Back in Chiang Mai we made two important decisions. First, we would go to my cousin Alejandra’s wedding in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. This meant we had to travel further East. This also meant that I started searching for a decent pair of wedding-worthy pants in Chiang Mai, but after almost ripping the seams (thigh-high) of all the Thai XLs I tried on, I gave up.  And second, we wanted to leave Asia on a high note, with a destination “different” from the previous ones. With that in mind, Japan became the perfect exit point from the continent.

– Mount Fuji… it doesn’t get much more “we’re in Japan” than this – 

And boy, did Japan deliver. Such a visually stimulating country, that I can’t imagine how people managed to visit Japan in the days of  “36-shots-per-film”. It was also the first Asian country where we didn’t find a history of colonies and bloody takeovers by westerners… in fact, Japan was the first alliance in equal terms with the West (we are talking waaaay before WWII times, just in case)… and throughout their history, they’ve defeated Russia and China, annexed Taiwan and Korea … and also had a period of almost complete closure from the rest of the world. Thus, Japanese culture took shape following a path completely different from that of south-east Asia.

In all previous “expensive” countries, we had tackled housing differently … friends hosted us in Singapore, we rented camper-vans in Australia and New Zealand and did house-sitting in Dubai. For Japan, other than a CouchSurfing host in Kyoto,  we didn’t have any of that, so for the first time we had to rely on shared dorms and a few capsule-style hostels (and for the first time we appreciated the value of earplugs).

Anyway…  being Japan a different universe, I’ll take a different approach… so I won’t describe our 28 days here by following the route we took, but rather by “concept”.  Let’s see how that goes.

THE ICONS

Some things are unmistakably Japanese, right? I’ll start with those. Here our experiences around some of the icons you probably know Japan for…

The shinkansen (aka the “bullet train”)

Without it we wouldn’t have been able to see as much of Japan as we did. Cruising the country at 300km/h, the shinkansen is only part of an ultra-dense network of railroads, with multiple alternatives to go from A to B. Almost as complex to decipher as Sandra’s morning mood before her first coffee. Thank god for the mobile apps that nowadays do the routing work for you.

– The driver salutes as the train passes by … Sandra replies –

Highlight of these trains are also the controllers, very elegantly dressed and bowing every time they enter or leave one of the wagons. And  -Dutch train operators, please take note- here they control the tickets at the exits, giving you the option to run and catch your train if you are late and pay for the ticket once you are at your destination. Clever.

This is the latest bullet train. A bit nosy. // Este es el tren bala más moderno por ahora. Un poco narigón no?

Pretty high standards, inside. // Estándares bastante altos, ahí adentro.

Ticket-holder and all. // Con todo y sujeta-boletos.

And we DID have a few tickets . // Y vaya que tuvimos unos cuantos boletos

It’s fast. // Con R de Rapidito.

Musical neighbor. // Vecino musical.

Trying to figure out the network. // Tratando de descifrar la red.

Elegant controller, mic in hand. // El elegante controlador, micro en mano.

Also here, queuing without complains. // También aquí, haciendo sus colitas sin chistar.

We used plenty of local trains as well. // También usamos muchos trenes locales.

…and cable cars and beyond. // … y funiculares y demás.

Very easy to find your stop. // Bien fácil saber dónde es que toda bajarse.

Napping and studying at the same time. // Durmiendo y estudiando al mismo tiempo. Trome la japonesa.

It’s nap time, apparently. // Parece ser la hora de la siesta.

Tennis session was really tough. // Estuvo fuerte la clase de tenis.

And In case you didn’t realize it from the pictures, it’s quite common for people to take a nap while in the train… 🙂

 – I’ll hold my book open and people will think I’m studying –

Life in a capsule

Yes, there are capsule “hotels” everywhere and many hostel dorms also have a “capsule” style. Much better than the usual “bunk-bed’ dorm, let me tell you. More privacy, more sound insulation and most of the times even some extra space to store small items, personal light and even a lockable drawer. Good stuff.

