Intellicast has daily average temps (highs and lows) instead of the just monthly average forecasts you can find at other weather websites.

For example, here is the daily average for the month of June in Kyoto:

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=JAXX0047

then

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?month=6 2 months ago

(so that I can see if they actually correct them)

• La Brasserie at Columbus Hotel, Monaco
• Chocolaterie de Monaco
• Change name of “Cacio e Pepe” in Monaco to “Osteria Del Mare” but Google Maps is not allowing editing of this location 8 months ago

A colleague’s husband provided the following recommendations:

Wiener Heurige at Stammersdorf:

Wieninger:
Very good wines but the food is not really Austrian like

link to restaurant:
http://www.heuriger-wieninger.at/index.php?id=2&L=1

googlemapslink:
http://tinyurl.com/c776tkk

At “Stammersdorfer Strasse” you also can go to:
Helm (but is closed til 1. October)

Schmidt:

link to restaurant:
http://www.heuriger-schmidt.at/

googlemapslink:
http://tinyurl.com/bvce3ak

Heurige at Hagenbrunn:

Wannemacher

link to restaurant:
http://www.weingut-wannemacher.at/

googlemapslink:
http://tinyurl.com/bpej4fd

Deutsch:

link to restaurant:
http://www.weingut-deutsch.at/html/set_2.html

googlemapslink:
http://tinyurl.com/ccl8fp8

Restaurants in Vienna:

Artner:

Go for dinner to “Artner”, if you look for something special and exquisitely.
They have very good wines from Burgenland and good food.

link to restaurant:
http://www.artner.co.at/en/franziskanerplatz

googlemapslink:
http://tinyurl.com/bnagp88

Zum Christian:

But if you want to show real feeling and kitchen from Vienna, go to “Zum Christian”

link to restaurant:
http://www.zumchristian.at/

googlemapslink:
http://tinyurl.com/d5knxbt

Schnitzelhaus:

The best Wiener Schnitzel-restaurant for me (and many other locals) is “Schnitzelhaus”.

link to restaurant:
http://www.schnitzelwirt.co.at/

googlemapslink:
http://tinyurl.com/c59apzm

Not related to the above list of restaurants, but while at the Vienna Hilton Danube, I had a Mozarttorte from Dekortorten Konditorei Klaus Hanauer. It was so great, I ordered a cake on my next trip. 8 months ago

Items which are and are not allowed to be brought into the country
The US Customs and Border Protection link for what is not allowed to be brought into the US is here

And here is a page specific to agricultural products

For my reference, honey is generally allowed, but only if it is “clear” honey or more specifically, with no honeycombs.

British Airways baggage allowance
British Airways allows AA Executive Platinum and Platinum members to check in two bags on all flights, all routes and allow a heavier bag without fee for Executive Platinum members. This id documented here. 10 months ago

(This was under create a way to evaluate and compare different things but I’m going to sunset that goal and this goal seems a good place where to keep this information up to date.)

Warning: Complimentary may be based on my status with the hotel frequent stay program.

Room sizes for European hotels are compared relative to other European hotels. Same for Japanese hotels, not yet included.

Ratings on a 4-star scale, so 2 stars is “Average”.

	Exists but almost useless
	Video stutters
	Video calling stutters
	Acceptable
	Fast

Criteria	Crowne Plaza
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	19 euros
TV – External video	Yes (Ch 51)
Lounge	Not available
Exercise room	?
Whirlpool	?
Hand shower	Yes
Complimentary Internet	98 euros/week
Internet speed	1.38 Mbps / 3.10 Mbps
Tea service	Yes
Refrigerator	Yes
Safe	Yes

Criteria	Hilton Danube	Marriot Courtyard – Messe
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast
TV – External video	Yes (SCART)	Yes (Ch 55 for SCART Ext 1 or 58 for VGA)
Lounge	Spa available	Not available
Exercise room	24 hrs	Midnight
Whirlpool	Yes	?
Hand shower	Yes	Yes
Complimentary Internet	Yes	Yes
Internet speed
Tea service	Yes	Yes
Refrigerator	Yes	Yes
Safe	Yes	Yes

Criteria	Courtyard – Waterbury	Crowne Plaza	Hampton Inn – Danbury	Hampton Inn – Waterbury	Courtyard – Danbury	Hilton Garden Inn
Room design
Room size
Quietness	(odd number faces highway)	(even number faces highway)	(fan is always on when using heat, bathroom fan is always on when lights are on)	(odd number away from highway)	(Best to be on top floor, odd number away from highway)
Breakfast
TV – External video	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lounge	Not available	Not available	Not available	Not available	Not available	Not available
Exercise room	Yes	9 pm ?	Midnight	24hrs	24hrs	10 pm
Whirlpool	?	?	Yes	?	?	?
Hand shower	No	No	No	No	No	No
Complimentary Internet	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Internet speed	0.82 Mbps / 0.72 Mbps (2009-09-02)	?	0.52 Mbps / 0.22 Mbps (2009-11-30)	1.44 Mbps / 1.29 Mbps (2010-07019)	0.71 Mbps / 1.27 Mbps (2010-01-05) 0.68 Mbps / 1.36 Mbps (2010-04-14)	1.91 Mbps / 0.92 Mbps (2012-06-15)
Tea service	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Refrigerator	No	No	Yes	Yes	Depends	Yes
Safe	No	No	No	No	No	No

