A short holiday to Japan while I’m living in SE Asia. Not as much to discuss compared to my reviews of other countries but here’s a couple of things:
General
I would say the thing that stood out most is the ability of Japan to promote their culture, i.e. Nintendo, Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Chin Chan, Anime shows, Godzilla, The Great Wave off KanagawaHokusai, and so much more. It’s really impressive I have to say – I know us Irish have harps, pints, shamrocks, leprechauns among others, but Japan takes it to a whole new level.
Things to do
I mostly stayed in Tokyo, aside from a day trip to Mt Fuj. It’s one of the largest cities which naturally enough offers a lot. The thing I wish I’d done was the city go-karting. For this you need to apply for an international licence (some money-making racket) so best to do that ahead of time. The maid cafes intrigued me but wasn’t too arsed at the time.
Getting Around
Big city with good metro system. A change from SE Asia in that it was mostly trains, and no scooters, which makes the place a bit less hectic I guess. There are apps you can use for the trains, though unfortunately I wasn’t organised enough to do this ahead of time so was faffing about at the machines the whole time.
Weather
Arriving in April was nice and cool. Thankfully dry for the most part too. At the Parkrun is where I really noticed the pleasant drop in temperature compared to Vietnam.
Gaffs
Famous for the capsule hotels, I opted to stay in a few. Essentially a hostel with a curtain, which does the job.
Gyoza
I was going to call this section “cuisine”, but it doesn’t get any better than gyoza – the Japanese version of a dumpling. The food chain Ramen does some lovely ones.
Finances
Since I’m used to SE Asian prices it was a bit of a jump, although not as much as I had feared. The aforementioned accommodation is where it was noticed most – paying the same price for a dorm bed that I’d have my own large room in Vietnam for.
Drinks and food were comparable with Ireland I think, so not too bad. And any of the experiences/events like the baseball and Mt Fuji tour were in around 50 quid, which seems reasonable to me.
Summary
A week that flew by and feels like ages ago already! I barely event scratched the surface of Japan but glad to have been, and will definitely be back some day. I’d like to check out the other cities, and also see Fuji on a clearer day – possibly even hike up a bit of it.
Japanese culture is one of the most interesting and beloved around the world. I appreciate it a lot – especially owing to my love of the SNES - but wouldn’t be the type that absolutely loves it, so I think you would get more of a kick out of it if you were. The kind of place anyone could enjoy though, unless you happened to be in the bar the night myself and Cormac hijacked the karaoke machine.
DavAI SummAIriser
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