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LaLa Garden and Sansuitei Restaurant Tsukuba

September 30, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

Today I spent the day exploring more of Tsukuba. I started the day off by going to the LaLa Garden. Don't be confused (as I was) that this is an actual garden. It's actually a shopping mall.

The neat thing about this shopping mall (along with the Q T mall and maybe other malls in Japan?!?) is that this is an outdoor-indoor mall. Meaning the walkways between shops are all outdoor (or mainly outdoor) while the shops themselves are indoor. It's basically like a stripmall without the MASSIVE department stores.

After that I headed to the Tsukuba Expo and planetarium. The planetarium was sorta funny because it's basically a giant movie but only featured in Japanese... which makes sense really because why would we have a movie in Japanese in Canada?

Then that night we headed to Sansuitei for a banquet for Lindsay's conference. It was a more of a reception then a banquet because everyone stood around and ate. However, the food was delicious with sashimi, prawns and other pickled stuff to name a few things.

After dinner we headed to the Pink Panther and played some video games. I took a little movie of a guy playing the equivalent of rock bank drums ... I caught probably the slowest part of the game too! It was seriously crazy how fast his arms were moving!

Tomorrow I'm off to Akibahara to explore electric Tokyo should be exciting!

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Seiku, Sato, Omelettes and Matsumi Park in Tsukuba Japan

September 29, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

Today we wandered around Tsukuba without much of a plan. The original idea was to have some lunch and then head to the Tsukuba Expo, however, once arriving it was closed. Oh well, we still had a great day!

The day started off by going to the Omelette restaurant in the Q-t Mall for lunch. It was a nice little place serving all kinds of omelette stuff. I ordered an omelette (stuffed with rice?!?!) and with some potatoes and chicken on the top. Lindsay ordered a rice curry thing, although, it looked a lot more like an eggplant sauce thing. Anyway, we ended up trading as Lindsay couldn't handle the Curry dish and I thought it was quite tasty!  It ended up being rather expensive, compared to the delicious Italian food the day before. Overall, it was just alright and I don't think I'd be rushing to return.

We then headed to the Tsukuba Expo which was closed.  Oh well, we made the best of it by walking around the University of Tsukuba. We went neat Matsumi Park which has a little lake (more of a lagoon). At the end of the lake there is this REALLY tall tower made out of concrete with an observation platform at the top. It's 10 flights tall and is really quite something considering it's right at the end of the lagoon.

Anyway, we headed up the tower, which cost a whole 100 yen! Once at the top we were able to get a nice view of the city. Well, actually, it would have been a nice view had it not been a really rainy day, but it was still well worth the dollar! lol.  Here's a view from the top of the tower looking at the Expo (the big dome looking thing)

After that we went to the Seibu Mall and walked around. Seibu seemed a lot like a gigantic Sears or Bay. they had everything (it seemed) ranging in prices from really expensive to super cheap. I was able to buy 2 pairs of pants and a hat for basically $27. Very sweet! In fact, I think I might go back and buy another hat or two because they were so cheap and cool!

For dinner we headed to Japanese Restaurant Sato.  This was what we had pictured as a traditional japanese restaurant.  We ordered a couple of bento box type of things that involved all kinds of neat things to sample.  I had a rice, fish, pickled zucchini dish and it was quite good!

The funny thing about the restaurant was the fact there was no numbers on the menu just symbols.  This led to a bit of confusing trying to figure out the prices...  Alas, we had our handy-dandy translator books and deciphered the cost of the food.   Funny trying to not only figure out what the pictures meant but also the prices!


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Exploring Tsukuba

September 28, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

Today was the first full day in Tsukuba, of course, I like to call it Skuba, but that's just me. Anyway, today we spent the day basically wandering around seeing and exploring.

Italian Restaurant

We wandered around lots of Tsukuba looking for a convenience store located on our not-so-accurate map. While wandering around we found a Italian restaurant that we checked out. Note that the only way we knew it was an Italian restaurant was the fact that there was a Green, White and Red flag outside, otherwise it could have been a refridgerator shop to us for all we knew.

