DJElo

thx for the food tipp,will be there in end of feb n def. gonna try tha okonomiyaki place

yeah,really check the exchange rate..since i was in jap last summer it's way more expensive ( shoulda taken out more cash back then

well,about the tattoo thing it's quite a shame as japan has a long standing tradition of great tattooing..it was first really banned in the 1930's(i think) because one didn't want the outsiders who were now arriving in japan to think badly about it..since then the yakuza has been using it etc.. It really is a shame as I said. Japanese traditional tattoo art is sooo beautiful, full of history and tradition If you take a look the pacific islands and new zealand, tattoo's are a very important part of our society, atleast among the islanders and the mauri..in the same sense it used to be in

Well,then the best suggestion IMO is to let them feel it first hand As you seem to be much more itnerested in the customs and the differences you will appreciate it that much more when the japanese will notice this in you Let the guys to themselves..let's see how long they can keep it up haha.. don't worry about staying sober though..just head to a bar most nights and dont be surprised if even after downing quite some drinks still being the most sober person there It's not unussual to find lots of business men out drinking if they miss their last train home..esp in tokyo .. in tokyo

well.the moment ryan air starts doing long haul I really hope they will start the trend of this..

well...i always use handsfree anyway so never botherd me..but man i do hate when i see people in trafic talking on the phone..mostly they have NOOO contact with whats happening around them and drive like lunatics

actually..yes i can.. I would totally do this if the guy payed me..and sadly in todays world after i had a contract saying i wouldnt be taking any responsibilities.. although technically you shouldnt get into any trouble as youd never actually have to pick it up..just check it in ..so the real guy would be picking it up at arrival and walking through customs etc..

Originally Posted By: gareth_oau here in Perth, people stil use their phones on the trains/buses, but its done so discreetly and with respect, so best of both worlds wait a moment..did the world just turn itself upside down?? Aussies and respect for others in one sentence oO ...lol,just joking with ya was to good a chance for a kiwi to miss hehe

hehe..hehehe

well..just tell them to try and be somewhat respectful while on public transport. I hope they can do that! they can be loud and laugh in a different place then the pt.. Even I who don't live in japan find it very annoying when people talk on the phone or talk loudly when im there..it's relaxing on the tube when it's not packed ofc..it should stay that way.. I would really like for this kind of behavior to become standard in western countries aswell..Ive been in stockholm for the last 2 months visitng family over x-mas and find it utterly amazing that people can't have the respect towards eacho

Well,as a strong supporter of things that make sense .. I very heavily support the idea that tax free should be purchased just before embarkation as to save room n weight for luggage,further it should hopefully soon be a norm that a person can only bring a certain TOTAL weight onto the plain to make it even. Ie..150 kg or so..or somehow relevant to the plane they fly..like take max flight weight/seats etc..if you weigh 100 you can take 50kg including everything (youll have to stand on scales aswell as baggage ).as you know whatplane it is when u book normally they can tell u immediately. If

oh,ok well,then i know till next time

phoning doesnt seem so common in japan anyway..everybody sends emails to eachothers phones so it doesnt disturb anyone

hmm,maybe I should watermark the pics edit: hehe,it worked to just replace them

haha,will have to upp some pics aswell ..they arent from japan though some nice one's from Mt. rhuapehu in NZ

that had to do with hand luggage for security reasons (stupid terrorist yeah whateva)..hand luggage is slightly diff from checked in..as you can access hand luggage during flight,but not checked in stuff

looked up both of them..they look real nice..and look much "homelier" than the lodge..def gonna check with masazo first,then bunbun before the lodge..but will as I said give andy a pm and see.

yeah,def get in touch with quantas and don't back down..the allowance on their webpage is valid everywhere they fly to,this is true for all airlines..it's not up to the airport to set individual rules.

haha,sounds wicked will def. check. I'll send Andy a pm this week n see with him what he's up to and if he has any tipps. Just a quick question, i know it's be asked before here but just wondering specific for nozawa..are tattoo's fine in the public onsen there?? i have a couple so

i think thats for the best if you email them as has already been mentioned it's normal not to wear anything at all..the only thing in the water should be your body,nothing else. In most sento there are separate baths , onsen might be mixed depending on the size and the location..bigger places usually are separated. Also you are often given a small towel that people will discreetly hold over their private parts when they are walking around out of the water. For people not used to it it can feel abit uncomfortable at first, but there is no reason to be as there's nothing strange about it..

well,i'll be over between 16-27th of feb and heading up with a girl friend of mine to nozawa probably around the 24/25 for roughly 1,5 day,maybe 2.. will be traveling around beforehand before coming back to tokyo and taking the shinkansen to nagano early early morning if ure keen ure welcome even as an aussie

Ski ski ski..and lately telemark All over the world

yeah,,it's really annoying with all the various standars etc.. e.g i've flown all over the world with my ski's and on 90% of the time it's fine, counts as sports equipment etc.. some good airlines from my experience: -Air Canada : two pair of ski's, boots, mountaineering gear(ropes,crampoons etc)..total of mroe than 30kg just sports equipment was just fine -Austrian Airlines/Swiss/Lufthansa : Ski equipment is fine, other sports equipment max 15kg i think? never had problems -Thai: there is a max on volume kg..never had problems though -SAS: ski equipment no problems, other equipm

so,i looked at some of the lodges here on snowjapan in nozawa and the lodge nagano seems really nice and cheap for two students like us hehe.. are there any other ones that you can recommend??

well,i'll be in jap 16-27th of feb..so middle and end haha. prolly skiing around the 25th or so thx for the suggestions, will be discussing with my friend. Date also depends on when she can get off work n that I def. dont mind riding the shinkansen for abit if it means a chance at good snow i really like the idea of the 1,5 day ticket most resorts offer..and some even include free nighta golf, where abouts are you and the "fellow kiwis" ?