kainzero wrote:

i don't think tokyo is that much more expensive than say, iwakuni.

there are a ton of shops so there's competition all over the price spectrum. although japan is pretty dense, tokyo is even more dense so you don't have to travel as much and if you do, it's easy to get around since the trains and subway are really handy. (i often had to walk 30-40+ minutes in iwakuni to even get to the train station).

I'm not sure if you implied that you know people already, but I think that if you know people before you go over there, you'll have a better time. Or you can do a homestay program, which I've heard from a few friends was an awesome experience.
But... being dropped off in the middle of Tokyo with less than fluent Japanese is a scary experience if you're trying to make friends. In my experience, the smaller towns have people who are more polite probably because it's less busy and there's a more relaxed atmosphere.

I know a japanese girl who said she would guide me. I also know a guy I still have to talk to, and will try to make more tokyo skype friends in the coming weeks.
My japanese is fluent enough to live there, my listening and speaking skill increase so much in the past year that I'm not even worried about it. But then again, that's why tokyo wasn't my first choise at all. That's why I'd rather go to somewhere else.

I still have to do some reasearch, but do you guys have any idea on prices of transportation? Like shinkansen tickets, taxis, buses, etc.

CarolinaCG wrote:

I still have to do some reasearch, but do you guys have any idea on prices of transportation? Like shinkansen tickets, taxis, buses, etc.

This site is pretty good for the basics: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e627.html

CarolinaCG wrote:

I still have to do some reasearch, but do you guys have any idea on prices of transportation? Like shinkansen tickets, taxis, buses, etc.

shinkansen is about 23000 yen for a round trip from osaka to tokyo iirc.
it's better to buy a JR rail pass if you're going to do that, where you get free use of the JR for a week for about $330US. if you fly to narita, the train to tokyo is already 2000 yen so it's a good deal.

taxis are only for the rich.
buses, the one in iwakuni was 200 yen flat rate. for kyoto i think it was about 1000 yen for an all day pass.

train and subway will probably be your most used forms of transportation. i used a JR rail pass so i never kept track of my train use and would randomly go to different stations just because i felt like it. eitherway it's not too expensive, it's probably about 200-800 yen per ride. (i imagine if you go from minowa to shinjuku it's 800 yen).

renting a car is about 12000 yen/day, but parking is like 300 yen for 15 minutes so it's not really practical in tokyo.


for me it's not so much the skill that you need to communicate but more like the fact that it's not something i do even in english (making random friends irl), being dropped off in a super busy place, figuring out the cultural differences on top of just living, etc.

kainzero wrote:

kyoto i think it was about 1000 yen for an all day pass.

It's actually only 500 yen, but it's only within the main city area (part of Arashiyama isn't included, for example), and only for the city bus.

I know a weird college girl that just gets a bus pass every day and never takes the train ever, haha.  One time we were going to my apartment from Kyoto station and she insisted on taking the bus--it took 45 minutes.  Seven minutes by train, haha.

This site can give you an idea of train fares
http://www.hyperdia.com/en/
The train pass can be a good idea if you want to do a lot of travelling in a short space of time.
It's cheaper getting from the airport if you take one of the slower trains (just over 1000 yen)