Criteria	Marriot Courtyard – Fishkill
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	No
TV – External video	No
Lounge	Not available
Exercise room	?
Whirlpool	?
Hand shower	No
Complimentary Internet	Yes
Internet speed
Tea service	?
Refrigerator	No
Safe	No

Criteria	Hilton Garden Inn
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	Yes (waffle maker!)
TV – External video	?
Lounge	Not available
Exercise room	Yes
Whirlpool	?
Hand shower	No
Complimentary Internet	Yes
Internet speed	0.54 Mbps / 0.25 Mbps
Tea service	Yes
Refrigerator	Yes (but noisy!)
Microwave	Yes
Safe	No
Heating/Cooling	Thermostat

Criteria	Fairfield Inn
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	Continental
TV – External video	Yes ?
Lounge	Not available
Exercise room	Yes ?
Whirlpool	?
Hand shower	No
Complimentary Internet	Yes
Internet speed	1.45 Mbps / 1.40 Mbps
Tea service	Yes
Refrigerator	Yes (but noisy!)
Microwave	No
Safe	No
Heating/Cooling	Thermostat

Criteria	Marriot Courtyard – RTP	Residence Inn – RTP
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	No	Yes
TV – External video	Yes (Ch 43)	Yes (Input)
Lounge	No	No
Exercise room	Yes	24 hrs
Whirlpool	Yes	?
Hand shower	No	No
Complimentary Internet	Yes	Yes
Internet speed
Tea service	Yes	Yes
Refrigerator	No	Yes
Safe	No	No

Criteria	Hilton Garden Inn
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	Yes 6-10 am
TV – External video	Yes
Lounge	Not available
Exercise room	?
Whirlpool	?
Hand shower	No
Complimentary Internet	Yes
Internet speed	1.02 Mbps / 0.41 Mbps
Tea service	Yes
Refrigerator	Yes
Microwave	Yes
Safe	No
Heating/Cooling	Thermostat

Criteria	Hilton
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	Yes 6.30-11.30 am
TV – External video	?
Lounge	Yes
Exercise room	?
Whirlpool	?
Hand shower	Yes
Complimentary Internet	Yes
Internet speed	19 Mbps / 29 Mbps
Tea service	Yes
Refrigerator	Yes
Microwave	No
Safe	Yes
Heating/Cooling	Thermostat

Criteria	Elysee Palace Hotel	Marriott Riviera
Room design
Room size
Quietness
Breakfast	No	Yes
TV – External video	Yes (Ch 0, flip channels first for VGA)	?
Lounge	No	No
Exercise room	?	Yes
Whirlpool	?	?
Hand shower	Yes	Yes
Complimentary Internet	Yes	Yes
Internet speed
Tea service	Yes	Yes
Refrigerator	Yes	Yes
Microwave	No	No
Safe	Yes	Yes
Heating/Cooling	Thermostat	?

Ise Prefecture, Japan
| Criteria | Ise City Annex | Business Hotel Fuji |
| Room design | | |
| Room size | | |
| Quietness | | |
| Breakfast | No | No |
| TV – External video | Yes (Input for PC) | Yes (Input for PC) |
| Lounge | No | No |
| Exercise room | No | No |
| Whirlpool | No | No |
| Hand shower | Yes | Yes |
| Complimentary Internet | Yes | Yes |
| Internet speed | | |
| Tea service | Yes | Yes |
| Refrigerator | Yes | Yes |
| Microwave | No | No |
| Safe | No | Yes |
| Heating/Cooling | Fan setting | Thermostat | 11 months ago

(This was under create a way to evaluate and compare different things but I’m going to sunset that goal and this goal seems a good place where to keep this information up to date.)

