Japan is a fascinating country to say the least. At first, I wasn’t planning to write a blog post, but not sharing my experience would have felt like a disservice to the country and its beautiful people. I wish I had explored Japan for more than 9 days, but overall, I’m happy that I came. During my trip, I visited two cities in Japan, Osaka and Kyoto, both of which are about two hours south of Tokyo. Osaka is the third largest city in Japan.
Traveling
The flight from LAX to Osaka was easier than I expected, especially compared to other international flights I’ve taken before. You can snag a direct flight from LAX (and most major international airports in the U.S.), which makes getting to Japan surprisingly stress-free. If you’re planning a trip, I highly recommend Japan Airlines. The seats were comfortable, and the service was amazing, not to mention the flight attendants were constantly up and down the aisles. I’ve never seen such attentive service on a flight before. Not only were they coming by for food and drink orders, but they also walked through offering Japanese perfume for purchase and even held up signs reminding everyone to buckle their seatbelts. It was in that moment that I realized this trip was going to be something special.
Trains
I had completely forgotten until after we landed, just how intimidating the train systems are here. Once my initial adrenaline wore off, I looked up at the signs written entirely in Japanese and panicked. Full-on “what have I gotten myself into?” type of panic. Yes, I pulled out Google Translate, which helped… a bit. But only just enough to give me false confidence before I realized I still had absolutely no idea where I was going.
To make matters worse, I was being stubborn and was convinced that I could figure it out on my own. So here I was, wandering the train station for over two hours, refusing to ask anyone for help like it was some kind of personal challenge. Eventually, exhaustion won, and I finally asked for directions. Unfortunately, the first two people that I approached gave me terrible directions, which only made matters worse, so I asked someone else. By this point, I was jet-lagged, completely overwhelmed, and my monthly friend had decided to join the party. That’s when I had a full-on emotional breakdown in the middle of the station. Silent, but public tears and all. Whoops!
The trains in Japan are very confusing, at least at first. There are multiple tracks, countless lines, and what feels like endless platforms, not to mention the different types of trains you have to choose from: local trains, rapid trains, and the famous Shinkansen. The Shinkansen, also known as the bullet train, zips along at over 100 mph and takes you from Osaka to Tokyo with a quick stop in Kyoto. Efficient? Absolutely. Intimidating when you’re exhausted and overwhelmed? You bet!
With all that said and done, I finally made it to my hotel and collapsed on my bed after a tiring 15 + hours of traveling. The best part? The bed was hard, lumpy and incredibly uncomfortable. Come on Best Western — you can do better than that. 😉
The Start
After waking up surprisingly refreshed, I merrily skip my happy self down to breakfast. I had a delicious meal that only costs 1,300 Yen, which is approximately $8.00 in the U.S. Cheap!
If you haven’t been to Japan before, the streets here are very narrow. The city is full of alleyways that, similar to Dubrovnik, connect the city together, along with skinny streets with cars zipping by, particularly in Osaka. After breakfast, my first stop was Family Mart. I was in that store for 15 minutes, analyzing everything they had, almost as if I was going to be tested on it later. I was told that I must go here and now I understand why. I was completely mesmerized by everything in the store. I could have spent an hour in there looking at the wide variety of drinks options they had on display. The three major convenient stores in Japan are Family Mart, 7-Eleven and Lawsons. You can grab a full meal here if you don’t want to spend a lot of money. Everything was super cheap and delicious.
Wanting to make the most of my limited time here, I woke up at 5:00 AM each day and went to bed around 10:00 PM each night, which made me extra tired during the day, but I didn’t have any time to waste. I refused to let the days slip away without being fully present and making the most of every moment.
The Locals
The people here tend to keep to themselves for the most part, but every now and then you’ll meet a few Japanese locals who are outgoing and eager to strike up a conversation. That happened on my second night in Osaka. I wandered into a bar on the second floor of a building that looked more like an office space. Two lovely young women were working that night. One was outgoing and spoke a little English, while the other was delicate, sweet and shy, and didn’t know a peep of English. The younger one and I chatted in broken English for nearly two hours. We relied on Google Translate from time to time, and I quickly learned to keep my sentences short and simple so she could better understand me. Apparently, the more words you use in English, the harder it can be to follow. For example, instead of saying, “I decided not to go to the dog park today because I’m afraid of dogs,” it’s much clearer to say, “No dog park for me. Scared of dogs.” The second version is far easier for them to understand. I caught onto this method quickly and relied on that way of speaking whenever I suspected that someone didn’t understand me.
Furthermore and interestingly enough, I found myself hysterically laughing since the woman at the bar used a lot of hand gestures, so we could understand each other better, which I found very funny. I’m usually not the laughing type, but tonight I was. Maybe it was the alcohol in me. Perhaps it was the jetlag or a combination of both. But, I want to believe it was the genuine people who made me smile with glee. Pure joy is the only way I can describe my feelings that night.
A $40.00 tab, well spent.
While there are many thoughtful gestures from the locals, what struck me most was their warmth and hospitality. When you enter or leave a restaurant, you’re profusely thanked, far beyond what I’ve experienced elsewhere. They will walk you out of their restaurant, bow and wave to you until you’re out of their sight. It was truly heartwarming everytime I witnessed this. This gesture somewhat reminded of a mother waving goodbye to her son as he leaves for his first year of college. Emotional, but genuine.