– There’s certain charm about these capsule-style beds –

Pop-culture (on steroids)

One of the most interesting aspects of Japan’s youth culture is their uncontrollable love for Manga (cartoons), Anime (animations), Cosplay (to dress like your favorite character), video-games, vintage toys and, generally speaking, everything “cute” (and weird). Particularly in Tokyo, walking down certain streets can be more entertaining than the latest Cirque du Soleil, and you will come across more childhood heroes than in Disney World.

 – Just the facade of a random building – 

I could write an entire post about this fascinating topic, but let’s better add some pics and let them do the talking:

Mario welcomes you at the airport. // Mario te recibe ni bien llegas al aeropuerto.

The one and only Mazinger Z! // El gran Mazinger Z!

Barbapappa! (even though they aren’t Japanese) // Los Barbapapá! (aunque no son japoneses).

One of all-time classics. // Uno de los grandes clásicos.

Heidi & Marco

Captain Tsubasa! // Supercampeoneeeeeees!

Manga library in Hiroshima. // La librería de Manga en Hiroshima

What is she reading?? // Qué anda leyendo esta muchacha?

…It’s Candy-Candy!! // … es Candy!

Sandra used to be a big fan. // Sandra fue una super fan.

Who said manga only comes in Japanese? // Quién dijo que solo hay manga en japonés?

Every manga store is always full of people. // Todas las tiendas de manga andan llenas de gente.

.. and then the vintage toy stores.. // y luego, las tiendas de juguetes antiguos.

Toys for which the average Joe wouldn’t pay a penny. // Juguetes por los que un tipo común y corriente seguramente no paga un centavo.

That will be $4500 if you want it in dark green! // Si te gusta más el oscuro, el precio sube de $450 a $4500 !!!!

She’s only pretending. // Haciendo la finta para la foto.

Nintendos, anyone? // Alguien quiere un Nintendo?

We all know Tetris thanks to this Boy. // Todos conocemos Tetris gracias a éste!

DIY doll parts.. kinda creepy. // Hágase usted su propia muñeca… un poco tétrico eh?

…hair included… // …incluyendo el pelo.

Japanese fashion. // Moda japonesa.

Doesn’t need to be colorful .. // …y no hace falta que sea multicolor

Back in the days when cartoons were innocent.. // … en tiempos en que las caricaturas eran un poco más inocentes.

…a little bit weird too, though. // … aunque un poco raras también.

There’s imagination, can’t deny it. // No podemos negar que es bien imaginativo.

Gozdilla, watching the city. // Godzilla, vigilante.

It all looks so cute and innocent, right?  Well, not too fast. If you ask me, you can almost see a double set of moral standards around this sub-culture … I would even dare saying “fetish”. The amount of young, sexy-dressed female characters you come across is astonishing, in advertisement, toys, collectibles, media and also in flesh and bone. Girls who all look like they are 15 years old, dressed up like maids, nurses, cartoon figures or any other character out of a sexy Halloween costume catalog. Short skirts, stockings and exposed thighs are the common thread (and they aren’t prostitutes, just in case… they are just promoting their respective “maid cafes”, where I believe you can’t even buy booze but, wait for it… you are served by girls dressed like maids!). Piles of adult manga magazines that would make Playboy readers blush are readily available on the shelves right next to Candy-Candy and Pikachu. No age-restricted access. Adult-oriented figures (toys? dolls? I don’t even know how to call them… they don’t even have joints, like my old Gi-Joes, to play properly with them), entire floors dedicated to adult toys, etc, etc, etc.

Hey, we didn’t mind at all, as to us it was all part of the show…but it is a little bit bizarre, if you think about it.

Maid-cafes are in full fashion, apparently. // Los cafés de mucamas, muy populares en Tokio.

… and that’s how they attract customers. // … y así es como buscan atraer clientes.

