Someone (MikeHattsu) quoted me and said you can still go on business days, but you still have to pay 5000円 to get in, and also show them your ID and two business cards.
I had an amazing year there, but it'll be different for everyone of course. I had a huge support system at school and from my homestay family so the transition was easy. Even with little Japanese in the beginning, getting around and taking care of business wasn't a problem in Osaka. There was clearly a great deal of effort made to help students adjust easily, so don't worry about the logistics and just go if you're even slightly interested. I had plenty of free time outside of class to explore and go somewhere new every weekend with friends and my homestay family. Speaking of which, if there's an option to live with a homestay family I'd say give it a shot, because my best memories there are thanks to them. Also, my first semester went by in a flash, so if you can spare the time I recommend signing up for a year. And you'd be surprised how inexpensive it is to study abroad. For me, it was no more expensive than going to school in the US; less if you're fortunate enough to receive the JASSO scholarship.
You can get used ones in any Geo/Book Off/Tsutaya which is selling games. Shouldn't really be a problem.
I got mine in Akihabara. There are a lot of used stores in a small area so it's easy to check a bunch out.
I think that I went to 5 or 6 used games stores when I was searching for my current PSP and in the end got the one that was the cheapest (10k yen back then).
Where abouts? Meet up in Sanjo for drinks by the river tomorrow? Lol. My scholarship came through.
PM or LINE message me. Same user ID as GAF on LINE (others from the meet up, feel free to add me).
I found the best way to learn Kanji is using Heisig, but that's like the opposite of a shortcut. It gives you an excellent foundation, though, and by the end you'll know the 2000 daily use Kanji that Japanese schoolchildren learn. You won't learn any readings though, so you might understand a sentence but not be able to read it out loud, which sounds pointless. Still, I think Heisig was the one thing that helped me the most with my Japanese.
Nah, it doesn't. For the longest time I avoided doing Heisig because of that. But after I finally gave in and tried it, I thought it was better that way. It turns out learning how to recognize each kanji and memorize the plethora of different readings at the same time can be a bit much for the ole brain. Chinese people that study Japanese have a natural advantage. They already know the Kanji and their meanings. All they have to learn is the readings. They tend to pick up reading quickly because of that. Heisig levels the playing field. With Heisig you learn the meaning of each kanji and the radicals that make it up, so you can recognize, understand, and write each one. Putting readings with Kanji you're already familiar with is fairly easy at that point.
It took me five months. It's pretty time consuming but worth it. Honestly, I didn't buy the book. There are resources online that use the same system but are free. A great site, by far the best Heisig site and very well put together, is http://kanji.koohii.com. I also recommend using Anki, a flash card system, if you don't already. Or you could just use koohii's built in flash card system, but I don't have experience with that. I'm sure I still have my Anki Heisig deck somewhere and could send it to you, if you want.
I know
Where abouts? Meet up in Sanjo for drinks by the river tomorrow? Lol. My scholarship came through.
Got my phone but messed up the PIN and need a PUK now
PS where's my tag?
Nothing compares to 3/11, but they still scare me. (´；д；｀