|Provider|Download|Upload|Date|
|Old phone (ATT) @ DFW|0.64 Mb/s|0.03 Mb/s|2010-01-31|
|New phone (ATT) @ home|2.10 Mb/s|1.14 Mb/s|2010-07-03|
|New phone (ATT) @ home|2.79 Mb/s|1.31 Mb/s|2010-12-07|
|New phone (ATT 2G) @ home|0.20 Mb/s|0.30 Mb/s|2012-03-10|
|New phone (Wireless) @ home|4.04 Mb/s|2.53 Mb/s|2010-07-16|
|Comcast @ Mom’s|18.91 Mb/s|3.80 Mb/s|2010-02-13|
|Comcast @ Mom’s Wireless|8.58 Mb/s|4.14 Mb/s|2010-02-13|
|Comcast @ Mom’s|0.81 Mb/s|10.09 Mb/s|2013-04-13|
|Comcast @ Mom’s (wireless)|20.53 Mb/s|11.06 Mb/s|2013-05-06|
|CLT airport free @ Terminal C|18.64 Mb/s|12.28 Mb/s|2010-02-14|
|McD’s free @ Danbury|0.35 Mb/s|0.12 Mb/s|2010-02-14|
|Marriott Courtyard @ Danbury|1.39 Mb/s|0.47 Mb/s|2010-02-15|
|Verizon FIOS @ Home|17.10 Mb/s|4.46 Mb/s|2010-02-20|
|Verizon FIOS @ Home|25.71 Mb/s|4.53 Mb/s|2011-01-17|
|Verizon FIOS @ Home (wireless)|10.10 Mb/s|2.29 Mb/s|2013-01-01|
|Verizon FIOS @ Home (uploads in progress)|20.71 Mb/s|4.66 Mb/s|2013-04-11|
|T-Mobile @ Terminal D AA lounge DFW|17.19 Mb/s|6.89 Mb/s|2010-04-24|
|New phone > Hilton @ Vienna Danube|4.331 Mb/s|2.757 Mb/s|2010-11-14|
|Hilton @ Vienna Danube|0.65 Mb/s|0.27 Mb/s|2011-11-21|
|Hilton @ Vienna Danube|1.03 Mb/s|1.30 Mb/s|2012-01-15|
|Hilton @ Vienna Danube|1.04 Mb/s|0.25 Mb/s|2012-06-23|
|Hilton @ Vienna Danube|1.76 Mb/s|0.26 Mb/s|2012-08-04|
|Hilton @ Vienna Danube (wireless)|24.12 Mb/s|29.90 Mb/s|2013-02-27|
|Hilton @ Vienna Danube (wireless)|44.98 Mb/s|35.79 Mb/s|2013-03-16|
|Ise Terminal Hotel (Freespot)|16.82 Mb/s|13.5 Mb/s|2011-07-10|
|Ise Pearl Pier Hotel|3.22 Mb/s|7.84 Mb/s|2011-07-10|
|Ise City Annex (Green)|12.69 Mb/s|7.98 Mb/s|2011-07-13|
|Nagoya Marriott|0.2 Mb/s|4.18 Mb/s|2011-07-16|
|Marriott @ Wien Messe|0.19 Mb/s|9.3 Mb/s|2011-07-20|
|Marriott @ Wien Messe|2.13 Mb/s|1.87 Mb/s|2012-01-14|
|Marriott @ Wien Messe wired|0.67 Mb/s|1.44 Mb/s|2012-12-05|
|Marriott @ Wien Messe ad hoc|1.26 Mb/s|1.65 Mb/s|2012-12-05|
|Marriott @ Wien Messe wired|54.82 Mb/s|16.18 Mb/s|2013-02-15|
|Marriott @ Wien Messe ad hoc|4.47 Mb/s|0.75 Mb/s|2013-02-15|
|Marriott @ Wien Messe|4.56 Mb/s|5.69 Mb/s|2013-05-21|
|FON @ Minami Ise Hospital|0.63 Mb/s|0.10 Mb/s|2011-09-27|
|Futaba Ryokan (nearby service), Minami Ise|4.51 Mb/s|1.76 Mb/s|2011-09-28|
|Futaba Ryokan (nearby service), Minami Ise|0.89 Mb/s|0.21 Mb/s|2011-10-10|
|Marriott Courtyard @ RTP|0.53 Mb/s|0.22 Mb/s|2012-02-29|
|Residence Inn @ RTP (wireless)|0.80 Mb/s|0.53 Mb/s|2012-03-05|
|Residence Inn @ RTP (wired)|1.64 Mb/s|2.28 Mb/s|2012-03-05|
|Hilton @ Nagoya (wired)|17.96 Mb/s|29.89 Mb/s|2012-04-09|
|Hilton wireless through FON @ Nagoya (phone)|2.75 Mb/s|1.26 Mb/s|2012-04-09|
|Station Hotel Ugata|4.88 Mb/s|0.73 Mb/s|2012-04-10|
|Hilton Garden Inn Danbury (wired)|1.91 Mb/s|0.92 Mb/s|2012-06-15|
|Elysee Palace Hotel|0.22 Mb/s|0.712 Mb/s|2012-09-23|
|Marriott Riviera Hotel de la Porte De Monaco (wired)|14.99 Mb/s|3.45 Mb/s|2012-09-28|
|Nice Airport|4.34 Mb/s|0.25 Mb/s|2012-10-02|
|Ise City Annex Hotel|14.40 Mb/s|8.69 Mb/s|2012-10-11|
|Business Hotel Fuji|3.46 Mb/s|8.45 Mb/s|2012-10-12| 11 months ago

DRINKING MANNERS

Going out to drink with co-workers is considered important in bonding with them. Traditionally, beer is served in bottles but consumed out of glasses, and traditionally, one does not pour one’s own drink (whether beer or sake). If someone pours your drink, you should also remember to pour their drinks. In addition, it is considered polite to hold one’s glass (even with both hands) when someone is pouring your drink (ie, don’t just let your glass sit on the table while it is being filled).

