This is a rainy city?
Ketchikan
4/30/2009 10:07:33 PM - Day 410 - Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
Ketchikan, Alaska with its Rainforest in the background. I've never been to a rainforest like that before!
Ketchikan is the rainiest city in North America with over 150 inches of average rainfall a year. To put this in perspective, Seattle, Washington is considered to be a very rainy city in the United States by most people on the West Coast of the US where I am from, and Seattle only gets around 37 inches of average rainfall a year. Luckily, when I was there it was warm and sunny! The people I met in the area told me I'd gotten really lucky with the weather that day.
Ketchikan was another stop in Alaska from the cruise ship. It was a very small town with a nice little downtown area. It seems that tourism from cruise ships is a huge part of the economy here because the entire downtown area seemed to be full of tourist souvenir shops and jewelry stores. In fact, I can't remember the last time I have seen such a high concentration of Jewelry stores in my life.
I checked out a salmon hatchery as well as a Bald Eagle exhibit. They were slightly interesting. After that it was a totem pole museum and a national park with a couple totem poles in it. I think the best part of the tour was the tour guides who were very informative and had some great stories to tell. The scenery around the town was fantastic and I'm very thankful to be here on a sunny day.
|
Snow!!!
Good Weather in Alaska
4/29/2009 9:39:03 PM - Day 409 - Juneau, Alaska, United States
That's Mendenhall Glacier in the background, the World's only walkup Glacier.
I stopped off from the cruise in Juneau, Alaska for a day and visited Mendenhall Glacier as well as a salmon bake. The Glacier was amazing and had some fantastic scenery that I really found impressive, especially since I haven't seen too much scenery like that thus far on my travels. Hell, being from Southern California I've only seen the snow a handful of times. The salmon bake wasn't memorable. The food was ok, but for the price I was disappointed. I make better tasting salmon back home in five minutes.
Juneau itself was a very small town considering it is the capital of Alaska. Anchorage actually has a lot more people. It was a nice town and it was interesting to imagine what it's like for people to live there.
Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. Mendenall Glacier is the world's only walkup glacier. The scenery around the glacier was amazing, especially with the lake being frozen over. Some idiots ran out there ealier in the day and gave the rangers a heart attack.
|
|
Japan has been an amazing country.
Sapporo: Last Stop in Japan
4/22/2009 6:49:11 AM - Day 402 - Sapporo, Japan
"Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth!?" One last night partying in Japan in Sapporo.
Sapporo was the perfect last stop on this trip of mine to Japan. The capital of the less visited far northern island of Hokkaido, Sapporo (Sapporo, Japan Review and City Information) has very little in terms of sites to see which was perfect for me because the last five weeks in Japan have been a sightseeing whirlwind of a tour since there is so damn much to see in this country. I wanted to relax, drink some beers and reflect on the past five weeks in Japan and Sapporo was perfect for that, especially since it is the home base of one of my favorite Japanese beers back home that I get when going to sushi aptly named "Sapporo".
Being such, I made sure to visit the Sapporo brewery which turned out to be a lot of fun. It was built like most breweries all over the world with red brick buildings and a huge beer hall having been started by a Japanese guy who studied beer making in Germany many years ago. I had a good time there and ended up drinking with a group of American military servicemen who were in Sapporo on some sort of training exercise.
Besides the brewery, there really wasn't much else to see or do in the relatively young city (especially by Japanese standards) of Sapporo since the main tourist attractions are outside the city typically in the form of natural beauty and winter sports. This was fine by me since it gave me more of a chance to meet the people in the area and simply relax.
