Planning my first trip to Japan, need advice!

Hello all!

Didn't think I'd be able to actually swing it, but it looks like I'll be going to Japan with some friends this August, specifically Tokyo. I have a friend who lives in Seoul, South Korea and she spends her vacations from teaching school in Seoul visiting Japan. There's been a lot I've been trying to figure out so there's a minimal amount of snag or problems I have while planning or actually being out there. First of all, I don't speak Japanese, but I have 3 courses of Pimsleur English -> Japanese and I've been working through it. Doesn't cover anything written, but I'm looking for at least a understanding of basic stuff for travel purposes. Are there any good programs that I could use that could help me with written katakana or hiragana? I should mention I'm gonna get pretty lucky, she has a friend that lives in Tokyo that can speak English and Japanese fluently, so translation-side, things should be alright. Still, I'd like to familiarize myself with the language, anyone would recommend that, right?

Also, I wanted to know where the best places to visit for someone that's interested heavily in video games and dabbles somewhat in anime. I know of Akihabara and all the used videogame shops and arcades, and Fuji-Q which has the cool Evangelion World exhibition, but is there anything else I might want to check while there? We're definitely going to check out some of the parks, the Meiji shrine, Asakusa, Odaiba, and a couple other places. We're gonna be out there for a week in the middle of August with no restrictions really on how much we're willing to spend, we just want to do the most we can and not sit in a hotel for the majority of the trip, haha. Any restaurants or cafes that anyone particularly likes? I know there are some anime/game themed cafes/bars but I'm not sure how I would go about finding out about good ones or where they're at.

Also, anyone who's traveled from America to Japan, any international travel advice or general things I should consider before going? I think we're gonna rent a pocket wifi and just use our phones to connect to that, sounds like that works well based on what I've read. Any people here that live in Japan? If so, I'd like to meet up with anyone out there that shares interests in the same things that can maybe show us around or go out to lunch, I think that would be interesting!

Thanks for any and all the advice, guys!

 

When I was learning hiragana/katakana these 2 books helped me a lot:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Learn-Hiragana-Japanese-Writing/dp/1568363893
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Learn-Katakana-Japanese-Writing/dp/1568363907

Of course you don't need to buy books and can also learn online, but I prefer learning from books.

If I were you I would focus on learning basic sentences, like how to order food. I don't know how it is in Tokyo but in Osaka the people barely speak any English. If you are visiting Osaka I know a lot of good places, but I don't know much in Tokyo

 

I recommend learning to read katakana first. Since you don't know any Japanese, being able to read hiragana isn't going to help much since you won't understand what you read! But many words written in katakana will be loanwords from English so you will be able to understand them (although it might take some head-scratching...). This will be very helpful for reading signs and menus. Just print out some flash cards and learn 10 per day and you'll be done in no time.

I also recommend learning some key phrases that will help you get by, e.g. for shopping and stuff.

Expect to spend a lot of money on food.

Bring a small pocket towel or handkerchief to dry your hands because you will NEVER find paper towels in a public restroom, and there often won't even be an electric dryer.

Wear shoes that you can put on and take off easily.

That's really all that comes to mind

 

I live about one hour from Tokyo! I reccomend checking out any hard-off you can find, the place is a treasure trove for cheap retro games stuff. There's also traders 1 and super potato in Akiba, though super potato is often overpriced (though they have some cool stuff!)