File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Sent here from /jp/...

I've been doing my homework for a likely trip to Japan (sightseeing, etc. Friend who has more experience is actually doing the planning)

and had a few questions. Google, etc, has not been helpful with these. Apologies in advance if these sound dumb, but i'm about as new to this as it's possible to get, and it will be my first time out of the USA.

#1. Are any vaccinations required or recommended?
#2. Is Yesjapan any good for learning the language, or are there better things out there?
#3. We're going to be staying over the new year (half of december, half of january), and i'm curious what the celebrations are like for that.
#4. Speaking of travelling, there's a good chance that the weather will be shitty here when we leave. (Yay flight delays..)
What's the weather like in the general vicinity of tokyo in december?
#5 Some advice i've been given says don't stay around Tokyo for more than a week or so if you really want to sightsee.. can you recommend any specific locations to go or things to absolutely see?
#6 Any common misconceptions about the land or the culture, as a foreigner, that i should put out of my head right this minute?

Pic unrelated.
>> Anonymous
>>#1
No.

>>#2
I lol'd

>>#3
If you're a couple, enjoy Christmas together. It's a romantic holiday. During new years, apart from going to a nightclub, try a shrine. Big shrines are quite a sight to see during new years eve. I went to ???? in Kyoto on new years eve.

>>#4
No. Outside the rainy season, many placecs are more often dry then not. Tokyo can actually get quite warm if it's a really sunny day during December.

>>#5
That advice is correct. If you want to see the real Japan, get out of town and go where Japanese people vacation.
>> Anonymous
>>44173

#5 if you're going to stay in tokyo for a while, do day trips. good ones are kamakura and nikko and also mt fuji is reachable.

i like kamakura best, it's only about an hour south of tokyo and completely different from the city.

#6 this all depends on what ideas you have about the country.
>> Anonymous
how can i learn the language?
>> Anonymous
>>44254

Frankly, you should have been taking formal university classes or living in Japan for years if you wanted to be fluent or something. Japanese is an excruciatingly hard language to learn for people who only speak English.

If you want to just get a basic idea, there are a lot of books for vocab and stuff. I had a book from Hugo that was supposed to teach you in 3 months, but gave up on it.

Best advice concerning the language would be to learn greetings and things, and other important phrases. Learning the kanji of exit signs or bathrooms or whatever could also be helpful. Katakana is used frequently, so learning the 40 something of those symbols might also really help.