Wednesday, December 16, 2009

30+ things a tourist MUST do in Japan...

I've been back in the good ol' city of Brissy for 3 days now and one of the things I'm really gonna miss about being a tourist in Japan is the number of things you can get away with just because you're a tourist [and because we can hehe]. I've compiled a list of the absurd things some, most, or all the people I was with in Japan did while we were there:

1. Took photos with all the typical people you find in Japan [geishas, sumo wrestlers, school kids, samurais, Harajuku girls, cosplayers]
2. Took penis and pissing photos with some of Japan's landmarks
3. Took photos of people who slept weirdly on the train
4. Took photos of funny Engrish signs and funny Jap signs and posters
5. Constantly changed Kal's Facebook and MSN status to really inappropriate things [this is more because we could, not because we were tourists muahahahhahaa]
6. Listened to music out loud in public
7. Sang Linkin Park songs at the top of our lungs while walking back to the hotel quite drunk
8. Sang 'Gee' by Girls Generation at the top of our lungs at karaoke even though the only words everyone could properly sing to was 'Gee Gee Gee Gee baby baby baby baby'
9. Ninja ran through a busy train station
10. Ninja ran across Shibuya crossing [one of the busiest intersections in the world]
11. Played Big 2 on a busy train using the aisle for the discard pile
12. Played Big 2 sitting on the sidewalk while waiting for a bus
13. Played Big 2 in an onsen
14. Played Big 2 sitting on the floor at Narita airport
15. Played Big 2 and mah jong at coin laundries
16. Played mah jong with 4 people on the top bunk of a bunk bed
17. Constantly yelling out inappropriate Jap words and phrases in public like
お元気ですか?
['o genki desu ka? which is meant to mean 'How are you?' but stupidly, I told the guys it meant 'How you doing?' and it kept getting brought up as a pick up line >_<"], 気持ち ['kimochi' which means 'It feels good'] and おっぱい ['oppai' which means 'tits' for those of you playing at home]
18. Pretending we knew Jap by adding です [desu] at the end of every English phrase or word [e.g. telephone です, bill です, yes です]
19. When we didn't know a Jap word or phrase, acting out the word or phrase or by drawing pictures [this is a LOT funnier than what I make it out to be]
20. Paying for things which only cost a few hundred yen [equivalent to less than AU$10] with 10000 yen notes [equivalent to about AU$120]
21. Paying for meals which cost about AU$200 with lots
of coins [and by lots, I'm talking about using at least 50 coins ranging from 1 yen to 500 yen]
22. Made up English subtitles for Japanese dramas on TV
23. Created Asian roadblocks in busy places
24. Stood on the train in one straight line staring in one direction, then would periodically change directions throughout the train trip
25. Jogged in and out of the train in a straight line
26. Crab walked out of the train in a straight line
27. Ghost walked in a straight line at the train station
28. Trying to bypass people who work at the train station with expired Japan Rail passes
29. Used Japanese pick up lines at the clubs
30. Wore
浴衣 ['yukata', meaning a traditional Japanese robe] and 下駄 ['geta', meaning Japanese sandals] everywhere from the theatre to the restaurant... we even wore them to sleep on some nights!!

I know there's way more to add to the list but we either didn't get around to doing it, we didn't think about doing it or I've just forgotten to write about it here. Feel free to add to the list and I'll have to make sure I do it or the people I'm with do it next time we're in Japan or in another foreign country hehe

On a related note, I wanna thank the group I was with in Japan for most or all of the trip [Go, Charles, Jess, Djay, Steph, Kal and Nick] for making the Japan trip the awesome time it was. It's been a lotta fun bonding with and getting to know you guys, doing all the touristy things, eating great food, sharing millions of jokes and payouts, and you guys know the rest... you were all there with me hehe I look forward to seeing all the photos and vids again and we'll have to have some kinda Japan trip reunion soon!!