… and so. // … y así.

… and so. // … y así.

… and so. // … y así.

… and so. // … y así.

… and so. // … y así.

… and so. // … y así.

… and so. // … y así.

… and so. // … y así.

Interesting collectibles. // Interesantes figuras coleccionables.

The school girl is always a hit. // La colegiala, muy popular.

Giant sexy-robots . // Sexy-robots gigantes.

Sexy manga characters promoting brands in malls. // Niñas sexy anunciando promociones en el mall.

… and inviting you to try some good pasta… // …e invitándote a probar una rica pasta…

…and giving you warnings in public transport … // … y cuidándote en el transporte público…

… and offering you some quality time with yourself. // … y ofreciéndote pasar un buen rato contigo mismo.

Come to my elevator. // Te invito a mi ascensor.

– Manga characters are used to promote everything… this is a Gun shop, for Christ’s sake!  Imagine something like this in the USA.  – 

And speaking of manga, what’s with the obsession about round, extra-large eyes? Elsewhere in the West, people would already be complaining about “not being properly represented”. In Peru there was a lot of noise around a Christmas ad showing an “all-white” family (“how dare they! it does’t represent Peru!”, the purists yelled). I don’t see anyone here demanding smaller, “more Asian-looking” eyes in manga, shouting “discrimination!”.

– Eyes, big and round, every single time. –

Technetronic toilets

(By the way, I was convinced the word was “technOtronic”, so thank you, spell-check).

So…is it true? Is it an urban legend? You press a button and a robot comes out and wipes your … part?

Well it’s true. Toilets can be almost intimidating. And not only with that digital control panel and incorporated bidet (to which I could get used to very easily), but also with automated and heated seats (awesome!), ambiance sounds (you know, to cover up your own) and odor-neutralizers. Word of caution though… gotta be careful about the bidet-pressure control. Give it too much power and you risk getting used to it for the wrong reasons.

– this one even greets you with lights and a flush when you come in –

OH, and even since before the age of electronics, many toilets have a water tap on top of the tank, allowing you to wash your hands before that same water is used to fill it up. Simple, yet genius. See the pics.

Control panel for the toilet. // Panel de control para el water.

Note the water tap. Clever. // Noten el caño arriba del tanque. Inteligente o qué?

Hot tub with TV. // Tina con tele.

At a public toilet with your baby? not a problem! // En un baño público con tu bebito? No hay problema!

Soap, water, drier, all in one. // Agua, jabón, secadora, todo en uno.

Sleeping on Tatami floor in Mr. Miyagi’s house

Paper window shades, sliding wooden doors and a simple futon on the floor, on a mat made of straw. We’ve all seen them in movies. In fact, one of the top touristic experiences is supposed to be to sleep in a “Ryokan”, a traditional Japanese “inn” which provides exactly that (plus great food and top-notch service).  I’ll make it short… as romantic and as the idea might sound, I’d love to hear anyone say it’s comfortable. It’s not. Minimalism is overrated. Beds and furniture for us, please.

Arriving to the guesthouse in Himeji. // Llegando al hostal en Himeji.

That’s how a traditional house looks like. // Así es como se ve una casa japonesa tradicional.

…and your typical room, with tatami floor and a futon. // … y un cuarto típico, con piso de tatami y futones enrollados.

… time to sleep? Unroll that futon. // Hora de dormir? Pues desenrolla el futón.

That’s how they make tatami, btw. // Por cierto así es como hacen el tatami.

We had plenty of “normal” dorm rooms as well. // También tuvimos varios cuartos de hostal convencionales.

Not all hostel roommates are in their 20’s. // No todos los compañeros de hostal son veinteañeros.

Curtains in front of the door are also quite common. // Cortinas delante de las puertas, muy típicas también.

Our guesthouse hosts in Nara… nice couple. // Nuestros anfitriones de hospedaje en Nara… muy simpática pareja.

