Question for you guys living in Tokyo/Japan. I've read all 50+ pages in the current thread and 50+ pages in the 2008 thread - fantastic stuff <respect>

Question: do you know what's the most cost-effective (i.e. cheapest) way to get broadband internet for only 2 months out of a year? For example, I only need internet access in July and again for a month in December. Getting a post-paid contract is a waste as I won't be using it the rest of the 10 months out of the year. Is there a pre-paid WiMax or HSPDA option?

Situation: I am thinking about living in Japan just for summer and again around oshugatsu but I need broadband for work (let's just say my job allows me this flexibility). I have a fixed address in Japan.

Thanks

I thought about leaching the neighbors' wifi (a lot use WEP which is quite easily hackable) but I don't like stealing

Thanks for the UQ link. Looks like this indeed may be a viable option.
I would buy the USB dongle for about 12800円, costs about 4400円 a month and I will cancel after a month. Each re-registration would cost 2835円.

Does anybody know if tethering to a phone is an option as well? I will have access to a borrowed DoCoMo keitai (not sure what plan) while in Japan.

Finally, does anybody know what the absolute cheapest postpaid broadband contract would cost? I may do this instead. Minimum speeds (in Japan, min speed > average speeds elsewhere!) are fine.

Conclusion to this chapter: got in touch with KDDI (I already have a landline in the house; just basic dial-tone with every call call rated; cheap @ 1,500 JPY/month).
KDDI says the cheapest ADSL package (10Mbps) they've got is 3,200 JPY/month (800 JPY/month modem rental included) on top of my existing telephone service.
Total 4,700 JPY/month. Too expensive.

Thanks for all your help. I will go with WiMax.

My personal experience-cars are a sinkhole in terms of money. In Tokyo at least.

Parking was 20,000yen/month. You can't own/register a car unless you prove you have parking space.

Then you have to get inspection (shaken) done which is strict. 100,000yen for every 2 years. The older the car, the harder to pass (you have to repair this and that to pass).

So you then have a car. Great? No. Driving in Tokyo is a nightmare because the streets are like a maze - there is no clear system to naming roads because Tokyo itself is like many villages combined to form a big city. You definitely need a navi. Also, have you seen traffic in the Tokyo area. Getting out of my suburb in Chiba takes a long time itself - traffic lights every 50m, narrow roads etc.

Then you get on the highway. Virtually all highways are toll-roads and you pay something like 28yen/km. I remember driving to Tokyo-Kyoto once (using the Tomei and Meishin highway) and I paid 10,500 tolls one way. Just getting out of Tokyo itself, you have 700yen in tolls on the Metropolitan highway.

Can't speed anywhere because all highways have a 90kmh limit. Forget about speeding, if you travel during the long weekend holidays (renkyu), the traffic on the highways can come to standstill.

But driving in Japan also has some fond memories for me: one of my earliest memories in Japan was driving into a gas station and getting a fill-up. Man, back in those days (mid-1990s), it was like pulling into a F1 pit. A crew of 3 guys would pump gas, clean tires and windshield, and empty ashtrays everytime you pull in. And they'd bow - all 3 in unison - when you pulled out. They don't do that anymore, at least not where I live. An anachronism I guess, just like the elevator girls in Chiba Sogo in the 90s whose sole job was to wear a cute hat, short skirt, press buttons in an elevator and announce each floor. I want that brought back immediately!

You really don't need a car in Tokyo.

I don't think you can convert licenses any more. Not for the last few years, at least. Previously, you could, but now everyone wanting a license has to take the test.
Or so I've been told.

You have PM

I never took the test. I've heard it's hard but then again, my wife passed it on her 1st try and believe you me, she's one h3ll of a cocked-up driver.
True story: her 1st car, "kemek"-ed the passenger door - hit a stop sign - while driving back after picking up her new car. Car was pristine only for 30 minutes.

Officially, you can bring in a 30-day supply. Might be a good thing to make sure the prescription has your name on it.