FOOD MANNERS

On food matters, you can lift your bowls of soup or rice when eating if you are at a Japanese-style restaurant. In fact, often, the bowls may be very hot, but the way Japanese bowls are created is with a ridge for the base. So even though the bowl may be hot, this allows you to hold the bowl with your fingers on the bottom ridge and the thumb on the top ridge of the bowl. This is also true for traditional Japanese tea cups.

_{Japanese bowl}

Therefore you can hold the bowl in one hand and your chopsticks in the other hand. Japanese do not use spoons to eat soup at Japanese restaurants. Since they do not use spoons, you then drink the soup. Chopsticks can still be used with soup to eat some of the items in the soup. The exception of this approach is for Japanese noodles in soup where the bowl is too large to hold in one hand. In this case, often a spoon is given.

A couple of other etiquette points about rice: You should not put soy sauce over white rice in the rice bowl. I could speculate why not, anyway, it’s just not done. White rice is kept “pure”. There may be some dishes like curry rice where sauce is poured over the rice, but in this case, this is not serviced in a traditional Japanese rice bowl, but on a plate. Also, it is not good to put your chopsticks sticking in the bowl of rice when you are not eating. This is the way chopsticks are placed in a bowl of rice when offering rice at the altar of someone who has passed away.

Since Japanese rice is sticky, once dried out, individual grains may harden on the inside of the bowl, making it difficult to finish your rice with a clean bowl. The trick is that as long as the rice is moist, the rice will only stick to itself. Therefore, when eating rice, trying to arrange the rice so the remaining rice stays together. Since dry objects stick to the rice, this is also true of the wooden (disposable) chopsticks which are used in many restaurants. One trick here is to use your chopsticks to stir the soup, and then the surface of the chopsticks will be moist and not stick to the rice.

SHOES AND ANYTHING ELSE WHICH TOUCHES THE GROUND

One concept important in Japanese is distinguishing “clean” from “dirty”. This is why shoes are not worn inside the house because they are considered “dirty”. Considering that in a traditional Japanese style room (in a “tatami” room or where the floor is made from straw), people sit on the floor. While these days, people’s houses are more Western-style rooms (with chairs) than Japanese-style rooms, it is common to eat in a Japanese-style room in older homes or traditional Japanese inns. Since you are sitting on the floor, you appreciate it that the floor is clean. And actually, in a Japanese home, you don’t leave your shoes outside. The entry inside the home is still considered “dirty”, and the level of the floor for the rest of the house is higher than that of the entry, so to enter the rest of the house, you have to “step up”. This makes a very clear distinction of what is “clean” and “dirty”. Also, keep in mind that when you take your shoes off, if your socks are now on the “dirty” floor, you’ve made your socks dirty. Japanese people will likely be forgiving for foreigners who have difficulty with the process, but typically, you would want to take off your shoes, stepping out from your shoe directly onto the upper floor so that your socks do not touch the “dirty” lower floor.

_{Japanese entry (“genkan”)}

It is considered rather rare to be invited to a Japanese person’s home, though, as Japanese people tend to be modest and feel their small homes are not the best place to entertain. However, if you go to a traditional Japanese restaurant, a temple, or other places, you may find a need to take off your shoes. The hint is if you see lots of shoes, then people have taken off their shoes. Or if you see slippers on the upper floor, then likely, the slippers are their for the guests to use. The separation between where you need to take off your shoes is always a step up.

By the way, not to be confusing, but not all slippers are for “clean” floors. Just as an example, at a typical Japanese golf course, the locker room floor is considered “dirty” because people wear their shoes and their golf shoes on that floor. However, slippers are provided inside the locker to also wear. This is so when you go to take a bath, you can wear the slippers up to the bathing area and that you don’t have to put on/take off your shoes at the bathing area. At the bathing area (which is like a second locker room area), there is a step up, where you shouldn’t wear your slippers anymore because they are “dirty”. (Of course, the bathing area should be clean.) The hint is that it is a step up to get into the bathing area and that you’ll see all the other slippers left behind on the lower level. Another example is in people’s homes. Since people do not wear shoes inside the house, one always has to put shoes on/take them off when going in and out of the house which may be inconvenient. Therefore, outdoor slippers make it easy to slip them on and take them off. Therefore it is good to not confuse all slippers as indoor slippers. The key is where the slippers are located. If they are located on the “clean” floor, they are indoor slippers. If they are located on the “dirty” floor, they are outdoor slippers.

