Japan Thoughts

 My impression of Japan is both what I expected and not at all what I expected. It feels really safe here, and from what I’ve heard there aren’t really “bad parts”. I jump on and off the train at random stops and wander and they are all quite nice. 

Sarah and I were talking about it, and she put it really well. It feels like you are in the future or present, but in a different time line. Some things are super high tech and efficient and others are really old tech or feel old. For example, most restaurants are cash only. You would think in such a technology hub, cash would be out of style like it is in the US, but cash is truly king here. One of my biggest regrets is not having a coin purse, I’ve been on the look out for one I like, because right now I am keeping my coins in a plastic bag. At home I never have more than a quarter or two. Every time I got to ALDIs it’s a frantic search for a single quarter or I’m carrying everything in my arms. To go to Shiba Onsen, a hot springs town near a the National Park, I had to buy a bus ticket different than my rail pass, it was cash only, this ended up being true every time I got on a bus or train even from a station. I was surprised that even rail tickets are cash only, as are most restaurants not in the big tourist areas. 

Speaking of train tickets. The Japan Rail pass (only available to foreigners) is a great deal. It’s expensive initially, but you can take most of the major lines with it. It makes life so easy and quick. I’m so glad I got it. The trains aren’t particularly expensive individually, but when you are exploring and getting on an off all the time it definitely would add up. The only thing I really don’t like about it is it’s a small credit card size piece of paper. You have to use it to get on and off and if you lose it it’s gone, no replacements. I find it shocking that it is not something that I can just put in my phone wallet and scan getting on and off like the Japanese do with their passes. The number of heart attacks I’ve had when it wasn’t in the pocket I thought it should be in is unreal lol. 

One of the things I was most nervous for coming here was the trains. Since I’m not used to train travel, and it’s in another language, it seemed really intimidating, but between google maps and JapanTravel apps, it’s really not been an issue yet. I never ended up on the wrong train. 

The trains and public places are so quiet too. People generally talk very quietly in public transport if it all. Generally the train is silent, even when it is packed tightly with people. Sarah and I got in trouble for talking too loud at a restaurant. It is frowned upon to disturb the peace. Nobody eats or drinks on the trains either unless it’s a bullet train.

One thing I absolutely love is all the small businesses. There are chain stores, but many restaurants and shops seem to be independent, which I think is really lovely. Stores are crowed together along the roads and all have a small footprint. 

Everything is really cheap. You can get just about anything at the 100 yen store ($.65). I usually spend around $5 on a coffee and snacks at the convenience store for breakfast, and lunch usually costs me around $8 if I eat at a restaurant, less if it’s street food. Dinner is probably $10-15, a little more if I get a drink, and of course, you don’t tip (having to tip is so annoying why don’t we just pay workers an appropriate amount of money and not leave it to the whims of the customers hiding the cost, that’s a rant for another day though). 

Hotel rooms are interesting too. For one, it’s cheaper to get a room for a single person than 2 people. Which I find really interesting. I don’t really understand why, as I take up the same amount of space, but as a solo traveler it’s nice to be able to save a bit on the rooms. Additionally, the rooms are so small, it’s not an issue at all, it made me realize how underutilized the space in western hotels are. Why do I need to walk around in my room? The beds are placed again the wall and you have a few feet on one side with a desk/chair, etc. it’s tight, but overall, completely fine. Maybe it would feel more claustrophobic if I had a second person, but really I prob pay similar by the square foot for a hotel in the US, but I have like 1/3 of the square footage.

Overall, Japan was really easy to get around. A lot of people know at least a few words of English, but really google translate and pantomime got me through it all. Signs are in English, Japanese, and Chinese pretty much everywhere so it’s not too hard to find the right train and as long as you can pronounce the name of the place you are going in a way that someone understand most people can point to you right direction. 

I’d recommend Japan to any solo traveler or someone inexperienced in travel in general. It was pretty easy to get around, fairly inexpensive, and you can’t go wrong with ordering anything, as it’s all delicious.