Holy crap earthquake

[LikeableRodent]

This has nothing to do with Japan, but do you still have a large mop of curly hair? Do you still ride your unicycle? Do you still use your computer mouse with your left hand or switch it up sometimes?

I got a haircut (more than once), I switched to bicycling, and left-handed mousing was too much of a pain (switching settings) so I'm back to right-handedness.

[chocobojoe]

Sexy.

Is English poorly translated into Japanese as funny as Japanese poorly translated into English?

[Merk]

Mr. Dodge,

If I were to visit Japan with a friend or two would you be willing to do shit with us and show us around? I literally don't know any Japanese, how hard of a time am I going to have playing video games, going to bars, watching anime, and buying panties from a vending machines?

Have you been to an Onsen? If so, what are they like?

[LikeableRodent]

Sexy.

Is English poorly translated into Japanese as funny as Japanese poorly translated into English?

Do you mean machine translated English? If so, I find it somewhat confusing.

If you mean on T-shirts and stuff, the only example I can think is kanji tattoos, which are a horrible idea.

Mr. Dodge,

If I were to visit Japan with a friend or two would you be willing to do shit with us and show us around? I literally don't know any Japanese, how hard of a time am I going to have playing video games, going to bars, watching anime, and buying panties from a vending machines?

Have you been to an Onsen? If so, what are they like?

Sure, I'd love to meet up with you. It's up in the air if I'd be able to go to Tokyo to meet up with you guys (it would depend on when you showed up), but I could definitely take you around the area I live in Fukushima, if you were so inclined the leave the comfort of big cities.

Playing video games will be fine. The arcade business is far from dying, unlike in the States.

Going to bars without Japanese knowledge will be slightly difficult but doable. You're not going to have a very deep conversation with the bartender, though.

In nearly four years, I've yet to see a panties vending machine. Your odds of coming across one are quite low. I have a friend who came across one a bit ago, but he's been here even longer than I have, and that was the first one he's seen.

[Merk]

Mr. Dodge I would like an Onsen report.

Have you been to Okinawa and have you ever visited Mr. Jon "Thenarus" Mittendorf?

[LikeableRodent]

Mr. Dodge I would like an Onsen report.

Have you been to Okinawa and have you ever visited Mr. Jon "Thenarus" Mittendorf?

My apologies. Yes, I have been to a plethora of onsen, and I quite enjoy going. A photo of one of my favorite ones can be found on Flickr.

I have yet to be to Okinawa, as it's quite an expensive trip. The closest I've been is when I went to Kagoshima and Yakushima. While Yakushima is part of the Ryuku Islands (the same island chain Okinawa is a part of), I have yet to go to Okinawa proper.

I met up with Jon and Ho in Tokyo back in October(?) of last year, but I haven't actually visited him per se.

[Ho]

I just wanted to check in to get an update and to ask a random question about Japan.

I haven't heard much news about the aftermath of the earthquake lately. How have things been lately? I still hear the odd story about how the supply chain for some product is still all messed up, but I haven't heard a whole lot as to whether some semblance of "normal life" has returned to the region.

And now, my random question about Japan:
I've noticed that when I look at profiles of Japanese people that their blood type is often listed. Even Bemani does it in character listings for games like DDR and beatmania. Is this a thing in Japan? Do people really care about it? Heck, I don't even know my own blood type!

Even though it's like 2.5 months late, I'll go ahead and jump in on some comments on the last post, too...

I went to an onsen with Jon and Rik on my first trip to Japan in 2009. It was pleasantly relaxing. Like Adam, I enjoyed the experience. I've only been to one, but I would go back (to it or another) if I had the opportunity.

I did go to Okinawa to visit Jon in 2009. Getting between it and "mainland" Japan is indeed expensive. On that trip, I flew from the US to Okinawa, spent about a week there with Jon, and then he and I flew to the mainland and spent about a week there. IIRC, Jon's ticket from Okinawa to the mainland was about 2/3 the cost of my flight to Okinawa, Tokyo, and back home again.

Okinawa is beautiful, but it is definitely its own thing. I mean, it's Japan, but it's also distinctly Okinawa. It's pretty far away from the mainland and it was its own place with its own culture before Japan took it over. So it has a strong Japanese influence, but it retains much of its own "flavor" as well. Jon and I noted that saying you've been to Japan because you were in Okinawa is like saying you went to the United States because you were in Hawaii.

