LD's Guide to Japan

notentirely asked: we're visiting japan for the first time in may... my husband has a year of japanese under his belt... how screwed are we when on our own in rural areas?

It depends on exactly how rural you’re planning on getting.  In my town (pop. 44,000) I think a year of Japanese would be enough to get you around without too many problems—I have friends living here who had only a few months of Japanese study before coming.  Be sure to have a dictionary with you at all times if possible.  Almost all restaurants have menus with pictures here, so as long as you’re not too picky, ordering food shouldn’t be a problem.  Probably the biggest obstacle you’d run into in a rural area is navigation.  There are no street names or anything so you mostly either have to rely on landmarks or you just have to know where you’re going.  If you have an iphone or some other device with GPS, that’ll be a huge help.  Enjoy your trip!  I’d be happy to answer any other questions you might have if you need more help: lawrence.denes@gmail.com