A few tips for visiting Japan
Useful information I learned about Japan
I must admit, although I had heard so many wonderful things
about Japan, for some reason, it was never high on my list of places to
visit. To be honest, my heart is in
Europe; its where I spend the most time and there are so many places much
higher on my ‘to do list’. That being
said, a friend invited me (or did I invite myself) to join her for a 3-month
trip around SE Asia at the beginning of 2018.
I was surprised at how much I loved all the countries we visited. This summer I found an amazing group tour for
China (www.intertrips.com)
and I didn’t hesitate to head back ‘East’.
Note: the Intertrips to China are
an unbeatable deal; they are so cheap because the Chinese government supplements
them to boost tourism. You can find post
for all those trips here: www.Lisaslivingherdream.blogspot.com
So why Japan? Well, I
was in the neighborhood (sort of) so why not.
I plan on spending 6 months in Australia and New Zealand, but I had a
month free before my first hotel reservation in December. As is usually the case, I really wish I
hadn’t booked a non-refundable stay in Australia, so I could have stayed in
Japan longer.
1st thing I noticed was just how friendly the
Japanese people were! It was so easy to
get around using public transportation in part because literally everyone went
out of their way to help if you look the least bit lost. Even though I did encounter many people who
spoke no English, once they understand where you are trying to go, they will
either point the way, or sometimes, lead you to the right train. The signs are all in Japanese of course, but
most will also have the English translation, so not speaking or reading
Japanese really wasn’t an issue. Of course,
it’s always handy to have Google Translate.
I had to ask for several items in a supermarket because the packaging wasn’t
what I was used to, (huge display of white cream in squeeze tubes, turned out
to be the mayo I was looking all over for) or, I couldn’t read it. Here I would guess the English translation on
packaged items is about 30 to 40%. I had
an entire conversation, me speaking English and a young lady speaking Japanese,
about milk. I wanted chocolate milk, but
I suspected it was cold coffee. She
wanted so badly to help, but I realized later, she thought I wanted
coffee. She assured me I wanted item A
not B. I should have smelled it first;
did I mention I HATE coffee? Don’t
judge…
They are also, very, very polite. I clearly bumped into a woman who profusely
apologized to me. A hotel employee asked
if she could ride in my elevator. They
do not point. At all. If they want to direct you, they use the
whole hand. Think Vanna White inviting
you to solve the puzzle. When giving you
your change, they will place the bills in both hands, palms together, like
serving you a gift on a platter.A bit about restaurants and food. Sadly for me, I’ve never been a fan of Japanese food. Vietnamese and Thai food is another story, I can never get enough. I found that Italian is very popular in Japan and I had some amazing pizza and pasta. If you’ve ever been to Naples, you know they have a unique type of pizza that I think is the best in the world. I found a few restaurants with genuine stone ovens that must have Nepalese born Italians hidden away somewhere, it was that authentic. I also really like the tiny restaurants that served pork and chicken cutlets. Like most restaurants, you see the pictures outside. I was initially drawn in because I could identify the food. As much as I travel, and love to experience new cultures, I am not an adventurous eater. In fact the opposite is true, I’m very picky. I don’t think this type of place is a chain, rather just a common type of restaurant, much like ramen noodles houses are everywhere. Anyway, I went inside and discovered that you order your food from a machine in the wall, kind of like the McDonalds kiosk. You sit at a long table attached to a wall, shoulder to shoulder with your neighbors. It’s a different type of fast food restaurant and the food was very good.
Japan is a very clean country, but oddly, it’s often hard to find a trashcan. Be prepared to take your trash home with you. I was at several of the street food hot spots, trying all kind of ‘interesting’ items. At the end of the night, I had to pull half eaten samples out of my backpack, along with the containers of things I did eat. I ended up carrying an extra plastic bag, just in case. The food vendors were very accommodating to tourist taking pictures, often moving their hands out of the way for you. Several places offered samples if you looked on the fence about trying it. I learned the hard way, this is not the best option. I was looking at something, trying to determine what it was, when he offered me a bite. Being too polite to refuse, it popped it in my mouth. Remember above when I said I’m a picky eater? The problem is less about the taste and more about texture. Well, this might surpass a big bite of truffles as the worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. I’m still not sure exactly what it was, but it had some white coating on the outside that tasted like plain flour. On the inside was probably unsweetened bean paste but felt like a mix between a half-solid egg yolk, jelly, and, well, bean paste. I’m lucky I didn’t choke to death trying to swallow it whole while trying to smile.
I travel full time, to all different countries and as usual,
I got a Japanese SIM card at the airport.
I don’t have a US cell phone, but I understand many carriers do offer
coverage in Japan, so best to check with your provider. Unlike most other countries, the SIM card I
got didn’t come with a phone number. Maybe some others do. This really is only a
problem if you want to call someone in Japan or use Uber. I got along just fine with just the
data.
When waiting for a bus, just get at the end of the line,
even if there is no bus in sight. Oddly
enough, I’m in Australia as I write this, and they do the same thing. Not so in most of the world; I’m thinking of
you Italy! There it can be a shoving contest like you're all fighting for the
last morsel of food on the planet, even if it’s an empty bus! You get on the bus in the center, then you
have to work your way to the front to exit.
