It’s fascinating to consider that on average we have 80 summers to spend chasing the sun, 80 Christmases to celebrate together or 80 school years to navigate. And what we choose to do with those 80 years, where we spend them, what we do and who we spend them with is what really matters. Pursuing places and people that light your fire and bring joy is the goal. Inviting opportunities to widen your horizons rather than keeping yourself small. Revelling in the risks to accept the rewards of putting yourself out there. These are the things I ponder and push for, the corners of my mind where I sit and muddle over the big questions.
If we’re forever looking ahead to what’s next and trying to lock down some elusive dream, we miss out on the magic of right now. It’s challenging to live each each day fully and be grateful for the present situation no matter how messy or uncertain it may feel. Accepting that dreams change and allowing yourself the grace to grow is one of the best gifts your can give yourself.
Every trip is a decision, a pointed choice with what we choose to do with our time and money. Of course we didn’t have to go to Japan, that money could have gone to a multitude of other things or saved for one of the many purchases earmarked for future us. But travelling brings joy and joy encourages us to be grateful for each other and the life we get to cultivate together. So off to Japan we went in pursuit of cherry blossoms, matcha flavoured treats and bowls of ramen.
Overall thoughts and takeaways from Japan:
- Japan is overwhelmingly busy with so many people and lights and sensory overload.
- The Japanese love order and rules and respect.
- Japan makes sense, the structures in place are clear and concise and this makes doing everything easier and more orderly.
- If something can be made cute or more *aesthetic* you bet it will be freaking adorable.
- They love a catchy jingle.
- It’s a night culture, not a cafe culture
- Japan is clean with not a garbage can in sight
Japan is roughly the halfway point between Canada and Australia, 10 hours from Melbourne or from Vancouver. We flew from Melb to QLD to Japan. We chose to fly into Osaka and then worked our way north to Tokyo and flew back from there.
Osaka is known for its vibrant food scene and quirky nightlife. This was our first taste of Japan and what a fabulous place to start our travels! We ate our way through Osaka. We tried so many unique dishes and spent way too much money trying them all.
On top of the most delectable food, we also got to enjoy the stunning blossoms in full bloom around the region.
In addition to the usual Japan must see’s and do’s, was visiting Universal Studios Japan. Yes, it’s just a theme park but everything is better in Japan. The USJ employees were perhaps the friendliest people I’ve ever encountered at any point in my life. The double hand waves, smiles and willingness to make your time as memorable as possible was unmatched with anything I’ve ever experienced. Perhaps one of the most endearing moments was in the Jurassic Park area. The Flying Dinosaur ride had both a minimum and maximum height restriction, and when we went to measure Michael against the sign a USJ employee quickly motioned for us to wait, he ran away and came back with a tiny step stool so he could accurately measure Michael’s height. He was good to go and we got an enthusiastic thumbs up and we were on our way.
Visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was one of our favourite worlds. Walking the streets of Hogsmead, seeing the Hogwarts castle and drinking butter beer was such a fun and immersive experience. (However, everything is dubbed over in Japanese, so watching Harry playing Quidditch and yelling to teammates in Japanese was funny)!
Our other highlight at USJ was Super Nintendo World (which included Donkey Kong Land). This was as close to being inside a video game as possible. The sounds, lights and animatronics were incredible and quite nostalgic. We had the biggest grins on our faces exploring this region of the park.
One day of theme parks was enough for us. By the end of the day we were exhausted. It’s a fast-paced day with a lot of pressure to try and make the most of everything and jam in all the fun within the 10 hours you’re at the park.
The rest of our time in Osaka was spent sightseeing and eating. We saw Osaka Castle, visited the Cup of Noodle Museum (and got to make our very own personalized cup of noodles to take home), had fabulous A5 Kobe beef in a variety of forms, tried umeshu, 10 yen cheese coin, takoyaki, strawberry mochi, and okonomiyaki.
From Osaka we took the train up to Kyoto. We knew Kyoto was going to be very busy in cherry blossom season, and that it was. It was so many people, people on top of people, 90% of which were the loudest and perhaps the most obnoxious tourists. All the people meant that getting in anywhere for lunch or dinner was a struggle and there were queues for everything. This definitely dimmed the magical feeling of this incredible city, but we pushed on.