Anyway, once inside realize we were very under-dressed and ill-prepared to eat in a fancier Japanese restaurant. Too late now. We pulled out the handy-dandy Japenese-english translator book and asked, "What do you recommend". The waitress pointed to some random symbols and we said, "Ni" which means two.

What a great lunch! It was two very delicious fresh greens salad. As an appertizer (or appertif) they served persuito and grapefruit, some beef and green onion thing and a bruchetta. As a main course we had prawn and pesto fettucini, which was delicious. In fact, we even looked up the word delicious in the translator to tell them it was delicious.

University of Tsukuba Dance Team

The other thing that we stumbled upon was the University of Tsukuba dance team. They had a show outside of the Days City complex. It was totally impromptu thing and we couldn't understand a thing they were saying but was pretty fun to watch. I even took a video of it so take a look.

Sushi Dinner

Finally, we figued that we'd been in Japan for a whole 24 hours and it was about time for some Sushi. So, we went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of sushi from the store. It was soooo cheap and actually not bad, unlike the more expensive less tasty stuff that we have in Canada. The best part, suprisingly, was the sushi maki rolls... yum!

Besides those highlights we also made it to the Tsukuba Expo Center (which we're going to go to another day), the Q-t (giant fashion mall) and the international conference center (where the conference is happening). More tomorrow!


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18+ Hours And Finally in Japan!

September 27, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

It's official, we're in Japan.

The best way to describe it right now is .... WOW! (or should I say Crazy).

On the plane over my stereo system was broken so I couldn't watch the movie. Luckily, Lindsay shared her headphone so we were able to listen to half of Iron Man. Good flick, although, I'm sure it's a much better movie when you don't have one headphone in and people are walking in front of the screen all the time... just a guess though. lol. The good thing about the broken sound was that the crew gave us a coupon for something... not exactly sure what the coupon is good for exactly. However, we have a code to input in Air Canada!?

On a side note: Who doesn't love airplane food? Not sure exactly why but I love airplane food. I think it's a matter of having nothing better to do.

When we arrived in the airport we took a bus (number 8) just outside the terminal to Tsukuba center. We'll be here for the next 4 nights and it should be exciting. So far we've gone for food twice and we're getting better at ordering in the language. But reading anything is basically a write off.

Now we're off to the Expo here in Tsukuba a better post with more pictures is to come.

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Japan in T-minus 3 days - Finalizing Plans!

September 22, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

Japan here we come!  In T-minus three days we'll be in the air flying over to the land of unknown. We're really looking forward to the trip and it should be an amazing experience.

We arrive at the Narita International Airport and will make our way to Tsukuba in the Ikibata Prefecture which is approximately 45 minutes outside of Tokyo.   We'll spend the first 5 nights there as Lindsay will be at a conference and I'll tour around Tsukuba during that time.  After Tsukuba we'll be heading south (or west).  We'll make stops at Mt Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi.

A note about the blog

I'll do my very best to update the blog often.  I'm hoping to get at least a post a day so stay tuned and I hope to have lots of great information for everyone. We've also updated our camera, camera storage, camera battery and everything camera related so hopefully we'll bring home some good shots!

If you have any comments of where we should go, see or do, then please leave a comment.

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Words To Learn Before Traveling Abroad

September 17, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

Have you ever been sitting in a coffee house (Tim Hortons or wherever) and the other table is speaking another language. You start listening in and determine that you have no idea what they're saying? Now imaging having a whole week, two weeks, month or longer surrounded by that same feeling.

My first experience in a non-native English speaking country was in Switzerland. Luckily I speak French and was able to get by in the Western part of the country. Unfortunately I wanted to visit Zurich (Switzerland), Austria and Germany so I was going to be surrounded by a different language. I was not prepared for this experience at all and didn't have any German language skills before leaving Canada. In fact, I bought a German translation book while in Austria killing time before my train left.

The point of this story is that learning some key words prior to leaving will really help you communicate and make a way more enjoyable experience.  This also helps you not to look like such a "Grunt and Point Monkey" when ordering...

One other key point to remember is that you probably won't understand the answer to a question if you ask it.  Therefore, it's REALLY important to ask questions where you'll understand the answer.  You can usually get people to point you in the correct direction so try gesturing so that they know you want them to point.