If you have luggage, or if its crowded, I have seen a few drivers open
the middle door and let you walk around to the front to pay, but that isn’t the
norm. Also, the upcoming stop is in
Japanese and English, so it’s easy to know when to get off.
The 7-11’s are a mecca of food choices. Did you know the convenience store is actually
a Japanese owned chain, headquartered in the US? I learned that little tidbit at a pub quiz
night. They have a pretty good variety
of ready to eat foods, both Japanese and Western. I can vouch for the spaghetti, I ended up
getting that a quite a few times. They
will even heat it up for you. You can
also make or buy a pretty nice salad to go with it. I’m told the egg salad
sandwiches are delicious as well, though I didn’t try them. If you
like ramen noodles, you are in luck! You usually have an entire isle to choose
from. Coffee Lover? You’re in luck, they have it hot or cold in
more variety than I thought possible. They also sell cups of ice, specifically
to make ice coffee. Or, if you’re like me, you can have ice in your soda. Speaking of soda, there are machines on every
corner, but not just soda. They have hot
or cold coffee, milk, tea, juice, flavored water, and even Mt. Dew and Dr
Pepper along with Coke, Coke One, Sprite, and Fanta.
I found a wide assortment of accommodations. I stayed at the New Sanno in Tokyo, (a
military only hotel) much nicer then my usual digs. One thing to note, if you are friends booking
a double room, thinking there are two beds, double check. They consider a fold out couch and 1 double
bed, 2 beds.I stayed in a few traditional hotels, complete with a compressed straw filled Tatami mat. Basically, a futon mat that folds up and a straw pillow to go with it. Aside from it being on the floor, I found it surprisingly comfortable. The traditional room also has no chairs; instead you will find a very low table with pillows. The big problem for me, I have really bad knees. Its hard to get up and down, but I can’t sit on the ground for more than about 5 minutes because one knee won’t straighten out. I was lucky in that both rooms I stayed in had multiple mats in the closet. I found that by folding them all up and piling them on top of each other, I was able to make a pretty decent couch for myself.
Most rooms had a small refrigerator which is great for
keeping food costs down by not eating out at every meal. The rooms themselves are pretty tiny on
average. Even in the hotels I stayed
where no one spoke English, most had a booklet in English, translating the
buttons on the AC and TV remote, along with other important information. The high-tech toilets, not so much. You just have to brace yourself and try all
the buttons. If you don’t know what I’m
talking about; the Japanese have taken the bidet to a whole new level. The various buttons spray water of varying strength
to your nether regions and let me just say, the aim in extremely accurate.
Transportation is EXPENSIVE!
I had been told to get the Japan Rail (JR) Pass, but when I worked out
the number of train trips I planned, it didn’t seem worth it as that’s
expensive too. $515 for 21 days and I
was staying 30 days. SOOO wrong! I ended
up traveling more than anticipated and spending a lot more than the JR pass
would have been. A side note, if you are
purchasing individual trip tickets, you need two tickets. One is for the distance and one for
speed. Obviously, a slow train is less
pricy. I made the mistake of thinking I
needed a reserved seat, (an added cost) but unless the train is full, which it
usually wasn’t, there was plenty of room in the open cars, usually car
1-3. They have a great app called
Hyperdia, but Google Maps was useful as well.
It was easy to figure out the trip, even giving you the platform to go
to. The staff was very helpful as well,
in buying a ticket and getting to the right track. There
is an information booth, usually right next to the turnstiles.
Often when you go into a restaurant, you will be handed a
menu and left alone. There is a button
on the table that you push when ready to order.
I found this out the hard way after waiting for ever for the waiter to
come take my order.
The Japanese are sticklers for rules. You will find them patiently waiting to cross
a street for the little green man. Even
if there is no traffic, and a tiny side street, no one j-walks. Apparently, the police will give you a
warning if they see you. Or like another American, you may have a local shake
their fist at you.
The public transport, be it a bus or train, are all very
quiet. People talk in whispers or not at
all. You never hear people talking on the
phone, which is such a nice change of pace!
One thing I did notice that I thought odd, given how overly polite they
are; I rarely noticed anyone giving up a seat to an elderly passenger. Maybe because the elderly passengers looked
quite spry.
In terms of entry and exit, its best to check with the State
Department or Japanese Immigration for the most up to date information, but I
didn’t apply for a Visa before-hand. I also didn’t have an exit ticket, since I
wasn’t sure exactly how long I would stay.
I’ve heard other people say they needed it to get the entry stamp, so it
seems hit or miss on whether they demand it before allowing you in. I did have 2 pre-paid weeks booked for
Australia, I figured I’d show that if asked about when I was leaving
Japan. I didn’t have any problems and they
never asked, they just gave me a landing permission sticker for my passport,
good for 3 months. When I left, they put
a departed stamp right above it.
These are just a few tips if you are planning to visit
Japan. It’s a beautiful country, with
fantastic people and I’m so glad I went.
There is a link at the bottom of each blog post to see the pictures from that city. This is a link if you would like to purchase any of them.
Comments
Post a Comment