Kyoto itself is old and beautiful. The history is everywhere and that’s such a special feeling. While in Kyoto we saw the The Miyako Odori Geisha dance, visited the matcha district of Ube, walked the old streets, visited plenty of temples and took a day trip to the Nintendo Museum.
The cherry blossoms were gorgeous; the blossoms were so plentiful that the rivers had to be dammed to catch the falling petals. The historic charm of the streets and buildings were mesmerizing. We could’ve done without the 18 million other tourists, but the magic was real an undeniable.
We got up nice and early to visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine outside of Kyoto. Goodness. The sheer number of people and crowds fighting for these shrines and steps were exhausting. Thankfully we got there early enough and were fit enough to zip up the walkway to catch some of the morning light making its way through the shrines all to ourselves. We dodged some rain and tourists and relished in the bright reds and oranges against the lush landscape. Just as quickly as we summited the area we climbed back down to avoid the throngs of tourists with their tripods and selfie sticks.
The Internet also gave us a laundry list of things to see and places to visit. The frustrating part is now knowing what was worth seeing and what should’ve been an easy pass. So you end up spending so much time travelling around seeing mediocre sites and wishing you’d have skipped it. One of those places was a bamboo forest. What’s so special about this bamboo? Honestly, I”m not sure. A million people walking through this bamboo forest. Plus it was raining. The only bonus was walking past the Rilakkuma cafe and taking a photo with him.
One thing that absolutely was worth our time was the Miyako Odori Spring Dance. We got tickets to visit the spring Geisha dance and all I can say is wow! It was brimming with colour, song and storytelling. A true spectacle of history and art, a very special event to witness. (There were no photos allowed inside the theatre so you’ll have to take our word for it).
Kyoto was our rainiest city and even that was short lived. After the Miyako Odori it was absolutely pouring and we quickly ducked into 7-Eleven for a coffee to warm ourselves up. We put our umbrellas in the stand at the door and by the time we came back they were gone. Bastards! We got absolutely soaked without them. Drenched even. It’s a cut-throat game of umbrella snatching in Japan and we lost that round.
It was here in Kyoto where we enjoyed our favourite bowl of ramen in all of Japan. Engine Ramen had a creamy zesty bowl of goodness that still visits us in our dreams. We’d love to go back to Kyoto, but we’d definitely visit in the off season. Getting in to any restaurant was a whole production. So many people and standing in too many lines waiting to get a seat. (Picture tired hangry Alex, waiting for food, standing in a queue complaining and deciding whether or not to stay, or try elsewhere. To go elsewhere and see the queue is even bigger and now hungrier and more tired and sad with our life choices).
We loved all the cute ceramic shops selling little chopstick rests, matcha bowls, tea sets and plates. I spent too much money but purchased the most spectacular matcha/coffee mug that I shall cherish. It’s the little things that bring back memories long after you’ve returned home. Worth it!
Another memorable visit was to the Lucky Cat Temple, I’m sure you can guess whose idea that was right?
One small day trip from Kyoto was the Nintendo Museum. Getting tickets to the Nintendo Museum was tricky as it only opened last October and is still very popular in high demand. We successfully secured two adult tickets and made the trip out to the museum. The main floor was all interactive games and exhibits. There were life-sized controllers to play a variety of classic Nintendo games, retro Nintendo consoles hooked up to screens and some arcade style games as well. You are given the cutest little entry pass with some tokens to spend on these games and experiences.
Up on the second floor is the museum part. Every console, game and piece of Nintendo merch you could think of. Things you’ve never even heard of or seen before! It was very well put together and it was fun to see our favourite childhood games and consoles on display.
Throughout the museum were little Nintendo easter eggs to find. Excitebike dirt bikes on the handrails, GameBoy umbrella holders, an Animal Crossing present balloon in the cafe and Kirby vending machine. The small touches of Nintendo gameplay and magic made for an immersive experience.
