Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sparksandspies]

I'm planning a trip to Japan in the next month and will be going alone.
I'll start in Tokyo and work my way west ending up in Busan, Korea. I'll only have about 12 days but I'd like to see at least a couple of the cities.

I was really excited for this trip until I spoke to my uncle this evening, who used to do a lot of business in Japan. He advised about not doing a Japan trip alone. He said it's not like Europe, you won't meet many people to hang out with, if you go out at night you'll be sitting by yourself all night, etc. Basically, he said Japanese youth stick to themselves.

Is this statement acurate? Would it be a lonely 12 days?


Thanks in advance.

[kat2]

You'll meet people at your hostel and you'll find the western bars. Thats what you do here right? I met several japanese people at the hostel I was staying at in Kyoto (You MUST go to Kyoto! Its great!). Not sure about bars as I was on a tight budget and didn't go to many.

[leebumlik69]

[crazy_arcade]

I'd travel alone in Japan again in a heartbeat. I met so many people: Japanese skaters, art fags, girls, bartenders, businessmen, Korean girls.
Just go out and people will find you.

[butlerian]

[sparksandspies]

This is good news. I should have thought where those words were coming from before i started getting depressed.

So, hostels would be the key? What if I just went to some random bars/clubs in a random town in Japan. Would it be like Europe where you could make some friends?

[crazy_arcade]

[Bibbitybop]

Japanese people Tokyo rock. Hit up "Roppongi" at night for a foreign and Japanese crowd.

[swetepete]

I found Japanese people to be very, very friendly. It sure helps to have a bit of the language, but just by making an effort (i.e. carrying a phrasebook around with you) you'll more easily find people who'll be nice to you.

[pastis]

You won't feel lonely as a tourist in any big city, least of all Tokyo, even if you are on your own - there's just so many people and the atmosphere in places like Shibuya or Shinjuku is the liveliest you'll see anywhere. It's kind of like Seoul in some ways, but bigger, richer, more excessive and just more epic IMO. Love it or hate it, Tokyo is the city of all cities...

As for meeting people, I wouldn't count much on "making friends" with locals, because you'll be there for such a short time etc., but there'll definitely be lots of them around who you can interact with. And you'll certainly meet other tourists in any hostel you stay at who'll likely be up for taking day trips around with you. Also, places like Hiro-o and Roppongi in Minato-ku are especially full of Westerners, so if you go to the clubs/bars there you can easily meet Western people.

The main issue would be if you were planning to go into the countryside, where there is virtually no English, people are generally more xenophobic (like in Korea) and there is very few (if any) foreigners. I'd avoid that if I were you; if you wanna see "traditional" culture and temples etc. just go to Kyoto (though there's no shortage of that kind of stuff in Tokyo), or if you can find some travel buddies, it's easy to make a day trip from Tokyo to Kamakura or Nikko. Since you'll only have 12 days, I'd just stick to Tokyo and the Kansai area (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto), and maybe top it off in Fukuoka if you plan on going back to Korea from there. It'll be more than enough.

[SuperFly]

Go to Roppongi

From central Tokyo, Roppongi is the 2nd to last station on the Hibiya subway line (gray line on map)

From the circle Yamanote line, transfer to the Hibiya line at Ueno or Ebisu.

GasPanic & Bar, Isn't It used to be there, don't know if this is still happenin these days.

[Ginormousaurus]

[Ginormousaurus]

I went alone and had no problem making friends in Tokyo. In fact, within about 4 hours of being there I met a nice gal named Mary Jane. It was nice to get reaquainted after such a long time.

[rednblack]

Yeah, Mary Jane.. I miss her sooo much. Lucky you meeting up again.

[pastis]