I arrived on a weekend and because of this went out to hit up the bars and clubs. I stayed at a nice hostel named "Time Peace Apartment" (Time Peace Apartment Review in Sapporo, Japan) that was in the central area of Sapporo close to many of the bars, clubs and restaurants. It was a lot of fun and since there are so few Gaijin (foreigners) up here, I was somewhat of a novelty. At most of the bars I went to the Japanese guys and girls there were super friendly and curious as to what I was doing in Sapporo and where I was from. They really tripped out on my sideburns as well as my relatively muscular build saying things like "wowwwwwww, you're so BIG" which was kind of funny and a definite boost to the old ego. Another American I met there who worked at one of the local bars laughed about this saying that the Japanese even think he is big even though he was a skinny guy by American standards. All in all it was a fun time and I met a lot of really cool people.
At a lot of the bars it was pretty common for Japanese guys to approach me saying hi and being super friendly. The American guy who I met who lived in Sapporo explained to me that male camaraderie is a very important facet of Japanese culture. When I thought about it, it actually made a lot of sense and would explain things like the "mandatory" drinking sessions amongst Japanese businessmen into the wee hours of a work night that I was told were meant to build up friendships amongst a team that is almost always exclusively men. He told me that it isn't uncommon for male Japanese students to grab the balls of a male Gaijin English teacher in a way of saying "hey man, we're cool". That definitely isn't too fucking cool in my book! Up until that last part he had me but I have trouble believing that guys in Japan are walking around grabbing one another's balls.
On that "ball grabbing" note I'm going to start to end this entry. Japan quite simply has been one of the most amazing countries that I have visited in all of my travels. The people are beyond polite and friendly, the food is good and for the most part healthy. There is a ton of things to see and do, the culture is rich with history and tradition, the nightlife is amazing, it is extremely safe and getting from point 'A' to point 'B' couldn't be easier. The only downside is the high prices, but they weren't as bad as I was lead to believe (especially if you are lucky enough to have a local show you around) and is the price you pay to enjoy the comforts and safety of one of the most technologically advanced countries on the planet. I've always wanted to visit Japan and now I have. One time wasn't enough though and I am sure to come back again in the future.
I'm flying to Los Angeles today where I'll be staying with my friend Tony for a couple days before leaving on a cruise ship on a "repositioning" cruise that leaves Los Angeles for Alaska and ends in Canada. This was the exact route I was planning on flying and it turned out that this cruise was leaving the same day that I was planning on leaving but for only $200 more! Since the room and board are included, this might actually turn out to be a cheaper way to travel! I've never been on a cruise so I'm excited to see what it is like. This trip is taking me on all sorts of adventures.
|
Just call me Godzilla!
Tokyo is Loco-yo!
4/17/2009 10:21:39 AM - Day 397 - Tokyo, Japan
First night in Tokyo and already spreading "the pose"!
Welcome to Tokyo, largest city on the planet (it is not Mexico City as many people mistakenly think). Wow is all I can say. This city is fucking huge! There is so much to see and do here one could easily spend months in Tokyo alone trying to understand its many levels and various cultures and still have only a small understanding of the entire city. I spent a week here in Tokyo which for a city of this size and magnitude wasn't enough, but I still got to see and experience a decent amount of what Tokyo has to offer.
First off, the place I was staying at was a fucking trip. It was named the "Roppongi May Flower House" (Roppongi May Flower House Review) and indecently located in the Roppongi area of Tokyo. It turns out that the Roppongi area of Japan is a huge party spot, especially for "Gaijin" (foreigners). Besides all the pubs and clubs Roppongi has a ton of shops and restaurants to check out and is a central stop on the subway making many of Tokyo's highlight areas readily reachable. However, thanks to the rocking nightlife frequented by naive Gaijin willing to drop lots of money, various elements congregate to the area in hopes of swooping some of that money up, which I soon found out after checking into my "hotel".
The hotel was cool in the sense that you got your own room in a very happening area of Tokyo for a super cheap price, this was why I booked it to begin with. You have shared bathrooms and kitchens though, but I'm pretty used to that by now after staying in a ton of hostels. As I check in and start walking around the inner hallways to my room, I see tons of hot girls walking around in their underwear and little to no clothing. The manager didn't even bat an eye to this though as he showed me my room. Turns out that most of the people staying at my hotel were actually there on the long term paying by the month instead of by the night like me. In that sense, for most of the people there it was their home therefore they treated it like that by walking around in what made them comfortable, which for most was underwear or skimpy pajamas (I even saw one girl topless in her room since she had the door wide open). I only saw one other guy who was staying there the entire time I was there.