Yuichi and Yuko, who kindly hosted us in Kyoto. // Yuichi y Yuko, que nos alojaron de lo más buena onda en Kioto.

Yuko loved the little Ekeko we left with her as a thank-you gift. 🙂 . // La buena Yuko. Le encantó el ekekito que le dejamos como regalo de agradecimiento.

Geishas, geikos, maikos

The culture of Geishas (known as Geikos in Kyoto, the birthplace of of this tradition) and their younger apprentices, the Maikos, is quite interesting. Women devoted to this form of living as an entertainer start with their full-time training at a very young age and have to comply with countless rules and restrictions (can’t have a boyfriend, can’t own a mobile phone, etc, etc). They learn, live and work at highly exclusive “tea houses”. And no, they are not in the sex business (I admit I also believed that was the case). We went to an official Geisha performance in Kyoto. Sandra was the one who insisted. I arrived with very low expectations, to be honest, but left more than impressed. These ladies are SO skilled. Really impressive. Too bad they didn’t allow taking pictures or videos.

Kyoto, city of Geishas. // Kioto , la ciudad de las Geishas.

Most of the ones you see are really tourists in disguise. // Casi todas las que se ve, sin embargo, son turistas disfrazadas.

And there’s plenty of them. // Y vaya que hay muchas.

We managed to go and see the real ones. // Pudimos ir a un show a ver las verídicas.

No pictures allowed, sadly. // Lamentablemente no se podía tomar fotos.

I did steal one click during the Tea ceremony. // Igual les robé una fotito durante la ceremonia del té.

Do not touch the Geishas. // No tocar a las Geishas.

More technology

There’s a couple of different interesting technology-driven things that we saw (outside of the “toilet” department), but I’ll only mention two which stood out, in my humble point of view. One, traditional, the second one “techier”.

First, the “kotatsu”, sort of a low living-room table, with a heavy blanket below the top (meaning your lower body gets covered) and a heat source underneath. All countries with cold winters should have something like this. Great invention. And once again so simple.

– the kotatsu… pretty simple idea, great for cold days –

But even better, especially for us citizens of Amsterdam, were the automated underground bike-parking machines we saw in Kyoto. Put your bike there, and SWOOSH, it’s swallowed into the ground. Swipe your card, and SWOOSH, in 10 seconds it magically comes back from the underworld.

–  Please share this video with any Dutch officers (or investors) you might know.  Please. –

And two honorable mentions….the rotating disk to optimize the space to access your parking lot and the washing/drying machine special for shoes 🙂 :

FUJISAN

Not so much to say about this one, but Mount Fuji is definitely one of Japan’s icons.  We visited the area (known as Fuji Five lakes) and had nice hikes and great views of the majestic peak.

Note the rollercoaster with views to the peak. // Noten la montaña rusa con vistas al nevado.

Postcard views. // Vistas de postal.

So romantic. // Tan romántico.

Walking around. // Paseando por el pueblo.

THE FOOD

Japanese food is a world in itself. There’s the expected “sushi” universe, of course, which, when bought in a pre-packed box at one of the ubiquitous 7-11 or equivalent mini markets, proved to be one the best options for a quick, cheap meal. But there’s much much more.

We found plenty of seafood, with all markets offering a colorful display of shrimps, crabs, oysters, octopodes, squids, sea urchins, eels, tunas, seaweed and more. Grilled, fresh, fried, baked, smoked, wrapped, salted, in skewers… you name it.

Fancy some octopus? // Te provoca un pulpito?

Is it a turkish dolma? // Será una hojita de parra turca?

No! it’s a piece of kakinoha-zushi! // No!, es una pieza de kakinoha-sushi!

Check the prices of some of those sea urchins – 8000 yen =70 USD – Chequen los precios de algunos de esos erizos.

Want some $175 crab? // Un cangrejito de $175?

I’ll go for the $4 skewer. // Me voy por la brochetita de $4.

