7/24/16 to 7/7/16 – Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto, Japan
Crew – Family! Left to right: John Orta (Dad), Gigi Orta (Mother), Lily Orta (Older of two younger sisters).
Quick Note: Because I’ve already seen 22 countries and I probably will not see a few of them for a while, I’ll be writing up reviews from past trips I remember. Trust me they have good stories.
There’s nothing I love more than walking into a tea garden that blatantly says “Not an entrance”. One might attribute it to the rebellious attitude of my family, but I would bet significantly more money on the fact that my dad blatantly ignored my comment about what the sign said despite me being the only one who could read any characters. I don’t blame him, ignorance is bliss with any security guards and my knowledge of characters while accurate for this example, should not be relied on.
Why did I know some characters?
Spite
No seriously.
After taking Spanish for six(?) years my mom wanted me to take Spanish as I reasonably had taken it for so long and knew something. I blatantly refused and then called French useless (yes I’m a little quick on the judgments, sorry Lily, Grace, Nina, Casey, and the other French folks). So that left me with Mandarin…. Which happens to share a character system with Japanese writing. Cue me being god awful for five years. I apologize to my entire class for my pronunciation. Now I might have to take it in college if I can’t test out. Life is weird.
Just how quick did my Mandarin knowledge come in handy? About 30 meters away from our arrival gate I pointed out the sign for taxi to my family. Huh. Guess taking a foreign language can be useful. Now as Lily helpfully pointed out while writing this that I was often wrong because of the whole wrong language issue and my aforementioned horrific skills. Moral of the story: Sam inflates his own skill and our family has a blatant disregard for signs.
Backing up a bit upon landing our taxi took us to a “two bed room” apartment we rented and I imagine you all caught on a lot faster than my family did. It was two beds in one room and no AC in a city that was in the 90 degrees every day. Welcome to Japan!
First up on our trip was Tokyo. Yes, the downtown was simple chaos. Yes, the technical district can best be described as overwhelming in every sense. But this city above all else highlights the modern era. The tradition was taking a backseat here in favor of the future and endless tech companies and skyscrapers embodied the city. The only exception was the 11,000-gate cultural site outside of the city that provided a breathtaking cultural experience and view of the city with the bonus of the gates telling a story with a solid plot line and character development.
Even better the public transportation system despite being incredibly complicated was the most impressive and efficient marvel of public transportation I have ever seen. In addition, there were bullet trains which could send us across the country in a matter of hours.
Those trains sent us to our next destination of Kyoto. Kyoto has piles of adorable ultra-friendly deer that love to eat crackers that you can buy for them and just hang out with you. Look, I work for an animal shelter, this was a massive selling point. Combine that with classic temples, scrolls that give advice on how long you will live (I pulled the “not long” one) and an ever-helpful population made for a great time.
How nice were the people? If you remember that we relied on them either speaking English or my pitiful High School Mandarin reading and writing, quite patient. Which was great when we went to a destination where English was unknown. Koyasan. A UNESCO site that lays claim to being the founders of Buddhism in Japan and containing a nearly tourist-free town where you can explore buildings that are from 300 AD (for some context western Rome would not fall for another 200 years) and stay in an honest to whatever you believe in Buddhist monastery for the night. Only vegan food, hah sorry Lily. My mom also asked me if I agreed that being a Buddhist monk would be a relaxing and fulfilling life.
I disagreed. What can I say I take pleasure in my capitalist vices.
Osaka was next. The parents splurged and putting us in the air-conditioned Mandarin Oriental, still the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. As I said before, I enjoy my capitalistic vices. Osaka had some amazingly well-preserved Shogun era forts and castles. The relative stability of the Japanese government for 2,000 years has allowed for fantastically preserved ruins that are near unparalleled. Furthermore upon our return to Tokyo we visited “Emperors Garden”. Which after a review are truly fit for an emperor.
Now would also be a good time to discuss food. If you eat meat or fish, you will love the food of Japan. All of it was amazing from the Michelin star sushi place we tried (first time in such a prestigious establishment) to the street ramen you purchased from a literal vending machine. Once again reading characters was helpful. Also, the restaurant where sushi was made by robots and launched at you was perhaps not as personalized as a handcrafted meal would have been, but it was just outright science fiction.
Number one food recommendation undoubtedly though was piss alley: a conglomerate of cheap restaurants. Besides our little restaurant showing the true character of cheap backstreet food with the cook chain-smoking and stirring their “mystery stew” the closest thing to a bathroom lily found was a hole in the ground.
The final stop and one that has a different atmosphere than all the others was Hiroshima. As a human who specialized in dark humor, I’m going to refrain from it because it seems insensitive to laugh about how modern the buildings are in a city because Americans dropped a literal nuclear warhead on it. The city devotes itself to peace and the museum was so impactful that not a single person speaks inside of it. Not requested by the museum, just what inevitably happens to everyone. If you go to Japan you should see it, even if you don’t want to, it’s flat out important.
With that note out of the way, we headed back to Tokyo and flew home and onto the ratings!
Sam’s Sermon Scales:
West Oakland BART similarities? – 7/10. Easily one of the cleanest countries I have ever seen in my life with no litter or homeless people. Plus, everyone was incredibly welcoming even if it was hard to tell if it was out of politeness or happiness though. But Japan does not receive a 10/10 as Tokyo’s rush hour makes Embarcadero Monday morning look quiet. For the more number-based folks Tokyo central was around ten times as crowded on average (fact).
“I could make this better!” – 9/10. Buddhist monks make amazing tea. And yes I’m not an uncultured barbarian who only drinks coffee. I respect some green tea grown approximately 100 feet away from my room the same way it has for the last 1,500 years. Visit Koyasan, seriously.
Folks of Culture? – 11/10. Japan lays claim to the oldest reining line of monarchs (or for them emperors) on the planet and the culture has been incredibly well preserved because of that stability. Koyasan has temples to Buddhism and Shintoism a millennium older than gunpowder while Osaka has fully preserved castles and museums documenting every part of their history. Furthermore, the modern culture of Japan has spread across the world for a reason (hi anime). Japan has created a fiercely unique culture in the modern era and witnessing it alongside the traditional was simply fantastic. Cannot recommend the country for this singular point enough.
Golden Hour Opportunities? – 9/10. So many fantastic views. The 11,000 gates outside of Tokyo especially are a must see. Albeit get ready for your quads to hate you as those 11,000 gates on located on a literal mountain. Osaka, Koyasan, and Kyoto also offer amazing views.
Did the vegetarian starve? – 9/10. Japanese cuisine was capable of always finding food for me. On the other hand, I was a pescatarian at the time and my food options would have been a whole lot more limited without fish. Bonus points however for the fact that you could buy top quality meals in any convenience store in a decent sized city.
“Hey boss, can I work more hours?” – 6/10. This country was flat out not cheap in Tokyo and Osaka when it came to housing, food or tickets. The smaller cities such as Kyoto and Koyasan were cheaper but Japan has very similar prices to the economically affluent sections of California. Ok, that was hyperbole, the rent was better than San Francisco, but then I’m pretty sure you could rent out the Garden of Eden for cheaper than one bed no AC apartment in SF.
Cooler than Middle Earth? – 10/10. It’s a different world in Japan. Looking at what I wrote above we have an efficient public transportation system, a culture that stretches back longer than nearly any country, fantastic food, 11,000 gates going up a mountain and tea grown by a Buddhist monk next to the bamboo mat you sleep on. So yes, Japan was actually cooler than Middle Earth even if it lacked wizards and dwarves.
The only country I have posted besides Japan so far was Canada, and so my rating scale does not have a ton to go off. But Japan ranks higher overall than possibly every other country I have seen except maybe one. So not every country will average an 8 or 9 out of ten.
On that note, I highly recommend anyone who can afford to travel to Japan do so. The mix of ancient tradition, digital technology, peaceful temples and cosmopolitan cities makes the entire country a paradox that never failed to surprise me. A must-see country if you are a foodie, cultural fanatic, history nerd or anything else.
Photo credit goes to my dad and Lily
Best,
Sam
Dead Man Travelling 