[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":168},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog:2007:things-i-learnt-in-japan":3,"blogMore-Personal":154,"comments-things-i-learnt-in-japan":167},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":137,"commentCount":129,"date":138,"description":12,"excerpt":139,"extension":140,"filenames":141,"hidden":142,"image":141,"meta":143,"minutes":144,"navigation":145,"path":146,"seo":147,"showCategory":141,"stem":148,"tags":149,"updated":141,"url":151,"wordCount":152,"__hash__":153},"content\u002Fblog\u002F2007\u002Fthings-i-learnt-in-japan.md","Things I learnt in Japan",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":127},"minimark",[9,13,18,40,44,55,59,73,77,88,92,103,107,121],[10,11,12],"p",{},"I loved my trip to Japan and thought it would be fun to reflect on what I've learnt.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"airports","Airports",[19,20,21,25,28,31,34,37],"ol",{},[22,23,24],"li",{},"Commercial airlines take the fun out of flying. Airports are often overcrowded and always have so much ‘dead-time’ waiting for check-in, security, boarding, take-off, baggage claim, customs…",[22,26,27],{},"Heathrow is horrific and I’m glad Guernsey doesn’t fly there any more.",[22,29,30],{},"When UK customs say one piece of hand-luggage per person they mean it. Handbag and laptops are a piece and taking liquid or gels is still a pain.",[22,32,33],{},"It takes around 1h 20mins to transfer between Heathrow and Gatwick by coach.",[22,35,36],{},"Seoul’s airport is impressive even under construction, though the one-hour delays on the runway were a shame.",[22,38,39],{},"Korean Air’s fleet delivers interactive individual LCD screens with seat-to-seat gaming or ancient dodgy CRT projectors depending on the luck of the draw.",[14,41,43],{"id":42},"trains","Trains",[19,45,46,49,52],{},[22,47,48],{},"The JR Rail Pass offers massive savings for those wishing to get around. As well as Shinkansen bullet-trains between major cities you can take slower trains between towns and JR lines inside cities.",[22,50,51],{},"Show your JR Pass and ticket at gates instead of putting your ticket in the machine. Otherwise be prepared for a polite yet firm official to tap you on the shoulder.",[22,53,54],{},"JR Pass doesn’t let you get on the Nozomi Shinkansen. The quickest you can ride is the Hikori which is the same speed but has more frequent stops often.",[14,56,58],{"id":57},"subway","Subway",[19,60,61,64,67,70],{},[22,62,63],{},"Tokyo subway is quite easy to navigate despite the sheer size and number of people thanks to near-complete Romaji maps.",[22,65,66],{},"Kyoto subway is a bit of a mess thanks to multiple operators and no unified map.",[22,68,69],{},"Fukuoka’s subway is fast, clean and easy to navigate… it is also new.",[22,71,72],{},"Buy a credit ticket that will be deducted per trip. It saves a whole lot of time messing around with machines and costs and lets you get on the last few trains when the ticket machines have closed.",[14,74,76],{"id":75},"technology","Technology",[19,78,79,82,85],{},[22,80,81],{},"All Internet cafes should consist of cubicles you can sleep in with TV, workstation, bean-bag, unlimited soft drinks and a free comic library like Gera Gera.",[22,83,84],{},"Mobile phones are everywhere with people texting and gaming in the street, on trains etc.",[22,86,87],{},"Mobile phone system is UTMS\u002F3G so a GSM-only phone won’t work. You’ll also need to make sure your operator has a roaming partner in Japan because you can’t buy pay-as-you-go SIM’s in Japan unless you’re a resident.",[14,89,91],{"id":90},"people","People",[19,93,94,97,100],{},[22,95,96],{},"Japanese people are incredibly polite and helpful whether it’s a stranger sharing her umbrella at a road junction, somebody helping you pick up the contents of your bag sprawled across the floor or somebody from a shop coming outside to help you get your map the right way up and point you in the right direction.",[22,98,99],{},"Tiny Police stations (boxes) scatter Tokyo and are equipped with maps to help lost people since addresses are hard to find without one. Check the web-site for where you’re going and you’ll probably find a printable map.",[22,101,102],{},"Emotion is all about the eyes and not the mouth in Japan. It’s not just anime but even emoticons are eyes-only. A sad mouthed-face here is tearful eyes!",[14,104,106],{"id":105},"food","Food",[19,108,109,112,115,118],{},[22,110,111],{},"The street-tent Japanese eateries are a great place to meet people as locals of all ages and foreigners get chatting.",[22,113,114],{},"Cheese, milk and chocolate are not common. Kit-Kat and Snickers are about the only recognizable brand chocolate bars.",[22,116,117],{},"Eggs turn up in many many dishes. Boiled and dropped into soups, or cooked and laid upon practically anything or sometimes raw over rice dishes.",[22,119,120],{},"Food is beautifully prepared, even supermarket sandwiches and lunch-boxes. Crusts are too ugly for their sandwiches.",[10,122,123],{},[124,125,126],"em",{},"[)amien",{"title":128,"searchDepth":129,"depth":129,"links":130},"",2,[131,132,133,134,135,136],{"id":16,"depth":129,"text":17},{"id":42,"depth":129,"text":43},{"id":57,"depth":129,"text":58},{"id":75,"depth":129,"text":76},{"id":90,"depth":129,"text":91},{"id":105,"depth":129,"text":106},"Personal","2007-01-04T13:37:16+00:00","[object Object]","md",null,false,{},3,true,"\u002Fblog\u002F2007\u002Fthings-i-learnt-in-japan",{"title":5,"description":12},"blog\u002F2007\u002Fthings-i-learnt-in-japan",[150],"Japan","\u002Fblog\u002F2007\u002Fthings-i-learnt-in-japan\u002F",603,"vtJXSLuuauDKEumZ4viWc7K6tDlaep-LkGWlEHtoNGQ",[155,159,163],{"title":156,"date":157,"url":158},"Origins of a love affair","2009-12-29T12:06:51+00:00","\u002Fblog\u002F2009\u002Forigins-of-a-love-affair\u002F",{"title":160,"date":161,"url":162},"Friday Fill-Ins #91","2008-09-27T05:26:07+00:00","\u002Fblog\u002F2008\u002Ffriday-fill-ins-91\u002F",{"title":164,"date":165,"url":166},"How did I get started in software development?","2008-08-05T18:37:55+00:00","\u002Fblog\u002F2008\u002Fhow-did-i-get-started-in-software-development\u002F",[],1780900534891]