Hi, I just wanted to let you guys know that i will be doing a month roadtrip in a small campervan across japan for the entire month of august, wish me luck. Any tips on how to maximize this once in a lifetime expierence will be greatly appreciated, since the only thing i've taken care of is a van to sleep and drive in.I've never done this and always used to be a alcoholic city boi.
>>2743839>japan for the entire month of augustIt's like +39'c in Japan in August, my dude. Can you handle heat?
>>2743839but a steam deck or an ipad or something then download a lot of comic book PDFs.
>>2743899I think so, i'll just go and try to swim alot, not be in the van during the day.
>Augustgross. go to hokkaido, watch out for bears.>>2744081even nighttime sucks, I hope you can run the AC at night. if not install some bug nets so you can open the windows and maybe doors at least. and get a fan
>>2743839If you're not east asian, be prepared for a whole lot of racism and make sure you always have cash on hand. Foreign credit cards generally aren't accepted at all, and even if you have a JCB card, some japs will just radomly decline it. When I was living in JP, there were a few occasions where I was told that there "was no way a white could have a japanese card" and that I probably stole it.If you're planning to camp out, be sure to bring a lot of water. The japs dump most of their trash in the mountains, so you probably don't want to drink surface water even if you have a filter. If you're near american bases, you also have to worry about them poisoning the ground water - allegedly, they don't do it on purpose, but at least in okinawa, it's telling how they have their ordnance disposal / explosive training grounds right above the water reservoirs, and then act all surprised when toxic substances from fire extinguishers are found in the drinking water all the time.Also, the obvious thing: if you don't know japanese perfectly, bring a translator app. Japs will speak to you in Japanese - if you're not speaking Japanese. At least in my experience, if you speak Japanese, many of them will immediately switch to local accents (or ryuukyuu in OKA) and pretend they can't understand you. Not sure why they do that, but bringing out a translator is the only sure way I figured out to get around it. The most annoying thing is that you don't realize it, unless you have a japanese aquaintance with you.>>2743899>It's like +39'c in Japan in AugustThat's bullshit. Even Okinawa rarely goes over 35°C, and generally stays aroudn 28-30°C. Src: Lived there for two years.
>>2744136Well, that's a red pill. I grew up naive and sheltered. I didn't really appreciate the extent to which groups, ethnic and others, are so closed and hateful.
>>2744136>bullshitpicrel days above 40'c
>>2744146>giving temperatures without giving locationReally have to stop myself from making jokes about burger education right now...You might get temperatures like that in the middle of a megacity where there's only concrete around, maybe? but not anywhere in the country side. Japan has a heavily maritime climate, with the sea buffering temperature changes. As I wrote before, not even Okinawa gets 40°C, except maybe in central Naha somewhere. And that's all the way to the south.
>>2744139There are racist assholes in every country but there are also some really nice folks. I studied in Japan for a semester back in undergrad, then went back with my wife last year on honeymoon. Met some of the friendliest and most hospitable folks. In Tokyo a dude came up to us an apropos of nothing gave us a huge bag of these thin cookies with kanji on them (think fortune cookies but flat and with no paper). He just asked "Amerika-jin desu ka? Tourists?" And when we said yes he was like "Good! Have these."Same thing happened in Okinawa. An old lady came up to us at a (mostly) empty beach and gave us a coke and another gentleman gave us a big pack of Hi-Chew. All of them refused any offered gifts in return and just insisted we enjoy our visit. I found that a little Japanese goes a long way in making friends (especially in tourist-frequented spots), but it does get trickier as you get to more rural areas. >>2744136 was right about having cash on hand for local joints, but at this point most 7-11's and FamilyMarts can handle Visa or MasterCard.If you can, I'd suggest you bring some novelties from your hometown (magnets or snowglobes or any kind of small snack your area might be known for) to offer. Travel gifts are still a thing in Japan. As are business cards.
>>2744163> Really have to stop myself from making jokes about burger education right now...Not who you are replying to but it’s so awesome to live rent free in so much of the world’s head.
>>2743839>I've never done this and always used to be a alcoholic city boi.good on you for beating the alcoholism, unfortunately japan has a massive drinking culture hahahat. former alcoholic too, i still drink sometimes but i don't NEED to, you know?I'd strongly suggest you bring some tools to repair the van, jumper cables, spare tire, spanners, that sort of thing, start learning basic japanese too.
>>274383912v power and convenience.dont rely on charging shit, running a cooler or whatever from the standard plugs in your car, you will end up pissed at how inconvenient it is or end up with a flat battery in the morning.get some kind of standalone battery or power system you can use all night and charge while driving without draining the starter battery.dont stack things on top of each other, definetly not things you use all the time.you might think so now that to cook a meal its ok to move some shit out of the way, but once you do so 4 times a day it becomes extremely tiresome. you wouldnt accept having to store shoes on your dining table or car parts on your toilet and having to move them away and back again every time you need to use it while living at home. you definetly dont want to while living in a van.
>>2744527It was hard but every time i go into nature i realize why it's better to just not drink, and get up early to enjoy life without a hangover. the car will be new and a rental so i think i shouldn't worry to much about repairs. I will bring a translator tool with me to make things more convenient i know it will be an epic expierence that i will remember for the rest of my life.
>>2744575>it will be an epic expierence that i will remember for the rest of my life.fuck. yeah. i am so fucking excited for you, got a nice little trip planned next weekend myself, just got back from 8 days out up mountains and stuff but i need MORE!i am told japanese camp sites are very good. look into the laws and customs regarding wild camping, they have bears in some places.
>>2744634Thank you, anon. I'm buying bear spray just in case I get confronted by one, maybe a big knife aswell, especially since it's breeding season. I don't want to take any chances. The rental company has provided me with a map of all the campsites, onsens, and cool must see places to visit. Very exciting.
>>2744634>>2745306This got posted 4 hours ago.
>>2744575Where are you renting it from?Going there in November and wouldn't mind getting around into nature
>>2744421yeah i dont know what's with all the yapping about racist japanese, they have always been really nice to me, way nicer than people in any other countrymy guess is that clueless americans think they can go to japan and pretend to be locals because they know elementary japanese and get culture shocked
>>2744146these are holidays, sir.