I'm walking around thinking "hmmm, haven't stayed in too many hotels like this". Most guys would be being stoked to be in this situation. Here I am, one of the few guys staying in a hotel full of hot girls who enjoy walking around half-naked. However, I soon found out why the place was full of hot girls lowering the coolness factor. They all worked in the Roppongi area's bar/clubs doing various jobs. I came to understand that a lot of them were bartenders, some were "hostesses" and others were "Champagne Girls", meaning girls who would go out, go and meet some dumb Gaijin who they would flirt with and get him to buy them high priced Champagne after which the girls would get a cut from the bar unbeknownst to the poor Gaijin who essentially just got hustled. One of these Champagne girls offered to show me around the area a bit my first night there while she plied her trade on poor saps. She was pretty friendly about showing me around but damn was she jaded! According to her, EVERY SINGLE girl in Roppongi was there working some angle trying to somehow get cash from the Gaijin. I found it pretty hard to believe that every girl there was working some type of con and I honestly think that she was looking at the area through jaded eyes thanks to the profession she was in. Eventually she found some guy to buy her Champagne at which point we parted ways and I was on my own. I walked around a bit on my own, met up with some other Americans who showed me around a bit the whole time getting solicited by tons of African guys outside of clubs trying to get you to come in. I guess the African club touts are a common occurrence in Roppongi. They were actually not that bad though and when you said "no thanks" they normally left you alone with a smile. I ended up walking home after sunrise drunk as a skunk. Tokyo doesn't sleep. Even as I stumbled home ignoring multiple offers for a "massage" plenty of clubs and bars will still rocking out.
I basically did the same Saturday night but a friend of mine who lives in Tokyo was nice enough to show me around a bit and give me a better insight into the area and culture. One thing that tripped me out a bit was this. My friend took me out to a really nice, Japanese style bar that was pretty upscale and nice with extremely attentive wait staff, yet the drinks there were cheaper than they were at the lower class pubs and clubs that all the Gaijin went to in Roppongi. They really stick it to foreigners in Roppongi. It is a pretty fun area though with a lot to do, but unless you know where you're going you'll probably end up spending a pretty penny. We also went to a really awesome club which I really appreciated. For some reason, I had always wanted to go to a club in Tokyo, and now I have! I was one of the only Gaijin in there adding to its authenticity. The Japanese really know how to party and the club was bumping. The only real differences between this club and nice clubs back in the United States was some of the music was different, but not all of it. Besides that, I felt like I was at a club back home, if said club happened to be frequented exclusively by Japanese.
My friend also cleared something up for me that has been on my mind for some time now. All through my trip, I have seen many Japanese girls walking somewhat strangely with bowed legs making their knees bend in to the point that they almost touched one another as they walked. I've heard various theories as to why this is from other tourists. I heard that the Japanese girls did it because they thought it was "cute", or that they wore shoes that were too big on purpose making them walk in this manner. I never saw guys doing it though which made me think that it wasn't genetic. My friend cleared it up for me though. I guess both men and women have bowed legs from sitting on their knees on Japanese Tatami mats so much which causes them to walk in this strange manner. The only thing is that it is much more noticeable on girls who tend to wear mini-skirts in high heels exaggerating the phenomenon. I haven't seen too much of this in Tokyo but I saw a ton of it in the areas south of Tokyo.
