Impressions about Japan

In the posts about Japan we have mentioned some of the quirks of the place that have surprised us. Two weeks is certainly not enough to get to know a country and its culture, but it still offers you a chance to notice some peculiarities and plainly weird traits of the place. With this post we will try to remember the ones that have caught our attention the most.

Sayonara

The last day in Japan has arrived, marking the end of the first leg of our trip. But let's rewind a little.

O-torii mio

You know you are going to a special place when you need five different trains and a ferry to get there... Miyajima ("the shrine island" in Japanese) might be kitsch, crowded and pretentious, but it is one of the most scenic spots in Japan so no wonder everyone wants to see it. A little island just outside of Hiroshima, it has been considered holy land for a long time thanks to our old friend Kobo Daishi who chose it as a sacred place for the Shingon Buddhists.

Monks for one night

Yesterday we went to Mt. Koya (or Koya-san) and stayed overnight at a Buddhist temple. It was rather above our standard daily budget, but it was totally worth it. You're not paying a steep price just for a nice hotel (a totally respectable choice, but far from our mind and our pockets at the moment), in this case you are paying for an experience, and one that we enjoyed a lot.

From Tel Aviv to Osaka

As Sunday was relaxed, maybe we should have tried to catch up on touring the city. But we decided to take it easy one more day and it worked out perfect, with sun and good company.

City of thousand temples

And here we finally are, in Kyoto, the tourist Mecca of Japan... We were really anxious about coming so as soon as we managed to find our hostel, we just left our backpacks there and went to explore the city right away.

Couch surfing to the coast

And when we arrived to Takayama, it was all there. Super cold, raining... But happily for us, also Amber showed up to pick us up and take us to hers and her husband Joe's home. We cooked takoyaki for dinner, a traditional Japanese meal, consisting of fried balls filled with pieces of octopus or pretty much anything that you want to put in. It was so nice to finally speak to someone without having to use our arms and legs and single syllables only...

Nikko and Tokyo, the past and the future

Perhaps it wasn't too clear from the previous post, but we are loving Japan so far! We are like little kids at a toy store, awing at everything with our mouths wide open. Everything is new, curious, weird... and great! We stare at everything and everybody. Old men on their even older foldable bikes, karaoke on a Sunday morning, restaurants displaying plastic models of their dishes (and still we have no idea what they are), people with white masks and gloves, rockabillys and cosplayers in the parks, all the cliches you hear about Japan are here and they are true.

Konnichiwa

First days and first words.
The first day doesn't really count since both lack of sleep and jet lag took a heavy toll. The flight to Tokyo was actually pretty good, but though we tried really hard, for some reason we weren't able to sleep at all (unlike the guy sitting next to us who slept like a baby for 12 hours, waking up only for the meals).