[Merk]

Brian, how much does an average trip to Japan cost you?

[Ho]

Figure at least $1000 for the roundtrip airfare.

I've been lucky enough to be with Jon the two times I've gone out, and he's gotten us some spectacular military discount deals on lodging. However, the nights we had to stay in normal hotels, they were comparable to prices here. Those nights were all in the Tokyo (big city) area, so they were in the $100/night range.

And then spending money...I made $1000 last two weeks and still had some leftover. I'm sure you can spend a lot more, but you don't have to. There is plenty of reasonably-priced food to be had. You don't have to eat Kobe beef every night. Bemani games are generally 100 yen per play (that's about $1.25 with current exchange rates). Fighters were usually only 50, I think. Souvenirs and such generally cost what you'd expect them to.

There are some fantastic deals on the trains for tourists. You can get a 5-day pass for $200 that will basically let you travel all over the Tokyo area AND get you on a shinkansen (bullet train) to many major cities. Shinkansen tickets by themselves can easily be >$100 depending on how far you're going, so this is really a great deal!

Bottom line, I think you could do a week in Japan for $2500 and not feel like you were missing out. You may want to budget some more if there were particular attractions you wanted to see that have admission fees.

[LikeableRodent]

I haven't heard much news about the aftermath of the earthquake lately. How have things been lately? I still hear the odd story about how the supply chain for some product is still all messed up, but I haven't heard a whole lot as to whether some semblance of "normal life" has returned to the region.

Outside of the coastal areas that got hit hard (and nuclear exclusion zone), life is pretty much back to normal.

The most visible parts of it here in Fukushima City are the temporary houses you see as you go around the city. There's also the large amount of people who now have dosimeters and/or Geiger counters. Go into any school and you'll probably see a few.

There's also a national consciousness of 節電 (setsuden), meaning "conserving electricity", due primarily to the power supply shortage and secondarily to curb emissions/global warming. It's been hot and humid recently, and many places have set the AC temperature slightly higher than in previous years. Personally I enjoy not walking into a store and being blasted with arctic air.

Now talking about stuff that doesn't directly affect me... farmers in the area are having trouble selling their produce. This has also been hampered by reports of some farmers/stores selling beef and spinach(?) (or was it broccoli?) that exceeded safety regulations for radiation. There's a lady I sometimes talk to who works part-time at one of my schools and farms full-time with her husband. She lamented to me how she won't get any help from the government because her rice is within safe radiation levels, however no one will want to buy rice grown in Fukushima.

Going further on that note, in the supermarket all fresh produce is marked with it's prefecture-of-origin. Before the earthquake, I tried to buy produce grown as locally as possible. Fukushima primarily puts out rice (and peaches/fruit in the summer), so most of the veggies I bought were from surrounding prefectures. However recently I've noticed that up to half of all the veggies being sold were grown in Fukushima... I assume because other regions aren't buying Fukushima-grown produce, so it gets pawned off on Fukushima residents.

And now, my random question about Japan:
I've noticed that when I look at profiles of Japanese people that their blood type is often listed. Even Bemani does it in character listings for games like DDR and beatmania. Is this a thing in Japan? Do people really care about it? Heck, I don't even know my own blood type!

Think of blood types here being similar to astrology signs in western culture except that a lot more people hold belief that it matters. Blood type in Japan is like super-astrology. I get asked my blood type all the time :/

I went to an onsen with Jon and Rik on my first trip to Japan in 2009. It was pleasantly relaxing. Like Adam, I enjoyed the experience. I've only been to one, but I would go back (to it or another) if I had the opportunity.

I got the impression that both(?) times you came here you primarily stuck to urban areas. If you travel in the countryside there'll be plenty of onsen opportunities.

Jon and I noted that saying you've been to Japan because you were in Okinawa is like saying you went to the United States because you were in Hawaii.

I say the exact same thing when people here say they've been to America because they went to Hawaii (or Guam).

I've been lucky enough to be with Jon the two times I've gone out, and he's gotten us some spectacular military discount deals on lodging. However, the nights we had to stay in normal hotels, they were comparable to prices here. Those nights were all in the Tokyo (big city) area, so they were in the $100/night range.

I'm jealous of his discounts...

