mm thick armoured glass. We were most impressed - then we moved off quickly. But its like anywhere in the world - stay out of their way and you'll be right. All the tryhard junior Yak wannabes in Shinsaibashi in Osaka were good value.

Jash

[Parag0n]

O M F G

All girl gangs?! :aroused: :aroused: :aroused: