It’s video time! This is only meant to be cinematic and not used as an account of my trip! A full account of the trip can be found in the writings here/below, or by sitting down and visiting with me! haha
P.S. Make sure your volume is on! 🙂
It’s now a little past 4:00 in the afternoon here in Japan. I’m living now in a 3 hour window of time that I will get to live twice! Our plane is scheduled to depart Narita at 7:10 this evening and land at 3:45 the same afternoon in Dallas. It’s a crazy thing that is the responsibility of time zones, an international date line, and so on. But enough of that confusing stuff.
Wow, the thought of living 3 hours of your life over is really making me reflect and think deeply about all that has happened in the past week and a half. I’ve had the adventure of a lifetime. Been exposed to some of the most foreign culture I’ve ever had the chance of experiencing. Spent 10 days in a country that’s based on a non-latin alphabet and survived… Ha! Admittedly though, America is slacking when most of us only know one language fluidly. The people here, for the most part, knew as much English as they would need to know to survive in America. And for that I’m thankful because I sure did not know enough Japanese to survive in Japan.
As I sit here on the Narita Express anxiously anticipating our flight home this evening, I’m looking around at the other people here and trying to figure out their stories. What brought them to Japan, or what is taking them to the airport? I see an (obviously) American couple sitting across from me. He’s on his iPad playing a game and she has her window shade pulled down. It’s quickly apparent that they’ve probably had enough of Japan and cannot wait to sit down at a Chili’s with bottomless tortillas chips and endless Diet Coke (don’t get me wrong, I’m right there with them on the Chili’s but there’s no way I’d pull my window shade down and miss these incredible views of the Tokyo suburbs).
Behind them, there’s a couple speaking a language I cannot quite detect. They have two LARGE backpacks above their seats making me think that they are accustomed to traveling. More than likely, they took a quick trip to Japan and only what would fit in their backpacks came with them.
Lastly, I look in the window next to me and see my own reflection. What brought me to Japan? Adventure, world travel, exposure to new things… Those are all normal reasons of mine. I’m sure many of them apply to this trip, but I think this trip was about something else. A slightly more personal reason and a chance to discover some of my own self. This was my first trip without parents and family–one might say even my first trip on my own (even though I’m very thankful Max was here to help get us around from place to place)! Whatever the reason, outcome or eventual understanding of why I decided to come to Japan, I’ve enjoyed every moment of my time here!
Alright, our train is approaching Narita.
Sayonara, Japan!
My last full day in Japan has come and gone. Tomorrow we will make the trek (via Shinkansen) back to Tokyo and on to Narita Airport for our 1910 departure bound for DFW.
Today was a nice, relaxing last day. The majority of it was spent on Kyoto City Buses (because traffic is so bad congested here getting from point A to point B takes forever), but during the time we spent off the bus, we saw a castle and some temples.
As much as I have enjoyed my time in Japan, I am ready to go home. Life stateside has become more appealing day by day. The things that we take for granted (free refills on soft drinks mainly), I am greatly looking forward to having again, but now with a greater appreciation of them.
I would like to thank everyone who helped make this trip possible for me. It’s been expensive, so the money that you all provided me with has been more than welcomed! I couldn’t have done it without you! Be watching the mail … the Japanese Post Office was closed for four days straight due to the New Year’s holiday, but I finally got a chance to send some mail home!
In about 24 hours I’ll be boarding American Airlines flight 60 for DFW. But crazily enough, due to the time change, I’ll be home in a little less than 20 hours… See you all soon! 🙂
The eighth day of the trip started off kinda rough. Our first priority today was to find an ATM and get some cash out. The first place we tired was the post office–up to this point, that had been the only place we had success using our cards for ATM transactions. Unfortunately and very upsettingly, the Japan Post Bank has decided to take an EXTREMELY long New Year’s holiday. We found out that they will be closed until January 4 (and when the JP Bank is closed, they turn off their ATMs across the city … Why? I have NO idea).
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Feeling immediately defeated, we decided to go to they World Currency Exchange Center in Kyoto Station. But the joke’s on us, when we got to the currency exchange, the sign on the door informed up they will be closed too until January 4. We have no cash to our names; only American Visas that work at very limited ATMs in this country and every place that could potentially help us is closed for the next two days. Time for Plan B … But wait, this was a trip where most of the time we didn’t even have a Plan A. Oh well, it’s all apart of the experience.