The few times I've been to Tokyo by myself I've usually stay in a hostel, which usually run about $20/night. When I go with my ladyfriend we like to stay at this hotel (ignore the bad website). We're actually going down to Tokyo next week, so I've already made reservations there for two people plus a really nice breakfast for a total cost of ¥7,810.

If Japanese doesn't scare you away, jalan.net is a good place to find good hotel prices.

[Ho]

Think of blood types here being similar to astrology signs in western culture except that a lot more people hold belief that it matters. Blood type in Japan is like super-astrology. I get asked my blood type all the time :/

So, Adam. What your blood type?

But seriously, that explains a lot. Thanks for the insight.

I went to an onsen with Jon and Rik on my first trip to Japan in 2009. It was pleasantly relaxing. Like Adam, I enjoyed the experience. I've only been to one, but I would go back (to it or another) if I had the opportunity.

I got the impression that both(?) times you came here you primarily stuck to urban areas. If you travel in the countryside there'll be plenty of onsen opportunities.

My first trip out in 2009 we took a shinkansen up to Tsubame (one stop before Niigata) to visit Rik. That was my most rural (or at least, least urban) Japan experience and also where we went to an onsen.

Jon and I noted that saying you've been to Japan because you were in Okinawa is like saying you went to the United States because you were in Hawaii.

I say the exact same thing when people here say they've been to America because they went to Hawaii (or Guam).

I've been lucky enough to be with Jon the two times I've gone out, and he's gotten us some spectacular military discount deals on lodging. However, the nights we had to stay in normal hotels, they were comparable to prices here. Those nights were all in the Tokyo (big city) area, so they were in the $100/night range.

I'm jealous of his discounts...

Seriously. It made the trips considerably more palatable to my wallet and was probably the reason I was able to do it two years in a row. I'm hoping to visit him in Korea (where he is stationed now) later this year. I'm sure we're both hoping for the same benefit.

[LikeableRodent]

Not related to anything else discussed in this thread (except that it's in Japan), but here's a video I made a few months ago of the entirety of a local train line. I think it's kind of relaxing to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDQXhx9iYZo

Over the past few years I've been slowly becoming somewhat of a railfan...

I'm also working on some more ambitious train-related videos in my free time, the first of which I should be finished with in a few weeks.

[Merk]

I liked that video! Couple questions:

How long did it take you to film?

How come people weren't packed in the train like sardines?

Was there any train groping going on?

How much does it cost to ride the train? I would like to take a train to an Onsen sometime.

Will you hang out with Chad and I when we go to Japan? If yes, will you show us around and house us?

Will you do a video on the Japan Rail? I want to see speedy trains!

Can foreigners ride trains?

[LikeableRodent]

How long did it take you to film?

It took a little over two months of filming. To keep the lighting consistent, I only went filming from about 4:30 - 7:00 in the evening and only went out when the weather was somewhat consistent. If I got off work early or if it was a weekend I'd head out as early as 3:00, but any earlier and the sun is too high in the sky. The sun noticeably begins to set around 7:00, so that was the general cutoff.

It depends on the time of day, but usually two train go in the same direction per hour, meaning that I'd be able to get about 5 shots per day (sometimes less if I messed up a shot).

How come people weren't packed in the train like sardines?

Because this is a local train in Fukushima. And actually, the ridership for the Iizaka Line has been falling for decades (click [表示] on the right to open the table).

The sardine trains are primarily Tokyo rush hour. The vast majority of trains outside of Tokyo (or Tokyo's rush hour) aren't like that.

Was there any train groping going on?

Groping tends to happen when you're in a sardine train, so see my previous comment.

How much does it cost to ride the train? I would like to take a train to an Onsen sometime.

This particular line costs 360 yen to ride the full line.

Though honestly, the line only goes 9.2 km from start to finish, so I just ride my bike.

Will you hang out with Chad and I when we go to Japan? If yes, will you show us around and house us?

Happily. Actually right before I went to bed last night it popped in my head to ask you if you were ever planning on coming over here. Just let me know of your plans when you have them.

Will you do a video on the Japan Rail? I want to see speedy trains!

This comment doesn't particularly make sense. JR is a group of six regional passenger train companies and one national freight train company.

I assume you're talking about the shinkansen (bullet train) network, which exists largely parallel to select local train routes.

Anyway, if you want to see videos of shinkansen, here's a good start.

I haven't really shot JR stuff simply because so many people already do.

Can foreigners ride trains?

Yeah... though you usually tend to be the last person that someone sits next to.