Making a trip to Japan- suggestions!

Finally got the info from the family I will be staying with in Japan. I'm going to be in the Tsuruoka (Yamagata Pref) for about 3 weeks, and I'm planning to make 1 or two trips around the place, especially to Akihabara.

So- I speak almost no Japanese and my level of understanding it is no better; however I am well informed about Japanese customs.
The family I will be staying with speak English fluently, but I am worried about the rest of the trip. I will be on my own for the largest portion of the trip.
If anyone has any recommendations of any sort, let me know. Things I should do, things I should do...
I also have some quick questions below.

-Cost of travel to Tokyo from Tsuruoka? (by train)
-Any good places you recommend I visit? Looking for not-so-touristy places.
-Recommended amount of spending cash to bring?
-Should I be worried about the radiation? I am not currently but my family is.

Thanks.


Cool fact- the family is Japanese-Egyptian. Ever heard of that racial combo?

 

soon as landed go and buy yourself a portable geiger counter. Heard there's now small and very portable one's available at much lower price...

and if you don't speak nor understand Japanese stick with well known tourist track.

 

You realize that Yamagata is like 4 hours by train and 8 hours by bus away from Tokyo each way, right? You're looking at $150 to $300 in transportation fees alone to get to where you wanna go.

 

I figured it would be something up in that range.

 

I'd love to help you but I have no idea about that area or transportation around there. You can get to Tokyo a lot cheaper if you use local trains although it will take much longer.

 

....
and after you've done with all the sight seeing then you can start to sample various foods - ekiben while do travl on train and various others only available in season.
nowadays I go to Japan for foods ~

 

Thanks, Kev (I hope that name is OK with you)

I specifically got a friend to find me a family that is
-In the countryside
-English speaking
-NOT IN A PROGRAM

So that I could be free to do whatever I please. Honestly, the things I'm looking forward to include sitting on a train listening to music, walking around the neighbourhood, and snapping some shots of traditional architecture. The family I'm staying with is already in a small city- better yet, they're on the far edge, towards the water. Very quiet area, traditional style house.

I concur wholeheartedly

I HATE tourist programs. As a kid I grew up in Peru (for a number of years). My family and I went to the local open air markets and did everything without a tour guide or anything of that sort. Those years are my fondest memories.


As for the rail passes- seems to be my best option, thanks again. I certainly can't pass as a child, unless I decide to shave and suddenly shrink a couple inches. As it is here, I can easily pass myself off as someone in 2nd year University. Local trains could also be a possibility, I could research that. I don't mind sleeping on trains and such, but I certainly would not like to have to spend more than a day in Tokyo, solely because I don't know exactly where I'd crash for the night!

EDIT- Food, ah yes. Luckily, the family I'm staying with owns a very good restaurant, so for the most part I won't have a problem with food. I'd also like to try out that restaurant where the monkeys serve you beer, but I doubt that'll happen.

 

waitwaitwaitwaitwait...

We're allowed to have friends?!

 

That's something I fear, but I can't see me making too many (any) friends. I'm not very good at that, or at least with people my age. I have a knack for being able to carry out conversations with adults and the such.
But someone my age? Hardly, unless they share a similar strong interest in VG.

I may have friends coming too- 3 of them plan at staying at an uncle's timeshare way north near Sapporo, so hopefully I'd be able to see them too for a short period of time.

 

Nope. I live in Tokyo -- plenty of gaijin to choose from. Many far more interesting than whites back home. There are plenty of westernized Japanese (or some are just cool). The trick is finding a Japanese that you can talk to on the same level as a gaijin. It's hard b/c your nihongo has to be shit hot to even get your foot in the door. Then, you gotta find the person.

No... party with them until noon. Bonds stronger than childhood. Speaking from experience here.

 

We are a damn interesting bunch and more nerdy than the local otaku.

 

I was gonna suggest the Japan Rail Pass if he wasn't taken back by the long amount of time it's going to take to even travel to Tokyo. To maximize his time, he's gotta do the following:

Wake up around 4:30 to 5 am to get ready, eat, etc.
Make it to the appropriate train station by 6 am
Arrive in Tokyo around 9 am
Transfer to Akihabara/Do whatever he wants to do
Start heading back home around 7 pm to make sure he doesn't miss any possible transfers in his local area
Finally reach home close to midnight

That, to me, is one long fucking day. I know because I've done it before, and it's not exactly the most fun thing in the world. I used the rail pass back in 2010 back when I toured most of east Japan and some of west Japan. At times, I found it more convenient than the Suica I now carry simply because I could skip any lines, and the people who work at those ticket counters wouldn't check the date to make sure it was valid half the time. In fact, if the actual design hasn't changed, I bet I could still use the old pass from 2010, assuming I can find the damn thing.

Regarding the "not-so-touristy places," if your goal is Tokyo, I'd say that describes most of the city that you'd be able to see in such a short period of time. The entire city seems like one tourist trap constantly being rebuilt every few years. Asakusa is filled with foreigners, Shibuya is filled with teenybopper bullshit and prostitutes, Akihabara is now just maids/idols, Tsukiji is pretty bland and filled with moronic tourists, Shinjuku is mainly tall buildings with more prostitutes, Ginza is pure yuppie, Roppongi just sucks, Odaiba seems like a huge run down theme park that the Japanese continue to cling onto as a "prime" dating spot, and so on. You're gonna be hard pressed to find anything "interesting" outside of the standard touristy things to go given your time schedule. The good news is that, despite the Tokyo you'd see being one huge tourist area (outside of the more industrial/salaryman areas), it's still pretty fun to just go with the flow and join in. The first time it is, at least...

I'd probably enjoy just exploring Yamagata. That seems like it'd be more interesting to me at this point in time. I think I'm getting old...

 

Well, interesting to hear about that description of the day. It's long, but I think I can handle it just fine.

I just wish my phone, which has incredible offline maps and navigation, supported Japan as a region. It's one of the few countries it doesn't have maps for.
I'll probably end up getting a simple GPS antenna and a small laptop to use it with in case I get lost.

 

What?

 

Joke about the radiation levels from the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima.
It's no more harmful than an X-ray.