Finally, the concept of “dirty” and “clean” is not limited to shoes. When you check in the hotel, you should notice at most Japanese hotels, there will be a stand next to the registration desk. This is so you can place your purse, computer bag, etc, on it, and not on the floor since the floor is considered dirty. Some Japanese are pretty shocked at the hotel TV commercials in the US where they show the guests putting their luggage on the beds. The luggage has been on the ground (especially ones with wheels), so many Japanese would never consider putting something “dirty” on the bed. You may notice that at the meeting, many Japanese people may prefer putting their computer bags on a chair rather than on the floor. However, this is only a generalization. You’ll still find cases where they end up putting their computer bags on the floor. Finally, at many restaurants, you’ll find they often make accommodations for personal bags. For example, if you are sitting at a counter, likely, they will have a shelf underneath the counter where you can put your personal bag/purse. I’ve even been at a restaurant where they provided a special “chair” (it looked like a chair but was way too small for someone to sit in it) just for your personal bags.

RESTROOMS AND HANDKERCHIEFS

It may seem odd to give tips regarding restrooms, but…

In Japan, traditionally, many public toilets may not have paper towels or hand dryers to dry your hands. These days, it is becoming more common to find hi-tech hand dryers which really dry your hands, unlike some of the older electric ones here where you attempt to dry your hands and then have to wipe the water off on your pants. Even in office buildings, you may find restrooms without paper towels or electric hand dryers. Just in case you find yourself in such a restroom, traditionally, Japanese people carry their own handkerchief for drying their hands. And it is not just a normal white handkerchief, but many designers come out with stylish handkerchiefs for the purpose of drying your hands.

Since handkerchiefs are used for drying your hands, then you wouldn’t use your handkerchief if you happen to have a runny nose or sneeze. That would be gross then reusing your handkerchief to dry your hands. Because of that, pocket tissues are very popular. In fact, you may see people passing out complimentary pocket tissues (with advertisements, of course) in many public places.

In addition, it’s not too common, but you may find a toilet which does not have toilet paper. That’s usually because there is a vending machine near the entrance for buying toilet paper.

It will not be unusual for you to come across a hi-tech toilet or washlet. I’m sure you can figure out how it works, but just in case you want to be prepared, here is a video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yqet5xIg3k&list=UUIWRU1jtM7TbJC_Pp72vrkQ&index=12&feature=plcp

There are actually quite a few videos if you look up “washlet”. The one in the above video is a higher end model, but one thing to note is that there is a stop button to stop the water.

Finally, the other thing you should be aware is that some public toilets are the “Asian” style squat (where there is no commode on which to sit). The following link describes it a little bit:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2003.html

As mentioned in the above web page, some toilets also have two different directions the handle moves for flushing. One for a full flush (more water) or a smaller flush (less water).

In general, toilets inside people’s houses are more of the “water closet” style which can be found in Europe. That is, the toilet is in a small room alone. If you ever happen to be at someone’s house where you are wearing slippers inside the house (or can be true of other places as well), often there are different slippers for inside the water closet. Since the slippers you are wearing in side the house should be “clean”, to be on the safe side, there are different slippers which are worn inside the water closet. Of course, remember to switch back to the normal slippers outside of the water closet.

JAPANESE-STYLE BATH

If you go to a resort, you may also need to get used to Japanese-style baths. Generally speaking, these can be spa-like atmosphere for taking a bath. In a traditional Japanese-style bathroom, you actually take a shower outside of the bathtub. This is because the bath water inside the tub is supposed very hot and you only enter the bathtub if you are clean because the bathtub water is reused by each family member. Actually, the below articles say you only need to rinse yourself before going into the bath water, then exit the bath water to actually clean yourself (with soap and shampoo). However, I would think it would be more hygienic to wash yourself prior to going into a common bathing area, but apparently there is a reason to only rinsing off first.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2002.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2292_how.html

PHONES

Japan is on a completely different cell phone technology than the rest of the world. However, recently, some 3G signals are compatible with our phones. It may be hit or miss whether your phone works in Japan.

ATMs

Japan is a cash-oriented society, although things are gradually changing. While many places accept credit cards, some places only accept credit cards issued locally from Japanese banks. Therefore, don’t be surprised if your credit card is not accepted. In case you need cash, not all ATMs work with foreign credit cards EITHER… but it is getting easier than in the past. 7-11’s and post offices generally have ATMs which accept foreign credit cards.

If you do find a place which accepts credit cards, you may be asked if you’ll pay one time. That’s because traditionally credit cards in Japan are only a means to not pay by cash, but often are paid in full as soon as you get the bill. In some cases, the charges can be deferred until you get your bonus. For people with foreign credit cards, this does not apply, so it’s okay to say yes.

• Train schedules provided by Hyperdia11 months ago

SUBWAYS

_{Photo from: http://www.kawaiikakkoiisugoi.com/2011/06/14/tokyo-subway-packers-push-people-around/}

Since a station may support both the train and the subway, you have to make sure you have the right ticket for the right transportation. You will need your ticket to get into and out of the gated area, so be sure to pick up your ticket (or prepaid card) on the other side of the gate when the ticket/card is being read by the machine upon entry through the gated area.

