18th Birthday holiday with my daughter?

Unfortunately my other half has absolutely zero desire to visit Japan, I've been trying to talk her into it for ages - its certainly something that I want to do before I hit 40.

For those of you that have visited, was the language barrier an issue?
 
Rids said:
Unfortunately my other half has absolutely zero desire to visit Japan, I've been trying to talk her into it for ages - its certainly something that I want to do before I hit 40.

For those of you that have visited, was the language barrier an issue?
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Nope.

All Japanese has English lessons in school, so anyone who is 40 or under should have very BASIC English, however they would not speak it because of their mentality that if they can't do it perfectly, they wouldn't do it so it means they would be reluctant to engage in English conversation, at least until you get to know them.

However many places do have English menus or signs, especially if you are in a city or tourist area. Outside Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto you may encounter slight barrier but nothing a bit of bowing and "Sumimasen" (excuse me) wouldn't fix. You can point to your food, but pointing is very rude in Japan. So try to use your whole hand instead of a finger, also if you point to yourself, you point to your nose, instead of the western way of your heart.

If you are really struggling, take a photo of the plastic food on display in the window and show them when you go inside. When you pay, just open your wallet and let them pick it out, they are VERY honest and DO NOT take tips so they will just take what they need.

p.s. don't tip.
 
You should be fine in the big cities for the language barrier. When I went, the moment I looked vaguely lost and confused in the train station I had two different people come up to me to help me out and for them to practice their English.

I didn't even have to ask. Lovely place.

A lot of the signs are written in English as well as in Japanese in the cities so it's fairly straightforward.
 
Cambodia? spiritual, much much cheaper than Japan
I did some eco-tourist stuff - went out with locals + visited villages
enjoyed it so much went back another couple of time
 
Throwing out a few suggestions from personal experience/knowledge:
  • Croatia. Very manageable if you decide you'd rather avoid long-haul flights. Can do the entire coastline, Pula to Dubrovnik, in two weeks no problem. Or zone in on any area that takes your fancy for longer/combine it with neighbouring countries. It won't be tourist hell outside of high season and average temperatures will still be high teens at that time of year. You can really tailor a visit to Croatia to suit your needs; sights, culture, food, mountains, islands, extreme sports - whatever you like. Also very easy to get from point to point by public transport if you aren't renting a car. Ferry services will be more limited at that time of year, but still viable.
  • Belize. This will be my honeymoon destination; famous for its cays and beaches etc, but I'm by no means a beach-goer. Great mix of sights (nature and historical) and again you can really tailor a visit to whatever yours and your daughter's interest are. With two weeks, you could easily throw in beaches and cays, a bit of scuba diving, visits to any amount of Mayan sites, stay at an eco-place in the jungle, extreme (or otherwise) sports. Miami is one of the stopover hubs, you could also include a 'holiday within a holiday'.
  • Russia. Two weeks gives you loads of options here. Trans-Siberian or Trans-Mongolian, with stopovers in any places of interest, for an epic journey. Or European Russia, St Petersburg to Moscow; St Petersburg for its beauty and cultural places and plethora of grand palaces surrounding it, Moscow for its power, history, Golden Ring towns. Transport system is excellent and efficient. Lots of places you could visit en route between the two cities (i.e. Veliky Novgorod). Russia will also get you both out of your comfort zone too; i.e. Moscow underground system which is Cyrillic-only. Those are only two suggestions; there are many more itineraries you could consider.
  • Greece. Northern Greece is ideal for a self-drive trip. Convenient to fly into Thessaloniki, rent a car and head into the hinterland. Might not seem as exotic as further-flung destinations but, honestly, the scenery is spectacular, very welcoming region, not touristy and there are hundreds upon hundreds of places you could schedule to spend each night. Alternatively, you could combine this with Albania, a very underrated country. Car-rental across-border is a ball ache though and most Greek-based companies won't entertain the idea. You'd need to pick up a second car in Albania (easy to arrange). For scenery, northern Greece would be my closest reference point to the Scottish Highlands.
Couple of others that may be worth entertaining:
  • Japan. Already mentioned several times.
  • South America. Loose suggestion as the options are endless; Argentina, Chile, Peru or Colombia would be my choice, various reasons. If Peru, the Inca trail needs to be booked forever in advance. I'd avoid that and use some of the less-celebrated trails, without the tourist hordes.
  • Myanmar. Used to be subscribed to a travel mag and this frequently gained rave reviews.
 
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I'm gonna guess my suggestion of 2 weeks in Disney World wouldn't be good enough? I bloody love that place.

I would still suggest the states as there's so much natural beauty in their state parks as well as impressive cities but if you're put off by their president maybe don't research too much into some of the other countries people are suggesting.

We had a cracking time in Italy this summer so maybe that would be an option too. Very friendly people the further south you get.
 
easyrider said:
[..] Japan is a possibility....she has recently come back from China on a college trip...she loved it...but I think I might get done in my tech and lights....I like nature too...
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That's easy in Japan - just go outside a city. Japan has far more countryside than is generally shown. Most depictions of Japan focus on cities, but most of Japan isn't cities. There's loads of countryside in between cities and quite a lot of it is spectacularly beautiful.

You mentioned that you fancy India, but where in India? It's a big place and extremely varied. You'd have to focus a lot for a two week visit or you'd risk ending up spending the time in a city that could be pretty much anywhere apart from the languages.

If this is a holiday for her 18th birthday then it should be where she fancies going and what she fancies doing, not where you fancy going and you fancy doing. So she's probably a better person to ask than us.
 
Angilion said:
If this is a holiday for her 18th birthday then it should be where she fancies going and what she fancies doing, not where you fancy going and you fancy doing. So she's probably a better person to ask than us.
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Exactly, the suggestions are welcome as she doesn’t really know...I’ll get her to read this thread...
 
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