Travel Tips & Favourites

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Geo: -16.9254, 145.775

For my own reference at a later time (we would certainly be keen to go back) and for anyone that is thinking of going to Japan there a quite a few things that we learned about that are a little unique to the country and that are worth knowing before you travel.

Itinerary
Plan to visit some rural areas not just cities. The cities are fascinating but can wear you down after a while. The cities themselves are not that attractive but there is alot of beauty there once you start looking for it. Its hidden away though. Even the cities that boast multiple stunning gardens, shrines and temples are not pretty on the surface. Hotel rooms in these cites can sometimes be a little depressing. I lost count of the number of times we walked into a hotel room and opened the curtains only to find a view of a brick wall. So if you spend some time in rural areas and hire a car for a few days you will get a break from using the subway, you will have beauty to see all around without having to search for it and you will most likely have a view from your hotel window.

Subways
The subway system in these cities is startlingly easy to use once you get the hang of it but you will still spend a lot of time in subway stations transferring from one line to another to get where you are going. Most of the time this is fun but can sometimes be tedious. Bear in mind that the subway system in large cities has a whole underground network of tunnels filled with shops and food outlets. At times even though you think you can transfer from one line to another you may still find you are walking up to a kilometre underground. You may also traverse mulitple staircases if you can't find an elevator. Particularly at smaller stations where there are often no escalators. This is something to bear in mind when packing. You WILL have to carry your bag up some stairs at some point if not often.

Food
The greatest source of restaurants, cafes, food outlets and convenience stores are in and around train stations and department stores. If you are wandering streets and alleys looking for a place that looks inviting and with english menus and you can't find one, stop what you are doing and head to a department store or major train station. You will find everything you need there. In department stores and in shopping towers attached to train stations there are usually several floors at the top of the building where you get a fabulous sit down meal. And more often than not there is a food market with alot of pre prepared food in the basement level. Having said that don't rely on english menus and department stores all the time. When you are feeling adventurous try a small place in a quaint alleyway that doesn't have english menus and have a little fun.It might not look inviting at first but it will be great once you are settled in. We had some of our best meals when we made the effort to order in Japanese using our limited language knowledge, phrase books and Google translate. Of course we would often encounter wait staff that spoke some English but not always.Now I could rave on about all the beautiful food and for those of you are not aware its not just rice and noodles. But I'm not going to rave I'm going to let you discover for yourself. Be adventurous and you will have a ball!

Hotels
As we all know space is limited in Japan. Apartment style hotels are virtually unheard of and rooms are usually small, sometimes very small. For this reason accommodation is more expensive than say Europe for example. I think this is why it has reputation for being an expensive place to travel in. But its not expensive overall. Its just the accommodation that is bit more expensive. When booking hotel rooms take note of the size of the room in square metres. Aim for at least 20m2 if not larger. In most places we booked a deluxe room rather than a standard room which basically just means the room that is a bit bigger. We tried to aim for about 30m2. Ask for a nice view, you never know your luck!

Data
Buy a Docomo sim card before you go. You will never regret spending the money.Having data available when you are on the go is invaluable. Especially for maps and translations. Yes all hotels provide free wifi but you need data all the time and least of all when you are comfortably back at your hotel room.

Packing
The Japanese have been travellers for a long time and they have learnt well from their experiences. The whole culture of travelling by train has created a kind of system that allows you to do just that with relative ease. Car hire companies can be found at most or all major railway stations for instance. And there are companies that will forward your luggage that the locals use that save them from carrying their bags through multiple train stations.For foreigners we can certainly take advantage of some of the other niceties such as the provision of an amazing array of toiletries in hotel rooms. I seriously doubt that when locals travel that they carry any toiletries at all. And there is no mucking around with dinky litte packets of soap or minute vials of shampoo. Every hotel room we stayed in had large pump packs of shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Most also supplied body sponges which we loved and are now trying to buy for our own use at home.

Convenience Stores
You could travel around Japan for weeks or even months and never enter a restaurant if you chose to do that. Not that you would because the food in restaurants, cafes and other food outlets is awesome. But in theory you could live out of a convenience store and/or a supermarket. There is a huge variety of cheap wines and beers available in both so its a one stop shop scenario. The choice of prepared food options is staggering. The first time you see it all you feel like kid in candy store. There is an amazing choice of both Japanese and western style foods available. For example sandwiches, breads, pastries, cakes, rice balls, fried chicken (or horse!) sushi, salads, noodles. The list goes on. So the idea that you need self catering facilities when you travel becomes almost null and void because everything is pre prepared ready to go. Not only that but anything you buy from a mini mart or supermarket comes with chopsticks, spoons, napkins and refresher towels. They put them all in the plastic bag with the shopping at the check out. So you never need to worry about having cutlery or whatever back at your hotel room. It comes with the food. How clever is that. It seems to be all part of the travellers culture they have. And then there is the snacks. They certainly know how to produce a wide variety of salty snacks. It was almost a highlight of the day going to a new mini mart to see what sort of new and exciting salty snacks we could find. Must be all that beer they drink! Oh and did I mention the bakeries? You don't go in there to buy a 6 pack of bread rolls. You go in there, join the queue armed with a tray and pair of tongs and then you feast!

Favourite Places
The cities we visited were like brain food. There were new wonders to discover every day. Not the big things so much but the little things. Everything that was different made so much sense and we enjoyed finding out what somebody had already thought of years or decades before. Clearly these people are forward and lateral thinkers to the extreme.

So the cities were great but it was the rural areas and the nature that really dazzled me. The mountains and the lakes were incredibly picturesque and the gardens were spectacular. So with that in mind my top five highlights in no particualr order are as follows. Fuji Five Lakes, Miyajima, Gifu Onsen, Kenroken Gardens (Kanazawa) and the Yamanouchi Snow Monkeys. If you are planning to visit Japan around winter time I would say the Snow Monkeys are not be missed. The other thing I really loved were the gardens. I ended up visiting quite a few gardens just on my own so I could wander and stop at my own pace. This for me was truly exquisite and a must do for anyone that has even a remote interest.

When I was planning this trip I really didn't know what to expect even though I had been to Japan before. I knew I wouldn't be lying on a beach soaking up rays or sitting on a balcony watching the sun set over a bay filled with fishing boats (although next time I might try to find something like that, its a country of islands after all). I kind of knew it was more about the culture and the people and the food. And it is exactly that. Its wondrous and fun and exciting and beautiful in its own way. I will definitely be back!

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