What to bring if you're going to Japan

Not a question, just linking to a You Tube Video.

I love Victor's Videos.

http://youtu.be/ZeNTdjT_ZQk

Good stuff to know

 

As less as possible.

 

Context of the video is if you're getting a Job there and there are plenty of people born in 1975 looking for work

 

Most english teachers are a waste of space anyway, nowdays smart Japanese people can learn the same conversation skills for free anyway and the ones that really need more help probably need someone who can speak Japanese anyway. I think I helped an English school near were I live when I am in Japan, go bust as I managed to take about 15 people away from it by showing them how they could chat in English for er free and where they could get help for er free. I normally did help them too and all I got out of it was a nice dinner or lunch.

The guy rambles on like there is no tomorrow. It does add to the notion that youtube is full of videos of people that have nothing better to do then hear the sound of their own voice (I am sure that is why you make youtube videos GoH... ). Seriously though, he could have made the video a minute long and have the same information.

He should have basically said, if there is something you really need, especially food wise then bring it with you as it can be tricky and expensive, although not impossible to find everything. If you are not living in a big city then you may need to go into a city to buy things, if I want a good cheese then I have to travel to Tokyo to buy it as most supermarkets will do camembert, cheddar, mozzarella and silly spreadable cheese and unclassified grated cheese and not much else... I do bring tea with me as Twinnings tea in Japan is expensive... however Twinnings Japan do still sell the nicer Earl Grey tea rather then the lemon muck we get in the UK and it is stronger then the crap twinnings sell in the states.

Out of the things he mentioned...

Medicine, you can get most things in Japan, although unless you know Japanese it can be tricky to find certain things, although the best ibuprofen tablets I ever had do come from Japan. Listerine is expensive but you can buy Japanese brands cheaper, Q-Tips and Band Aids or cotton buds and plasters to give them their non brand names can be picked up from 100 yen stores for er 105 yen...

Peanut Butter? American peanut butter is disgusting anyway so I can see why Americans would need to import that...

Cereals, the exchange rate does make a lot of things expensive and unless you have to eat kelloggs you can find cheaper brands for under 200 yen, which personally I do prefer.

Condoms, I think most of the people going out to Japan as English teachers don't need to worry about those

Clothes, you can get clothes from retailers like uniqlo, other clothing retailers and department stores. Although if you are fat or tall or wear bigger then size 10 (UK) or Size 11 (US) or EU (44) then you might want to think about importing them as you will find it tricky unless you happen to live near a big shoe plaza or live in the city. I don't live in Japan but I stay for long periods and I do buy safety shoes from Workman as they tend to be better and cheaper then what I can get in the UK.

Anyway as Tatsujin says bring as little as possible...

One thing the guy failed to mention is that you should bring goods from your own country to give as gifts as they do come in handy, I tend to give gifts to people I know or could be useful.

 

I hate videos like this. You don't need to bring anything. Idiots. Food you can buy anywhere. So what if you can't get your favourite brand. I can't get all my British Cadburys in Japan so every now and then I treat myself and import some. Saying that, TWIX just got released in Japan. They are from Russia but taste just like the UK version so I'm very happy.

As for clothes, well if you're a freak and ten times bigger than everyone then tough shit, you will have to import clothes or buy online. I'm a bit of a fat shit at 180cm tall but I have no issues buying clothes in Japan as long as I buy the XL size. Shoes are not a problem at all unless you have freakishly large feet. Condoms on the other hand can be small. It's been almost 10 years since I bought any though so things could have changed by now. I have a few Japanese male friends who are almost the same height as me. Surely they have larger "pleasure sticks" than the average Japanese guy? Not that I want to ask.

I'll repeat what Tatsujin and Jamtex said, bring as little as possible and as ASSEMbler said, a load of money.

Yakumo

PS: Yep, a lot of English Teachers are a waste of space but there are some who are professionals in teaching methods so I wouldn't class all English Teachers as the same. Mostly the idiots who come over for a year of sex with cute Japanese girls are the pricks we don't need or want.

 

I really only posted this because I like the guy, Plus I was curious what the 1975 Club would have to say

Actually I hate my voice in my videos I have a lisp in them I don't have in real life.

There's a Market here that carrys UK candy Bars, I have developed a love of Mars bars, UK Kit Kats and Aero bars

I wish they'd carry Crunchie bars though, I loved those things. I guess I if Really wanted them it's a 4 hour trip to the Canadian border

 

I'm not having a go at anyone, just the fact that I hate these types of videos. Another is the culture shock shit that some foreigners go on about. Of course Japan is different to the west. You'd have to be a thick prick to think otherwise. I had NO culture shock at all. Yes, there were many things different and odd to me but nothing shocking. Lots of annoying things and ways but no shock.

Yakumo

 

I get more of a culture shock visting the south. I doubt I would if I ended up in Japan for any length of time (Lord knows what I'd be doing but the dream is Co-Staring with a certian Maria in some "Films")

 

heh, speaking right out of my mind. Get out of my head damnit.

 

My mom is bringing me two pairs of shoes tomorrow. It does get old, I will admit.

Culture shock comes when you work in a Japanese office... and you're shocked that companies stay in business.

 

Hahahaha, yeah now that is a shock. Another shock is how fucking long a meeting over a trival point takes. But they are more WTF shock than culture shock.

 

Somebody leaves a floater on the shitter...

2 HOUR MEETING

 

Lol, what did I just read?



About culture shock, I don't think this is necessarily a 'shock' but can also be defined as all the annoying and surprising differences people notice when they arrive in a foreign country. You guys are always rambling about your experiences about one or the other fucked up shit in Japanese society, I'd classify that as culture shock if I didn't know that you have already been living there for more than a decade

Nothing really "shocked" me when I arrived here in Canada. Coming from Europe, this is a rather similar mentality. But some details in conversation weren't very clear, like "Let's eat something together sometime" - my immediate response was "OK, when, where?" and the person had already passed by me. At first I used to think "WTF bitch, whatever". Furthermore people are often late for meetings or don't show up at all. I consider the process of getting used to those differences and accepting them as normal as part of the culture shock experience.

 

Well uncensored Japanese porn has taught me that Not all Japanese men are small

 

The biggest culture shock one gets is actually returning to their home country after X years. YOu remember it one way, but of course, it changes.

 

My mom is bringing me allegra, Lost Blu-ray set and a bunch of boards on Wednesday. lol

 

Hooray for the moms. Also bringing me a D-Link wireless router (as you can attest, they're all overpriced and shit here), Cheerios, the shoes, and a couple of jars of honey.

 

My mum is bringing my fuck all because she's in England :crying: Just as well there is Amazon.

 

Except that Amazon UK won't ship certain things like PC games abroad!