Dear Japan...

I miss you!

Stuff The Japanese Like

While on our trip we kept a running list of things we noticed the Japanese liked... Not to be confused with the website Stuff White People Like, especially b/c that website made me a bit annoyed (ie. before we went on our trip I read that apparently white people like Japan and REI, 2 places I was headed... I don't want to be considered stereotypical... grrr.)

So anyways, while this is all just my opinion there were just many things we kept seeing over and over again in the cities and towns we visited. By no means is this meant to be negative, we loved Japan and the Japanese and we loved everything they loved!

Stuff The Japanese Seem to like:
- high heels - most women were wearing cute heels or heeled boots, the shoes I saw were just inspirational!
- thigh highs - lots and lots of thigh high socks/stocking/etc. They were always paired with super short skirts, dresses or shorts.
- knee high socks - not always worn with school uniforms, also paired with short skirts, dresses and shorts.
- stirrup tights - I fell in love with this look and saw it everywhere! Women old and young wore these tights. Stirrups were the most common but to be fair tights were also a hot item.
- tights - see above comments
- English writing on shirts - the best versions of these were the ones that were in English but not English that made sense. However there were many shirts on men dn women where there was large printed words usually about love, peace or some sort of combination of the two. We had fun looking for "Engrish" versions of shirts, I brought home 3 as gifts (see above picture).
- boots - as mentioned before, there were some hot boots and had they actually had my size I may have come home with a suitcase full of them!
- mini socks - not sure this is the correct term for them but here in the States I have seen them called peds but have not seen any as cute as the ones in Japan, I bought 2 pairs and WISH I had bought way more! They basically allow you to wear a sock type of material with your heels or flats. In Japan they had so many variations for straps, thong sandals, etc. They are so smart!!
- beer - beer ads are everywhere and in these ads people (typically men) are actually drinking beer or really enjoying it (as seen here). You can buy beer out of a vending machine, drink it on the train, etc... Beer is popular.
- plastic bags and containers - everything comes in some sort of packaging whether it's a small clear bag or in a box. The Japanese are very clean and seem to be pretty eco friendly but all of these bags and containers create a lot of waste. On the flip side their packaging is always really cute so maybe it will make you want to save it and not waste it.
- trains - their trains are amazing. We bought a rail pass and spent so much time using their trains to travel the country. They are clean, easy to figure out, ALWAYS on time and so much more.
- surgical masks - we saw a lot of people wearing the surgical masks while we were there. I wasn't sure if it was due to them being ill or afraid of getting sick from others. Could be a mixture of both.
- hand wipes - you get one with every meal you eat and it comes in a little plastic package bag, unless of course you go somewhere where they give you a warm wash cloth. They may create waste but they are so nice to have!
- alcohol - not the drinking kind but the sanitization kind. When you enter a store, station, hotel or basically anywhere there is a small table with a container on it so you can squirt the alcohol on your hands to then rub in and kill the germs.
- cell phone charms - EVERYONE has a cell phone charm, some have many... I even saw 80 year old men with cute little bear charms on their phones. They basically tell a little story about you and what you like. I saw one that looked like a curious George monkey, a rice bowl, lots of Hello Kitty, bears, a shoe... I could go on!
- anime - it's everywhere... posters, tv, kids bags, etc... Anime is super popular but you should know that, unless you've been living under a rock.
- anything cute - this was one of my favorite things to look for, cute things. Advertisements used cute little characters to get the point across (ie. a dog scooping it's own poop (see picture), and alligator looking sad b/c some kids music on the subway was to loud, all kinds of animals pimping out drinks, food and snacks...
- cell phones - everyone has a cell phone and they are by far cooler than any cell phone I've seen in the States. People are constantly texting, playing games, checking email, watching TV, etc. on their phones.
- short skirts - mentioned earlier
- shorts with tights - mentioned earlier
- being fashionable - "fashionable" can mean many things in Japan, just depends on the style of the person. That being said I saw some really cool fashion choices and some really different choices, none the less, all cool!
- neon signs
- vending machines - they are everywhere!
- sugary drinks - can be purchased in the above vending machines or basically anywhere. I tasted some of the best drinks ever in Japan!
- green tea
- McDonald's/Starbucks
- bikes/scooters - way more popular than cars and apparently not expensive to have
- small cars
- uniforms
- tennis shoes - saw some really cool tennis shoes and so many different styles.
- snacks
- tissues - they hand out tissues on the streets as promotional items - you will never need to buy kleenex again!
- chimes - every subway station has it's own chime and they even sell little charms that have those chimes on them for souvenirs.
- beauty - everything seems to be maintained, organized, cleaned, and the presentation of pretty much everything is just beautiful.
- gardening
- pickled food - you gets lots of picked side items and every one we had was yummy!
- specialty foods - according to hubby most all of the cities have a food specialty so we tried to make sure to taste those when we visited.
- bathhouses (onsen) - the bathhouse is a wonderful experience and seemed to be loved by everyone we encountered while at them.
- cleanliness
- organization

I don't think the Japanese are stereotypical at all and this post isn't meant to make them look that way, just highlight some of the cool things I observed them enjoying on my trip. Thanks for such an amazing time Japan, we can't wait to come back!

UPDATE: I forgot to add one of the most important things that the Japanese liked; ICHIRO!!! Anytime people found out where we were from they would screach "Seeater Mariners, Ichiro, Japanese Hero, 200!" Ichiro saved our trip and helped us make many friends, Thank you Ichiro Suzuki!

Day 15 Pictures Are Up!

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Day 14 Pictures Are Up!

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Day 13 Pictures Are Up!