We sought refuge at the International Tourist Information Center in Kyoto Station. Luckily, they were open. The man at the “English” counter told us to try 7 Bank (ATMs inside 7-11 stores). Alright, anything was worth a try at this point even though our prior times of trying 7 Bank had failed. The man pointed us in the right direction and off we went. We arrived at the 7-11 and immediately started trying our cards. Fail. Fail. Fail. None of them were working. I tried my BancFirst, Citibank, Sooner OneCard–anything with a magnetic strip, I stuck it in that machine. None of them were working though. We got the bright idea that maybe we were putting the cards in the machine wrong even though we were doing it exactly like the video depicted… Would you believe it, we were putting them in wrong! Crazy as it may have seemed, we began to feel a little more optimistic.
With some cash in our pockets, we bought our all day Kyoto bus passes and headed for Kinkaku-ji temple in northern Kyoto. The bus ride was an hour and we had to stand the entire time due to the crowded state of the bus, but it was worth it. The temple was beautiful. Admission to see it was ¥600, and I can confidently say that was the best money I had ever spent to simply just look at something. Take a look at my panorama below (or the beautiful Wikipedia picture here) and you’ll see what I mean.
Beautiful panorama I captured of the temple.
Some rain came up on us while we were at the temple so we decided to get back on the bus and head back for Kyoto. Stopped at a castle on the way back and, go figure, it was closed for New Year’s. We got off the bus on the main street of Kyoto and had a quick bite to eat for dinner then walked down the bustling street poking our heads in and out of the many shops. There was a lot of shopping to be done, but by this point in the trip, I think we both are on reserve mode! So back to the hotel it was.
Even with the rough start to the day, it all turned out ok. Kyoto is no Tokyo; everything operates at a much slower pace. Public transportation is the main difference. The bus is the most common way of getting around, but it’s slow and doesn’t hold a candle to the JR. Despite all of this, I do like Kyoto. It has a nice traditional feel that was sometimes hard to find in Tokyo.
Not quite sure what the plan is for tomorrow Maybe take a Rapid Express train over to Osaka, or just stick around here in Kyoto and do some final souvenir shopping. Whatever ends up happening tomorrow, it’s been a great trip so far and I’m sure tomorrow will be the perfect ending to it!
A week ago today, I boarded an airplane and flew further from home than I had ever been (Tokyo beats Athens, Greece by about 200 nautical miles). The first week of the journey has been incredible. The culture shock I experienced during the first few days was one on a positive note and the entire way that Tokyo operates has grown on me greatly.
Today, however, was no longer about Tokyo. The comfort I had grown to known in navigating Tokyo by train and the familiarity I had formed with the local convenience stores in Shinjuku was over. Today we were moving on to Kyoto: the capital city! While Kyoto is no longer the capital of Japan, it is still a major city in Japan boasting a population of 1.5 million and countless temples, shrines, and points of interests that are all filled with rich eastern history. We boarded the 12:13 Shinkansen Nozomi for Hakata (which is the end of the line) and away we went. A short 2.5 hours and 3 stops later, we had arrived in Kyoto. I wrote separately about my experience on the Shinkansen. That can be found here.
Kyoto greeted us with much cooler temperatures and the same friendly atmosphere that Tokyo had, just at a little slower pace now. Outside the Kyoto Terminal, busses lined the streets. This was immediately very different from Tokyo as really the only viable mode of efficient public transportation in Tokyo is by train. Also very different from our experience in Tokyo was the proximity of our hotel to the nearest train station. Here in Kyoto, our hotel was directly across from the station. No more 15 minute walk; just a simple wait for the crosswalk and there we were!
Kyoto Station is built under and on top of a shopping mall. The way they weave these trains in and out, it’s hard to tell what’s really above or below. We had a nice Japanese dinner on the 10th floor of this mall. What’s cool about the area we ate, was the way the restaurants were laid out. The entire 10th floor was called “The Cubes” and this name lends to the design (or the design lends to the name) because there are multiple restaurants all laid out in cube like form, one after the next, each perfectly square. We browsed past a few until finding one that had an appealing looking menu. The food was good but I will sure be glad when I don’t have to pay ¥300 ($3.46) for a Coke and a total of about $18 just for a small sushi meal.
