We started the day with a 10:00 am brunch. I got a bacon and egg breakfast, the bacon was too underdone for me, but they had good toast. After that we went to the beach before our plane was set to take off. This was my first time seeing the ocean, and I had a good time. I also got to finally play hacky-sack with Paul, and we had a great time playing. We then went to the airport. After we got through security, we had an hour before take off. After the hour, we got on the plane and I listened to more of my audio book (Mark of the Fool). After we got through customs, I was home and my trip was done. My time in Japan may have been short, but now it’s time for reflection.
The most striking difference between American culture and Japanese culture is the cleanliness and respect. It’s so clean in Japan, no litter to be seen and the people are so respectful and nice. It’s a big difference. On the other hand, they have many similarities. They have many US products like Coke. I also saw 2 McDonalds during the trip. Basically, they are a capitalist society and have much of the same stuff we have.
I spent a lot of time preparing for this trip. My family and I practiced walking to build up endurance. I also spent about 30+ hours learning and practicing Japanese. However, I did not choose the best learning tool for this — Babel or Duolingo would have been better. I also probably should have walked even more.
Once we were there, I realized how much walking was actually going to be involved and my feet really hurt. In the end, I just had to push through because there really wasn’t another choice. My biggest challenge was the fact that I got sick! This was a real blow because I missed most of the activities in Kyoto. However, my family had helped me prepare (in case this happened) and I rested to recover as quickly as possible. It seemed to work okay, and I was better for our return to Tokyo.
When people ask me about my time in Japan, the one thing I tell them is that the landscapes and the gardens were so beautiful. You can never get enough of them.
Looking back on the expedition there are a couple of things I would banish from the itinerary: Teamlabs Borderless and our visit to Stardust. My main issue with Teamlabs was that it occurred on the same day we landed. I was exhausted and the exhibit was really disappointing. Many of them were just dull, grainy projections. Stardust was disappointing because of my expectation. It had been presented as a nice dining experience, but we got there, and it was a coffee and tea shop. The only food item on their menu was soup. I hate soup!
But overall these things did not wreck an otherwise great experience. Two things that I would definitely keep are the flea market in Kyoto and our visit to Mount Fuji. I really loved walking around the flea market and looking at all of the fascinating things. Paul and I walked together and had a good time joking around as we looked. I would have bought more items if I had brought more cash with me that day. As for Mount Fuji, what can I say? It was amazing and is an iconic Japanese symbol. It was one of my first big natural wonders, and I loved it! Finally, the one thing I wish we could have seen (more of) was the cherry blossoms, and I think it would be good to plan around that if possible for the next trip.