The fare amount is based on the distance/stations traveled. When purchasing your ticket, you can confirm the amount it will take to get to a certain destination by the maps located above the ticket machines. (You may need to look somewhere around the ticket machines for a map which is in English.)

If you have a single ticket or prepaid card which does not have enough fare remaining on it, upon exit, the gates will not open. There are machines near the exits which can be used to add more money to your ticket. If it is a single use ticket or the amount remaining on your prepaid card is reduced to 0 by your current trip, then your card will not be returned to you.

Normally, transferring to a different line (with the same subway company) does not require you to exit a ticket gate, but there are exceptions to this rule. In this case, you do not want the ticket gate to take your ticket. You need to exit special gates (marked in orange) so that the machine knows you plan to transfer to another line.

Note: As shown in the above picture, subways can get extremely crowded during rush hour. There have also been problems with women being groped. Due to this, they have introduced special cars which are for women only during rush hour. These generally have some pink sign on the window with the time period that the car is for women only.

Because of the problems with groping, women have often turned someone over to the station police at the next station. There have been cases, whether intentionally or accidentally, an innocent person was turned into the station police, so it’s best to not even risk putting yourself in a position where someone may mistakenly think you are groping. Some cars have been specially reserved for women during rush hour. These cars have a sign on the window, usually in pink.

TRAVELING AROUND TOKYO

I have not done this yet, but if you are in Tokyo for a period of time, even a week, it may be worth getting a prepaid card. A prepaid card has an IC chip which allows you to go through the ticket gate by just holding it close to the IC card reader. Therefore, in theory, you don’t even need to take the card out of your wallet or card holder. If you don’t have enough on your card, you will get the same warning as if you had bought a ticket with insufficient fare. You can recharge your prepaid card at the same machines where you buy tickets. This saves a lot of hassle of having always to wait in line to buy a ticket for every trip, and you don’t have to worry about using the right machine for the right transportation company as the card often works across multiple providers. More information can be found at the following link. As mentioned in the link, there is a 500 yen deposit for the card, which you can get back when you turn your card back in. There is also a 1500 yen initial charge on the card. There is no discount given for using the card, but the savings in time is worth it.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_002.html

As a tip for a shortcut in finding yourself around Tokyo subway, each line on the subway is given a unique letter for identification and each stop is sequentially numbered. Therefore, if you want to go to a particular stop, you only have to remember the letter and the number. For example, Suitengumae station is on the Hanzomon (Z) at stop #10, so you only have to remember Z10 and not Suitengumae on the Hanzomon line. Therefore, when on the subway, it’s also easy to know how many more stops you need to go to get to your desired stop. For example, at Z6, you are only 4 stops away from Z10.

BOWING

Many westernized business men follow Western-style etiquette, so likely, they may just shake hands. In a traditional environment, bowing shows respect and would be appropriate at various times to show respect, like saying hello, good bye, thanking someone, congratulating someone, giving something, receiving something, and of course, apologizing. As mentioned in the following links, the hands are at the side, back is relatively straight, and bend from the waist. For women, polite posture is having your arms extended and hands in front of your body (see video below), so this posture is considered the polite way to bow. You should not mix bowing and shaking hands at the same time, although it’s actually probably not uncommon to do a very informal bow while shaking hands. You may have heard that the length of the bow depends on how much respect you are giving to the other person, so in a traditional environment, it is important to know the rank/position of the other person, because the one who has less rank should bow first, deeper, and end the bow last (and therefore, bow longer).

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KL80CDuEnE

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/etiquetteinjapan/a/bowing.htm

http://www.shitoryu.org/heritage/bowing.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp3HW3EQa6A

Note: You’ll notice from the bowing videos that when bowing, you do not put your hands clasped in front of you, such as when praying. Of course, Japanese people may do this but only in the context of praying (like at a temple or shrine or perhaps prior to eating). Therefore, unlike some other Asian cultures, putting your hands in front in a praying position when bowing is not appropriate when greeting people, saying good bye, etc.

BUSINESS CARDS

Traditionally business cards are important because business cards provide a way to understand the rank/position of the other person plus if there are many new people you are meeting, provide a way to remember people’s names. It would not be unusual for people to lay out the business cards of the people they just met at a meeting in front of them on the table for reference. Since other people’s business cards should be treated with respect, it is not proper to stick them in your wallet and then put your wallet in your back pocket. Business card holders with two sections are good for separating your cards from cards you receive. Business cards are also useful for Japanese people because it can reinforce how to properly read the person’s name (in kanji). That is, there are cases where there may be multiple readings of kanji for someone’s name and/or the person’s name contains unusual kanji. Therefore, when meeting someone, hearing the other person introduce themselves by name and then associating what they heard with the name written on the card helps people properly remember the other person’s name.