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/import/index.html

My son used to have childhood asthma, and in addition to inhalers, we brought in a whole nebulizer (if you have asthma, you'll know what that is) and a 60-day supply of albuterol.
Obviously, most of the supply was unopened i.e. wrapped. No problems at customs.

This was not for just one trip but over several trips spanning several years until he grew out of having asthma.

Just one inhaler? I wouldn't even bother for what is clearly an innocuous medication for strictly personal use.
Like I said, nobody has ever checked at customs.
I would bring a prescription only if a) you are concerned about losing that inhaler and need to get a refill or b) bringing in lots of inhalers.

This one is simply amazing. exposure, composition, color saturation. I simply could not take my eyes off it.
You should enter this in some competition.
What equipment/lenses did you use?

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Added on August 4, 2009, 9:51 amYes


This post has been edited by tatsuyachiba: Aug 4 2009, 09:51 AM

The Hokkiens have a phrase that answers your question: "ai pee, ai chee, ai tua liap nee"


Most in the Kanto area would go to Hakone, which is in Kanagawa. This is the most well-known onsen area near Tokyo.
The onsens here are volcanic in origin: there are many types of onsens with different mineral compositions for different ailments.
Contrary to popular belief, not all onsens are hot; some are ice-cold.

Before you go to an onsen, I highly suggest you read up on the etiquette of enjoying onsens. Suffice to say, there are many rules, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
You will find tough, that many places outside the major metro area will not speak English.

Basically you take either an Odakyu or JR train from Shinjuku (which is largest train station in Tokyo-west) to Odawara.
From Odawara, you then take a "switchback" (sort of like a zig zag way to lay tracks on a mountain) train, the Hakone-Tozan line, to Gora. Then to get to the very top, you take a train pulled by a cable to the very top.
At the top of the volcanic mountain, you then travel from peak to peak using a cablecar (in Hakone, it is called the "Ropeway"). You can see Mt Fuji on a clear day.

In the past, I've stayed at Gora and also Hakone-Yumoto although you have several areas in the Hakone area to choose from.
There you have a choice of staying at western-style hotels or ryokans (which is the traditional japanese inn where you sleep on futons in a tatami room).
Also you have to get used to the fact that in Japanese onsens, meals are usually part of the hotel fee and also you pay per head, not per room.
Cheapest hotels in Hakone I think would be like 10,000yen/person/night but average is like 20,000yen.
I've also stayed at Odawara (this is like the "base" town before going up into the mountains) itself several times instead of staying up in the mountains. Odawara has a very famous castle - Odawara-jo - and great seaviews.

If you don't want the cost of going to Hakone, there are onsens in Tokyo itself. Odaiba has a very popular one. It is a true onsen i.e. using mineral water albeit heated.
Cost is around 3000/yen per day I think.

If you don't want to go to an onsen, but instead you just want the "japanese bathing experience", you can go to a public sento. These used to be very common but are dwindling in numbers now.
But they are definitely still around.
A sento is basically a public bath. Using "normal" piped water. But you still get the experience of participating in the ritual of japanese bathing. Costs are probably in the 800/yen range per entry.

If it helps anyone, here is a description the rules one needs to know before visiting an onsen. Basically there are 2 kinds of onsen: indoor and outdoor (rotenburo). Most are segregated by gender although in some onsens, you can find private rotenburos which you can reserve for familes on an hourly basis i.e. it will be a small rotenburo in which maybe 4-5 people can fit.

If you have a tattoo, cover it up with bandaid. Otherwise you most likely will not be allowed in. Of course, if you have a crewcut, a missing pinkie and tattoos of dragons, mermaids and kanji characters that say "My brother is a Yamaguchi-gumi Oyabun" that cover your whole body, you're OK - you can just walk-in, nobody will say a thing. Don't even have to pay.

Like I said before, onsens/ryokans have lots of "rules" and Japan is a country, if nothing, that idealizes strict adherence to rules.

