I just spent two weeks in Japan, and had one of the best vacations of my life. I thought I’d give some reflections on what I noticed. These are not travel tips; just reflections as someone new to the culture. For background: I’m Canadian, early 40s, gay, went with my partner, speak 3 total words in Japanese. I’ve lived and travelled in Europe extensively, but I didn’t know much about Japan before going (other than the surface-level travel research). I did take a couple of courses that touched on the Edo period during university, so I had a limited understanding of the 16th-18th century history of Japan.
Thoughts:
* Tourist traps: this may sound strange, but I never experienced one in Japan. To me, a tourist trap is something that promises a lot but turns out to be totally hokey. I did not find any of the major castles/palaces/shrines/areas under-promised in any way. Kyoto, for example, is packed, but these are incredibly special places and being there (even with thousands of others) is deeply moving. Even the restaurants in major places were interesting and fun, and I never once felt taken advantage of in terms of pricing. Of course there were some places with big lineups, but it’s fun to see that and find out what the hype is, even if you don’t line up and buy it; what’s wrong with that? It’s fun!
* Shrines and temples: The temples were active religious communities, so I saw my first Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies taking place, in-person. It was very profound to see the priests and congregants worshiping, and the vestments and tools of worship. For anyone interested in world religions, the major shrines and temples of Japan are very well designed to allow visitors to see ceremonies taking place, which was so fascinating for me. When you visit cathedrals, they often stop tourism activities during ceremonies, so it is difficult to see those special moments taking place without planning and attending a complete service (and I struggle to do that when I’m vacationing). I loved being able to catch glimpses of Shinto and Buddhist worship as I visited. It was just so beautiful and I loved it.
* History: I loved visiting the museums in Japan. My absolute favourite was Nihon Minka-en (日本民家園), just because you could see so many houses up close, some of which had their ancillary buildings and yards attached. There isn’t a ton of English in the park, but it was easy enough to translate and the guides were welcoming and did very well to give a sense of the buildings. I also was surprisingly moved to visit Daisenryo Kofun and some of the smaller tombs in the Mozu Tombs cluster, and I loved the little museum there that displays artifacts. I really loved the accessibility of history in Japan, even if so much has been lost (and hey, where hasn’t history been preserved?).
* Poetry/literature: I have never experienced a culture where poetry/literature is so integrated into daily life. I love translating the rocks with text that you would come across in parks and throughout cities (they must have a name, but I don’t know what it is). If my translate app was correct, the majority just seemed to have thoughtful notes from Japanese authors of the past, and it helped to open a world of imagination about the area I was standing in, who wrote that, who placed the rock here etc. What a cool thing! I just loved that.
* Costco: I visited a Japanese Costco, and it was fun! There were a surprising number of Canadian products there, too (including pork at 1/3 of the price we pay for it!). It’s just so funny to see these things reinterpreted around the world. I loved it.
* Rail and Subway conductors: thank you to each and every single transit employee I interacted with! You are the most awesome people.
I am tired, and could go on. I just wanted to share some observations that I had. Thank you for the best travel experience of my life, Japan!
by ryguy_1
