THEY DON’T SPEAK CHINESE IN JAPAN

It was very hard to turn off the Chinese.  I left a lot of conversations moving my mouth trying not to say ni hau.
The Japanese people are all very neat and orderly from their shiny shoes to their perfect hair, their behavior and the cities we visited go along with the neat and orderly.  They would form lines in a situation where lines wouldn’t normally be formed; they were evenly spaced with personal space between each person.  The bathrooms were amazing, heated seats, built in sanitizers and deodorizers, sinks that had motion sensors for the soap water and dryers (all in the sink).  The streets, busses and trains were spotless despite the fact that you were allowed to eat and drink.  Everything was quiet and pleasant.  We decided that when the Japanese do something well it is done to perfection but when they let something fall through the cracks it falls big time. 
Hanging out with Jodie and the baby have made me very aware of stairs and strollers.  Elevators were hard to find (if there was one) and escalators were few and far between.  Normally I don’t mind stairs but when you walk up and down 5 + flights of stairs one way every time you take a train, never mind the stairs to get up to the shrines and temples (those are understandable since they are authentic and old). 
The most challenging part of our trip was lack of clear directions.  All of the other places we have visited so far are very tourist friendly, you get off the train and it tells you what exit to go up and boom you are there!  They also had user friendly tourist maps, which we did not find in Tokyo or Kyoto.  The maps we found were all different some were missing roads, a couple had extra roads and they didn’t quite match the train map so we guessed a lot of things.  I don’t think Adam and I are the smartest people in the world but we certainly aren’t idiots and it took us 3 days to figure out how to buy a ticket for the train.  We also spent a lot of time walking around trying to figure out where to go, thank goodness for our book and specific directions.  As much as I planned we still had a lot of wasted time walking in the wrong direction.
My travel book was a God send; we used that to pick most of the restaurants we ate at.  I picked the cheap restaurants that had cool descriptions.  Most of the restaurants we went to had 8 tables and 5 things on the menu…and they were wonderful!  However the cheapest restaurants in the book still cost us around $35.00 for a meal and a half.  The book also had “walking tours” that took you all over an area and included great places to have snacks or coffee or lunch along the way. 
Despite some of our difficulties it was a WONDERFUL trip and a once in a lifetime experience.

Osaka - October 21-24

Again I got really lucky booking hotels.  Considering the price and how expensive things are in Japan we were in a beautiful hotel close to everything we would want to visit and close to a train station. 

Osaka was my favorite, I don’t know if it is because I planned a more relaxed trip or if I was happy to finally sleep, or if it was because the people were even nicer than they were in Kyoto and had better English then they did in Tokyo.

Friday, our first full day in Osaka was spent in the bay area, we went to an aquarium and took a ride on what was advertized as the biggest giant wheel in the world (after a Google search Adam found it to be false).  We got some amazing views of Osaka from the slowest Ferris wheel I had ever been in.  We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the downtown area (Adam had enough Japanese food, and considering Japanese food in America and in Huizhou for that matter is pretty true to Japanese food in Japan, he wanted to try something that we don’t get very often. 

Saturday we went to the local imperial palace and took a tour through the museum.  It was a beautiful park area (complete with a place to get snow cones).  There were jugglers doing tricks and souvenir shops.  Then we went to the floating garden observatory.  The book described it by saying something like: if the fear of heights doesn’t get you the fear of riding on an escalator with only glass to protect you, in a nation plagued with earthquakes will.  We got a great view of the city (again).  For dinner we planned to eat at an Indian restaurant but it was closed so after walking around a bit we saw an Outback steakhouse.  All I wanted was a tossed salad and some bloomin’ onion.  The hour and a half wait was totally worth it!

Picture Osaka: A total cross between Kyoto and Tokyo…the people of Kyoto with the big city feel of Tokyo.

Kyoto - October 19-20

In Kyoto we stayed in a traditional Japanese guest house (B&B) called a Ryokan.  It was pretty awesome.  When you get to the door you take off your shoes and ring the bell.  A little old man comes and takes your shoes and gives you your key.  An older lady in traditional dress takes you to your room (which has your name on the door) and serves you Japanese tea.  During the day there is a table in the middle of the floor.  Before bedtime the ladies come and put a futon mattress on the floor and move the table to the side.  It was a once in a lifetime experience.

We got to Kyoto Tuesday afternoon and went straight to the Ryokan so we could see what it was like.  Then we went to dinner in the downtown area.  The downtown reminded me a lot of Asheville.  It is still very natural and has lots of restaurants and shops.  We had sushi for dinner then went to Baskin Robbins for desert.  The nice part of 2 people eating like 1.5 people means we can stop for snack. 

Wednesday we went to the Japanese movie land.  It is where a lot of samari movies are filmed and they have sets and costumes from famous Japanese movies.  We got to see a live ninja show.  Then we hung out downtown again.