For a ryokan, you will stay in a Japanese-style room with tatami. Tatami rooms also available in hotels in onsens. The futons and the kakebutons (comforter) will stored in closets and somebody will make them/lay them out in the evening for you. The onsen will most probably be in the basement, but not always.

1) You will be provided a yukata (this is like a cotton kimono with a sash), slippers and a washcloth in your room. Wear the yukata, carry the washcloth and walk to onsen using those slippers. Don't forget to tie to sash tightly, otherwise you'd might be very popular with the ladies. Only they are 65 year old obaterians (means strong old women: this is another topic for another day)

2) Important: as onsens are usually separate for men and women, you will have to find out the right entrance. There will be a noren (like a half-curtain) over the entrances with the kanji symbols for man and woman. Sometimes the noren will be colored blue for men and red for women but not always. My advice: follow other guests' and see where they go. Or not. Since you're gaikokujin, heh heh you are allowed to make this "honest mistake" one-time only and go into the other side for a look-see. Remember your "sumimasen sumimasen".

3) As you enter the sliding doors, you take off your slippers. Make sure you know where you put them - sometimes a cubby hole is provided, sometimes a tag is provided etc. You then go barefoot into the "dry area".
You must never wear outdoor footwear on tatami. This is very bad manners.

4) An onsen is typically separated into a "dry area" - covered with tatami - and the bath area itself. The "dry area" is for you to disrobe, store your clothes in the provided lockers. There will be basins for you to shave (you do not shave in the bath area), hairdryers etc.

5) Once you disrobe, all you will have is wash cloth (not forgetting your locker key). You can use the wash cloth to preserve some modesty. Some of you might need two washcloths (don't boast). It is impolite to stare at other people's state of undress, unless they need 3 washcloths to cover up. In that case, you're allowed to ask them for an autograph and if they've worked with Maria Ozawa before.

6) Go through the sliding doors for the bath area and along the wall, you'll see showers. Grab a stool and a bucket and take a shower sitting down. You're not allowed to sing - this is not a karaoke. Lots of onsens have unique toiletries for the region (e.g. horse-oil shampoo, carbon soap etc).

7) Once done with shower, you then soak in bath. The washcloth you can leave on your head but what I usually do is I take the small basin along with me - I use it to pour some of the bath water on me first to let my body acclimatize to the heat) - I then put the washcloth inside the basin and set it right next to the bath. You cannot bring the washcloth into the water.

8) The bath will be hot around 42C - some prefer to go in slowly while hissing "yossssshhhhhhh"; others prefer to go in all at once - whatever works for you. Usually I soak inside the bath for 10-15 minutes - any more, I'd be sweating too much afterwards.

9) Reverse the above when you leave. I shower just with water after the bath and then change back into my yukata, walking back to my room with visible steam rising from my head. Don't go up those stairs too fast, you might faint due to the light-headedness from all the heat

10) If you are shy, go during the times of the day when there is lower traffic. The "high season" time is just before dinner. If you go late at night say 10-11pm, almost nobody will be there. That in fact, is my preferred time, after a soak, you go directly to bed and sleep like a baby. Another time is in the morning before breakfast, not that many people.

Finally, why do people go to onsens? They believe the mineral waters cure ailments. Different regions will have hot springs with different compositions of minerals, which in turn, cure different ailments.

Mixed gender onsens are relatively rare and cater to a mostly older clientele. I know nobody under the age of 40 that will go to one.

As to the question about being uncomfortable with public nudity, as I wrote earlier, you are given a small washcloth. Many people use that washcloth to cover their male bits when they walk around. When you think about it, this is like the showers at the gym no? Most of the gyms I've belonged to don't have privacy partitions (I mean men's locker rooms; the women's side is different as I understand; women are very self-conscious)

Also, only in Japan will you find the fine art of "not looking". Just take the trains for example, there could be hundreds of people in a train, squeezed together cheek-to-jowl. But somehow, everyone just manages to avoid making eye-contact. So nobody will be looking at you in the onsen and neither should you be looking at anybody else.

