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Visiting Japan without Japanese? Fear not. (Abroad in Japan Blog | Edition 1 ) (Patreon)

Published:
2016-07-28 11:44:51
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

It's Thursday! Which means two incredible things.

Tomorrow is Friday (finally) AND today is the day the first Abroad in Japan Blog is published - starting today and being published every Thursday until the end of time (and Patreon).


This week your fears are put to rest on the subject of Visiting Japan without knowing any Japanese, with a few tips and pieces of advice worth heeding, to make the most of your travels in Japan.


You can find the article in full technicolour glory below (in PDF), and because Abroad in Japan blog is here to help you, feel free to leave your ideas and request for future article topics in the comments section below. 


Whilst the Abroad in Japan Blog is a Patreon exclusive, for this week only it will be made public through social media, with the hope of encouraging more people to join secret sexy club. I know there are more people out there who would enjoy the blog series and it'd be a shame for people to miss out.  However, it will be just a one-off - from next week it will only ever be for Patreon supporters (and rightly so, as it's you who made it happen). 


In other news, a sudden visit to Tokyo to film a fun/informative video to release next week, has pushed back Saturday's release a day or two - but it will be absolutely worth it. Let's just say the video involves various skyscrapers and lots of Tokyo. Expect photos of the trip.


Many thanks everyone, and here's hoping your week has been a pleasant and fruitful one so far. 


Chris 

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Comments

Dimokin

Whoa, that was awesome! I love those snarky remarks of yours :D . Very well written, would recommend your blog!

Benjamin McKechnie

Now that was one informative and also funny read. Also the part about the price tag if I remember correctly that was mentioned in a previous YouTube video, that man was a true hero.

Aaron Bailey

Thanks for this! Guess i should push on little more with my Japanese before travelling to Japan!

Anonymous

Off to a great start already! Thank you! Looking forward to the videos and next week's post already.

Anonymous

i only have one disagreement. I was there in August 2015 with two of my friends. One of the biggest problems we had was finding an ATM that accepted our cards. One of us had a bank card that worked just fine everywhere, but me and the other were left without access to money for several days. After a frantic search online we learned that many (not all) foreign bank cards don't work in most Japanese ATM boxes. We did however find our solution. One poster on a forum said that the local post offices all have ATMs that accept foreign cards. We were in a tiny village called Yasumiya in Aomori prefecture and were doubtful that the single room post office would have such a thing. But lo and behold, not only did it have one, but with English options. So, despite the long winded nature of the tale, i suppose the TL:DR is to look for a post office if your bank card isn't working at the local Family Mart ATM.

Anonymous

OUTSTANDING! Thanks for this Chris. I'm now a little less horrified about my trip and my ​surprising lack of style and language skills. Cheers!

abroadinjapan

Wise words - the Post Office ATM has saved me many a time.

Jenna Flynn

I feel like Weaponized ASIMO Robots are the closest mankind can come to the cyberpunk vision of the future the 80s had. Either way, good stuff! had me giggling quite a few times, keep up the good work!

Caroline van Oosten de Boer

Good shtuff! My number 1 tip for visiting Japan without speaking the language is... When (when, not if) you are having your umpteenth panic attack somewhere deep in the crypts of Shinjuku or Namba Station, because you are looking for the "Nishi' exit and you find out there are at least 31 'Nishi' exits and didn't you just do this yesterday and you can't read anything and nobody speaks your language and how many fucking floors does this place have anyway and aaaaaaaaaargh...? Go outside. That's the first thing you do. Once you're outside it becomes easier to get orientated, you recognise landmarks, there's fresh air, etc. And also? Rent a wifi router.

George Mills

Sarcastic and as brilliant as ever. Good reading. I particularly liked your comment that the Tokyo subway is the size of Spain...made me laugh! That's so true. Shibuya station has about a billion exits. Came out in a different place every time I went there! Thursday is my new favourite day.

Anonymous

I took your advise video about learning Japanese and I have signed up to Memrise which I will try to stick to it. I have a rental car when I am around the MT Fuji/Hakone area, I was abit hesitant in driving into the country side and potentially getting lost (even with a satnav). Now I look forward to potentially being given a bespoke map from a local to find my way home and try talking to them in broken Japanese. Thanks for the great article.

Anonymous

That is so awesome that you mentioned Human Japanese! Brian, the creator of the program is very helpful when you email questions. I even created a few courses on memrise to compliment the program. I'm still learning but I feel better knowing that when I visit, if I'm still not that great, I can still get around ok. :)

Anonymous

The only problem i had traveling alone in japan knowing no Japanese is that the evenings was kinda boring. All the temples and stuff closes at 17:00 and it gets dark at 19:00 in japan. So after 19:00 i found myself having nothing to do when it was a week day. because at the bar 80% of the time no one spoke english.

Anonymous

Great read, thanks!

Luke Richardson

Thanks for this, it just made my day and wish I was back getting lost on the metro system.

Luke Richardson

Thanks for this, it just made my day and wish I was back getting lost on the metro system.

Tony Parada

Thanks for the blog!

Nari Kim

Awesome!

Mathew Williams-breese

The big thing I'm taking away from this post is that we're in a "Secret sexy club" Now we all have an excuse to visit that love hotel shown in the video released not long ago. I call dibs on the stuffed animal attic

holotape

Well done!

Stormy Lyons

I self identify as an ATM machine and I find this offensive. 🏧

Anonymous

Enjoyed the post! I would also recommend the Hyperdia app (and web site) to anyone figuring out the train system. Google Maps got me part of the way there, but Hyperdia's level of detail really helped me survive my first trip to Japan.

Anonymous

Hello Chris! This was a great post. I'm taking my first trip to Japan in 20 days and found this very encouraging. I was wondering if you had any more information on the data sim cards? I've heard of pocket wifi options as well. Do you have any links or service provider recommendations! Thanks! :D

Samuel Slinger

Thank you Chris! Will have to re-look up this post when I decide to take a trip to Japan. :)

Janelle

can we buy shirts with "secret sexy club" written discretely beneath yours &/or natsuki's face?