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Published: August 13th 2009
Well, no I don't. It's actually pretty tasty. But I do hate what the never-ending parade of Korean food is doing to my stomach. I'll spare you the details. Sorry for the long delay in blog posts. I would say that I haven't had access to the computer, but the truth is nothing particuarly notable was going on, I was sick, and I didn't feel like writing (and uploading photos and videos - which is a painful process). But now I have a few stories. And access to a computer for an hour while I wait for a bus. Today, by the way, is August 13, not August 6. But since I'm writing about Japan, that's when I'm dating the entry to.
Let me backtrack. Hiroshima is the last place I wrote about, which is ages ago now. In Hiroshima I bought a book of discount tickets. You see I was trying to make my way down Japan in a southwesterly direction. I'm the type who likes to travel in one direction, like I'm making progress toward a destination. I hate backtracking. But travel in Japan is VERY expensive. Also, my philosophy has been to have a general sense of where I'm going, but not really pick a destination or accomodations until the night before. More fun, not very conducive to getting travel and accomodation deals. So I bought the discount tickets - the deal is that for $26, you get unlimited travel for the day. Considering Japanese trains between major cities cost over $80, I thought it was a good idea.
(Those of you who have travelled to Japan before may wonder why I didn't get a Japan Rail Pass. No particularly good reason. But I booked the trip 11 days before I left. There was a lot to do and I hadn't planned on spending much time in Japan.)
When I tried to book a train to the next city, Fukuoka, in Kyushu (Japan's most southern major island), I learned that my discount ticket was only valid for local trains (i.e. it would take 6 hours to get to Fukuoka, and it was already 5 pm). Sigh. I booked a Shinkansen train instead (read "bullet train") for $115. Not as cool as it sounds (the train spends a surprising amount of time underground) but my 6 hour trip became 1 and a half hours.
One quick story from Fukuoka. It was lunch time and I was hungry, Asher hungry. I asked the tourist info office for a cheap lunch place. I was directed to a very crowded mall with many small but packed restaurants. Luckily, the place with a smaller line was the sushi restaurant. Unfortunately, I had my gigantic backpack on me (it's the size of a 10 year old child). I've learned to avoid carrying that thing around with me for many reasons. That day, I was stuck. When it was my turn to go in, I was put at the same 4 person table as a Japanese businessman. The place was very crowded and they had no choice but to not waste the table. In a hurry to sit down, I didn't notice the man and I were sitting across from each other until I looked up. Nowhere to put my bag, I plopped it down on the floor beside me, somewhat blocking the waitress laneway. We smiled at each other about the silly predicament. I discovered he was just being polite when I ventured an "I'm from Canada" and received in return a very cold "okay". I changed seats.
I can't say I saw much of Fukuoka. For once, I managed to book one of the nicer hostels. I enjoyed FREEE interent for once, caught up with some people back home and met the hostel travellers. I also pondered my next step. The Japanese islands were calling to me. So was the volcano in the middle of Kyushu and the hotspring town not far from Fukuoka. One fantastical plan was to travel Kyushu, before island hopping down the Japanese islands to Taiwan (yes, they extend all the way down there). I would spend a week in Taiwan before jumping onward to Thailand. Ultimately, I decided against all of that (even against visiting the volcano on Kyushu). For one thing, that trip would take a significant amount of time. It would mean cutting out Korea from the travels (a whole other culture). And it would be expensive. I would be travelling on the Japanese dime (well actually yen) for quite some time.
Instead, in a moment of spontaneity, I booked a ferry to Busan, Korea. The last day was a blaze of preparation: mailing my mobile phone back to the people I rented it from, selling my discount ticket (no easy feat), buying new hiking shoes (the last pair having a nuclear strength smell from Fuji even after multiple cleanings), etc.
General Impressions about Japan (perhaps poisoned by spending a few days in Korea before writing this):
PEOPLE:
Wonderful. I met one grumpy local the entire trip (see the story above). I got a ton of help with directions and very little staring. I got to say, I like the bowing. Favourite Japanese would be the very friendly flight attendant on the way over to Japan, the hostel owners up and down the country (though particuarly in Miyajima, Tokyo and Fukuoka). Definitely more reserved than Koreans. Meeting other gaijin was one of the best parts. I met people to hang out with just about every single day.
FOOD:
Sushi, mmm. But also udon. Other than raw octopus (echhh), I enjoyed what I ate for a decent price (usually about $10-12 total per meal).
HOSTELS:
Averaged $25 a night roughly. Varying conditions, but they dot the country. Very good place to meet foreigners to travel with. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time or funds to check out a Minukshu or a Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). Next time.
LANGUAGE:
Easier to pronounce than Korean. Most people know just enough English to explain FAQ relating to their jobs. It gets complicated beyond that. I am becoming better at getting across my point in 1 or 2 word English accompanied by hand gestures.
To sum up, I could easily have spent 6 weeks in Japan, blowing my entire trip funding there. Now that it's no longer a foggy mystery to me, I would definitely go back.
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Natalie
non-member comment
OOH!
I'm jealous you got to ride the bullet train.