so i'm moving to japan in a month or so

basically i'm moving to japan for an import export business i've started up, however, i don't speak japanese or know very much about japanese culture outside of shogun, anyone know good ways on brushing up on it?

 

get a simple "teach yourself Japanese" book to start with, that provided me with some basic pointers. And perhaps one of those "doing bussiness with the japanese" books would come in handy, either, but I'm not sure about that.

 

just do what they do in Shogun and you should be fine. Make sure your sword is nice and sharp.

 

And don't tell them 'I piss on your country'. :smt042

 

kev/assembler, you still thinking of moving back/too Japan (i remember a thread you created a while ago, requesting a flat-mate)?

 

Let me know if I can help.

 

:smt082 :smt082 :smt082 :smt082 :smt082

 

ASSEMBler, tell us if you get any more ps1 dev stuff, especially drivers & docs, please.
Cheers

 

ASSEMbler
Tried to PM you about buying some of your stuff :-D , but your inbox is full.

 

Assembler I'll let you have your way with me (or we can arrange a cash price) for one of those Test PS2's with the modem and the HD.

TO the topic creator: I couldn't imagine moving to Japan. I would have to buy different clothes, learn about their culture, etc. Good luck with that!

 

First thing you really should do is lean your Katakana. I wrote a kana quizzer. See http://topping.zophar.net ; click news, second entry on there, snag it. You will have a MUCH easier time getting around knowing the kana at least, that way even if you have a meager vocabulary, you'll be able to pick out certain words that you do know. For example, someone says the bathroom in the North Ginza is broken, you can read the sign and notice Minami (south) Ginza and know that the information will not pertain to this facility : ). Still I think the single most important phrase for you to know first is "WHERE is the bath room." (Otearai wa doko desu ka?) (Also make sure its the mens room Otoko no hito means man). Make sure you know your location markers... Naka means inside, migi is right, hidari is left. Best of luck and hope that helps you find a good starting point in Japan!

 

Ok, PM sent.

 

Thats true.
I had four different Japanese teachers in the three years I took classes on the language, and the best class, the one I learned the most in, started out by teaching katakana. The teacher believed that first teaching students the part of the written language that allowed them to write their own name was very important. It allows the student to take more ownership in their learning experience. In addition, I believe that learning katakana first will also make it easier to learn hiragana and then kanji because katakana is just a simplified version of the hiragana, while hiragana is a simplified version of kanji. This will allow people learning the language to "ease into it" by providing a gradation to the learning process.
Another important thing to learn right off the bat would be the idea and usage of particles, as this is a concept pretty foreign to most english speakers.

I don't know...
My dad always learns how to ask for a beer first :drinkers: ,
then bathroom.
He can ask for a beer in over twelve languages.

But yeah, figuring out the differance between mens room and womens room is important too. :-D

 

Have you gotten my PM?

 

Come on , it's a toilet. No bath in there Where's the Bathroom in Japanese is "Ba-su ru-mu wa doko desu ka" Actually Japan is a funny place for the toilet word. In Japanese it's actually the same as....... I guess British English, Toire (Toilet) and they use the word Toilet in may places. But, in some department stores they use the word "Rest Room" or "W.C." But, yes another but.... I've also seen the word "Rest Room" used for a waiting area. So be aware that if you do see the word "Rest Room" and you really need to go, be prepared to be in a state of panic.

Yakumo