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I’ve just returned from a “magical” two weeks visiting several cities insouthern Japan –a gift that my husband and I gave ourselves to celebrate our 20th weddinganniversary. When emailing one of my friends, she asked what I meant bymagical. It’s really the only way that I can describe the whole trip becauseabsolutely everything was beautiful and planned to perfection thanks to a groupcalled Samurai Tours, http://www.samuraitours.com/.We seldom book on tours because we prefer to do our own thing but when there isa big language challenge, tons of sites to visit and culture to absorb, weprefer to leave the arrangements to local professionals. Our guides provided uswith the perfect Japanese experience.

As soon as you arrive in Japan,you quickly notice that it’s a land of stark contrasts between the old and thenew. It is a beautiful and amazing country that is filled with polite peopleand contrasting sites of modern high-rise buildings alongside hundreds-year oldtemples and shrines, some with raked gardens. This contrast can also be seen aspeople stop by a shrine to quickly pray before running off to the trains wherethey use their cell phones to text (talking on them isn’t allowed) while ridingto work or school. Everywhere you turn there is beauty and attention to designand detail – even things such as bento boxes. This you’d expect because oftheir exquisite display of food at every meal – but manhole covers? These wereoften decorated artistically and with symbolism. Japan is pristinely cleaneverywhere you go which is quite amazing considering the number of people wholive in Japan and are constantly moving around. What was also amazing was thescarcity of garbage cans. We found it almost impossible to throw away a waterbottle or bag that had contained lunch or snacks – and if we did find the bins,we had to figure out how to recycle our items. We once had a woman take agarbage bag from one of the couples on the tour so that she could take it hometo throw it away. We loved the fact that people are not allowed to talk ontheir cell (mobile) phones on the subways and trains. Although we had many verytightly packed rides, there was not one obnoxious person letting us in onhis/her side of a phone conversation. In many cities, you see raised/patternedyellow pavement paths that are used as guidelines for blind people.

We noticed that there seemed to be vending machines every couple of blocksand they were more than plentiful in the train stations. So no matter where yougo you can buy all kinds of drinks such as sodas, energy drinks and coffeeshots as well as snacks and cigarettes. You can even buy beer from a vendingmachine.

One of the things that brought our group a lot of laughs, were the verytechnical toilets complete with heated seats, bidets and even a button thatprovides music.

Mt.Fuji

 

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Sumo

by Glenda Bland

Yokoso!JAPAN Travel Blog by The Visit Japan Campaign Supporters

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