The things I noticed/observed/love about Japan

First off - sorry for the delay in posting. I wrote this days ago but couldn't post in China due to their social media/internet restrictions. So here goes....

• It is so clean which is really surprising because I can never find any garbage cans.
• Everyone smokes yet you never see cigarette butts on the street.
• The toilet seats are heated….I love this! Who doesn't want a warm toilet seat?
• The girls are all thin (yet eat everything they want), have amazing skin, and are always fashionable. If I sound envious it’s because I am, especially since I’ve almost worn the same thing with no make-up for pretty much a week.
• There are vending machines with everything on each street corner – cigarettes, soda, beer, even clothing.
• The people are really friendly. And really well mannered.
• Fish that Americans would probably think is weird is usually a delicacy.
• There are TONS of patisseries all over…..the Japanese seem to really like dessert. :)
• There are tons of Ice Cream shops….they seem to love Ice Cream too!
• The Train Stations are really nice and always have great restaurants.
• It seems like a really safe place.
• Coffee and Tea is always really pricey….usually at least $5.
• Subways, trains, and buses are the best way to travel and are quite easy.
• Cafes always play great cheesy music like Ace of Base, Men at Work, Cyndi Lauper to name a few... Oh and Vanilla Ice too!!
• I love saying Japanese words - Kinnichiwa and Arigato - they just sound fun!
• Darsh really likes Suntory beer.
• I apparently really like Sake.

We both loved Japan and are sad to go. Arigato my Japan peeps!

Onsens and Ryokans – A day of many firsts!

We hopped on the train to go to a quaint little town, Kinosaki, which was 2 ½ hours North of Kyoto. We loved Kinosaki. Thanks to our friend Holger who recommended it.

Kinosaki is known for their Onsen (hotspring baths) and crab. It really is the cutest, quaintest little town with tons of shops, cafes, patisseries, and Onsen. We stayed at Ryokan Mikuniya which was pretty cute and close to the train station. A Ryokan is a traditional Japanese Guesthouse where we ate dinner on the floor and slept on futons on tatami mats. We were also given Yukatas (Kimonos) and Getas (wooden sandals) to wear around town. I definitely think everyone who visits Japan should stay in a Ryokan at one point just to get the true Japanese experience. They are a bit pricey though but dinner and breakfast are included.

So basically you come to Kinosaki to experience the baths. Let’s just say this was a first for both of us. They are separated for Men and Women. It’s basically a large communal bath with saunas, jacuzzis, and hot springs. There are "rules" one follows when bathing at the Onsen. I just did what everyone else did. It was quite an experience and I'm glad we did it but it may not be for everyone. :)

For dinner we were served a traditional Japanese meal with lots of seafood, sushi, squid, some kind of soup/egg/custard, miso soup, shabu shabu, crab, rice, tempura, and some stuff I couldn’t recognize. There were definitely things I couldn’t try but I did eat some tentacles of a squid/octopus looking thing. I was proud of this since Darsh wouldn’t even try it! Breakfast was also some of the same type of stuff. I wasn’t as adventurous for breakfast, somehow I couldn’t stomach a whole fish at 8am. Really I have no idea how I haven’t lost any weight yet…. :)

The rest of the time we spent walking around the town hanging out at the cafes. Darsh also hiked up a mountain to see the Onsenji Temple which provided a view of the city and the Japan Sea. Our time in Kinosaki was short but perfect. The people couldn’t be any nicer. Thanks again Holger!! :)

Temples, Shrines, Pagodas, and Geishas

We got to Kyoto in about 2 ½ hours from Tokyo on a Shinkansen, the bullet train. Supposedly we saw Mt. Fuji on the way. I’m not really sure which mountain was Mt. Fuji though….I'm guessing it was the biggest one.

The first two nights in Kyoto we used points to stay at the Hyatt which was a treat. They even had a great gym which we used…..Felt really good to work out! :) The last night we stayed in K’s Hostel. We’ve never stayed at a hostel so we thought it’d be kinda fun and we are trying to staying on a budget with such a long trip. It was actually very clean and close to Kyoto train station so worked out well.

