THE YOUNG DUDES GUIDE TO JAPAN


(LAST UPDATE: 11th February 2005 - Added Kansai dating information)

LIVING GUIDE

INTRO AND VISA RELATED

REGION-RELATED

KANSAI DATING GUIDE

CITIES

FUKUOKA

INFOBOXES

FURNISHING AN APARTMENT

 

  1. Acknowledgements
  2. Introduction
    a.
    Presenting a new type of ‘no-holds barred’ style of travel guide for the 18-32 generation.
    b.
    Why the world needs such a guide explained.
    c
    .General information on the writers backgrounds.
    d.
    Chapter layout guide. 
    e.
    Disclaimer(?).
  3. Why did I go in the first place? – A compilation of essays written by people of every variety who have only visited Japan or stayed for a prolonged period of time. Insights into what they find endearing about the place, what keeps them coming back, etc.

 

VISAS

 

Types of visa

ü      Temporary Visitor status

ü      Culture visas

ü      Precollege Student visas

ü      Student Visas

ü      Work Visas

ü      etc

 

Visa excemption 50 country list.  Penalties for overstaying.Extensions.Visa runs.

 

 

  1. The Basics.  Nuts & Bolts of daily life issues for new arrivals.

ü      What is cheap and expensive in Japan for most  westerners.

ü      Average cost of living.

ü      Japan for vegetarians or health freaks.(joining a gym, health insurance and the rest)

ü      Junk food and beer.  Section on surviving like a bastard in Japan.

ü      Availability of necessities such as condoms and tampons. Toiletries and the like.

ü      What to bring. (powder deodorant)

ü      What not to bring. (books/bulky clothing)

ü      Simple Japanese phrases.  How much is...? Where is...? Excuse me. Please.Thankyou.Hello.Goodbye.My name is....1-10. I don’t understand Japanese. Do you speak English? Can I get your phone number? Tens.Hundreds.Thousands.  The kanji for numbers.  Why Katakana should be learned if nothing else(for its English loanword connection).

 

5.Martial arts and learning Japanese skills.

ü      What’s available.

ü      Costs

ü      New trend. ‘Pride’ style fighting

 

6.Explanation for how crazy the address system is.

7.Furnishing a new apartment.

ü      Recycle shops

ü      Futons

ü      Heating and air-con

 

8.Mobile phones.

ü      Contracts vs pay-as-you-go

ü      Must have features

ü      Explanation of the mobile phone email/text msg.system(no sms in Japan)

 

9.Internet access

ü      Cafes

ü      Apartment hook-up

ü      Costs and availability

 

10.Options for transportation

ü      Buying a –        Motorcycle        new/used.

Scooter            “”

Car                   “”

Bicycles           “”

ü      Cost of petrol

ü      Cost of subway/bus/taxi (single rides,monthly passes)

ü      Parking. Availability, cost for cars.

ü      Driving in Japan.  Tolls.  Expressways. Mini road-sign guide.

 

THE JAPANESE PEOPLE

 

Unambitious ramble about the Japanese people and their treatment of foreign guests in the country. General English ability. Politeness.  Pet hates. Any shit I can think of. Essays to include; Host family life. Instances of kind treatment by the Japanese.  The word ‘gaijin’ and its implications.  Debito and ultrasensitiveness in Japan. Japanese society in the 21st. Oscars amazing essay about J-girls and why they are such a catch here and now.

 

This is going to be nothing more than a potrayal of the familiar that most people will already know. However, the rest of the book will be host to a bunch of ‘Did you know...?’ mini-sections that will contain a lot of the really funny and unusual shit that we’ve talked about on YD throughout the years and just a lot of cool essays.

 

THE CITIES

 

Starting with the most visited, the major cities will all be reviewed and detailed.

Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Oita, Okinawa, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Hakodate, Sendai, Kyoto, Aomori. 

Any other worth a shot cities near to the big ones will be given a bit of treatment in a Off-The-Beaten-Track section at the end of every relevant chapter.

 

Again, the emphasis on the guides will not be so much as “This onsen has great views of Mt.Fuji” but more like, “A lot of easy chicks go to this-and-that club”.

 

EXAMPLE CITY (SAPPORO)

 

Chapter Outline

 

1.Sapporo Introduction (inc. Any quirky info about the city of its history)

 

2.Why choose Sapporo?

ü      Pop.stats

ü      Pop.foreigners

 

3.City map with markers for all the major clubs/restaurants/sighseeing locations.

 

4.Places to go. Really worthwhile places for a young dude to see.  Not old museums and shit.  Take Sapporo.  The Beer festival.   Asahi Yama on a bright night.  Odori Koen in the summer.  The Yuki matsuri.  Ramen Alley.  The Budweiser girl bar.

 

5.Available transport.  Subway maps, bus routes.


6.Accommodation.  Youth Hostels.  Gaijin houses.  Moving there.

ü      Local rent average

ü      Brochures for cheap gaijin friendly places to stay (some quick stories from guys who’ve stayed there)

 

7.Job availability.

 

8.Good places to eat. Food.  Pictures.

 

9.Bars and Clubs

In the following format.

ü      Bar/Club name

ü      Description.

ü      Door charge. Special nights.  Extras (free drinks)

ü      Drink prices

ü      Hours

ü      Pics

ü      Atmosphere. Vibe. Quality of chicks.  Type of crowd.  Popularity.

ü      % chance of getting laid for Mr.Joe Average

ü      Negative points.

 

 

Essays

The essays are in a manner of speaking what will make the Young Dudes Guide to Japan mostly unique amongst other regular travel guides available on the bookshelves.

The selected essays that are going to be included in the Young Dudes Guide to Japan are important to the book in the way that they each capture a moment of the writers own personal experience in the country, vicariously encapsulating the reader and giving them a stronger impression on Japan that they would not be able to acquire normally through the medium of emotionless

 

ü      Driving in Japan.  (Hokkaido!!)

ü      Birthday Plane tickets.

ü      Local Food speciality (the Pepsi Challenge: Tonkotsu Ramen vs Miso Ramen, that kind of shit)

ü      Vending machines (with pics)

ü      Game centers

ü      Being stalked by Japanese chicks (maybe)

ü      Going out with Japanese chicks (maybe)

ü      Quality Japanese food

ü      Japanese work ethic (Oscars essay)

ü      A little bit about Japanese history (again Oscs...p.t.1.2.3.4)

ü      Surviving in Japan (err..Oscars)

ü      Expat stories

ü      The Return of Ayumi (willows)

ü      Last one standing (being back in Japan.Zzonkmiles)

ü      Teaching English.

ü      Jobs other than teaching English. (Godzilla..Nayuta?)

ü      Japan for chicks

ü      Healthy Japan (otherwise entitled as Why do I spend so much time wiping my ass in this country?)

ü      Satans guide to shitters

ü      Japanese tv and movies

ü      Washing machines, kerosene heaters

 

And more.  Depending on relevance.