Study Abroad Trip: Japan & China
 

Some of you may remember my thread about considering teaching English in Japan after graduation from college.

Afterwards, I thought that it would be wise to visit before diving into such an interesting though alien place.

Tuesday, my college sent out an email saying that a student could not go on the trip to Tokyo & Beijing and that someone could replace him if they had their passport and could be qualified immediately. I jumped on it like an angry, Italian plumber. I was the first of ten people to reply. I have a passport I've never used and money set aside for travel. It's be nice since I work and go to school full time.

Their wont be too much work; I'm going to do a presentation on sake (I was pondering sumo, but I'm a waiter so I think food and beverage are very culturally important), keep a diary during the visit, and do a presentation on a business we visit.

I'm very excited. They're getting a visa from the Chinese consulate now. We'll visit Toyota, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Beijing International Studies University, KPMG, a pill factory in China, and a Chinese Wal-Mart. We will have a some free time in Tokyo & Beijing. I think there is a visit to the Great Wall too. It's not bad for $2200 (after a $1000 scholarship).

I'd love some feedback on what to do in my free time and any travel advice to Japan or China. I've always wanted to attend a real sumo tournament, but the first match is the 13th and the trip is from May 5th through 13th. I'm so excited!

After spending over 2 weeks transversing Russia, my initial thought on China (and specifically Beijing) was "the Chinese really know how to run a country!" I didn't see anything to persuade me otherwise.

There is lots to see in Beijing, especially with the construction for the Olympics still underway. I highly suggest hitting all the usual tourist spots since they are really interesting, even with the cheesy tour-on-tape stuff. You can also get a tour guide pretty easily.

And don't fall for the calligraphy scam.

First of all, I'd like to say congratulations for being at the right place at the right time to nab such a fantastic trip!

Now what you'll need to know is that Japan is very, very expensive, it has very sophisticated toilets yet not a lot of restrooms, and it pays to go out to a karaoke bar. You should visit some thousand-year-old shrines, go see a sumo match, and sightsee in Shinjuku.

For the People's Republic of China, well, it is a very big country, so I can't accurately say which sights to see if there is a chance you won't even get near them. But the rice-paddy fields are a sight to behold. Definitely check out the Chinese gorge before they are going to flood it to make a dam. That is history there. Pay to see some Chinese acrobats, and go get your fortune told.

If you need more ideas, just rent some Globetrekker's episodes.

I'm pretty sure that you can watch sumo practice if you can't make it to the tournament.

i lived in japan for 4 years, there was so much stuff i didn't see...

if you are in tokyo, go to ginza and check out kabuki. dont' worry about understanding it, not even the japanese do, but you can get an earpiece that explains in english whats going on. you can get a matinee ticket for about US$11, totally worth it. for sumo, if you can get up super early, you can watch them practice and then have breakfast with them, its pretty cool. for a great dinner, go to yurakacho, it's a train station, and eat yakitori, food on a stick, with lots of beer. its a big freaking party all the time, pretty cool. while at a yakitori joint, ask for "ma" which is horse. they eat it raw, enjoy....