Kyoto really has so much to see. I felt like we were rushed trying to fit it all in. Luckily the Hyatt was in Southern Higashiyama which is right in the middle of one of the main sight seeing districts. We got to see Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, Kodai-Ji Temple, Maruyama Park, Shoren-In Temple, Chion Temple, Yasaka-Jinga Shrine, Sanjusangendo Temple, Nishi Hogangi Temple, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji Temple. We both loved Kinkaku-ji Temple which is also called the Golden Pavillion….amazing! Also at the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple there was a shrine, Jishu-Jinja, dedicated to Okuninushi, a god of love and good matches. People pray to find their true love....how cute! The two streets leading to Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, Chawan Zaka and Sannen Zaka were lined with tons of teapot stores, cafes, and restaurants.

We spent a lot of time walking around different areas, Gion and Ponto Cho mostly. Gion is the Geisha district and has some really great cobble stone streets lined with teahouses, cafes, and restaurants. We did see a few Geisha as well. Ponto Cho is another great street right on the Kamo Gawa river. It's probably the main area in Kyoto for nightlife. We had dinner at one of their Izakayas and had some great Yakitori. We also tried Shabu Shabu, thinly sliced beef, which you cook yourself. This was quite hilarious to watch because I'm sure we did it wrong and the waitress tried to look out for us but her instructions were lost in translation. It was yummy anyway though!

Kyoto is so different from Tokyo. They are both great in their own ways. Tokyo has so much to offer with so many diverse neighborhoods each with its own personality and Kyoto has so much history literally on almost every street corner. I'd definitely recommend at least two full days for Kyoto.

Lost in Translation

After an 11 hour flight we got to Tokyo at about 5pm on April 21. The flight went smoothly….we even had an empty seat next to us! Trying to get cash and figuring out the right train was a bit trickier. It’s funny how when you first get somewhere everything seems so hard but after 1 day we were pros at the subway….which really isn’t that difficult but I think with luggage and the language barrier everything seems harder. Thankfully our hotel, the Chisun Grand Akasaka was right across the street from the train station. The rooms were TINY but clean and in a decent area....short walk to Roppongi. Really it was great for $110/night for Tokyo. But seriously they are TINY rooms.

Unfortunately it pretty much rained the whole time we were in Tokyo but since we only had two full days we tried to pack as much in as possible. We walked all over the city so we got to hang out in all the different hoods: Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, and Roppongi. Harajuku was my favorite – it’s the trendy, fashion district. Takeshita Dori was the funnest little street with tons of shops with funky clothing. It was really hard not to shop! Omote Sando was another great street with a bunch of cafes and bistros….very European actually. Shinjuku is kinda like Times Square with tons of shops, restaurants, and lights. We hung out in Roppongi the last night which can be kind of a cheesy party scene (We went to Heartland and Gas Panic) but fun to experience it.

As far as the sights go we didn’t do a whole lot because of the rain. We tried but both days we were pretty soaked and just freezing that it was hard to energize for more parks and shrines. We did get to see the Tokyo Tower, Yoyogi Park, The New York bar at the Park Hyatt, and Tsukiji Fish Market at 7am. It was too bad that the fresh fish auction at the market (which people highly recommend) was closed to visitors. Apparently tourists had bad behavior at the auctions so they close it off sometimes. I hate it when some people ruin it for everyone! We did have sushi at Daiwa Sushi Bar though at 8am. I decided to be adventurous and got the set menu. Really not a great idea for someone who is picky about sushi and seafood. I really don’t know what I was thinking! By the end of the meal I felt really bad because I just couldn’t get myself to eat everything and I'm pretty sure I offended the owner. I tried but really couldn’t stomach the Sea Urchin. It didn't look appetizing at all and Darsh still shutters every time I mention it….He did try it and didn’t like it! :) But still it was a great experience eating sushi with locals in a tiny, packed restaurant.

Two days was enough time for Tokyo especially since it was raining. There are tons of neighborhoods to explore and just people watch so if the weather was better you could spend days there.... Thanks so much Tam and Holger for the recommendations!!