Just hurt my wallet

Thanks (got to love OCUK sometimes) I would love as much as you can give me mate (mail in trust) All the above is very useful information and i will show my girlfriend what she needs to see :)

Yeah the rail system is something that i am worried about. It looks very complex but im sure once we are there and use a little but of logic we will work it out.

The language thing is something im trying to sort as we speak, looking for little guide books etc and will try and learn as much of the basics as possible before i go.

I'll try and sort something out over the next couple of days and mail you.

The rail system ... don't worry to much about it. Within Tokyo it looks nigthmarish but it is actually very simple to use once you understand it. Signs are easy to follow (and tend to have information in English as well) and the next stop announcements on the the underground are dual language.
 
If it takes a bunch of people online to convince you to get engaged then you probably shouldn't.

Equally, if people online saying 'you're too young!!111 lolz' puts you off then you definately shouldn't.

In conclusion, consider that she is likely to get less pretty every day you know her as she gets old, will some day end up looking like your granny and will likely spend all your beer monies on shoes - then decide for yourself!
 
If it takes a bunch of people online to convince you to get engaged then you probably shouldn't.

Equally, if people online saying 'you're too young!!111 lolz' puts you off then you definately shouldn't.

In conclusion, consider that she is likely to get less pretty every day you know her as she gets old, will some day end up looking like your granny and will likely spend all your beer monies on shoes - then decide for yourself!

I dont really need convincing just after an opinion from people out of my usual group of friends in RL. Its always nice to hear peoples reasons for and against it. Im not going to go " OH WOWS OCUK SAID I MUST MARREYZ IMMA BUY A RING NOESZ!"
 
well hope you enjoy yourself in japan, im off myself again in september for some fun and games so depending when you go you may see a drunken northen bloke rampaging about.

on the language side, dont worry about not knowing what they are saying, make up your own ideas it can be fun :D

the train system isnt that bad once you'v been on it a couple of times. although id pick up a suica card over a jr rail pass if your not planning on clocking up the miles outside of tokyo as the pass with the current exchange rate is rather costly now.

if you want any more info give us a nudge via trust.
 
I've been with my missus for 8½ years now, we have no need to get married and are more interested in sorting out our own house now.

Personally, the fact that you live apart is a key issue, you really need to be spending all the time with each other before you make any major decisions like getting married.

But I think it's more about who you are, we don't really see the need to get married, it's just a bit of paper and a ring at the end of the day so we're in no rush.
 
I do hope you don't mean 2,000 yen... as that's about £15 :p

haha yes we are taking about £2k

thanks GAC we are going from the 3rd of september to the 17th this year

I might just give you a shout via trust email later to talk about the rail passes etc once i get all the relivant questions i need to ask from the GF.

:)
 
Personally, the fact that you live apart is a key issue, you really need to be spending all the time with each other before you make any major decisions like getting married.

That's what I picked up on most. It's such a young age to get married, and the fact they don't live together yet.....

Musty, have you talked at all about marriage to your girlfriend?
 
I was over there in April. As people have mentioned the JR pass is expensive, so if you are getting one for the whole of the country be sure you are getting your moneys worth.
Otherwise, a regional one could work for shorter trips out of Tokyo.
As others have mentioned, the free observatory in the Metropolitan Government building is well worth a visit, there's even a cafe up there.
Fishmarket is an awesome experience and well worth getting up for.
You can actually eat pretty cheaply in Japan if you want, some Ramen noodles and a beer from one of the vending machine type places will set you back £5 or less. The 'ekiben' bento boxes you get at train stations are also good for a cheap eat.
There are a couple of Oyster card-like systems for getting around on the Metro. The main loop line is actually a JR line, so you'd be covered on this if you had a rail pass.
If you were planning on getting out of Tokyo I would imagine you could get to Nara in a daytrip if you set off early, well worth a visit. Lots of old temples and tame deer roaming around.
Don't bother going on the imperial palace tour in Tokyo, incredibly dull and not much to see.
 
That's what I picked up on most. It's such a young age to get married, and the fact they don't live together yet.....

Musty, have you talked at all about marriage to your girlfriend?

Yeah quite a bit over the last year or so, the reason we don't live together already is because she needs to finish her PGCSE course when we get back from japan in order to get a better paid full time job. My income alone is not enough to support a mortgage etc.

