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4. What types of buildings are in Nerima? i.e. Is
Nerima primarily a residental neighborhood
(such as the typical American suburb), are there any
office buildings, high-raises, factories,
etc...
##you've got me on that one. There aren't a lot of
high-rises in Japan. (earth quakes ^_^) I can tell you
that Nerima is in Fire District #5. You can probably
pick up some more information on-line.
Most of the pan-out scenes in the manga or anime show
low-rise residential, with a few low-rise commercial
districts.
Allyn, what do you mean by "a lot"? I recall seeing
several dozen approx. 30-story apartment buildings on
the train in from Chiba to Tokyo station. (This is
NOT close to Nerima.)
Hmm... there are a lot, but remember that Chiba is actually a major
suburb (I stayed in Chiba-ken for a while), and the Chiba-Tokyo route
passes near Akihabara, and through the Yamanote-sen (on the most
likely routes), so you are passing through some of the most citified
Japan around. I got to see some of the large residential flats,
which was sort of cool. Space is at such a premium that you can
actually wind up playing indoor tennis (at least one place near
Yokohama).
Kyoto, for example, was a much lower city, I only saw a few (maybe 10
buildings over 10 stories, and most of those near the train station.
Though I think Kyoto has zoning regulations limiting the height of
most buildings.
Actually, most cities are composed of large sections of low-rise
mostly residential neighbourhoods, witness Brooklyn and San Jose for
NY and SF respectively. It is the rare exception (like HK) that are
composed mostly of highrises.
6. What is the general attitude concerning
foriegners.
##Ummmm, depends on who you talk to. On the whole
Japan is for the Japanese. There are various "grades"
of foriegner. (also depending on who you talk to)
My general experience is that Japan is very welcoming
to obvious tourists, i.e. if you speak the language
badly or not at all. I've been told that foreigners
who speak Japanese well can encounter a suspicious
atmosphere.
I had lots of fun in Japan, but I can be well-nigh oblivious at
times, so I'm not sure if people were being mean to me.... However,
if you are in the company of a Japanese person and/or speak
reasonable Japanese, most people will be polite to you. Getting
people to speak to you can be tough, some of them get nervous, the
only person I had initiate a conversation with me out of the blue was
an Osaka-jin. My roommate, on the other hand, had much better luck
(the charming tyke).
This question is directed towards a
daily
encounter scenario. For example, if a foriegner (or
small group of them) walks down the street,
would they attract a lot of attention from the local
populance?
##yes. (although there are supposed to be more
"cosmopolitan" areas)
Would they have a problem
In the Ginza, no. In Nerima, my guess would be yes.
They would look, and maybe gossip a bit, in some of the more remote
places, but most of the time, they probably wouldn't approach or
actually do much more than gossip. Nermia is actually getting more
urban and cosmopolitan, perhaps even over the last 10 or 15 years, so
you can have just about anything you want happening depending on when
your fic is set, and how far northwest (further away from Tokyo) you
go.