After two crazy nights in Tokyo, I had one massive hangover to nurse and a lot of work to do. I spent most of the rest of my time doing work. I did manage to get some fantastic sushi though at a very nice place with my Japanese friend and I can honestly say that I was treated to the best Tuna sushi I've ever had in my life. The restaurant looked exactly like the one from "Kill Bill 2" where Uma Thurman goes samurai on like a hundred yakuza gang members. I also visited some of the various sites in Tokyo which were nice as well as some of the distinct areas like Ginza and Harajuku where I even saw some kids dressed up in "cosplay" (some Japanese dress up in costumes for shits and giggles and then walk around the city).
I'm now getting ready to hit up the last city on my itinerary in Japan which is Sapporo in the far northern island of Hokkaido. I was really looking forward to the long train ride up there (I've come to learn that I love riding on trains) but it turns out that it is a little bit cheaper to fly with a company called "Skymark" which is Japan's budget airline (wish I would have known about them earlier in my trip). Until next time, keep it breezy!
|
One week wasn't enough.
Kyoto, Heart of Japan
4/10/2009 9:31:55 AM - Day 390 - Kyoto, Japan
At Fushimi Inari Shrine. 10,000 of these Torii Gates create a path that leads up a mountain.
Someone once told me that if you can understand Kyoto, you can understand Japan. I think that I have an idea of what he was talking about. Kyoto (Kyoto City Information and Review) is the perfect example of the combination of old and new in Japan. On one hand, you have multitudes of ancient temples and palaces all over the city, along with men and woman walking the streets in traditional Japanese robes, and on the other hand you have a rapidly modernizing city that is replete with all the trappings of a major city in one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world creating a synergy between the present and the past. That's how I have come to understand Japan, a country that reveres its storied and rich history and at the same time looks to the future with wide eyes and capable hands. Yet at the same time, the Japanese seem to revere their ancient history with almost of a sense of longing, because a great deal of the traditionally slow-paced way of life has been curtailed by the technological revolution that has swept Japan. This is evident by all the Japanese tourists that come to Kyoto and dress up as Geishas and Samurai while walking the streets.
This is how I have come to understand Kyoto, this is how I have come to understand Japan. Nobody can say that it is "right" or "wrong" because it is only my opinion. Kyoto is an amazing city, and Japan is an amazing country as well.
In my final days in Kyoto I switched hostels because my other one was booked to one named "Kyoto Cheapest Inn" (Kyoto Cheapest Inn Hostel Review) and then visited some of the outlying shrines and temples. In all honesty there are so many sights worth seeing in Kyoto that one would have to spend a great deal of time here in order to see them all. Another thing I have gotten used to is the tourist crush that I have to deal with when sightseeing. Rightfully so, for most Kyoto is the highlight of a trip to Japan and because of this there are tons of sightseers at all of the major sights of Kyoto making a visit feel pretty crowded and hectic.
I've seen some amazing places and sights here and have to say that Kyoto deserves it spot as being a top destination in Japan, if not the world. I have been too many cities at this point of my trip and Kyoto definitely ranks near the top of my list. My next stop is the largest city in the world, Tokyo (no, it's not Mexico City like many people think, look it up yourself). If there is one adjective I hear used often for Tokyo it is "crazy". Shit, I can do crazy!
Sorry the video is so unsteady. A walk down Shirakawa Street in the Geisha District (Gion District) of Kyoto, Japan. Many people consider this to be the nicest street in Kyoto. It is especially nice at night.
|
|
Ninja Please!
Himeji Castle
4/8/2009 9:38:02 PM - Day 388 - Himeji, Japan
Himeji Castle was designed to look like a "bird in flight".
When I was looking into traveling to Japan, one area that I definitely wanted to visit was the city of Himeji to see "Himeji Castle". By most accounts, it is the best castle in Japan being very close to its original form having escaped the bombings of World War II and is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I saw pictures of Himeji Castle and the decision was made to go there.
