Japan was extremely fast paced and quite dynamic. Starting off our adventures in Tokyo, I was captivated by the sights and sounds of the nightlife. There are sooo many people, its easy to be quite overwhelmed by the amount of people and traffic. Amongst the rest of our travels, there were few Western travelers we ran into (not like the rest of our trip so far). We wanted to see as much as we could with the 8 days we had allocated there so we purchased the JR tourist unlimited train pass. This was probably the best decision to make. $300.00CAD will get you an unlimited pass on any JR train. It will also get you some access to some of the subway lines across the country. Once we ventured off from the bigger cities and into the more local communities (Nagoya), it did become somewhat challenging. No one spoke English, nor were any of the signs in English. I can recall walking aimlessly with hunger pains as we wondered down the streets of Nagoya trying to find a damn restaurant that at least had pictures we could order off of. Mmm... nothing like mystery meat and raw cabbage... to down it with some local brew. After spending a night in Tokyo in Roponggi and a night in Nagoya, we made way down the bullet train to Kyoto. This city is absolutely beautiful! There are many awesome historical sights and temples. Luckily we were able to get some advice by some "locals" (Ex-pats from the UK now teaching English) the night before and hit up the main and most popular ones. Did I also mention that we slept on a traditional Japanese Hotel... Equipt with bamboo floors (which would also serve as our bed), and a communal washroom, we found ourselves saving a few Yen rather than staying in the more "Western" places. Hiroshima was the favorite of my journey and the very furthest South of our trip. This is where the Atomic bomb dropped and killed so many people. Peace Park and the war museum were something that made it all so real and educationally fun. A few highlights to remember...
Eating and drinking - If you have a strict Western diet, you might not survive in this country. There are very few Western restaurants to eat at. Never eating McDonalds back home (not even after a bar night), I actually found myself buying the morning breakfast on a regular basis and it was the closest thing that reminded me of home (comfort food... even though Canada has not yet adopted the "Soy Sauce McPork Burger". The Japanese for some reason LOVE their canned coffee (which comes hot from the vending machine). I was thrown off at first b/c we are so use to only drinking a fresh brew, but by the end of the week, I found myself addicted to this "redbull" like shot cans of caffeine. Kobe beef is also worth the trip in the city of "Kobe". Making a pit stop on the way down the country, I was quite surprised how tasty and expensive this beef was. There is something about the way they prepare the beef that makes it so tender and tasty. Massaging the cow and taking "extra" care of the cow before it is slaughtered, it is definitely worth the trip. At last by not least, sushi! Be warned, what you eat back home in Canada, is far away from what the "real" sushi is in Japan. The Japanese very rarely use avacado and sauces to make the rolls and sashimi slices. Expect to slices of raw fish with extra potent servings of Wasibi and soy sauce. Nevertheless, the original version is much more fresh and flavorful. On the last day of in Japan, we visited the morning fish market. A must see for any tourist. You will see the biggest and baddest fish that looked like it was injected with steriods. Interesting to see that the fish I ate actually came from a "bigger" animal and not just a styrofoam shrink wrapped package...lol.
People - Friendly, warm, and hospitable. Due to our budget constraints in this expensive country, we found ourselves staying in smaller and local hotel guesthouses. Many of which were ran as a family business. Every place we stayed at, we were taken care of like family. The New Matsu hotel in Hiroshima was run by two older men (at least in their late 70's). Every morning we would be welcomed with either fresh oranges, Milk (as they think Westerners drink lots of Milk), or fresh coffee. I can recall one of men speaking in broken English that the Udon noodles at his restaurant was described as very good good "Japanese Spaghetti" with a warm and sarcastic smile. On occasion we also found ourselves getting seriously lost within the city. And as soon as a map would come out, a “business” man would pop out from the crowd and not only help us, but walk in the complete opposite direction to help us where we wanted to go (more than just a km too!). What I couldn’t stop thinking before is what did they want in return? Surely in our city, no one is nice enough to offer help unless their want something in return. It wasn’t until after the Traditional Tea Ceremony that we participated in, in Kyoto, that I realized that it's actually part of their culture to make sure that take it upon themselves to “take care” of each other.
Eating and drinking - If you have a strict Western diet, you might not survive in this country. There are very few Western restaurants to eat at. Never eating McDonalds back home (not even after a bar night), I actually found myself buying the morning breakfast on a regular basis and it was the closest thing that reminded me of home (comfort food... even though Canada has not yet adopted the "Soy Sauce McPork Burger". The Japanese for some reason LOVE their canned coffee (which comes hot from the vending machine). I was thrown off at first b/c we are so use to only drinking a fresh brew, but by the end of the week, I found myself addicted to this "redbull" like shot cans of caffeine. Kobe beef is also worth the trip in the city of "Kobe". Making a pit stop on the way down the country, I was quite surprised how tasty and expensive this beef was. There is something about the way they prepare the beef that makes it so tender and tasty. Massaging the cow and taking "extra" care of the cow before it is slaughtered, it is definitely worth the trip. At last by not least, sushi! Be warned, what you eat back home in Canada, is far away from what the "real" sushi is in Japan. The Japanese very rarely use avacado and sauces to make the rolls and sashimi slices. Expect to slices of raw fish with extra potent servings of Wasibi and soy sauce. Nevertheless, the original version is much more fresh and flavorful. On the last day of in Japan, we visited the morning fish market. A must see for any tourist. You will see the biggest and baddest fish that looked like it was injected with steriods. Interesting to see that the fish I ate actually came from a "bigger" animal and not just a styrofoam shrink wrapped package...lol.
People - Friendly, warm, and hospitable. Due to our budget constraints in this expensive country, we found ourselves staying in smaller and local hotel guesthouses. Many of which were ran as a family business. Every place we stayed at, we were taken care of like family. The New Matsu hotel in Hiroshima was run by two older men (at least in their late 70's). Every morning we would be welcomed with either fresh oranges, Milk (as they think Westerners drink lots of Milk), or fresh coffee. I can recall one of men speaking in broken English that the Udon noodles at his restaurant was described as very good good "Japanese Spaghetti" with a warm and sarcastic smile. On occasion we also found ourselves getting seriously lost within the city. And as soon as a map would come out, a “business” man would pop out from the crowd and not only help us, but walk in the complete opposite direction to help us where we wanted to go (more than just a km too!). What I couldn’t stop thinking before is what did they want in return? Surely in our city, no one is nice enough to offer help unless their want something in return. It wasn’t until after the Traditional Tea Ceremony that we participated in, in Kyoto, that I realized that it's actually part of their culture to make sure that take it upon themselves to “take care” of each other. 
No comments:
Post a Comment