Speaking of which, that's one thing I didn't expect - food! A lot of the foods I was used to eating regularly are hard to come by there. For example? Pizza. When they say pizza, what they mean isn't quite what we mean. Hamburgers. Hamburgers there are small and the meat low quality - and/or they're expensive (the best burger I had there...the only good burger I had there...was at Wolfgang Pucks Lunch restaurant at Takashimaya Times Square, and with desert it was about 2500 yen - or about $25). If you're willing to eat fast food, you'll be fine - there's McDonalds, and Wendys, etc., and there are some grocery stores that have a decent selection of some western food, but a lot of stuff - like cheese - will cost you way more than you'd expect. Most of the Department Stores (Matsuzakaya, etc.) have selections in their basements that are fancy, but oddly selective. Like, it took me three months to find Cream of Tartar.
But right - the more Japanese you have, the more fun I think it'd be - but the basics are the keys. Being able to talk to store clerks or waiters. Being able to read menus and train schedules and other signs. That's the stuff that are helpful to get around. But the more you know, the more you'll get out of the experience. I wish I'd known more.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-01-03 07:25 pm (UTC)Speaking of which, that's one thing I didn't expect - food! A lot of the foods I was used to eating regularly are hard to come by there. For example? Pizza. When they say pizza, what they mean isn't quite what we mean. Hamburgers. Hamburgers there are small and the meat low quality - and/or they're expensive (the best burger I had there...the only good burger I had there...was at Wolfgang Pucks Lunch restaurant at Takashimaya Times Square, and with desert it was about 2500 yen - or about $25). If you're willing to eat fast food, you'll be fine - there's McDonalds, and Wendys, etc., and there are some grocery stores that have a decent selection of some western food, but a lot of stuff - like cheese - will cost you way more than you'd expect. Most of the Department Stores (Matsuzakaya, etc.) have selections in their basements that are fancy, but oddly selective. Like, it took me three months to find Cream of Tartar.
But right - the more Japanese you have, the more fun I think it'd be - but the basics are the keys. Being able to talk to store clerks or waiters. Being able to read menus and train schedules and other signs. That's the stuff that are helpful to get around. But the more you know, the more you'll get out of the experience. I wish I'd known more.