Final Japan Post

This will be my final post for Japan. I have to say this was the most interesting country I have ever visited.

When people talk about Japan they absolutely love it. When I ask why I hear a few themes:

• Everyone is so nice. This is true. Not only are they helpful but they are quiet and considerate.
• Everything is so different. I completely agree. See below.
• The food is great. To be honest, I struggled with Japanese food. I have always been open to trying new foods but found myself craving the basics. I have never liked sushi or 'fishy' flavours and eat a ton of vegetables. Nearly everything is flavoured with fish (e.g., salad dressing, broth), and fruits and vegetables are rare.
• The shopping is amazing. Although I purchased a ton on this trip for my girls because they love Japan, I hate shopping, so this wasn't a turn-on for me. 

Below are a few things that are so different in Japan:

• There is order to everything they do. They queue up after leaving a metro car and they have arrows on the ground showing the direction of the foot traffic.
• Every city is very clean. They do not have many garbage cans throughout the city as they expect you to take your trash home.
• Their physical appearances are very important. Everyone is dressed very nice and they have so many beauty products.
• They take going to the bathroom seriously. Bidets are everywhere including on the metro stations and trains.
• There are free public bathrooms everywhere. I tend to avoid drinking while I am out during the day as bathrooms are rare but that was not the case in Japan and I loved it!
• They have a ton of vending machines and convenience food stores. They require you to buy a plastic bag (encouraging you to bring your own) but have so much plastic from these convenience foods.
• When it rains, they all use umbrellas. Living in the Netherlands, I see many rainy days, yet umbrellas are rare. My thought is that they do not want their clothing wet.
• Everyone is so quiet. Yes, Americans are loud but there is no talking on public transportation and you rarely hear conversations while walking.
• They walk fast! I walk fast and yet I could barely keep up.
• You do not see children much. I never saw a buggy (stroller) on a metro and rarely saw one on the sidewalk. In a city of 14 million, that seems odd.

My return flights were uneventful. My strategy for managing time changes is to stay awake as much as possible so I am exhausted when I return and sleep. I kept busy by doing some work, which allowed me to credit a day of PTO.

 

I went on this 12-day trip with only my backpack. I bought so many things for my girls that I returned with an even bigger bag! And yes, I carried all this through three airports because I hate checking bags.

 

The only thing worth mentioning was I think I ate a dog sandwich on my final flight. The flight attendant was hesitant to give it to me and I had to ask to repeat “It is dog”.  It was much better than sushi.

 

Thanks for following my adventure.

 

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Japan: Days 8 & 9

Leilani, Connie, Laura, and I made our way to Kamakura for a guided tour hosted by KWGA, a non-profit that wants to share the history of Kamakura. There continues to be Sakura staggered throughout the cities.

We started at the Tsurugaoka Hachimango shrine. It is now just a shrine but for almost 700 years it was also a Buddhist temple. The mixing of the two was common until the Meiji government decided, for political reasons, that was to change. 

We then made our way to lunch where I had some rice and chicken combination, miso soup, cabbage salad and I have no idea what else. Food is a mystery to me here. 

The next stop was the Great Buddha of Kamakura, at the Kotoku-in temple. It is dated back to 1252. We were able to walk inside as well. 

The next stop was the Hase-sera Buddhist temple that houses a massive wooden statue of Kannon (of which the Cannon camera was named after). These little statues were outside in massive groups, representing children that died. 

We returned to Tokyo where we did some shopping (I cannot believe how much I am buying for my girls!), saw the Tokyo Tower at night, and had some awesome Italian. 

Day nine was my last full day so I started with some packing and then visited the Yasukuni Shrine which commemorates those that died in service to the country. 

I then spent a couple of hours at the Yushukan War Museum which covered all wars throughout the countries history. It was interesting to see how countries represent wars with the United States. It is always good to learn about history so we do not repeat the bad shit. Some Americans could use a repeat of their school history. 

I didn’t have anything else I really wanted to see in Tokyo so I walked the city in search of a scarf, which I sometimes collect during my travels. Japanese women do not wear scarves much, but I did find one made in Japan. I then connected with the ladies for our last night. We ate at a famous udon restaurant that had an huge queue (thanks Yuki for the reservation) and went out for karaoke. 

I have only done karaoke in a pub with a ton of people I have never met and liquor onboard so I was a bit skeptical about this ‘rent a roommate and sing only with your friends’ approach. But we had a great time. 

I stayed up until around 01:30 visiting and watching the other perform magic tricks to get all their purchases into the luggage according to the airline rules. It made for a short night with an 04:00 wake up call. 

Steps: My watch did not charge the night prior so it shows zero but I did get in some great steps thanks to my healing ankle. 

Speaking of, here is the sign all over the metro telling me not to use my phone while walking. I am so grateful it wasn’t too serious. It was stupid. 

Japan: Days 6 & 7

On day six, I spent time in Tokyo's Asakusa district. Throughout the city, I saw Sakura starting to bloom. 

I started at the Senso-ji temple. Senso-ji is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo and the most visited religious site in the world. It is popular to rent a kimono for the day and take photos. 

I went to the top of the Tourist Information Center for a view of Tokyo. The weather was still cloudy but you could see just how large the city was. Tokyo has fourteen million people. Crazy.

I stopped along the way for more food. Tokyo is so much about food and shopping. My feet needed a bit of a break so I sat down for lunch. I ordered two items from the menu. When two items arrived I ate them and was just about to get up to leave when something else arrived. I am not sure if that was really my order or if there was some free app. Or possibly it was the two lemonades I had that I am pretty sure had alcohol, which I did not realize when ordering.

I made my way to an Origami Museum where a gentleman could fold without even looking! I guess if origami is your life, you can do that. I bought some origami paper so I am hoping to do a few things when I return. Tiny paper cranes would look so cute in my collection jars. 

It was raining, so I jumped on a river cruise and made my way from Asakusa to Odaiba. There, I visited a replica of the Statue of Liberty, which was actually very beautiful. 

I had three metros to take to return to the Airbnb. It was during that trip that my 'Safe Travel' amulet, which I had purchased at the temple earlier, failed me—or, as some might say, saved me. I twisted my ankle walking down the stairs. It was stupid. So stupid. 

So, day seven was spent at the Airbnb, resting and icing. I worked and caught up on life stuff. It was actually very enjoyable, but I like being productive. 

Steps: My watch showed 3,787 but I think some of that was from typing on my computer because I barely got up. 

Japan: Day 5 Bamboo Forest

The day started in Kyoto where I took the metro to Arashiyama Park and walked to see a bamboo forest. It seems kind of silly to go and see a bunch of stuff growing but so is seeing a religious structure when you do not pray to the diety. What we do when we travel is weird. But the bamboo was amazing. 

I returned to Kyoto and visited the open market, Nishiki. I enjoyed some Strawberry Candy (they are in season), a kamaboko (fish paste and potatoes), sake, and the worse chocolate chunk cookie I have ever had in my life (but the tea was nice and it made for a great photo). 

I returned on the bullet train to Tokyo where I was able to see Mt. Fuji (although it was far back and the speed of the train left for a terrible photo). Our friend Yuki cooked dinner for us in a typical Japanese style which reminded me of the Dutch gourmetten done at Christmas. 

Yuki’s partner recently took over a Jazz bar so we went to check it out. He practiced his new bartending skills on me making me a gin gimlet and I talked about my dream of being a barback someday. Someday. 

I got home and fell asleep with my clothes on without taking a shower. The wine and gin contributed, yes. The walking I did earlier could have as well. 

Steps: 20,078

Flights of stairs: 21