Hi,
Next year we are planning to spend our sabbatical in kyoto-Japan. Information about rental houses, cost of living, people etc. is more than welcome. Thank you in advance

Hi flossy,

We don't have many members who have traveled to Japan so I'm not certain how much help we can provide. I did look at Slow Travel and I see we have trip report on Kobe that might have some useful cultural information. I also searched our previous board messages and found a couple of interesting threads:

Japan for lightweights
Japan: what you are your must-sees

And here is a link to a Kyoto guide that looks useful for getting started.

Keep us posted on your trip. It sounds very interesting.

A Kyoto girl here (well, at least half of me is). If you had specific questions, I'd be happy to help but you might be better off asking the folks at thorn tree forum (lonely planet). Many expats post on that forum and for the most part, they are very helpful.

I have only been to Kyoto once and stayed for a week... and that was a long time ago. I am sure you will enjoy your sabatical as you explore the country and its culture.

I loved the people who were so nice and solicitous. I also enjoyed the peacefulness of where we were at and the visits we made to the various temples.

Japan is one expensive place to be (I think it is, but maybe just a personal opinion.) I remembered paying $36 for a cheeseburger at Tokyo's Hard Rock cafe and no, I did not any alcohol to drink... jsut some diet coke with it.

When I'm in Japan, I normally spend $20 a day of food if I'm traveling and around $10 if I'm staying at home. I have heard of $20 cup of coffee or $50 burgers but I always thought they were things of urban legend! You can easily spend $200 or 10 times that on dinner in Japan as you can just about anywhere else in the world but you could also have a delicious, uncomplicated dinner for $5.

Eden, next time you are in Tokyo and are craving for a good burger, you might want to go to Kua Aina instead.

I lived in Kyoto for eight years, and I almost guarantee that you will absolutely love spending a year there.

If you research in advance, you may be able to get a one year house rental from somebody in the international community that might be going away for a year.

Kyoto is expensive, but not if you are working there. However, it may be easy to get a bit of language teaching, or other work.

Try the International Community House noticeboard when you get there for all sorts of useful information. It's called the Kyoto Kokusai Koryu Kaikan.

Take a look at the Kansai Flea Market:

http://www.kfm.to/modules/tinyd0/

and the Kansai Time Out:

http://www.japanfile.com/modules/news/

Drop by the Pig and Whistle near Sanjo Keihan railway - it's a good place to meet people!

Good Luck! I am sure you will have a wonderful time.

I just came back from my holidays. Thank you all very much for your information. I'll keep you posted

quote:

Originally posted by flossy: Thank you all very much for your information. I'll keep you posted

And we can't wait to read your impressions!

Welcome back!