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Moving to Tokyo next week. - strugglebunny - 2009-08-20

Well, the new semester is coming up on me, and that's means I'll be making the big trip to Tokyo. I will be staying in a dorm in the 高田馬場 area. Anyone familiar with that that area, and if so, anything I should know about (shops, good places to eat/drink, etc.?) How about Shinjuku in general?

Any "survival phrases" you guys recommend learning, or making sure I already know? Any tips would be appreciated. There seems to be so many tips, and so much advice out there that it seems overwhelming (and maybe I'm just asking to be overwhelmed with advice here, too.)

Thanks!

Moving to Tokyo next week. - yukkuri_kame - 2009-08-20

Can't say I know the area well, but I passed through there on the Tozai line today. The acupuncturist I see is in Asagaya - just a bit west of there. Great way to recover from jetlag.

Moving to Tokyo next week. - nest0r - 2009-08-20

yukkuri_kame Wrote:Can't say I know the area well, but I passed through there on the Tozai line today. The acupuncturist I see is in Asagaya - just a bit west of there. Great way to recover from jetlag.
Do you see Dr. Baian, the acupuncturist assassin?

Moving to Tokyo next week. - Tobberoth - 2009-08-20

高田馬場 is awesome, very cozy area with a LOT of students and bars. I took and passed JLPT2 on Waseda university in 高田馬場. If I still lived in Japan, I would have been MIGHTY jelous that you can live there, I lived in 松戸市 which isn't even in 東京都, 高田馬場 would have been extremely close to my Japanese school.

Moving to Tokyo next week. - ocircle - 2009-08-20

I guess you should know "thief!" -- "Dorobou!"

I learned the word 掏摸 (suri: pickpocket) while studying for JLPT3, but I don't know how many people will actually respond to that.

I have no idea if pickpocketing is a common crime or not, but to prevent it, people sometimes wear their backpacks on the front, like a pouch where you store an infant.

Moving to Tokyo next week. - Tobberoth - 2009-08-20

Pickpocketing isn't a big problem in Japan, not even close to most big European cities.

Moving to Tokyo next week. - nebusoku - 2009-08-20

Pickpocketing not a common crime at all in Japan. Japan is very, very safe. Even Tokyo.

I'm no expert, but I've spent about a year in Tokyo. If you're walking down the street and your wallet, overflowing with cash, falls out of your pocket, it's more likely that someone will come running after you to give you back your wallet than it is that the finder will keep the money for himself.

高田馬場 is a super-fun area and the OP will surely have a great time there. It has the feel of a very college-and-student-focused neighborhood, kind of like the Washington Square Park/NYU area of Manhattan.

Moving to Tokyo next week. - nebusoku - 2009-08-20

strugglebunny Wrote:Well, the new semester is coming up on me, and that's means I'll be making the big trip to Tokyo. I will be staying in a dorm in the 高田馬場 area. Anyone familiar with that that area, and if so, anything I should know about (shops, good places to eat/drink, etc.?) How about Shinjuku in general?

Any "survival phrases" you guys recommend learning, or making sure I already know? Any tips would be appreciated. There seems to be so many tips, and so much advice out there that it seems overwhelming (and maybe I'm just asking to be overwhelmed with advice here, too.)

Thanks!
BTW, I assume this means you'll be studying at Waseda. A bunch of my friends did that years ago (I finished undergrad a while back) and they all had a great time. Try to make some Japanese friends; Waseda has a huge international student population and it's very easy to fall into the groove of only hanging out with foreigners there.

Moving to Tokyo next week. - strugglebunny - 2009-08-20

ocircle Wrote:I guess you should know "thief!" -- "Dorobou!"

I learned the word 掏摸 (suri: pickpocket) while studying for JLPT3, but I don't know how many people will actually respond to that.

I have no idea if pickpocketing is a common crime or not, but to prevent it, people sometimes wear their backpacks on the front, like a pouch where you store an infant.
Well I hope I don't ever have to use those words, but hey, they are words I never bothered to look up, so I have two new words to add to my vocab.

BTW, I'm not going to Waseda. Off topic, I was accepted into their over summer language program, but due to limited money, I was not able to go. Sad

By the way, since a few of you seem to be familiar with the area a little bit, any recommended places to see/hang out? Good (cheap) bars? Cool restaurants?