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Added on August 10, 2009, 1:21 pmI believe you can change MYR to Yen at the airport money changer at NRT.
However, I also believe that the rate at a money changer in Malaysia will be much better.

What I use, however, is a combination of ATM + credit card. I never exchange cash.
The ATM card I use (not Malaysian bank) gives me interbank forex spot rates + no fees i.e. very close to what xe.com or oanda.com quotes for the day.
Ditto for my credit card. No moneychanger can beat that.
Note that a large part of Japan is still a cash economy so you cannot rely 100% on credit cards.

One thing that has changed in Japan in the last 2 years is the opening of Japan's ATM network i.e. opening up to Cirrus and Plus.
3 years ago, I could only use Citibank ATMs (not that many) or JapanPost ATMs.
2 years ago, I could then use 7-Bank.
Now, seems like most banks are part of Cirrus/Plus.

So if you want to use an ATM or credit card, talk to banks in Malaysia and find out if any offer you interbank exchange rates with little to no fees. If so, then that would be better than cash conversions.




This post has been edited by tatsuyachiba: Aug 10 2009, 01:21 PM

They're called washlets. Major manufacturers include Toto, Inax, Panasonic and Toshiba

I have several of them - they're a royal pain-in-the-arse (haha pun) to clean due to mold build-up.

Top-of-the-line ones include sensors to auto-raise-lower the seats, auto-flush, even measure biometrics.

Most Japanese homes have them. You'll also find them in most hotels, restaurants even some public restrooms in shopping malls.
All you need to know to use them is that there are 2 buttons - one for women only, unless you want your sac cleaned.

Don't forget to get the Suica+N'Ex package for JR East - will save you $$

For anybody else coming after dates above, JR East (the train co.) has a stupendous deal for Sept 1-Dec 31 2009 (purchasable up to Dec 1):
3-Day pass 10,000yen

This is a fantastic deal. The N'Ex (Narita Express) roundtrip between NRT and Tokyo itself is close to 6,000 yen. Anybody who has traveled in Japan will tell you that the train fares cost plenty moolah. The 3-day pass will let you explore outside Tokyo and see "Real Japan". Bear in mind that this is a JR East Pass, not to be confused with the JR Pass - you won't be able to take the Hikari shinkansen to the Kansai area.

But you could take other shinkansens within the JR East network and go to places like Fukushima (my kids were there last week using the Tsubasa shinkansen - great countryside, cheap skiing), Nagano (site of a prev. winter olympics - fantastic skiing), Akita, Sendai etc etc. These shinkansens are not as fast as say the Nozomi shinkansen but still are a great experience.

Shinjuku Sta. to Harajuku? Walkable. Maybe 30 minutes. In between you maybe would stop at Yoyogi Park.
It's like walking to Ginza from Shimbashi or Shiodome.

Harajuku to Midtown? Midtown's between Roppongi and Akasaka. That's a little far. Maybe an hour's walk.
Why would you want to go to Midtown? It's just a couple of buildings with shops/restaurants/hotels (nice architecture though).

Roppongi Hills is also nearby - that's like where all the "venture capitalists"-type of people play e.g. Livedoor's Horie. Very upmarket.

Why don't you take the train? Toei Oedo line runs through the area from Shinjuku right through Roppongi - this is Tokyo's newest train line I believe.

This post has been edited by tatsuyachiba: Aug 14 2009, 01:23 PM

If you're going to be near Ginza, this is, IMO, is a very good toystore in Tokyo.



This post has been edited by tatsuyachiba: Aug 18 2009, 02:00 AM

I think is is a somewhat of a myth that Japan is much more expensive compared to Western countries. Japan was expensive in the late 80s/early 90s "babura" times but has been in a steady deflation since then.
Tokyo is no more expensive than any of the major metro cities: NY, London. Moscow is even more expensive (probably the most expensive city I've been to in terms of hotels).
I realize that Japan is expensive for Malaysians though because of forex differences.

