The weather was as cold and cloudy as we expected, but we had hoped for warmer weather. We did get a couple of warm days, but for the most part we were in sweaters and jackets. We didn’t see a baseball game, a sumo wrestling match, or Kabuki, Noh, or Bunraki performances, and we didn’t learn anything about the minority culture, the Ainu.
Still, our days were full of fun things we did enjoy, and we delighted in them.
1) There are parks and gardens everywhere, and the Japanese people enjoy the heck out of them.
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| A peaceful park in Hiroshima |
2) Restaurants are tiny and typically seem to specialize in one thing. You don’t go to a soba restaurant and ask for sushi or ramen. The same is true of shops. Except for souvenir shops, and a couple of large department stores, they usually sell clothes or accessories or shoes.
3) People here can’t say “no.” If you walk into a restaurant at 1:45 that closes at 2 and ask for a seat, the waiter will only look confused. Instead, you ask, “Are you closing soon?” You get a smile and a “Yes!”
4) Cars are very respectful of pedestrians. Cyclists, less so. Sort of like everywhere except Denmark.
5) The food is remarkably cheap! Our most expensive meal, where we really splurged, was about $65, tax and tip are always included. Typically, our big meal is about $25, and, if we ate from a konbini, it’s $2.
6) Toilets have a mind of their own—sorta. In some bathrooms, the lid pops open as soon as you open the door. In public toilets, there’s often a button to push for “privacy”—it’s white noise, like a stream. And most have built-in “bidet” options for washing your private parts. And it’s true: some public stalls still have the the old-fashioned squat toilets.
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A simple toilet control |
7) In hotels with onsen, guests are given “indoor clothing”—pajama-type top and pants, or a cotton yukata. Surprise of surprises, two of those had extra large for Ted, and medium for me. The last one had one size fits all. Bit small for Ted, but swallowed me whole!
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| This yukata fit Ted perfectly! |
8) In an effort, I suppose, to save money and waste, amenities and toiletry items are on a shelf in the hotel lobby. Get what you need, and leave the rest!
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| Great way to offer what amenities you might need in the hotel, without waste. |
9) When you sit at your restaurant table, you are given a "wet wipe" in a plastic sleeve. More often than not, this will be your napkin. However, the tradition goes back centuries, to the Edo period. When travelers arrived at an inn or tea house, they were given wet cloths to wipe their faces and hands before eating. Some restaurants do give you warm washcloths, but the wet wipe is what you'll usually get, which is really quite nice!
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| Here, we got our wet wipes AND napkins |
10) Trains are awesome. Typically we didn't see conductors on the platforms, but on the day the cherry blossoms were blooming, they were out in force, shuttling folks off the platforms.
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| Ready to help keep things moving, as soon as the doors open. |
11.) Boy Scouts. As the parents of an Eagle Scout, we are always pleased when we see Scouts in other countries. These guys didn't speak English but liked my "thumbs up," and chased me down to give me a pin from their last Roundup.
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| Proud Scouts. Liked them better than the Big Buddha we came to see! |
And much more. We really liked Japan!
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