Getting to the castle is super easy since you can see it as soon as you walk out of the Himeji train station. Himeji Castle is up on a hill that overlooks the entire city. It is a short walk to the castle, maybe about 15 minutes (about half a mile or 1 kilometer) and thanks to the great weather, it was actually pretty pleasant afternoon stroll. The area around Himeji Castle is surrounded by a couple moats inside of which are some nice parks packed full of Japanese tourists, locals and some "Gaijin" (foreigners) such as myself. I think part of the reason why it is so crowded right now is not only due to the great weather, but also because the Cherry Blossom trees are in full bloom right now, and since there are many Cherry Blossom trees around Himeji Castle, the area looks absolutely amazing. Many of the Japanese were actually having "Hanami" or picnics on blue tarp mats underneath the Cherry Blossom trees while kids played Baseball in the park (the Japanese LOVE Baseball).
All around Himeji Castle are numerous parks and pathways. Some of them lead to the Donjon (main tower) while others dead end or lead nowhere. This was a defensive tactic used to confuse the enemy and give the castle's fortifiers chances to shoot at and observe would-be attackers. Himeji Castle was never attacked in this manner though so its design was never put to the test. These days however, the parks and pathways create a beautiful atmosphere. Walking around the grounds of Himeji Castle with numerous cherry blossom trees in bloom in its Japanese gardens with one of the finest Shogun era castles in the background made my imagination run wild with ideas of Samurai, Geishas and Imperial Retainers that used to walk the Castle's grounds. It was like walking around the set of a movie, with the only difference being that this wasn't a movie set, it was reality.
The Main Donjon itself was amazing. When constructed it was made to look like a "bird in flight", and from some angles, it actually does (with some help from the imagination of course). The interior was simple and interesting and at the top level they have a Buddhist shrine. With the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom, my vivid imagination of Ninjas running across the tiled roofs of Himeji while Samurai rested in the castle's interior along with the sheer beauty of the castle itself made Himeji Castle one of the better sightseeing experiences I have had on my travels.
|
At the real Geisha House
The Bridge Between Fantasy and Reality: Kyoto
4/6/2009 11:56:01 PM - Day 386 - Kyoto, Japan
"Am I Dreaming, walking the pages of a fairy tale because I didn't know such places existed."
Kyoto is the breathing soul of Japan. Being the capital of Japan and the emperor's residence for over 1,000 years, Kyoto is chalk full of Japanese tradition, culture and being spared from carpet bombing during World War II, many monuments still exist here in pristine condition today. It is the destination of destinations in Japan with multitudes of Japanese tourists here as a testament to this. Simply put, Kyoto is amazing.
I arrived on a Japan Rails train in the early afternoon. The train station in Kyoto was very nice and as soon as you walk outside you see a huge tourist information booth with free maps and info. I can't stress how easy it is to travel around Japan. I caught the subway and was soon at my hostel named "Ayado Gion" (Ayado Gion Hostel Review in Kyoto, Japan). I only booked three nights there because online they had no reviews and in retrospect I wish I would have booked my entire stay in Kyoto there because it Ayado Gion turned out to be a great hostel.
One of the coolest things about the hostel was its location in the Gion district of Kyoto. The Gion district is the most famous Geisha district in all of Japan. One thing about Geishas that I need to clarify, they are not prostitutes. Geisha actually means "performing artist" which is exactly what they do, perform art, usually in the form of traditional song and dance. They are also masterful conversationalist making their clients feel like the King's of the Universe. They don't have sex though.
Besides getting a chance to see the highly elusive Geisha, the area itself is beautiful with many old traditional merchant houses, a lack of telephone lines which seems to be all over Japanese cities and a fantastic amount of beautiful trees that really ads to the atmosphere of the area.
In the Gion district is "Shirakawa" street, which some consider to be the most scenic street in Kyoto (which says a lot). The street is lines with old Japanese merchant houses made in the traditional style with many beautiful trees, Geisha teahouses where the Geisha entertain guests and a stream running down the side of it. It also happened to be right across the street from my hostel so I found myself visiting Shirakawa many times. It was usually packed with Japanese tourists and for good reason because not only is the area beautiful, but the Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom right now and the Shirakawa area of Kyoto is full of Cherry Blossom trees. This was actually why I waited for this time of the year to come, to see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom and what better place than Kyoto, Japan.