Since exchanging business cards is a time to show respect, traditionally, you would hand the business card with two hands over to the other person so that the card is right-side up for the other person (and therefore, upside-down to you). You should bow and hold the bow (in a formal setting) when handing over the card. Similarly, you would bow (and hold the bow) when receiving the card with two hands.

Handing something over right-side up for the other person is not only true for business cards, but anything you are handing out, such as documents.

JAPANESE NAMES

Since Japanese written with the Western alphabet is not the native written language in Japan, using Japanese using the Western alphabet is generally the phonetic spelling of the Japanese word (and names). Therefore, it is relatively simply to properly pronounce Japanese words and names.

The vowels are pronounced like:

a as in father
e as in set
i as in machine
o as in go
u as in rule

There are short vowels and long vowels but this is not to change the sound, but only the duration how long you hold the vowel sound. In general, Japanese words are spoken in beats, so a short vowel would be said in one beat and a long vowel would be said across two beats.

Long vowels can be represented different ways, depending on the representation. A bar might be over the vowel. Or the vowel may simply be represented twice, such as “aa” or “oo”. Again, “oo” is not pronounced like in boot. It is still “o” as in go, but held twice as long. This makes a difference when saying someone’s name like O-no or Oo-no (with the only difference being how long one says the first syllable, not in a real difference in how the name is pronounced). Some variations of the long vowel may also be “ou” for “oo” and also some people prefer “oh” for “oo”. Therefore, the name “Oono” might be spelled “Ohno”. Another example is “Katoo” which you may often see spelled as “Katoh”. “Gotoh” is another example where “oh” is used instead of “oo”. By the way, sometimes they will simply drop the double vowels when spelling a name in the western alphabet as it is typically easier for non-Japanese speakers to get close enough than to confusing with double vowels.

Syllables end in vowels with two exceptions. (1) For the “oh” exception as stated above and (2) the letter n (but sometimes m, depending on the word).

The letter “y” is always treated as a consonant. This means sometimes you might get strange combination of sounds, not found in the English language. Just as an example, “kyo” is pronounced as a single syllable, not “kee-o” (two syllables). Therefore, the “k” and “y” sounds are together prior to the “o” sound (or in other words, add the consonant “k” in front of a “yo” sound). Another odd combination is tsu, but just as you would guess, it is adding a “t” and “s” sound prior to saying “u” (or in other words, add a consonant “t” sound in front of “su” sound).

Using the above rules, it’s then “easy” to properly pronounce words and names.

For example:
Kyoto is actually Kyooto if we use the proper rules, and pronounced like “Kyoo to” (keeping in mind that “o” is always like in “go”)
Tokyo is actually Tookyoo -> Too-kyoo
Abe -> A-be
Takasuka -> Ta-ka-su-ka
Uchida -> U-chi-da
Onitsuka -> O-ni-tsu-ka
Hirose -> Hi-ro-se
Shinichi -> technically speaking, this one COULD be interpreted as Shin-i-chi or Shi-ni-chi. It is actually the former Shin-i-chi.
Konnichiwa (“Hello”) -> Kon-ni-chi-wa (not “ko-ni-chi-wa”)

As mentioned above, the Western alphabet is not the form used for the native written language in Japan. There are actually 3 different writing systems/alphabets. The first one is kanji, which is also known as Chinese characters since the characters came from China. These are the complex characters where a symbol or combination of symbols may represent a word. The other two writing systems (hiragana and katakana) are phonetic. In theory, everything can be written phonetically, but for people who know kanji, a combination of kanji and hiragana/katakana is more efficient for reading and writing.

“-SAN”

I won’t get into language here, but when one studies Japanese, one can see that the language itself shows that respect is an important part of the Japanese culture. Being humble is an equally important part of the language and culture. As you may know, “-san” at the end of the name is a term of respect. Because it is a term of respect, one would never use “-san” at the end of one’s own name.

As an interesting note, since “-san” is a term of respect, it can also be used on company names. Again, in terms of being humble, you would not use it for your own company.

The ending “-sama” is used for even more respect. The ending “-kun” is used for younger people in the office (or your group) who have lower rank than you, also used when referring to boys. The ending “-chan” is often used when referring to children, especially girls, usually in an affectionate way. Since “-chan” is used in terms of being affectionate, it can also be used for family members, like “okaachan” (mom), “ojichan” (uncle), “ojiichan” (grandpa), “oneechan” (older sister), etc. Note that other affectionate terms may be used as well for family members.

Since humility is an important part of the culture, if you offer something to someone, it is possible they will decline at first. You may have to insist many times to get them to accept something.

Also, if they don’t want something, it may be considered too direct to tell you “no”. You may have heard infamous stories about the Japanese not saying “no” directly.

