Tokyo Disneyland & Disney Sea

And now for a mix of completely random responses...

I'm all about the resorts. Staying at the Hyatt just doesn't cut it for me. I think half the reason I studied real estate development in college was because I went to Disney World as a kid so often and was amazed at how they could build an entire city like that. That's what Walt Disney did...he looked at massive swamp land from a helicopter, imagined an entire city, then he when out and friggen built it. Amazing vision. I was probably the only kid ignoring the mouse and looking at the architecture instead.

I picked up some brochures the other day.....not too cheap...heh. I fall into the trap of comparing travel in Japan to travel overseas and I usually end up going overseas because it isn't that much more. It's not like being in the US where you can get a $99 ticket to L.A. My last "vacation" in Japan was to Nagasaki and at the end of the day I figured out I could have gone to Korea for roughly the same amount. And right now flights to Asia are dirt cheap.

Japanese Restaurant Story #1: My ex and I were at an Italian restaurant and it was about 3 PM so we decided to order the set for 3 and take the rest home in case we got hungry later on. But the waiter wouldn't let us order the set for 3 because we were just 2 people. I tried to explain that it's actually a transaction involving money and food and the number of people really wasn't relevant. But he wouldn't budge....so we got the set for 2. As a joke I asked the guy sitting next to us if he could sit at our table while we ordered. They didn't think it was too funny.

Japanese Restaurant Story #2: A different Italian place with a friend... It was about 4:30 and we wanted to order garlic toast but the waiter said that it was only on the dinner menu and dinner didn't start until 5 PM. Did they have the toast on hand now? Yes. Any possibility for an exception? No. After some bickering he went and asked the cook and he said that he'd serve it to us at 4:45. It was like a negotiation and he met us in the middle.

And we all know what happens when you ask for BBQ sauce at McDonald's without ordering nuggets....

 

I don't. Tell me.

 

They cut off one of your hands, spray-paint it purple, deep-fry it, and then throw it away.





I assume, refuse to give you any and let you know that it is for the nuggets.

 

From what I gather from you all is that the Japanese aren't that service minded, is that correct?

 

Japanese have just one problem and that is, if it's not in the manual they won't do it. Basically, they can't adapt to the situation. Not only when it comes to table moving but EVERYTHING in life.!

Yakumo

 

Normally when you order at McDonalds you can ask for a cup of water, it's free. However, if you order something for mochikaeri then you can't order the water, even if you just wanna drink it while waiting for your order. The lady once suggested to order twice when my friend really wanted his glass of water..

 

Mochikairi? Down here we say Motekairi which makes more sense to me. It is true though about the water.

A funny think happened once when Japangames and I went to Mc' and he asked for a refill on his coke (since they do that in the states and Australia, I believe) but al he got was a cup of water.

Yakumo

 

I don't eat at Mac but I recall being given water (when I didn't ask for it) when I waited. Do smiles cost 0 yen down there, too?

It's mochikaeri as here. Grammatically it's correct. Mottekairi just sounds like an abbreviation of motte kaerimasu.

Ask for BBQ sauce instead of ketchup and watch the mayhem ensue.

 

So the signs they have in stores also read　もってかいり/持って帰り（that's with an え though)? Since かいりisn't really a word? Crazy Kyushu people, I'll have ask my friend next time about it.

While we're on the free refill subject, coming from Europa I still can't believe that exists to be honest. Every time someone mentions it I just think about all those obese Americans.. I can hardly finish my first coke when I go to those places ffs.

 

Yeah, I know it's with an え, I typed it wrong in romanji as they call it. So, yes. Anyway down here in Yamaguchi we say もってかえり. It:s probably just a dialect.

I hear where you are coming from on the Free refill point. As James May pointed out on Top Gear, "Americans must be stupid to order a large coke when you can get a small coke with free refills". He does have a point. Why even bother with a large size, which by the way is twice the size of Europe or japan.

I7;; stop here. Myhead is spinning from too much beer.

 

Apparently Mexico is fatter now. And, I was appalled at the menu when I went to London not long ago. Must be all the readily available cocaine.

motekaeri

 

hehe, I guess you have a point there. Still, I wonder if anyone actually orders a large while eating in?

 

A bit off topic, but in American McDonald's all soft drinks and coffee's are a dollar, no matter what size you ask for. Small, $1. Large, $1. Of course refills are free.

I'd say most of the time, people order the large, as they can refill it on their way out and take a full soda with them.

 

It's quite the opposite, they overdo it...as long as you are paying for it. Just don't go outside the lines. I see foreigners do that all the time with bad results, so I just follow the Japanese way. When in Rome.

I wouldn't have moved the tables.

 

The service here is very different. There is no tipping, so there are certain skills that Japanese just don't fucking have:
1: Bar tending efficiently
2: Waiting tables properly (IE, waiting on the customer)

#1 isn't an issue if you're going to a quiet, "nice" bar. The Japanese idea of service works well here, as the bar tender will take his precious time on your drink to make sure it looks right. If you go to a crowded bar and want something other than a beer, prepare to be let down... at least if you've spent any serious amount of time drinking in America.

#2 results in everyone in the restaurant screaming "excuse me!" which would of course get you ejected from just about any place in the west. The service is pretty good at most places if you can get over that. The whole "stay within the lines" concept applies doubly when ordering food.

Where the whole idea of "service" breaks down for me, is that Japanese business forcefully adds layers of "value" whether you want it or not. Packaging everything three times... upscale places having people hail you cabs and shit... and so on.

The other thing I hate is that you might as well ask someone's first born if you want to return something. Japan as a nation is VERY unforgiving of 'error'. I shipped a PSP to a user in Europe, and didn't even write PSP on it. I think I wrote "used game". They opened it up, and took a shit over the lithium battery. There's a post here. Anyway, I had happened to mail a Hori VLX the same day to the same country and thought THAT was what was getting returned (17,000 yen shipping I think?). They told me on the phone they'd not issue a refund. I thought that was bullshit. 3500 yen or so to deliver a small box from A to B to A... all within about 5k of each other. You better be ready to invest some time if you want your dough back, and you better have a good grasp of the language. Usually my time is worth more than what I'd get back, so I don't play my irate gaijin card these days.

 

Don't talk about the post office and their F*ing retarded ideas and rules. Luckily I use the same place all the time so I can get away with shit but in the past it was a nightmare at times.

 

Well, all that shit gets checked again at the main hub. That's when the PSP got tagged and sent back. They said to write, "no battery" on the customs form. Live and learn. I wish the dip shit at the counter would've said something though. But, what do you expect?

 

That's where I post my stuff, at the main hub. I don't know how it works in Tokyo but here each area of the city has a main office then some smaller post offices. Above hem is the main city branch. All parcels go through here so this is where take my stuff first hand. Saves having to put up with staff that haven't got a clue about sending parcels abroad

 

By the main hub, I mean the processing areas. They're not post offices, per se. I've sent plenty out from Shibuya/Shinjuku which are technically main hubs (they're open 24/7) but there's always a final check before it gets on the plane. At least there.

Thing was, it wasn't my first PSP.

 

Ah I see. Yeah, our main hub is in Osaka. Those twats have sent back stuff only once though in my 11 or so years of using the post office.