After dinner we came back to the room and planned what we’d like to get done tomorrow. There’s a lot on the agenda so it may run into the next day as well. That’s ok. I have decided that (since it is way more money that I had originally thought) I do not want to take the trip down to Hiroshima any more. I’m kinda sad because that is one of the main things I wanted to do, but it will always be there and the next trip I’ll save more money for train faires specifically.
One week down and all is good! Congrats to all my stateside readers on making it to 2013. I’m glad I’m not living in a different year than you any more … that’s just too tricky to think about!
There really is not a better way to start off a new year than by walking to a JR station, taking a Rapid Express line to Tokyo Station, buying a ticket to Kyoto and then boarding one of the most heavily used trains in the world. That’s exactly how my 2013 started off, and I could not be happier.
The Shinkansen experience was all I expected it to be. Fast, comfortable, relaxing! Train travel, at least in this scenario, is by far superior to traveling by plane. There are no cramped seats, no obnoxious seat belt lights, and no worry of a de-pressurization of the cabin causing mass hysteria as people scramble to put on oxygen masks (while making sure they put their own on FIRST before assisting others). All of that is removed. Of course traveling by plane is still the safest mode of transportation, but Japan is doing alright by not having a single casualty due to train error in the 49 year history of this Shinkansen line.
I have attached a few photos of the train we rode below. All of the trains that travel this route (Tōkaidō) are the same model. We rode on a N700 which has the specifications of:
Snapped this pic right before boarding in Tokyo.
After we got off the train in Kyoto, I ran up to the front and took this pic.
Wow, what a night! The people (and foreigners) of Tokyo really know how to have a good time!
The original plan was to attend a celebration at Tokyo Tower, but some things came up that delayed us from getting to the metro in time to make it to Tokyo Tower by 12. We quickly improvised and decided that Shibuya should be just as much fun. We were right!
Although we arrived a few minutes after 12 (I rang in 2013 inside a Metro tunnel, but that’s ok!), the party was in full swing. I use the term party very light heartedly. It wasn’t a party, but more of mass chaos in what is usually the historic Shibuya Crossing. Check out the Panorama below and you’ll see what I mean. Thousands of people packed the streets, sidewalks, alleyways, and tops of metro entrances all screaming and cheering … basically, having the time of their lives!
I took a lof of pictures and videos with the GoPro and really enjoyed the experience. The best part was, even though there were thousands of people all swarming together, the atmosphere was still very safe feeling. I did tuck my wallet into an interior pocket to avoid a “Dorothy, I think I lost my wallet” moment … but I never felt uneasy about the people that were around us. Plus, the entire area was flooded with Koban trying to maintain some order and keep traffic flowing (yea right)!
Happy New Year everyone!
The famous Shibuya Crossing crowded with New Year’s Eve goers!
Today was the last day in Tokyo and the last day of 2012. I think those two things go pretty well together.
Being that the start of a New Year is a religious holiday here in Japan, many of the government buildings (actually all of them we tried to visit) were closed. That didn’t stop us from walking around and around the outside of them, taking pictures and gawking with the rest of the Japanese population that decided to spend their holiday in Tokyo. The capitol of Japan was pretty neat looking. Apparently if it had been open, anyone is allowed to go inside and watch live legislation in progress … Something for next time!
We took today at a little slower pace. Spent sometime just enjoying how beautiful Tokyo really is. Even took a nice break at a park not far from the Imperial Palace (which was, of course, closed for the New Year).
Unfortunately, I realized that the Shinkansen trips we’re going to be taking over the last part of the trip are about double the cost of what I had originally calculated. Transportation via train is very common in Japan, but if you want to do it fast, (we’re talking 500 miles in about 4 hours) it’s gonna cost. Regardless, I’m looking VERY forward to riding the “most used railway in the world” tomorrow. The Shinkansen line we will be riding on (Tōkaidō Shinkansen has transported over 4.9 billion people in its 49 year history with no fatalities or serious injury due to train derailment or collision! Now that’s perfection to make even perfect people jealous! 😉
About to head out of the hotel towards Tokyo Tower which is the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world, beating the Eiffel Tower by a dozen meters–sorry mom! They have a New Year’s Eve celebration at a temple near there that looks pretty cool on YouTube. I’m hoping it’s a yearly thing.
Happy New Year’s Eve to all my readers stateside. Let me be the first to wish you a happy new year, as by the time the clock strikes midnight for you, I’ll be flying (not literally, just figuratively) on a Shinkansen N700 towards Kyoto!