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Published: September 1st 2008
* We mentioned Japan was cheap .... True, unless you're a fan of fresh fruit and vegies. 1 x mango @ $24 + 1 x peach @ $12.99 + 1 x bunch of grapes @ $8.50 = weekly food budget blown on half a fruit salad.
* More fruity facts .... each individual piece of fruit is custom-wrapped in a polystyrene lattice sock. Perhaps this explains the elevated cost?
* Talk about polite .... Pull into a Japanese petrol station for a fill-up and afterwards you'll be personally escorted out to the street and recieve a deep bow for your troubles.
* Japanese hospitality at it's best .... Homestay in a Minchuku and you'll have your hosts come a-knockin' on your bedroom door every half hour bearing treats. 1st knock: exotic chilled pink shots of a juice-like substance on ice; 2nd knock: brown iced tea with a selection of sweet steamed buns; 3rd knock: Peeled and sliced nashi pears with golden forks; 4th knock: a boiling flask of green tea; 5th knock: a sharp knife and a couple of giant plums. All gratis and delivered with a smile. Don't even think about undressing in the privacy of your
own room!
* The downside of volcanic thermal springs .... one onsen is bearable. A trip to Nazawa Onsen village, however, requires a nose-peg. 13 free public baths, sulphuric hot springs running freely in the streets, eggs and corn boiled to perfection in naturally boiling ponds. Pure liquid fart.
* Beware the stench .... The Japanese custom of removing one's shoes in the front lobby is all good in theory. But try wading through a hostel's worth of hiking boots at the base of Mt. Fuji. Even worse, imagine the poor sods working all day at reception.
* Swilling saki with slimey chunks .... Sake comes in clear, cloudy and chilled with slightly sweet slimey bits. A sake-house crawl in Takayama is not recommended before midday. Interestingly enough, the slimey one is the best, once you get past the texture.
* A miniature world .... Japanese people are small. Their country has been built to suit. Hotel doorways, bus entrances, stair head-heights are a constant head-banging hazard. Always look up.
* The individual is irelevant .... Japanese people travel in groups. Big groups. It's a sight to behold when a troop of identically-dressed hikers in
shiny new boots and all-terrain gear from head to toe, passes you by.
* Is it December already? .... The one overwhelming sound in Japan is of Christmas bells. Everyone is adorned with jingle-jangle bells. Locker keys, mobile phones, car mirrors, hiking sticks. Sheesh, you'd never lose the individual in this group.
* Can't get that tune outta my head .... The one played at every pedestrian crossing when the green man waves his hand. Enough to send you crazy.
* Pachinko is a dirty word .... Hell on earth is a visit to a Japanese pinball parlour. Sad souls sit all day polluting their lungs with foul smoke, pushing rainbow buttons and destoying their hearing with the most god-almighty racket.
* Pay TV Japanese style .... You're probably thinking a wealth of channels and variety galore. Nup, we're talking literally Pay-TV. Insert 100 yen into a slot and 2 hours of limited viewing is yours for the taking. Watching the Olympics Closing Ceremony with Japanese commentation was a hoot.
* (Take me out) to the ballgame .... Obsession is hardly a word to descibe the Japanese and their love for Baseball. Three or four
games a night on TV, Baseball stars on every second adverstisement. A personal stadium appearance, however, doesn't even justify watching the game. They're more than happy to simply dance along with the girls in glitter.
* Happysnap stereotypes .... Funny that, you very rarely see a Japanese person touring the far reaches of their own country with a camera around the neck.
* Jazzing up the sewer .... Japanese sewer plates embedded in ashphalt are decorated like works of art. The fire brigade connection plate even comes in full colour.
* Grrrrrrr .... Whilst hiking through the wood in Togakushi, look out for bears. What? Bears in Japan? For some reason they weren't as scary as their Canadian cousins.
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bird
non-member comment
love those spicy little facts
did you guys write all these down or just remember them-seriously you have a travel book in the making-tis rivetting and amusing and feels like you are really there! love bird