The cherry blossom trees coupled with the ambience of Gion on Shirakawa Street created an atmosphere that I can best describe as "mythic". I honestly felt as if I was walking thru the pages of a Far East story-book. The entire street was lit up with the cherry blossoms in full bloom looking like cotton-candy against the black sky. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.
As luck would have it, one night while I was standing there soaking in the atmosphere on Shirakawa, a group of Geishas were walking with some clients to one of the teahouses on nearby. Seeing them there under the pink cloud of cherry blossoms on the most scenic street in the old capital of Kyoto was surreal. As soon as they disappeared another group of Geishas arrived with their clients and then another! These were the real deal too, not the Japanese tourists that come to Kyoto and get dressed up as Geishas for pictures, no these were real Geishas entertaining influential Japanese men. Seeing them really made the scene. It was amazing.
I still have a couple more days here in Kyoto besides taking a trip to Himeji one day, I hope to see more of the city, its history, people and culture because simply put, Kyoto is amazing.
|
Bambi is one pushy mofo!
Nara, the First Capital of Japan
4/4/2009 10:41:09 PM - Day 384 - Nara, Japan
"Whatsup Bambi? Eat enough biscuits today?"
Nara was the first capital of Japan before being moved to Kyoto, and finally "Edo" or Tokyo. Thanks to this there is a lot worth checking out there in terms of sites and a lot of history to take in. I read in my guidebook that visiting Nara could easily be done on a daytrip so that's just what I did. Using Kyoto as my base of operations, I caught a train to Nara and was there about an hour later.
Even though Nara is currently the capital city of the "Nara Prefecture" here in Japan, it is still a relatively sleepy place compared to some of the other large cities of Japan. People definitely seemed to be more relaxed and peaceful here. I went out to Nara with a girl named Cathy who was also traveling solo, and since this was her first time doing solo traveling she didn't want to do it alone if possible which I can empathize with. We ended up getting lost on the way to the sites but it worked out for the best because we ran into an old Japanese man and when I asked him about the main site most people visit "Todai-ji", he said he would show us the way there. The funny thing is that I realized in my broken Japanese I asked him "Do you speak Todai-ji", and when I realized that about ten minutes later he started laughing. No wonder I have been getting some whack-ass direction lately!
He led us thru the crisscrossing back roads of Nara. The side streets of Nara were super relaxed with houses built in the traditional Japanese style. They were made most of wood, with sliding panel doors and "Tatami" straw mats on the floor along with dark tiled roofs. The area exuded a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. Occasionally we would walk past some type of small shop or café. Eventually he led us to the area we were trying to reach, namely "Nara-koen" or Nara Park, where most of the sites of the city are located and bid us farewell. Once again, I have to say that people here in Japan are super nice.
The sites around the park were super nice and they have them all over the place. The one thing you notice immediately upon entering the park though is that there are a ton of white-tailed deer in the area. It seems that during the feudal times, the deer were considered to be messengers of a god, so they were not to be harmed. Nowadays they aren't looked at so much as sacred envoys but somewhat of an attraction in themselves with many vendors selling biscuits to feed the deer with. The deer go after those biscuits with a vengeance though. It was actually pretty entertaining watching Japanese and Gaijin tourists alike getting nudged by deer as they aggressively went after those biscuits. Most of the deer had their antlers shaved off though so the nudging wasn't so dangerous as it was funny. One deer didn't have his antlers shaved however for whatever reason and he was poking tourists in the ass all over the place going after biscuits. The best part was seeing the little kids try to feed the deer, then get butted by them (not dangerously though) and the kids running off screaming as the parents stood there laughing (I laughed too, not going to lie).