She has already finished a 3 year course in midwifery and is a qualified midwife but she hated the way hospitals and the NHS treated the staff and couldnt bring herself (at this time in her life) to take on such a challenging and stressful career. Its something she has sworn she will go back to in the future but for now it just wasn't for her. She has been working as a teaching assistant for a young girl with downs in a school for the last year to scrape the money together for tuition fees for the teaching course so once she has passed this (1 year only) and gets a job we can become more focused on a house deposit and a mortgage (as renting is something we both want to avoid, wasted money etc etc) so in effect the ball is rolling towards us living together anyway.


I hope that puts things into better perspective for people.

Its not that I don't know she is the "one" Its just that i think having a fiance who i don't live with for about a year seems strange. And passing up the proposal opportunity in japan is something i don't think i could let myself get over if i were to miss it.
 
Don't rush it just because you think you are missing an opportunity, that's silly.

My point still stands though, you really need to get at least a year or 2 under your belt before you think about marriage. Staying over for a few weeks or whatever is not a large enough amount of time for everything to come out.

Personally I would sort the house out first then think about getting married.
 
Ahhh, Japan, an amazing place. I spent 2 weeks of my travels there. I spent a week in Tokyo and then a week travelling west of Tokyo, to Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Nara.

Are you spending both weeks in Tokyo and then just doing day trips using the rail pass? I found that a week in Tokyo was actually more than I needed, and was very glad i spent a week checking out some of the other areas of Japan using the 7 day rail pass. If you want more info on places like Nara, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka then let me know.

I wouldn't worry too much about the language barrier. I used about 5-6 words of japanese, and it was never too much of a struggle. all you need is. Yes, no, thank you, hello and good-bye. I thought about learning some phrases and had some, but any answer they give in Japanese you're not really going to understand anyway. They speak much better english than you'll ever speak Japanese so you can get by pretty easy in Japan, they all know the basics of the language and it's very tourist friendly in the main destinations. Also pretty much everything is also written in English and Japanese so don't worry too much about reading the symbols.

The fish market is pretty awesome, think I got up at 5:30am to get there just in time, it's pretty cool to check out and look at all the crazy fish they sell and to witness the tuna auctions , but as mentioned previously it is a working market so keep out the way, it's VERY hectic.

Try the english tea that comes in cans from the million of vending machines there are. It's awesome for an instant hot can of english tea :d also if you fancy a beer, the vending machines sell these too. :p

How are you accessing your money? I presume you will want to take some money out via ATM at some point, be aware that the only ATM's you can withdraw money from using UK bank cards are at either the post office or 7 eleven's. Make sure you remember the red logo/symbol for the post office if you do need one. 7 elevens are also everywhere.

Also when you pick up your 7 day railpass (if you're flying into Narita) you will probably need to buy a NEX ticket (Narita - Express) to get into Tokyo city centre from the airport. It's well worth buying that together with the Suica tube pass at the same time as it gives you the underground suica card and 1000yen of credit on it. This costs only a fraction more than a normal NEX ticket so is well worth it and is only available to tourists I believe.

If you have any questions about anything feel free to ask.

Useful Japan resources are:

www.japan-guide.com and www.tripadvisor.com
 
Wasted money? I hate it when people say this about renting.

In your situation it could be the most sensible thing to do for the short term.
 
Don't rush it just because you think you are missing an opportunity, that's silly.

My point still stands though, you really need to get at least a year or 2 under your belt before you think about marriage. Staying over for a few weeks or whatever is not a large enough amount of time for everything to come out.

Personally I would sort the house out first then think about getting married.

Oh trust me we have spent long enough together to know all the quirks and annoyances about each other. We have been together for 8 years and most of our time outside of work is spend either at mine or hers. We basically live together but in our parents houses. We are also fully independent (ie do our own food shopping/washing etc) again its basically like living together but not in a place WE own.

Although i do understand peoples concerns about being to soon or not fully certain etc. Maybe you guys are just scared for me? :D

@ anti:

Do elaborate, Im not attacking at all im just interested to see why you think that?

The way i see it is that id rather pay money into my household (parents) as i do already, for a more comfortable life for a year or so and be able to save for a house deposit at the same time etc then spend my money into renting in the area i live in (EXPENSIVE) and really struggle/have uncomfortable lifestyle to get a house deposit together.

rent that i pay at home + what i could put away for a house deposit etc works out about the same or less then what it would cost me to rent around here. Moving away IS an option but would make traveling to work etc another expense i don't deal with at the moment (bike)
 

thanks as above i think i might be popping you a mail int the near future! the way you explained the 7 day Tokyo 7 day travel is what i personally had in mind. Just the passes for the trains are so expensive :(

Ah well it will be worth it in the end
 
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