Impression and experiences of Japan
After arriving in Japan we quickly felt welcome: w/ people nodding to us on occasion on the streets. At the same time I found that the Japanese people often went out of their way to help us find the places we were looking for; this was especially useful since the street system is rather difficult to follow and therefore finding a particular house can be very difficult.
Also the Japanese people are very polite and although bowing may seem silly at first, I quickly got into it and found that this atmosphere and these customs made interacting with other people more pleasant.
It was interesting to see how popular manga (Japanese comics) are in Japan. They are sold at every convenience store and book store. I found that a lot of people read them on the trains and in the subways. They have manga of all kinds: kids manga, violent manga, manga for adults, romance manga, porn manga and even gay manga.
There is some great food in Japan and not surprisingly a lot of restaurants; since the country is small for its large population, there is a high concentration of restaurants in many parts of the country. Some of the most common restaurants are ramen shops: they usually have a good selection of ramen soups, which are pretty cheap. There are lots of restaurants and shops which sell sushi, soba noodles, takoyaki (fried octopus balls) and a few restaurants with Okonomiaki. In Okonomiaki restaurants you get a mixture of eggs and other things like shrimp, meats and vegetables which you then cook yourself; the end product is something that looks like a big, thick omelet with a lot of stuff mixed in it and tastes pretty good.
One of the things that Japanese love are the onsen (hot bath places); these places usually have hot water pools, saunas, cold water pools and a jjacuzzi. An onsen fits a lot of people, the largest can fit about 200 or so, and the place is often busy. In the onsen itself men and women are separated and people are always naked inside. It is really relaxing at an onsen, which is probably why it is so popular.
There are a lot of internet/manga cafes in Japan, where you can surf on the internet, read manga and watch DVDs. What you may not know is that some of these manga cafes are open 24 hrs and come with private cubicles, a public shower and enough room for you to sleep and all at a cheap price. We have stayed twice at such a cafe: once sleeping on a mattress in a cubicle and another time sleeping on large comfy business chairs. These cafes come w/ a large choice of free drinks, videos, internet access, manga books and magazines ... therefore a night at such a manga cafe is a really good experience.
Japan is located in an active earthquake zone and earthquakes there have not been uncommon. In fact, we were told that the reason that there aren't so many sky scrapers in Japanese cities is because of all the earthquakes. Towards the end of the trip, I actually experienced my first earthquake in Tokyo. We were walking on the street and the ground started shaking underneath us and the street signs and traffic lights were shaking as well. It was a weird experience and rather unexpected.
Tags
Japan trip Travel japanese food manga cafe internet cafe japanese cuisine onsen manga japanese people Okonomiaki
Also the Japanese people are very polite and although bowing may seem silly at first, I quickly got into it and found that this atmosphere and these customs made interacting with other people more pleasant.
It was interesting to see how popular manga (Japanese comics) are in Japan. They are sold at every convenience store and book store. I found that a lot of people read them on the trains and in the subways. They have manga of all kinds: kids manga, violent manga, manga for adults, romance manga, porn manga and even gay manga.
There is some great food in Japan and not surprisingly a lot of restaurants; since the country is small for its large population, there is a high concentration of restaurants in many parts of the country. Some of the most common restaurants are ramen shops: they usually have a good selection of ramen soups, which are pretty cheap. There are lots of restaurants and shops which sell sushi, soba noodles, takoyaki (fried octopus balls) and a few restaurants with Okonomiaki. In Okonomiaki restaurants you get a mixture of eggs and other things like shrimp, meats and vegetables which you then cook yourself; the end product is something that looks like a big, thick omelet with a lot of stuff mixed in it and tastes pretty good.
One of the things that Japanese love are the onsen (hot bath places); these places usually have hot water pools, saunas, cold water pools and a jjacuzzi. An onsen fits a lot of people, the largest can fit about 200 or so, and the place is often busy. In the onsen itself men and women are separated and people are always naked inside. It is really relaxing at an onsen, which is probably why it is so popular.
There are a lot of internet/manga cafes in Japan, where you can surf on the internet, read manga and watch DVDs. What you may not know is that some of these manga cafes are open 24 hrs and come with private cubicles, a public shower and enough room for you to sleep and all at a cheap price. We have stayed twice at such a cafe: once sleeping on a mattress in a cubicle and another time sleeping on large comfy business chairs. These cafes come w/ a large choice of free drinks, videos, internet access, manga books and magazines ... therefore a night at such a manga cafe is a really good experience.
Japan is located in an active earthquake zone and earthquakes there have not been uncommon. In fact, we were told that the reason that there aren't so many sky scrapers in Japanese cities is because of all the earthquakes. Towards the end of the trip, I actually experienced my first earthquake in Tokyo. We were walking on the street and the ground started shaking underneath us and the street signs and traffic lights were shaking as well. It was a weird experience and rather unexpected.
Tags
Japan trip Travel japanese food manga cafe internet cafe japanese cuisine onsen manga japanese people Okonomiaki
posted by Alex Pilchin at 11:22 AM
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