The sites themselves were very nice to visit, especially the "Todai-ji" temple which not only houses the largest Buddha statue in Japan, but the main building itself, named the "Daibutsu" is actually the largest wooden structure in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was mighty impressive and probably the highlight for most visiting Nara on tourism.
After visiting Nara I headed back to Kyoto where I am at right now. Kyoto is especially beautiful right now with all the Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom so I think I am going to go check some out right now!
|
Noodle Eating 101
Enjoying Osaka
4/3/2009 9:30:11 AM - Day 383 - Osaka, Japan
This guy's job is to direct you thru the cones around the construction site. This is pretty common at contruction sites in Japan. Talk about being polite!
I got into Osaka on a Japan Railways "JR" train from Kobe in a pretty short amount of time. I have to say that traveling around Japan is a breeze. In a lot of countries I have been to on my travels I have had to spend a great amount of time and energy figuring out how to get from point "A" to point "B", but here in Japan it is beyond easy. They have a very interconnected rail system along with English maps making the trip super easy. I simply show up not knowing anything except for where I want to go and can typically and easily catch a train to wherever I need to go within ten to fifteen minutes. After traveling in a lot of third world countries, I have really gained an appreciation for this efficient and easy manner of travel.
In Osaka I stayed at a place called the "Weekly Mansion Osaka at Otemae" (Weekly Mansion Osaka at Otemae Review)which was fucking awesome. It wasn't a budget place, but wasn't expensive either being in line with a lower mid-range hotel being about $70 a night. The cool part was that I got to have my own apartment! That has been a luxury I haven't been able to enjoy in quite some time. It was like having my own place in Japan.
Even though Osaka is one of Japan's biggest cities, there aren't a lot of things to see in terms of tourism in here but the locals are really nice and there is a huge nightlife scene here. I stayed here during the week though so didn't go out drinking instead opting to get a lot of work done, and when I wasn't working I was able to enjoy relaxing days wandering the streets, sampling the local food and experiencing more of Japanese culture.
I'm always coming across little things about Japanese culture that I find interesting. For example, whenever there is a construction site in the city, they always have at least one guy (but usually a couple) in nice blue jumpsuits directing pedestrians around the construction zone. They already have cones setup usually to let you know where to walk but they have these guys anyways. You get within ten feet of them and they start bowing to you while motioning you to walk thru the cones. It always put a smile on my face. Japanese people are so polite.
One thing that wouldn't be considered polite however in American culture is Japanese restaurant customers. They don't seem rude at all except when it comes to when the server brings out the food. When you walk in the people always greet you earnestly and ask you to sit down. Then they bring out your food saying to enjoy it with the upmost of respect. Here in the USA, it would be polite to say "thank you" when you are brought your food with that level of attentiveness, not in Japan though, at least from what I have seen. I have yet to see anyone say anything when their food is served by even the most gracious of servers. I typically see the customers virtually ignoring the server. I was a bit surprised at first considering how polite Japanese people are, but it simply isn't customary to say thank you for that service over here. I'm not knocking it, only pointing out one of the many differences between American and Japanese cultures and one of the few times that Japanese people didn't seem overly polite to me.
In the restaurants I have been eating a lot of noodles. Noodles come in all shapes and sizes over here. One thing I've noticed is that in Japan, if you want to eat the noodles like the Japanese do, you "slurp" it up. You grab a bunch of noodles with your chopstick and give it a big slurp, slurp, and slurp all the way up into your mouth! I always get a kick out of eating in noodle restaurants because of all the slurping sounds you here all over the place. I wish I could get away with that stuff back home! I laugh thinking about the looks I would get if I was in a restaurants slurping up noodle soup of spaghetti. I tried the slurping out myself but I must suck at it because every time I do it I get soup broth or whatever the noodles are in all over my clothes and face as the noodles fly all over the place from my novice slurping technique.
I'm about to head off to Kyoto which is supposed to be one of the coolest cities in the world. I also plan on doing a lot of day trips from there before I leave the region, so until next time, slurp, slurp, slurp!
|