Living At Saitama / Gunma

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Living At Saitama / Gunma

Postby Minihux » Tue Jan 30, 2007 1:12 pm

Hello,

Last time i posted i was asking about information about a place in Japan called Chiba. Since then i have had 5 very good friends from Gunma in Japan come over to Australia to visit me.

I have now decided i want to move close to Gunma. They have suggested to live in a place called Saitama which is located just outsite Gunma.

Does anyone have any personal experience with Saitama Prefecture? Is the general cost of living ok, nice place to live in general etc, is the size of Saitama Prefecture small? Any help would be great.

:) Thank you!!! :)

- Luke
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Postby kamome » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:05 pm

I lived in Saitama near the Gunma border for a year. I don't recommend it. It's colder than Tokyo in the winter and there isn't much going on there. Pretty boring. Plus, it costs nearly 3,000 yen to get to Tokyo (at least it did several years back - might be more now), which you will want to do on a frequent basis. Saitama is a pretty ugly prefecture, but its proximity to Tokyo and relatively cheaper rents make it fairly convenient to live there. Just stay in a town on the Takasaki line - Omiya and Urawa are large towns outside of Tokyo that are pretty easy to travel to. And if you want to get up to Gunma, it would only take you about 30 minutes or so on a regular train.
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Postby GuyJean » Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:51 pm

Minihux wrote:Does anyone have any personal experience with Saitama Prefecture? Is the general cost of living ok, nice place to live in general etc, is the size of Saitama Prefecture small?.
I used to live way the fuck out in Saitama in my first 'Tour of Dooty']Worst Prefecture In Japan[/URL]

It's 38C in DaSaitama (Why do people live here?)

DASAItama is good for something --- trash

But 'home' is where you make it, right?

GJ
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Postby GomiGirl » Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:49 pm

da-sai-tama... :p
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Wow

Postby Minihux » Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:51 pm

Thats crazy my japanese friends i have been speaking to say its not a bad place.....i think i will drop a couple more questions to them.

Thanks for help!!!

- Luke
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Postby Kanchou » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:30 pm

Having stayed the night at an outdoor train station waiting for the trains to come in Saitama, I have to agree: it's motherfudding cold.

The ski resort in Gunma seemed comfortable by comparison...
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Omiya

Postby Minihux » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:58 pm

Ok,

I think im gonna do a little research on Omiya now and see if i can come to any conclusions. Also ask my friends in Japan about this city. From a couple reviews i have read it does not seem to bad of a place.

- Luke
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Postby amdg » Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:19 pm

With all due respect, unless you've already been to Japan you won't get any useful information by asking FG's "What is XXX like?" because you have no frame of reference. Everywhere in Japan is a great place to live for someone.

You have to decide what you want from your place of residence in Japan and what you don't want, then work backwards from there.

Do you want to live in the city/suburbs/country?
Do you want to spend your free time shopping/skiing/reading?
etc.etc.
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Postby Samurai_Jerk » Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:30 pm

I lived in Saitama my first 3 years in Japan and I liked it. But I was right on the edge of Tokyo (one train stop from the border). I did used to go up to Omiya to party sometimes, and I think it'd be OK to live in. It's big enough that there's shopping and stuff going on at night and it's a good halfway point between Gunma and Tokyo.

Personally, if I were you I wouldn't choose where you live based too much on friendships. I've seen many a gaijin come to Japan excited about all the friends he has from back home end up not having much to do with those 'friends' once in Japan.

BTW, I still think you should get a degree.
Faith is believing what you know ain't so. -- Mark Twain
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Postby kamome » Wed Jan 31, 2007 3:32 am

Samurai_Jerk wrote:Personally, if I were you I wouldn't choose where you live based too much on friendships. I've seen many a gaijin come to Japan excited about all the friends he has from back home end up not having much to do with those 'friends' once in Japan.



Excellent point. It's amazing how new friends/new responsibilities start to take precedence.
YBF is as ageless as time itself.--Cranky Bastard, 7/23/08

FG is my WaiWai--baka tono 6/26/08

There is no such category as "low" when classifying your basic Asian Beaver. There is only excellent and magnifico!--Greji, 1/7/06
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What about Honjou

Postby Minihux » Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:39 am

Howdy,

Has anyone been to a place called Honjou located in Saitama???

Any comments on Honjou?

Thanks

- Luke
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Postby kamome » Thu Feb 01, 2007 10:46 am

Minihux wrote:Howdy,

Has anyone been to a place called Honjou located in Saitama???

Any comments on Honjou?

Thanks

- Luke


Been there. There's nothing to do there - it's just a little town close to the border with Gunma. Like I said, stick with Omiya. It's farther south, but you can still get to Gunma in a reasonable time if you want to.
YBF is as ageless as time itself.--Cranky Bastard, 7/23/08

FG is my WaiWai--baka tono 6/26/08

There is no such category as "low" when classifying your basic Asian Beaver. There is only excellent and magnifico!--Greji, 1/7/06
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Postby Minihux » Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:32 pm

Im planning to go on holiday around the Gunma and Saitama area in a couple months for 2 weeks. I will be going with my mate and we will be meeting up with our friends over there.

Our three friends happen to be Pro D1 Drifters in Japan. The nicest people i have ever meet along with the girl friends!!! :)

- Luke
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