Worth every cent. // Buenota.

Fish skewer to go. // Brochetas de pescado para llevar.

BBQ at the park, Japan style. // Picnic en el parque, nivel Japón.

There were things we didn’t have the budget to try, like the crazy-expensive “A5 quality” Wagyu Kobe beef or the 20-Euro, perfectly round watermelons (which I bet taste just like their more oblong cousins).

There were plenty of typical Japanese delicacies, like takoyaki (balls of octopus in batter), okonomiyaki (kind of savory pancakes), monjayaki (like a more liquid okonomiyaki) and all sorts of yakitori (skewers).

– Monjayaki, prepared with love by yours truly, guided by good friend Takefumi-

And then there was “death by carbs”. Rice and noodles, noodles and rice. All colors and varieties. Ramen, soba, udon (all of which involve a slurping contest when eating them) and all sorts of sweets made of sticky rice (and most of the time also red bean paste). You should have seen Sandra’s face when she finally found a place serving plain and simple green salads. Pure happiness.

Seaweed ramen and stuffed squid. Gotta have it. // Ramen de algas y sepia rellena. No podía no probarlo.

This was breakfast. // Este fue el desayuno que un cuarto nos incluyó.

Are you sure they are sold out? // El letrero dice “agotados”… estarán seguros?

Family of okonomiyaki cheffs. // Familia de cheffs de okonomiyakis.

Don’t ask much about the ingredients… just enjoy! // No preguntes mucho sobre los ingredientes y solo disfruta!.

White strawberries. // Fresas blancas!

$20 for the roundness of this watermelon. // La perfecta redondez de esta sandía cuesta $20.

For that price you can also get one entire apple! // Por ese precio también puedes conseguir una manzana. Enterita para ti.

Almost every city has a few of these street food markets. // Casi todas las ciudades tienen alguna versión de estos mercados callejaros de comida.

Slurping in those soba noodles. // Sorbiendo esos ricos fideos soba.

Enjoying my first okonomiyaki. // Disfrutando de mi primer okonomiyaki.

Ever saw fresh wasabi? // Alguna vez vieron wasabi fresco?

Good old friend Take took us out for dinner in Tokio. // El buen amigo Take nos sacó a comer en Tokio.

Waiting for him, wondering if we were at the right place. // Esperándolo, preguntándonos si estamos en el lugar correcto.

In the beverages department, it was mostly about green tea. More precisely matcha (its powder version). And Sake, of course. Interesting fact, we heard that the Tea culture started when Monks realized they needed something to prevent them from falling asleep when meditating (before the times of coffee).

Sake section at a supermarket. // Sección del Sake en un supermercado.

Sake tasting!. Very good. // Cata de Sakes. Buenísima.

All-you-can-taste for 300 Yen. Souvenir glass included. // Todo lo que puedas catar por 300 yenes. Incluido el vasito de regalo.

Matcha (green tea) store. Go for that ice cream. // Tienda de matcha (té verde). Bien por el helado.

They also love these pre-mixed whiskey with soda (“highballs”). // También les encanta estos pre-mezclados de whiskey con soda (los llaman “highballs”).

Some interesting aspects of eating in Japan, other than the food itself, include the complete sets of replicas or food models mimicking the menu, found in most restaurant windows (the first night, Sandra said: “look, here they sell decorative dishes!”). Also, the wet tissues or towels you get everywhere, the huge variety of food-boxes (called bento) you can buy “to-go” and the fact you get your bill, discretely placed face down on the table, almost immediately after having been served. Details. Oh, and you can almost get a full meal’s worth of food just by sampling along the aisles of any given department store’s food court.

Restaurant window “menu”. // “Menú” de réplicas en la vitrina de un restaurante.

Bought “to-go” at the train station, for the ride. // Comprado en la estación de tren, para el viaje.

A nice sushi cake! // Un buen pastel de sushi de salmón.