Thursday we went on the walking tour our book suggested.  It was intense and we got to see a lot.  I know I have said this but the best part of the walking tours is it takes you to places you would never find otherwise and it suggests snack breaks.  We started at a couple temples then walked through the residential area to find a house that was home to a famous potter and set up as a memorial to him.  It was really cool.  Then we headed up to a WWII memorial museum and graveyard.  The graveyard was on a steep hill and was never-ending.  We walked on the path (up the hill) through the graveyard and down another street to get to our next shrine/temple.  The first thing I saw after walking up the hill (and not getting much sleep) was the unreal amount of stairs.  I suggested Adam take the video camera and go up and I would rest.  However the book mentioned a place to get snow cones on the other side of the hill.  That was all the motivation I needed and I got up no problem.  We found the snow cone shop at the end of the trail and continued on to our next destination.  We stopped for lunch at a ramen restaurant and headed to the crafty area of Kyoto.  We didn’t buy much in Japan because everything was so expensive.  Most of the crafty things you get in Japan you can by in Huizhou a whole lot cheaper.  At the end of our walk we went to the train station and headed to our next destination!

Picture Kyoto: I maintain that Kyoto is the Asheville of Japan, beautiful mountain views, really cool local craft shops and fun restaurants.  The people were welcoming to tourists and I would say I saw more tourists the first hour we were in Kyoto then I did the whole time in Tokyo.  I feel like Kyoto is the real Japan.

Tokyo - October 15-19

Friday we arrived in Tokyo late and still had about an hour and a half trip to the hotel.  When we got on the bus to the hotel there was an announcement not to use cell phones because it might annoy the people around you, then a man sat down with the beer he bought in a vending machine and drank it while he rode the bus.  There was no “no food or drinks” sign (which meant I was able to snack) and everyone was so quiet and considerate.  We knew at that time that we would LOVE Japan.  I do have to say the quiet did get old especially since Adam and I aren’t loud people but at times I felt like we were being too loud if we whispered or had a conversation on the train.

Saturday we went to a couple shrines and a temple before strolling though the high end shopping district. This was the Tokyo I picture when I think about it, the high (but a little crazy) fashion. We ate dinner at a wonderful little restaurant that our book told us about. It was tucked away in an alleyway and only had a few tables. Adam and I ate food on sticks (grilled veggies and meats).

Sunday was not our most successful day.  I wasn’t able to find a restaurant to eat lunch near the Imperial palace. I figure worst case scenario we would eat pastries at Starbucks or find a McDonalds.  We found a ton of restaurants and a few Starbucks, however since we were in the business district all the restaurants were in the office building and closed.  Not only that but there was a race so all the streets were closed so after walking in the wrong direction for 25 min we weren’t even able to catch a cab and tell him to take us to food.  Thank goodness I had snacks and had eaten too much for breakfast.  We walked another 20 min before we found an open building with restaurants.  At this point we thought this was hilarious, and were really excited that I did a better job planning the rest of our trip.  However after walking back in the right direction and walking through a park to get to the palace, and trying 4 out of the 5 gates (which happened to be closed)…I was a little annoyed and hungry and tired.  The last gate was on the other side of the palace, meaning we would have to walk who knows how far to get there.  At this point we had done nothing but eat lunch in a little French sandwich shop and it was 3:00.  We decided to throw our plan out the window and go to a science museum in the bay area.  The museum was…well Adam loved it!  We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant in a mall and enjoyed the view of Tokyo.  When it was time to go home, we had no cash so we looked for an ATM.  We stopped at the 2 ATM’s in the mall but they don’t accept foreign credit cards.  We went to two 5 star hotels near the mall and well they didn’t have ATM’s but we tried all of the ATM’s they suggested…which didn’t accept foreign cards.  We walked to the next mall and asked the information desk where we could find a 7/11 (the only ATM’s that accepted foreign cards)…they had no idea what we were talking about.  Thankfully a German girl who spoke English and Japanese helped us and we were able to get cash.  It was crazy.  I would not have guessed that such an international city would be so closed off to foreign cards.  It was getting late and I thought we were going to have to book a hotel and spend the night only 20 min. from our actual hotel…apparently Visa isn’t everywhere you want to be (I have to say Huizhou has a ton of ATM’s and all of them accept my bank card).

Monday was my favorite day in Tokyo, we went to the local beer office building (which looked like a beer mug).  Then we went to sushi for lunch and spent the day at a market and a temple.  After our wonderful day we had an even better dinner at a small noodle place (suggested by the book).  It had 5 things on the menu.  We knew it was going to be good when a lot of the local old men came for dinner and to read their paper.  I thought of my Grandpa and how he gets his paper and goes for coffee…he wouldn’t put up with a subpar place to enjoy his paper.

Picture Tokyo: In fashion anything goes…and on them it seems to work.  I would totally look like a fool if I wore anything I saw on a person in Tokyo.  We even saw a man wearing a “Little Bo Peep” outfit and looked surprisingly appropriate in it.  Imagine a city full of Japanese Ken and Barbie’s that you are afraid to get too close to for fear of wrinkling them.  People say it’s similar to NY, but Adam and I don’t agree, the buildings aren’t as tall and it is more spread out and less organized into districts.