Below is a list of useful phrases that I think you should try to learn before arriving. Because we're headed to Japan I've put the Japanese Translation in the brackets (excuse the spelling!). I already know all these words and phrases and am starting to 'branch' out to

  • Yes / No (Hai / I e)
  • Please (O Kudasai)
  • Thank You (Arrigato)
  • Your Welcome (Do Ishite Mashite)
  • Hello (Konnichiwa)
  • Goodbye (Sayannora)
  • Excuse Me (Sumimasen)
  • Help (tasukete)
  • Where is the bathroom? (Toire wa doko desu ka)
  • Where is .... (wa doko desu ka)
  • How much ... (ikura desu ka)
  • I don't understand (Watashi Wa Wakarimasen)
  • Do you speak/understand English? (eego ga wakarimas ka?)
  • Counting to 10 (at least)! (Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, nana, hatchi, ku, ju, ...)

One last thing that would be important to know prior to leaving is the bathroom signs.  It's important to know what the custom symbol is for male and female in the country you are going.  This is especially important in Asian countries where they're will be a symbol rather then a word.

As always there are probably another 100 words and phrases you could learn before leaving. However, you need to make sure that you have some words down correctly. Like I mentioned in my last language post using YouTube to learn what the language sounds like is a very key to helping you understand better.

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Watching Your Money Correctly When Abroad

September 9, 2008 by Jeff · 1 Comment 

In my last post I discussed things that you need to consider money-wise before leaving on your trip. This included having enough cash for the first few days, looking into credit cards and NOT taking travelers checks.

Today I'll discuss other things that you should consider money-wise prior to leaving on your trip. These are things that although don't seem important can actually save you hassle, stress and even money!

Study the Currency Before Leaving

Obviously before leaving on your trip you'll have a bit of the other countries currency. A great tip is to study that money before leaving. Determine what the 5, 10 and 20 dollar (or other currency) bills look like. This will ensure that when you think you should get 25 back you actually get 25 and not 15. It's very easy for someone in another country to try and give you the improper change because you don't know the language.

Pay where you can see numbers to ensure correct change

Eagle Creek Undercover Silk Money Belt
Another great tip to ensure you get the correct change is to try and see the cashier when paying. Seeing the numbers usually make a lot more sense to people then some foreign language numbers where you might not even know how to count to 25.

Converting to your currency correctly

When paying for things like souvenirs most people like to compare these prices to the price that they'd pay at home. A good thing to get used to is converting to your home currency easily. When traveling to Japan I know that 100 yen is approximately 1 dollar Canadian. Do I care that it's actually less then a dollar? NO! I just want an approximate number. Same goes for going to Europe. The EU dollar is approximately 1 to every $2 Canadian. It's not perfect but it's easy to convert and that's the key because you don't want to be trying to figure out some complex math that you'll need a calculator!

Exchange / Withdrawal larger sums of money

When going to the bank or bank machine take out larger amounts of money. You'll often be charged a bank access fee when taking out money. Therefore, it's much wiser to take out a larger sum of money to avoid having to get charged the bank access fee multiple times. Simple tip but can save you a bit of money.

Get A Money Belt

All Terrain Money Belt

Finally, get yourself a money belt and wear it around. This is very important in places where tourist are preyed upon for money. You can simply place your passport, valuables and cash in the money belt and have it under your pants hidden from everyone. Once in public NEVER go inside it for any reason as this will alert everyone that you're wearing a belt that contains a good amount of money.
So what have I missed in terms of traveling to a different country (abroad) with money? Are there anythings that you do prior to traveling to prepare yourself? Let us know if you do and leave a comment!

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Preparations For Money in Different Countries

September 8, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

Before traveling abroad you must prepare to use a different currency. Although, this doesn't sound like a complicated task consider that you'll be in a different location with different customs, language and money. All these things combined can really throw you off. Here are some different money options that you should consider prior to leaving on your trip. In my next article I'll discuss ways to ensure you're not overpaying, getting ripped off and getting by better.

Cash

Make sure before leaving that you get enough cash for the first 2-3 days minimum. You should have a rough idea of the costs because of the books you've taken out from the library. It is HIGHLY recommended you change your money at a bank as you won't get dinged (as bad) from the conversion fees.
World Currencies

If you're Canadian and have AMA then you can get any currency at your local AMA office free of charge. This means you won't have to pay any conversion fees! This can save you a bit of money before your trip!

