IV. Apartment or closet, which is it?

You will not believe how small EVERYTHING is in Japan! Since Japan is a very small country (smaller than the state of California) everything IN it is made small to conserve space. Easiest to notice would be the houses. Actually there are quite a bit more appartments than houses, arranged in what could be towering buildings the Japanese like to call "mansions"! The average "mansion apartment" is pretty small and the rooms are measured by how many tatami mats will fit in them. Most tatami is about 2 1/2 feet wide by almost 6 feet long. The average room is "6 tatami" - you can do the math.

Apartments in general have a kitchen and 3 rooms. That's right, you didn't see "living room" or "dining room"! One of the rooms may be turned into a living room if you wish and the dining room is usually part of the kitchen, which is a little bigger than a bedroom if you are lucky.

HINT: Go outside and walk around, you won't feel as cramped in.

V. Toy cars, narrow streets- Stay off the right side of the road!

You will never see a smaller car in your life once you leave Japan! Space being limitted in Japan, the roads are about the size of a backstreet alley. It is not uncommon to have to pull over or back up to let someone pass you in your neighborhood areas. Of course in bigger cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Hiroshima, the major roads will be up to 2 or 3 (4 if you're lucky) lanes wide. But everywhere you go, you will find be sure to find small villages and housing areas called "bed towns" (more on those in the future.)

With small roads, common sense says - build small cars! So they did. The average car is no bigger than a Toyota corrola. Don't be suprised when you find out that many cars are even smaller than a Yugo!

Streets are wound in circles around the mountainous terrain and the Japanese are so used to driving on them, they can easily speed past each other with only a few centimeters between cars.

HINT: If you get carsick easily, suggest walking or taking a train. Otherwise, carry a small bag with you at all times! :-)

VI. Trains, trains and more trains!

Again, the subject of no space comes up. This leads to packed roads, which leads to traffic jams. It also leads indirectly to high prices on cars and extremely high yearly taxes and smog checks (the bigger the engine, the more cash you fork out!)

Alternative? Trains! Every city has a train route going through it, it's inevitable (except for places located way out in the country- otherwise known as the "boondocks!") There are local commuter trains and there are long distance trains.

Commuter trains are always cram-packed during rush hours. You can literally be shoved in, in order to get the doors closed (NO JOKE!). Half the people on the train will be reading a book or newspaper and the other half will be sleeping! This is because, some people commute from 20 minutes to 2 hours to work or school everyday. Oddly enough, they can wake up at the exact moment the doors open at their stop, quite amazing if you ask me.

HINT: Avoid rush hour trains at all costs.

THE BULLET TRAIN- SHINKANSEN

Japan is widely known for its bullet train, the "shinkansen". The newest one travels about about 300 kilometers an hour. It's a nice ride, not so expensive, but not cheap by any means. It'll get you from Hiroshima to Tokyo in about 5 hours. (See the map)

You can reserve a seat or get a non-reserved ticket. For non-reserved, there are still seats, but if they're all taken, you have to stand up the whole way!

HINT: Get a reserved seat. If you have a lot of money to spare, get a "green car" seat, it's like first class.

Please keep in mind the following:

This page was written by me, an American living in Japan for 3 years, based on the experiences I've had.

It is VERY easy to whine and complain about everything that doesn't make sense to you as a foreigner in Japan. DO NOT get caught in that rutt! You will not enjoy the time you spend here. You're time is most likely limited here so get out and do some crazy stuff (but not stupid stuff that makes all foreigners look like jerks!) Nobody will recognize you afterward and you'll have a blast doing it. Try out the culture related things and learn some traditional background so that you can see Japan and make some sense out of the way things are built and run here.

Be a little daring and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Talk to people you see around you. Interact with as many people as you can. If you don't, you'll regret it when you return to your home country.

I included this in the middle of the Japanese lessons because having some background about how people live and act everyday will help you to understand why they speak the way they do.

Lastly, the best way to improve your Japanese is to use it in Japan, with the professionals themselves!

 Now, find your way to lesson 4!