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Welcome! Where are you planning to go when you visit?
You know, someone else from DC just signed up this week too – maybe you can be study buddies. =)
In the first sentence, this is が as “but” (rather than the subject particle が). “I listen to classical music, but I don’t listen to jazz.”
For the second sentence, I have to admit I’m not completely sure why there are two がs. It could be that Michael is someone who is not known to the listener, so the subject needs to be introduced into the conversation before it can become a topic. Or this sentence is a subordinate clause embedded in another sentence. AはBがC is a standard construct…
No, if you’re after a JR Pass, you have to get it before you leave your home country – it’s not sold in Japan. You CAN get Suica cards and similar over there, though.
There’s many things I wish I’d known before I went, though mostly they’re the locations of interesting tourist attractions that I’d passed within ten metres of without knowing they even existed. =) It also would have been useful to have known about Hyperdia too – could have saved us a whole lot of stress (and money) on our first night there. Um… wear slip-on shoes?
I went for two weeks way back in 2010. Never went north of Tokyo (but there’s several things up there on my Things To Do When I Finally Visit Japan Again list). What sort of tips were you after? Language or signtseeing?
Welcome! Congrats! Certainly the various aisatsu (greetings and farewells) and other niceties would be a good place to start. =)
So, when are you actually going, precisely?
Oh, I’ve got a huge list of things I want to do when I’m finally able to visit again. =)
Kyoto, Nara, Koya-san and Miyajima are all worth visiting. Himeji Castle is Japan’s largest remaining original castle, and it just finished a huge refurbishment a year ago (it had just started when I was there, so I couldn’t go in the main keep). Matsumoto Castle is the oldest original castle. If you go in summer and like a good hike, you can try climbing Mount Fuji – if that’s too much effort, you could try Takao-san instead. If you’re a Ghibli fan, you should visit the Ghibli Museum, though you were probably planning that already. If you want to see photos of my trip, I’ve made a digital scrapbook and uploaded the pages to Facebook – think you can still view them without friending me. Linky.
Other places on my list which I haven’t actually visited yet: Yamadera (Yamagata Prefecture), Yanaka, Onomichi, Takehara, the Nakasendo, Yanagawa, et cetera and so forth.
As for avoiding incidents, I didn’t really have anything. I will admit I found Osaka Castle a little disappointing, though (it’s a castle-shaped museum rather than an actual castle). Also note that staying one night in a place is basically the same as zero days, so stay more than one night per place. =)
If you’re doing lots of long-distance travel, it’s worth getting a Japan Rail Pass. Gives you free travel on all JR trains except the fastest Shinkansen, but it also gives you so much peace of mind. It did me, in any case. A trip from Tokyo to Osaka and back will almost cover the cost of a seven-day pass all on its own, but it’s certainly worth checking how much your intended travel will cost you (use Hyperdia). It’s also worth getting a Suica card. When I was there, JR had a deal where you could get a ticket for the Narita Express and they’d give you a Suica card as well, though I’m not entirely sure if that offer is still around.
Basically the deal was that I thought I’d missed the last train for the night, but it turns out the trains on that line just terminate at the previous station after a certain time of night – all I had to do was catch a different train back one stop, and I would have been fine. Since I didn’t stop to ask for directions (and couldn’t make out what they were saying over the PA), my initial misconception never got corrected, so we headed for the taxi rank instead…
Alternately, I could also have avoided it if I’d known about Hyperdia at the time – it’s the answer to all your train timetabling questions. =)
Anyway, the point is the phrasebook can help me to ask questions, but can’t help me to understand the answers. =P
Welcome! While it’s true that you don’t need Japanese as a tourist, it most certainly would help. I managed a two-week holiday with just a phrasebook and charades, but if I’d been able to understand Japanese (or at least had the courage to actually use the phrasebook) I probably would have avoided spending ten thousand yen on a taxi on the first night…
Welcome! I’ve done a fair bit of tutoring myself – volunteer work only, though – so I’ve got the same offer for you: if you’ve got any questions, feel free to shoot them this way. =P
Speaking of kinks, though, it’s こんにちは. =)
As for kanji, WaniKani basically replaces the kanji section of TexuFugu (though not the grammar lessons). I probably ought to spend more time in WaniKani (been ages since I did any actual kanji study) but every time I catch sight of the WaniKani subscription costs…
No problem. That’s what I’m here for. =)
Well, the mnemonic is intended to help you remember the radical (and the meaning). If they’re not working for you, then feel free to come up with your own. The best method is the method that works best for you – if Koichi’s method isn’t working, then toss it out.
You can toss the meanings too, if you’d like. The radicals have “meaning” only because they come from other kanji which each have their own meanings. For example, the left hand side of 校 is 木, which means “tree”, but only because the kanji 木 itself means “tree”. Some radicals do tend to lend their meaning to kanji that they’re in – for example, kanji containing 水 or the radical that Koichi calls “tsunami” (but which is actually just a compressed, radical version of 水) tend to have meanings relating to water or liquids (水 = water).
For that matter, Koichi has just invented some of the “meanings” out of whole cloth. The radical that he calls “fish tail” is actually the compressed radical version of 火 = fire.
In summary: the meanings and mnemonics are just a stepping stone to help you learn the radicals, which in turn are just a stepping stone to help you learn the kanji. If the stepping stone isn’t working for you, come up with another. =)
I don’t really have Skype or Line, but I’m happy to help here if I can. What precisely is the issue?
Think waiting patiently is all you can do, really. Maybe your account managed to wander into the wrong category, so it’s not showing as subscribed any more. Koichi will be able to help best.
It’s not a bother at all. Ask all the questions you like. =)