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Day 15 - Tokyo/Vancouver/Seattle

Today was our last day in Japan so we decided it was the day we'd get up early and go to the fish market. We tried to go to bed somewhat early the night before but that didn't really happen... oh well. The alarm went off at 6am and we got up, showered and out the door before 7am. We took the subway down to Tsukiji and then found our way to the street. (I should mention it was raining but a very Seattle type rain - drizzle).

I think with it being so early, having not eaten and the rain was kind of wearing on us as we got a bit lost which just put us in a bad mood... After wandering around a bit we finally figured it out and found the place. It's MASSIVE!! We had been told from our friend the night before to not go at 4am like we had planned b/c they don't allow people on the bidding floor anymore and that 7am would be a fine time. Thank god b/c the thought of being there at 4am was not pleasant to me...

I had pictured just one big building where all the fish was ligned up but in reallity it was several buildings with rows and rows of fish vendors. You have to be ultra careful where you walk and pay attention at all times b/c these people are working and there are constantly bikes, scooters, trucks, people all over the place trying to get by. To say it's fast paced doesn't really do it justice. I really felt in the way but we did our best to stay out of everyones way. Noone seemed to mind we were there looking, taking pictures. We even had a few men greet us with "good morning" in English which isn't what we are used to hearing - it took a second to register.

I enjoyed walking around and the strong smell of fish was actually nice - it's fresh fish, fresh delicious fish!! I saw so many fish that I have never seen before. The only thing that made me sad was the poor little turtle I saw trying to get out of a mesh bag. I told Jeff I should buy him and set him free. Poor little guy.

We bought a few items as souveniers after all of the looking and gawking and then decided to head back to our kneck of the woods as we had packing to do and still needed to eat breakfast. The original plan when we first came to Japan was to have sushi here for breakfast but after two nights of partying I just didn't think raw fish sounded good. Thankfully Jeff agreed. We also agreed that we had some of the best raw tuna the night before which came from here that morning so we didn't feel like we were short changing ourselves from the experience. I will also point out that there were in fact many people waiting in lines to eat fresh sushi at that hour at several little restaurants in the market. Hopefully that won't be a regret of mine after this rip is over but seriously, I couldn't have stomached it...

Once back in Ebisu we headed to get breakfast (iced chocolate milk with a shot of espresso and pastries) and then back to the hotel to nap a bit as nothing was really open yet. We had some yen to spend and decided to try and buy ourselves a few things as it seems we've bought tons of little gifts for folks but nothing really for us. No luck... We couldn't find anything we needed or really wanted. We headed over to the grocery store to get one more last look, and to buy lunch, of all that we would be missing. (The grocery stores here are beyond spectacular, we could spend hours just wandering around!! The presentation alone is worth the visit!)

I had bought a big hot pink hard case suitcase the day before so it was time to repack everything. I love that suitcase, it fit everything we bought and made my backpack lighter. Our shuttle bus came at 2:30 so we checked out and headed out... Goodbye Japan, we are really going to miss you!

Our flight wasn't until 7pm so once at the airport we ended up finding the duty free shops and spending the last bit of yen we had on ourselves. Easy enough!! The flight was only 10 hours and that included the hour layover in Vancouver, BC and then the 30 min flight to Seattle. Not bad at all!!

We really had a great time in Japan. I do think Jeff is way more sad about coming home than I am. I am looking forward to my bad, having mpore than 4 outfits and seeing the dogs. He just keeps thinking about all the things he loved about the Japanese and the country and keeps comparing them to home. I think he would move to Japan, I may need to work on that. ;) Obviously being together for 2 weeks straight has it's annoyances but for the most part we got along fine and really did get to do so many cool things. We met some great people who I hope we stay in touch with, we ate some of the most amazing food ever and we saw so many things in such a short time... We are already planning our return for 2011!

Sayonara Japan... or should I say Ja Ma Tay!!!

Japanese Bath

After arriving in Kyoto last week we decided to visit a Japanese bathhouse. The Hakusan-yu (www.hakusanyu.com) is a bathhouse directly in the middle of downtown. It took some hunting to find since it was down a narrow side street, but it was well worth the time. Now, this is a true public bathhouse so it was not fancy. You remove you shoes and place them in a locker with a wooden peg you remove to "lock" your shoes up. You enter in the small lobby and an old Japanese woman takes your payment (I think it was 300yen) and rents you towel (200yen). Then you enter either the "female" or "male" side. Naturally I head for the male side and upon entering there were old guys smoking and watching sports. I removed my clothes and went into the actual bath area. The area is comprised of about 20 individual sitting areas where you wash-up. Now, this is where I made an ass of myself. At each sitting area was a stool and a hot/cold faucet, a hose and some bottles of generic shampoo/conditioner. There were also some bowls for rinsing at some of the areas and other soap products. I sat down at a stool, found some soap, and began lathering up my washcloth. About 30 seconds in, I had guy approach and inform me that I was sitting at his area and using his soap!!! I was so embarrassed. I apologized profusely and found another area to finish washing up at. He just smiled, collected his stuff, and left. Washing your body in Japan is very ritualistic. You must lather and cleanse as much and has hard as possible - this shows everyone that your body is clean enough to soak in the tubs with them. There was a hot tub with jets, an electric current, a medicinal tub with purple water, a cold water plunge, soaking tubs, and a sauna. I tested them all. I was the only Westerner in the there, but everyone was pretty cool. I'm sure they were all wondering how I found their bathhouse in the middle of Kyoto down a narrow side street with a simple neon sign indicating what the place was. I just thought to myself that a little research, perseverance, and a great deal of walking can get you far in Japan. Now the onzen at Tanzen-no-yu was a much different and unique experience in its own right...but, that's another story!