Jumping in the deep end....

[whmees]

Greetings all!

My name is Will. The reason I'm posting here is pretty straight-forward: I'm looking for advice in regards to my up and coming travels to Japan.

I'm 19 years old and fairly mature, at least to the point of being able to handle difficult situations by myself (I've also travelled to England and Europe with no adult supervision, if that's anything). I don't know any Japanese, and I've never visited, but I'm flying there on March 17th to spend a few months participating in the WWOOF program.

Whatever the case, I'm starting to get a bit worried (as I usually do before I do crazy stuff like this), but I figured I would just ask people who are familiar with the culture if there's anything a complete newbie should know. I'm not really expecting to learn the language in three months, though I hope to form a strong foundation on which I can learn more later in my life.

My worries are primarily related to getting around Japan, making cultural mistakes, etc., etc. Anyone have any suggestions or anything? It'd be GREATLY appreciated!!!

All the best,
-Will

 

[Rich303]

Greetings Whmees,

When I started here I didn't know very much about Japan, so don't worry about that.

If you have time, have a good look through the forums here and I'm sure your questions will be answered. Good luck!

 

[ArmandV]

It may be intimidating to you at first, but after you've been there for a day or so wandering around, you will get in the swing of things and really enjoy the differences. Don't sweat it!

 

[Mike Cash]

You'll be here on some kind of program. You needn't worry. They'll either do things for you or show you how to do things.

 

[whmees]

hey,

thanks for the replies.

as far as the program goes, it really isn't that involved with anything. it's a very loose organization, and i'm pretty much going to be on my own (with no supervision/help/whathaveyou) until i actually arrive at my host, which will probably be about a week after i arrive in tokyo. it's kind of daunting to be travelling to the most densely populated cty in the world, but... yeah.

anything else??

 

[yukio_michael]

The best advice is that everyone makes mistakes and not to let it paralyze you...

 

[Kara_Nari]

Hmm even though its densley populated, its also spread out...
Before coming to Korea (and then onto Japan) I was in NZ, and we have a grand population of 4.5 million people.... so I was expecting much worse... but really I didnt notice it so much.
Also being on the WWOOF programme you will be in the country... (yes?), so for those three months you should be ok!
I like the country side in Japan... or just the rural areas in general... even they still have vending machines, so you dont have to walk miles and miles to buy beverages! I guess it maybe depends how deep into the country you go...

 

[Davey]

Heyz Will, welcome to Jref, there is a LOT LOT LOT of information here on the forum, and on the jref website itself. so just cruise around and if you have any specific questions, you can always ask us.

Pretty cool that you are going to this stuf, I respect you for this! Have fun here, and Hope you will be an active member of the forum, and in the future teach , and tell us your expierence about the WWOOF

 

[Flashjeff]

Welcome aboard!!!

Well, I'm no expert, but the best I can suggest is to study, study, STUDY up on Japan as much as possible. What I did was go to my nearest big box bookstore and bought a couple of travel books on Japan, another about Tokyo's transit system (Japan has the most efficient rail system in the world) and, perhaps a book of useful Japanese phrases. Oh, and if you plan to take pictures of your time spent there, invest in a digital camera so you don't have to lug a boatload of film cartridges around! Good luck to you, and keep us posted on your adventure!

 

[pipokun]

Following phrase book will be of your great help.
Better to buy one on your arrival.
窶板ｷ窶堙固ｽw窶堋ｳ窶堋ｵ窶ｰﾃｯﾋ彙窶卍?ﾂ〈21ﾂ〉JAPAN
Tabi no yubisashi kaiwacho
ISBN: 4795818436

 

[MajideSaiaku]

Have a look around the site and forums, it should keep you sorted.

 

[Harvey]

I'm looking for WWOOF experiences as well!