The bill, always facing down. // La cuenta, siempre boca abajo.

What’s your right chopstick size ? // Cuál es tu talla de palillos para comer?

By the way, something that caught our attention (and not really positively) was the exaggerated amount of plastic they use in the supermarkets, with plastic bags and containers by the millions and “individually-wrapped” everything.  Such an advanced society and still this? Come on, people!

LA VIE EN ROSE

Sandra wanted to visit Japan before May, with the main goal of trying to catch the “famous” cherry blossoms (called “sakura” in Japanese) in full bloom. I frankly didn’t know there was such a thing. Turns out to be THE main attraction around this time of the year. “Sakura viewing” even has its own verbs in Japanese: hanami (enjoying it during the day) and yozakura (at night).  They LOVE it here and the country becomes pink for a few days in every city, as the short-lived pink carpet makes its way north through the land, giving color not only to those cherry trees, but also to clothes, shopfronts, street deco, food, drinks, sweets, souvenirs and beyond. There are daily forecast updates, changing with the weather and making it challenging for so many tourists who plan their journeys with “full-bloom” in mind.

We were a bit late. And weather didn’t help either, as it pulled the full bloom forward in most of the country, so we missed it in Osaka, in Nara, in Kyoto and in Yoshino (supposedly THE place for sakura viewing). But we didn’t surrender and, Japan Rail passes in hand, took about 20 different train rides in 4 days, to go all the way up to Hokkaido. This is Japan’s second biggest island, north of Honshu… you guessed it, the main island, where most of the Japanese cities you’ve ever heard of are located (and that was my Japanese Geography lesson in disguise, by the way).  And it was definitely worth it! Once again i’ll let the pictures speak, but seeing so much pink together and how people enjoy it so much was very much interesting.

First glimpse of a crowded sakura in Osaka. // Primeros atisbos del famoso sakura, con bastante gente, en Osaka.

Gotta dress-up for the occasion. // Toca ponerse elegante para la ocasión.

A couple of trees here and there, on our way North. // Uno que otro árbol, mientras íbamos hacia el norte.

The sakura mascot. // La mascota del sakura.

We made it to Hakodate and it looked promising… // Fuimos hasta Hakodate y la cosa prometía.

Goryokaku tower. // Torre de Goryokaku.

Amazing fort Goryokaku, seen from the tower. // El impresionante fuerte Goryokaku, visto desde la torre.

Finally caught sakura in full-bloom. // Finalmente atrapamos al sakura en plena floración.

Views in pink started getting better and better. // Las vistas en rosado se ponían mejores y mejores.

People come here to picnic under the never-ending pink ceiling. // La gente viene a hacer picnic bajo este techo rosado interminable.

Some people spend the night to reserve a good picnic spot. // Algunos pasan la noche allí, para separar un buen sitio para el picnic.

And it was a Sunday… and a sunny one, even! // Y nos tocó domingo, y encima soleado!

10 points if you spot Sandra. // 10 puntos si ubican a Sandra. 😛

Contemplating. // Contemplando (la posera).

Some take it quite seriously. // Algunos se lo toman bien a pecho.

Picture paradise. // Paraíso para las fotos.

It’s a good opportunity to declare your love (socks optional). // Buena época para declarar tu amor (sin medias).

Food market with pink bankground. // Mercados de comida con rosado de fondo.

The only room we found available during full-bloom… six beds just for us two.. // El único cuarto que conseguimos durante la floración. Seis camas para nosotros dos.

Pink invades the streets. // El rosado invade las calles.

A little bit too much, if you ask me. // Un poco mucho, si me lo preguntas.

…and by know I’ve already realized this would be way tooooo long of a post, so I’ll have to split it in two!  Come on… this country kind of deserves it. And trust me, I’m trying to keep things short.  More to come, shortly (and we are slowly reaching the end of this year-long blog!)

Cheers for now.

Lima-Peru, June 18^th, 2018