COMPLIMENTS

An important part of Japanese culture is appreciation. However, when conversing with someone who is higher level, praise may come across in the wrong way. That is, if you tell a higher-level executive they they are doing a good job, it may come across like you are judging/evaluating their work. Instead, it would be more appropriate to express “I appreciate your support.” A commonly used Japanese phrase translates into something like: “I learned a lot from you/your lecture/how you managed…”

...to be continued 12 months ago

I am second generation Japanese (nisei) meaning that I was born in the US to Japanese parents. I grew up in the US, meaning that I did not grow up in Japan. In fact, my first trip to Japan was when I was an adult. Thus, I am not an expert on all things Japanese. The following are some general observations I have made or read about Japan. Much of the following may be just my interpretation. Don’t treat it as gospel. And of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. Young people especially seem to be moving away from the traditional way of life. Also, many companies are international companies following the culture and ways of their co-workers in the US and other countries.

JAPAN – ARRIVING AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

LANDING CARD (Disembarkation/embarkation card)

On the flight to Japan, you will receive a card to fill out for your arrival in Japan. Be sure to fill out both front and back. The disembarkation portion (right side) is for the information about your arrival into Japan. They want the address of the hotel, so be sure to have that with you. The embarkation portion is for the information about your departure from Japan.

1. You may notice two lines for your name. The top line is only if you are Japanese and have a name in Kanji. Assuming you don’t, just leave that line blank and fill out your name as normal below the top line.
2. Be sure to fill out the front and back.

ARRIVAL AT NARITA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

When you arrive in Tokyo, the largest international airport serving Tokyo is Narita. However, Narita is 60+ minutes by express train to Tokyo, so it is quite a distance. They have now started to serve international flights out of Haneda Airport which is within Tokyo itself. Assuming you arrive in Narita, the most common way to get to one of the Tokyo hotels is by “Airport Limousine”. However, it is NOT a limousine, only the name of the company (technically, Airport Limousine Bus). It looks just like a normal bus. When you pass customs, you’ll cross the arrival lobby and the bus counters are on the opposite side of the lobby.

1. Look for the orange “Airport Limousine Bus” counter. You tell them which hotel you are going to and they’ll give you a ticket for the next bus and they’ll tell you which bus stop (#) it is.
2. You then walk outside to the curb and find the right bus stop. Note that there are many buses coming and going from each stop, not just one bus, so you don’t want to get on the wrong bus even though you are at the right stop. There will be people from Airport Limousine at each stop, so anyway, they will make sure you and your luggage get on the right bus.
3. There will also be an electronic sign which indicates the time of the next bus and its destination. They’ll have multiple lines (you’ll see the lines marked on the ground). The line closest to the curb is for the next bus. The next line out is for the bus after that and so on. When the bus arrives and people board, the people who were waiting in the next line out then move to the line which is closest to the curb.
4. I believe they’ll only take your luggage when your bus is next. They’ll give you a claim ticket for each piece which they put in the underneath luggage compartment. You NEED your claim tickets to pick up your luggage when you get off the bus, so be sure to have them in a handy place.
5. Each bus will stop at multiple hotels, so be sure you know which hotel they are stopping for before getting off the bus. At a five-star hotel, most likely there may be someone from the hotel to greet the bus and take care of the luggage once you have claimed it. You’ll likely be given another claim tag in such a case. Or if they greet you individually, I suppose they’ll remember who you are and which luggage is yours.
6. If you’re not staying at a major hotel, you may have to walk from where the bus leaves you or you can take a taxi from there. However, most city taxis are normally not used for people traveling with large suitcases.

• A round trip ticket is slightly cheaper than two one-way tickets. I presume you’ll need to make a reservation on the return trip so they know when buses are full.
• At major hotels where the bus stops, you can bill the return ticket (assuming you didn’t buy a round trip upfront) to your room. Making a reservation ahead of time is recommended to make sure you can able to board the bus most convenient to your departure time.

TIPPING

Tipping is not necessary in Japan. Not at the hotel, not a restaurants, or anywhere else. The exception may be taxis where you may round up if you want.

TAXIS

Since Narita is so far away from Tokyo, a taxi is not practical (cost-wise). However, in Tokyo, subways and trains are very common form of transportation, but taxis are also commonly used. The proper way to enter the taxi is always from the side closest to the curb. The taxi driver has a lever which remotely opens the backseat passenger-side door. Similar for getting out of the taxi, the taxi driver will open the door for you. This is because he should be keeping an eye on bicycles and even scooters which may try to pass on the passenger side. Similarly, the taxi driver will close the door after you get out, so the general rule is that you never have to touch the door when getting into or out of taxis.

Note that in Japan, they drive on the same side of the road as England, so opposite of US and rest of Europe. This is important to remember when looking both ways to cross a street. This also means that people tend to walk on the left side when passing by someone. In addition, this tends to mean that on escalators, people stand on the left side of the escalator, so people who are in a hurry can pass on the right.

By the way, as many people use bicycles as a form of transportation, be careful when walking down the sidewalk. There may be a bicycle coming up behind you and a sudden move may put you in its path.

...to be continued. 12 months ago