Lessons Learned In Japan

Another Adventure!

We had a great two week journey through Japan during early June. We were expecting it to be a challenge with very little English. It was a challenge but it was not impossible. We expected it to be expensive. It was a little more expensive than other Asian countries we have visited recently but it was not as expensive as we expected. We expected it to be crowded and busy, there was a surprising mix of busy places and remote rugged mountain country. Certainly most of the flat land near the sea was heavily populated. Having said these things we really only travelled South of Tokyo on Honshu staying one night on Shikoku.

Sunday Baseball in Ueno Park.

Accomodation: We found Toyoko Inn a chain of business hotels, these cater well for tourists as well. They are cheap, we paid around 8000 Yen a night for our double rooms. These were small but adequate. Included was a Japanese style breakfast. Rice, pickles, Miso and usually bread rolls. They were all handy to a train station and very easy to locate. We stayed four nights at Ikebukuru, which is a busy Tokyo Station, but connects directly to Narita Airport by Express Shinkansen. Being on the Japan Rail Circle line it was a good base for sightseeing around Tokyo.
Transport: We had a Japanese Rail Pass valid for the whole two weeks. This was invaluable we used it every day. The trains are as good as they say. They run to time and are regular to most places. As you get further away from Tokyo the amount of English in the stations diminishes. There is a helpful Japan Rail information centre in most stations. The staff are very helpful. The rail pass is well worth the money. We had some interesting experiences using local buses in some places. Usually you board from the rear doors and pay at the driver on the way off. The drivers spoke very little English.

Five Arch Bridge

Food: We chose to eat local as much as possible which meant that our meals were a reasonable price. We frequented a range of Noodle House and Ramen style restaurants. These were adequate filling meals. Because we usually had breakfast to start we often had a snack during the day and a meal in the early evening. These meals didn’t exceed $30 including a drink. Some were cheaper. In Japan there are vending machines everywhere, we used these for drinks often during the day. Even in some of the restaurants you purchase a meal ticket from a vending machine give the ticket to the waitress and then she gets your meal. I enjoyed the Japanese curry meals, after Singapore these were not spicy.

Miyajima Deer

Places to go, sights to see: The list of places to go and sights could be endless. We chose some very interesting places. We probably could have spent the two weeks in Tokyo and been busy every day. But we were keen to get out of the bigger centres and experience rural Japan. Kyoto is an interesting place I would recommend. Myajima was an interesting day out I was fascinated by the sika deer that wander among the people on this sacred island. Although we were warm the heat wasn’t as humid as in Singapore.

Teahouse in Hama Detached Palace Garden

People: The Japanese are very polite. They do make a point of lining up at trains and buses. They do let passengers off before they board public transport. They were always helpful and willing to help western visitors who looked lost, even if they had limited English. The small local restaurants we had our meals in were always very friendly and helpful. The language barrier was usually overcome.

Five Storeyed Pagoda Myajima

As a travel destination, Japan has plenty of new and interesting experiences to offer. We only saw a small area, but we will plan to go back in the near future and then we will travel North of Tokyo.

Ruth on our first day out in Tokyo