Life In 19x19

Flying out to japan in <48 hours. I plan to go to some go salons while there. Looking for general go salon advice (I speak very poor japanese-but some).

Currently KGS 1d (and been in the KGS - Korean style insei-league-- so hopefully improved some).
Going to be mostly in Nagoya & Kyoto if you know of a place.

We were very lucky to run into Go clubs in Nagoya and Kyoto just walking down the street-- http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... =10&t=4847

General advice: the usual -- common sense, respect, courtesy, etc.
For example, in Japan, we noticed everybody set their cellphones to "silent".
It was very rare (almost non-existent) to hear a cellphone ring during the two weeks in Japan --
despite the fact that most people there carry one with them.
Nobody talks -- let alone loudly -- on their cellphones on trains, on the subway, or in bookstores.
If you want to talk for a long period of time, step outside the restaurant --
this may seem very basic and obvious to some people, but I've seen many counter examples
in some parts of the world.

Have a good time in Japan.

Kyoto: http://homepage3.nifty.com/nishigos/gokaisyo-kyoto.htm

Nagoya: http://naviaichi.com/gokaisho/nagoya/

Edit: As Ed says, you can see go clubs when you just walk down the street. What to look for:

碁会所 (go kaisho)

One thing to keep in mind--at least in Tokyo, but I would presume it would be the same in the rest of Japan--is the big gap in KGS vs. Japan ratings. If you're 1d on KGS, you will certainly be at least 3 dan, and more likely 4-6 dan in Japan. I'm only 4k on KGS, but in Japan I'm 2 dan.

Sorry I can't help with go clubs--I've only played in the Tokyo area.

Bttc wrote:One thing to keep in mind--at least in Tokyo, but I would presume it would be the same in the rest of Japan--is the big gap in KGS vs. Japan ratings. If you're 1d on KGS, you will certainly be at least 3 dan, and more likely 4-6 dan in Japan. I'm only 4k on KGS, but in Japan I'm 2 dan.

Sorry I can't help with go clubs--I've only played in the Tokyo area.

We had a discussion about ranks in Japan here: http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... =12&t=5211

Be aware that people will more than likely be ranked locally within the club and not use national or global ranks. Your rank comparison will only be a general guess not matter what. When I started playing at a local go club, I just played even at first to see where I fit with their group.

Edit: also, I usually only see 碁 in the window, not 碁会所. On a directory, it might be 碁会所, I never saw such a sign outside. I haven't been everywhere, though, so who knows!?