From the Nintendo Museum we headed to Ube; the matcha capital of Japan. All I can say is yum. We tried matcha soba noodles, hot matcha, matcha ice cream, we tried different roasts of matcha at the roastery, matcha cheesecake, matcha scones and probably more. If it came in a matcha flavour, we tried it.
From Kyoto we booked the Shinkasen bullet train up to Tokyo. Booking the Shinkasen was expensive and stressful, but once on the train it was seamless and a great way to travel. A+ for leg room and comfort.
Out of the entirety of our time in Japan, I think we were most unprepared for Tokyo. What we expected Tokyo to be like from the movies and what we had pictured was just so different from the reality. I knew that Tokyo was a gigantic city made up of many adjoining cities, but I didn’t really understand how that would feel in context.
We stayed in Shinjuku, one of the cities of Tokyo. Shinjuku is known for its microbar district, colourful lights and nightlife. The area of microbars is streets and laneways of tiny bars that seat 4-10 people max. They are back to back to back all jammed into this eclectic area. Some of these bars are locals only, some have a cover charge some are smoking some aren’t etc. It’s the most quintessential Shinjuku experience you could ever get! My other personal favourite of the area is the 3D cat screen where the cat looks like it knocks things off the billboard and meows at the people below.
From Shinjuku the very impressive and extensive train and subway network easily connects you with the other areas of Tokyo and Japan. We visited Shibuya, Ginza, Marunouchi, Taito City and Akihabara. All these areas/regions/municipalities are unique and have their own draws and vibes. Shibuya is arguably the most popular with the Shibuya Scramble Crossing as featured in Fast and Furious Toyko Drift.
Standing sushi bars quickly became one of our favourite places to eat. Everything made to order in front of you, quick, fresh and very tasty. I’m surprised that we didn’t grow gills with the amount of sushi we consumed! Don’t worry, we had plenty of sake, beer and ramen to maintain a balanced diet.
We were closely watching the weather waiting for a clear day and booked the Fuji Excursion train to the town of Fujikawaguchiko to see Mount Fuji. I don’t think you can properly grasp it’s presence and majesty until you see it in person. It’s such a large icon that fills the skyline with no other landforms to share the glory. A stunning piece of Japan to see.
We did a good job of seeing a billion things and getting around to the major tourist attractions. As with being a tourist, sometimes you’re happy with seeing the popular thing and other times you feel like it was the biggest waste of effort. But your don’t know until you’ve gone and done the thing or seen the sight!
Team Lab got a lot of love on the Internet, so we added it to our itinerary. It’s essentially an interactive museum with lights and visual effects that you walk through. Probably not the best use of our time but fun to see. The best part was the tea house where they serve you a matcha latte and the interactive lights create cherry blossoms on the top of the cup, and when you pick it up they disperse and ‘blow away’ across the table.
Every single night we got back to the hotel and fell asleep instantly. It was early nights and early mornings which in hindsight was kind of off for the vibe of Japan, but you live and learn. There is absolutely no cafe/brunch/coffee culture in Japan. Places don’t really open until 10am or 11am and often stay open later. We’re so conditioned to waking up early to make the most out of a city, that this was confusing for us. Breakfasts consisted of a 7-eleven smoothie and apple. People would be eating beef skewers for breakfast, soups and seafood and onigiri from the convenience store.
Using public transport around Japan was awesome. It’s orderly, quiet and well signed. The only thing that got us was the sheer size of the stations. Often multiple levels that sprawled out in all directions for kilometres. You’d think you were close then realized it was 2 more floors down and a 20 minute walk through 5 tunnels. One thing we never quite understood was do you stay to the left or to the right? It seemed to flip flop and we couldn’t find a pattern to it. Michael also battled with the varying ceiling heights, specifically in the metro tunnels. So many altercations with the ceiling.
Coming back to Aus was calming to the nervous system. So much space and less crowded but also infuriating with the ignorance of people and the illogical nature of so many things that Japan has perfectly sorted.
We’d definitely like to visit Japan again, but probably in a different way. Perhaps focus more on the outdoors, do some camping and see the countryside and get into nature. A girl can dream can’t she!
We took thousands of photos and have shared just some of the highlights of this very special trip with you. Until next time.
With Love,
Alex and Михайло
