General Japanese Culture Thread

Well, since this thread got bumped anyway.

Me and a friend of mine are looking to visit Japan. So far, we've had the idea to start in Tokyo, and go down towards Nagasaki over the course of three week using the Bullet Train.

I was wondering what kind of sights a tourist shouldn't miss out along the way, and how much would we be missing out on by not going north instead? We're pretty geeky and interested in anime and stuff, but we're mostly there for history, nature and culture.

Tokyo alone has tons of things to do, and that's not even touching Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo Disney Sea. I was there for 2 weeks the first time I visited, and it still wasn't enough to visit everything.

Since you're the nerdy type, do make a point to check out the Odaiba area in Tokyo Bay. They've got an excellent arcade called Sega Joyopolis at Aqua City plaza with some very unique gaming experiences and the Legoland Discovery Center (great for kids... not much so for adults. You gotta set up a visit online ahead of time too, no walk-ins).

Another great shopping plaza with yet another big arcade is Diver City Tokyo Plaza; that's where the 1:1 scale Unicorn Gundam statue and Gundam Base store is. It's more "normal" though, no unique games or one-of-a-kind type rides/experiences.

Several museums are present, with the big stand-out being the The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. It's where the famous Geo Cosmos digital globe is, along with where the old NISMO walking robot used to perform and was displayed at - he's sadly been retired though. Strongly recommend it if you have kids, lots of their exhibits are interactive and geared towards being educational.

And finally, the single most amazing interactive lightshow exhibit I have EVER seen, period, was at TeamLab Planets Tokyo. Words and pictures honestly do not do that exhibit justice, and even more amazing is how several of the artworks allow you to manipulate them via a Smartphone app. For example, the Infinite Crystal Universe allows people to choose which visual effects appear and begin mixing them together in conjunction with everyone else's inputs, making each lightshow unique. Avoid the café exhibit though; the promo material and photos make it look like some big eerie mirror room, but it's honestly way too small and cramped, the food is overpriced and meh, and your time in the room is limited. Walk-ins are not allowed: you'll need to get a reservation online. Best to book one on a weekday morning: the crowds are slightly smaller, so you won't feel as rushed or crowded in. Seriously, you could quite easily spend an entire day in Odaiba alone.

Oh yeah, and while I know Tokyo Skytree is technically the tallest tower in Tokyo (And all of Japan), it's kinda expensive and crowded. Visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building instead: it's free to access the basic viewing area, has a surprisingly great view at all times of the day and evening, and has several cheap restaurants and souvenir shops up there too. Less busy, as well.

EDIT: Forgot that you're going all the way down to Nagasaki. If so, stop by Osaka for a few days: the Osaka Castle and national Museums are great places to visit and get some souvenirs, along with Universal Studios Osaka - which also happens to have the Nintendoland theme park. MAKE RESERVATIONS IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON THAT ONE: it's borderline impossible to get into Nintendoland via a walk-in due to the attraction's insane popularity.

Edited by SgtRicko on Feb 28th 2023 at 4:04:08 AM

Something I'm confused about: so pachinko is basically legal gambling by loop hole, but since gambling isn't otherwise legal, does that mean government is basically okay with it because its profitable and teeeeeeeechnically not gambling(even though it is) or has there been attempts or talk to ban it or restrict it that just hasn't happened due to lobbying or such?

(or is it just matter of pachinko industry being skilled at finding loopholes?)

Edited by SpookyMask on Mar 25th 2023 at 1:42:24 PM

Not quite. Betting on horse racing (and some other types of racing I think but would have to check) is actually legal.

The other three are Keiren (bicycle racing), Kyoutei (motorboat racing), and auto race (flat track motorcycle racing).

Thank you.

Odd to have such specific exceptions. I could see it being legal to gamble on sports or competitions in general, but not games of chance. But to specifically only allow a few kinds of races? Odd.

Grandfather Clause, presumably.

Not so rare. In Soviet Union, for examle, you could buy tickets of the goverment lottery and bet on horse races, but all other gambling was illegal.

Mahjong parlors get away under the gambling law by not having too much money get wagered when playing to count as "gambling", correct?

Edited by fredhot16 on Mar 26th 2023 at 8:14:09 AM

They generally get away by being covered by the yakuza.

Edited by megarockman on Mar 26th 2023 at 11:17:21 AM

leave to organized crime to give shady institutions cover from the law.

Even the out-in-the-open and seemingly above-board ones?

Edited by fredhot16 on Mar 26th 2023 at 9:37:54 AM

Mahjong in and of itself is not gambling, so parlors that don't engage in that are legal. Which makes it a case of Plausible Deniability if a parlor does allow it and keeps it off the official books.

I heard that the workaround is that you don't gamble for cash, but knick-knacks and various 'prizes' which you then go to the 'pawn shop' next door and sell for cash. Or is that not as universal, just one example of going around it? Or just an urban legend?

That is the workaround in place for pachinko parlors, yes.

Though now I wonder if those "pawn shops" also take customers who want to actually pawn their stuff.

Edited by megarockman on Mar 26th 2023 at 1:50:20 PM

the principle might also be in play with capsule machines, which are a large influence on gacha games (even down to the name itself), but I'm not sure if those were ever involved in that kind of gambling themselves.