Visa / Mastercard / American Express

Credit Cards are taken in most countries and places (according to the credit card commercials). However, be aware that although places accept credit cards they often don't like taking them. When I was in Switzerland trying to pay at a restaurant I saw the Credit Card machine on the counter. However, they wouldn't accept my credit card (Visa or Mastercard). Upon speaking to some Swiss friends they mentioned that most business don't like taking them because of the fees that the Credit Card companies charge the business.

Travelers Checks

Travelers checks use to be a great way to travel. However, because of scam artists travelers checks are starting to go away. Travelers checks are great because if you ever lose or have a check stolen you can simply call and get it replaced.

Travelers checks are still taken in most major tourist destinations and usually at the hotel you're staying at. However, be aware that these might not be taken. It's always good to be prepared for this situation.

Banks / Bank Machine

The final source of money is through a bank or bank machine. Be sure to contact your local bank branch to confirm that your debit card will actually work while you're abroad.

In my next post I'll give you some tips and tricks to make sure you are watching your money correctly.

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Learning A New Language

September 8, 2008 by Jeff · 1 Comment 

Obviously one of the concerns before traveling anywhere is knowing the language. Here's a great tip and how we're learning how to speak a little, emphasis on little, prior to leaving.

YouTube.com

YouTube is an amazing resource for learning almost any language. Before leaving on your trip you can simply go to YouTube and type in "Learn YYY" or "Beginner Learn YYY". You will probably get a ton of different video options. For example "Learn Japanese" results in 5350 videos and "beginner learn Japenese" gets 106 videos.

The other great thing about this is you can get an 'ear' for the langauge prior to leaving. If you've never heard the language spoken correctly this is a great way to get your ear to adapt to the sound quicker.

Here are a couple videos that we've been using. The first is how to say "Good Morning" in Japanese and the second is a conversation in Japanese.


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Prepare For Your Trip Like a Pro!

September 6, 2008 by Jeff · Leave a Comment 

Although, traveling to Japan for 20 days isn't considered an extended period of time. I thought I'd share

some tips, thoughts and recommendations on traveling when you are leaving for an extended period of time. These tips are based on experiences that we've had from traveling for extended periods of time (more then 2 weeks).

Hopefully these tips will ensure that you have a stress free and more relaxing trip not worrying about things 'at home'.

House

  • Have someone check in or live in your house. Make sure they know to check around the house looking for anything strange. As well, they should always check on the hot water tank and furnace.
  • Have someone bring in the mail and newspapers. Nothing alerts people your gone faster then a build up of papers.
  • Many house insurance companies have a clause that someone must enter your house every 4 days (or something like that). Check your insurance forms to ensure that you'll be compliant with the insurance policies.

Electrical in the House

  • Make sure that you unplug everything unnecessary and electrical in your house. I'm an electrical engineer and I know the chances of an electrical fire are low and maybe call me paranoid. However, I always unplug everything! The only thing I leave plugged in is a lamp that would turn off and on (and/or a radio). Comptuers, toasters, coffee maker, vhs, tv, etc.... Reduce the risk of anything happening.

Bills

Are all your bills going to be paid while you're gone? Make sure you either have a pre-paid bill payment or automatic bill payment setup. This includes car payments, insurance payments, utility, internet, phone, etc....

Money

Do you have enough money in the bank or room on your credit card? Make sure that you have a source of cash available to you if you need to get out of a bind.

Email List or Blog

Many people like to email or blog while on their trip. Make sure you have your email list setup so that you can access it easily and you don't have to add names one by one. Similarly, make sure you have your blog setup so that you can post to it easily (or email to it). In the next post I'll discuss how to setup a blog for travel.

Contact Information

Remember that you should always leave your contact information with a few close friends or family. You should leave the places you are traveling (or planning on traveling), the places your staying, the dates, health information, insurance information and passport numbers. These things are all necessary in case anything is stolen or lost (which hopefully doesn't happen).

Remember the more prepared you are before you leave the less likely you'll have any sort of problems while your gone.

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