If I wanted to save costs on your trip to Japan, this is what I'd do:
1) Transport
Cheap:
If you want to take the bus, you will see fares like 4,000-6,000 one-way. You can save some money buy taking the overnight bus and not having to get a hotel.
One such bus company: http://travel.willer.co.jp

Average:
Buy a JR Pass if you want to go to Kyoto.
While you cannot take the Nozomi shinkansen with this pass, you can take the Hikari shinkansen instead, which is about 40 minutes slower (it goes slower and stops at more stations en route to Kyoto). As noted by PsyCHZZZ, the average roundtrip shinkansen fare to Kyoto is around 26,000yen (little difference between the Hikari and the Nozomi). The JR Pass itself costs, what, 28,000yen? The one thing you will need to do on this trip is take a lot of trains with an average of 1,500 or more a day; with the pass you will come out ahead. Go to hyperdia.com to research schedule/fares.

2) Lodging
Zero
Try couchsurfing.com

Cheap
Go the hostel route. You will have bunk beds and shared bathroom
Expect to pay from 1,200yen to 2,000yen per night.

Average:
Look twin-sharing rates at http://www.superhotel.co.jp. Ikebukuro is a cheap area. So is Chiba (which is 40 minutes away from Tokyo station).

3) Food
Zero
Go to supermarkets during lunch time, they will samples for you to try. Rinse and repeat.

Cheap:
Maggi Mee equivalents: Nissin, Maruchan, Sapporo Ichiban etc. around 100yen
Buy bread etc/microwavable food from convenience stores (combini) around 300yen

Average:
Vending machine: you must mean stores like Yoshinoya which serves beef bowls (gyudon). They work like those QB-House haircut places: go into store, press a button on machine (there will be pictures), pay cash, get ticket, exchange ticket for meal. Around 500yen
Ramen shop: 600-800yen

Realistically you are looking at at least 2,000yen per day.

1,100yen/night
http://www.guesthouse-kagurazaka.com/guesthouse-room-en.html

I believe they only accept reservations of at at least 30 days in length. Nasty looking though.

K's House Tokyo is supposedly very good. In fact, I got the $$ range for my post above from watching a recent NHK travelogue about backpacking in Japan and they also profiled K's House. I have no personal experience with dorms. I was only watching the program because I couldn't sleep so I was channel-surfing. But I'd be very interested in your experiences after you return. I've always wanted to stay in a hostel.

In KL, lots of hostels in the Kota Raya area i.e. Jalan Silang. Decent - probably not.

somen

Every culture/cuisine has foods that outsiders cannot stomach. Europeans have their blue cheese (bleeeech), the Thais have their pala and what-not insects they eat, the Pinoys have their balut.
And we have the durian

I don't think the Japanese will ever like durian, it's so far outside their food galaxy. And that's OK. It keeps prices low for the rest of us. Otherwise all of Tangkak, Muar and Segamat will be producing just for the Japanese market. And then the D-24 or XO or Mao Shan Wang will be like US$50/kg. I forced my kids to eat durian on two occasions and now I think they're scared to go back to Malaysia.

Natto's supposedly very healthy - pound for pound more protein than meat or eggs. The taste itself ain't bad since the natural taste is masked by all the different flavorings it comes with (many many kinds). However, it is the texture that I have a problem with - looks like and feels like a big breakfast that someone ate, and then puked-up, slurped up the vomit and re-hurled it out all over again.

There's a bunch of Japanese food I don't touch. I don't like osechi ryori, which they eat during Oshugatsu (New Year). I order pizza during the New Year dinner. And I can't eat all the cold noodles (somen, soba) people eat in summer - I need my food piping hot. To my ancestors, cold food = dirt poor = food poisoning. And I don't really like raw food. If God meant for us to eat things uncooked, He wouldn't have given us fire.