The idea that it's not "real" gambling if you can't get cash out of the system is pretty typical. And it does solve some of the ancillary problems with gambling industries (like organized crime involvement and money laundering). The problem it doesn't address is the personal issue of people spending their life savings on "just one more roll".

Gachapon machines tend to prey more on the collector's mindset or having a special "rare" option, encouraging people to feed in lots of coins. You're gambling for a specific set of tchotchkes rather than to multiply the money you put in. You can then sell those on an after-market, but that's actually not intended, since it means the people who buy completed sets aren't putting their own money in the gacha machines.

I don’t know if this really is the proper place to ask but I don’t think we have a “vacation advice”thread so, here goes…

I have an older brother who works as a petroleum engineer in Japan, has actually been working and living there for years, even found a fiancé! (Woo, can’t wait to be an uncle before I hit my 30s!)

Anyway, my family has coordinated close enough to spend two weeks in Japan with that older brother as vacay in early June. He lives in Suginami City, Tokyo Perfecture, it’s supposed to be a few hours from Tokyo City itself.

I guess I’m asking, as a soon-to-be first time American tourist in Japan…any advice I should keep in mind, any tips about how to act, what places you would recommend to go in Tokyo, any beginner Japanese I need to drum into my head to keep things going smoothly?

(Disclaimer: My family is Sudanese, most of us being pretty dark-skinned, with my little sister and mother being lighter-skinned but not white. We’re also pretty vanilla Sunni Muslims, all the woman wear hijabs and all that. So, I would also appreciate anything we should know on these fronts that might…cause trouble?)

In general (your socio-relgious background is something I can't assist you with, in which I apologize for), refer to advice I was given here in this thread.

Edited by HallowHawk on May 18th 2023 at 12:54:10 PM

That thread has some good advice. Always have your passport on you - if you get stopped (for whatever reason) by cops you'll need it. Generally expect to pay with cash, but Japanese coins are more useful than American coins. You also won't have to worry about sales tax since it gets folded into the sticker price, which is super convenient.

As far as daily survival tips, in no particular order.

• GET PASMO CARDS. Your brother will likely be able to help with this one - they're chargeable passcards that work for both of the two train lines (JR and Tokyo Metro) as well as buses and vending machines. You can generally get cards at any station, and once you have them you can charge them at any fare machine. Do NOT hassle yourself trying to figure out fares for every trip you take.
• Following up on the above - Tokyo has two rail services. In practice you can switch between them pretty easily, just make sure you know which one you're getting on. JR Lines use square indicators and the stations are numbered J[X] 1, while the Metro lines use round indicators and the stations are numbered like M-05. In practice I don't use the Metro lines much.
• Try not to overplan. Tokyo is a fairly walkable city and most of its attractions are within 10-20 minutes' walk of a station, but that doesn't mean you should try to hit three things in one day (unless your family's very active. Mine isn't and we struggled with a planned route that added up faster than expected).
• Keep in mind that Google Maps' directions and travel times assume you walk into the station and directly onto a train. Most trains run very regularly but some lines have longer gaps between trains (or they may service different routes). Pay attention to which endpoint station Google tells you to get on toward, and be careful around Express and Limited Express trains - they skip stations.
• You can get pretty much anything from convenience stores, and the quality and variety of food will be better than American convenience stores (no need to be wary of 7-11 sushi). They also usually sell daily-use electronics like SD cards, headphones, and so on.
• I also can't speak to how your family will be treated, unfortunately. I want to assume that you'll be given the same treatment as I do, which is to say, since I'm white and visibly foreign, people tend to be nice to me (though they assume I can't speak a lick of Japanese). Most people here will genuinely want to be nice to and try to help foreigners, and I hope that will hold true for your family too. Their help might be pushy and/or unwanted, though.

As for basic Japanese, it depends on what you're looking to do. Same goes for recommendations for places to check out. And in terms of basic behavior? Stay polite, try to go with the flow of traffic in stations (generally walk on the left side, though not everyone follows this), stand in line for trains, and don't talk loudly. In general, the Japanese public doesn't expect very much from Americans, in a somewhat condescending way, but it's still nice to be polite.

Edited by RedSavant on May 18th 2023 at 6:09:22 AM

Disappointing to see these sort of brazen public smash-and-grabs occurring outside of the US. I know, I know, Japan has a habit of hiding their issues and this definitely isn't the first time such a crime has occurred over there, but still.

EDIT: I found trying to stick to the JR Rail lines in order to maximize usage of the JR Rail pass to be far too frustrating and time-consuming. You have to pull out the Rail Pass at the ticket booths every time in order to get a ticket from the staff members, and trying to puzzle out the most efficient lines to ride whilst not being too far from your destinations was also a pain. Heck, even when it came to traveling between cities I ultimately didn't use the Rail Pass since it only applied to the slower trains; you had to pay full price in order to use the express Nozomi and Mizuho lines.

Edited by SgtRicko on May 19th 2023 at 6:40:59 PM

Yeah, I don't use the JR Rail pass itself, just the regular riding fares. I'm okay paying a bit more for a simpler commute.

This video essentially talks about why the heroes often kill gods in JRPG games. He also goes into detail about the culture and history of Japan and how it influences the games.