Times in Japan

I have made it through a vigorous traveling schedule of Japan. I’m still recovering a bit. I find myself wanting to sleep more than usual, and that means I must want to sleep all the time! ;-)

I spent about 6 days in Japan. I got to go to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Himiniji, and Mt. Fuji. Yes, you can imagine that I was quite busy in those 6 days, but I had a lovely time. The traveling really didn’t take that long because Japan has bullet trains that travel at fast speeds. So many trains and subways also connect Japan. It seems we could travel almost anywhere we wanted to easily. I was really impressed with that. However, I was a bit confused when I would look at the subway map for Tokyo. It was huge! It is a good thing I was traveling with friends that lived in New York City and Washington D.C. If I didn’t have them, I might still be wandering around the streets of Tokyo.

Tokyo is huge. It is full of people, and it is full of interesting fashion. You never know what you are going to see on the streets of Tokyo, but you do know that you aren’t going to see trash! It is amazingly clean, and there are millions and millions of people that live there. You also don’t have to even think twice about going to the bathroom at a public place. They are so clean, and sometimes they even have music playing in the bathroom to disguise certain sounds that you would usually hear in a bathroom. They are clever!

Mt. Fuji was quite a sight. It was covered with snow, and it reached high into the sky. It was one of my favorite things I did in Japan. However, I did not actually climb the tall mountain.

Kyoto is full of culture. It was not uncommon to see a lady in a kimono walking down the street. They are so lovely. The ladies walking down the street so small, but they stood tall and proud. I also got to see several temples and shrines there. We saw traditional parades and a wedding party.

In Kyoto we also experienced a Japanese bath! I never thought I would have the desire to take a bath with several people, but I actually found myself wanting to try this part of the Japanese culture. The hot springs are a big deal in Japan. On our last day we went to the Japanese bathhouse. It was time to soak our weary bodies in a big tub. I already had some practice at taking a shower with other people because we stayed at a hostel with a community bathroom with no doors or curtains in the shower room. My first shower with another person was an older Japanese lady. The next night I was having conversations with the Japanese ladies. This was a major accomplishment for me.

The Japanese bath was quite interesting, and it felt good. We showered while sitting on small bucket. Then we went to soak in the many different tubs. There was a hot tea tub, warm tubs, a jet tub, cool water tub, and last but not least an electrical water tub! Yes, in one tub they had an electrical current running through the water. It kind of felt like touching an electric fence only naked and in water! That is really strange. Of course, I didn’t stay in that pool long. I jumped right out of there, and I made my way to the jet tub. I still really can’t believe I actually did a Japanese bath. Overall, I liked it. Would I do it again? Yes, I probably would.

The last night we also went geisha hunting. It was a rainy night, and I doubted that we would be able to see one. However, we did! We spotted one geisha holding her umbrella perfectly as she walked elegantly through the small alleyway.

We also decided to experience the capsule by night. Japan is known for having small places to sleep. They have hotels that give you a small area to sleep in. It is kind of like a box or a closed in bunk bed. I imagined that I would not even be able to turn over in such an area, but actually, it wasn’t that bad for a short person like myself. It kind of reminded me of a closed in train bed. I’m glad we finished our stay in Japan with a night in the capsule.

I also found out that I like sushi. I ate some raw fish, and it tasted pretty good. I like eel, salmon, and tuna. I’m not really a huge fan of fish, but this tasted good to me. I was pleasantly surprised. The Japanese love their fish. I really wanted to go to the fish market in Tokyo. However, that is the one thing that we didn’t get to accomplish. However, we did accomplish a lot in 6 days. It was a great trip.