just got back from Japan. We flew to Tokyo, but immediately took bullet train to Kyoto to stay a few days before taking train back to Kyoto to stay a few more days and these are my notes from it.
Also, a little bit about me so to see where my thoughts come from I am from Oklahoma. I have been to Ireland, Mexico and a few Central American Countries. When I travel I enjoy people watching, just seeing how they act in their day to day life more so than tourist stuff. Without further ado(be warned this is long)
1. The air is so much cleaner than in Oklahoma. I don’t have a problem breathing here but in Japan you can feel the difference. Kyoto is better than Tokyo in this regard but still better than Tulsa.
2. They do a lot biking, especially in Kyoto. They have very much an infrastructure that allows for it, and walking compared to Oklahoma. FYI I didn’t bike but our AirBNB host lent us bikes but warned us to make sure we do park our bikes in designated parking spots or it could be towed so be warned.
3. Speaking of walking, I am not hundred percent sure what side of the sidewalk to walk on. I think left but i saw many people ve on right.
4. This is for my bigger, both in width and heighth, fellow travelers. Japan is not exactly built for you, Kyoto more than Tokyo. I am 5’7 200lbs pounds. I traveled with people 5’9 180, 6 feet 215. There were several places they had to be careful to walk or they would hit their head wheras i was perfect height. And then in terms of width, a lot of restaurants, walkways etc are very cramped. They don’t have a wide open walkway like we in American so accessibility nay be an issue if bigger than that(our AirBNB restroom could not hold someone 250 or above)
5. Restaurant hours in Japan are a bit different. They don’t have a lot of diners that open before 11, especially Kyoto. The only place I found that was with walking distance open at 7 am was a breakfast chain, i think its called Nakau. Then several restaurants are open for like 11 to 2 or 3, then close until 5. So plan accordingly.
6. Speaking of food, the good was amazing. I only had one thing couldn’t finish and it was grated, frozen, pickled yam. Otherwise, everything was great. We did do Sushi converyor belt. I am not big on American Sushi but this was amazing. I also enjoy doing fast food in countries to see difference. I got the spicy chicken sandwich from McD and Samurai burger. I didn’t care for either but could eat. The chicken was spicy due to wasabi which I don’t like and the burger had a weird soy/teriyaki sauce didn’t care for.
7. This is just a tip. When we went the conversion rate was roughly $1 = 150 yen(so it may change). Don’t think of it was 150 yen but think of it as 1.5 yen. So the conversion is 2/3. So anything you see multiple by 2, divide by 3, and put a decimal ahead of last two digits. IE 1350 yen is $9.00
8. This is more for Kyoto than Tokyo, but is so much more quiet than Tulsa. Probably due to less cars but still.
9. This is just for Kyoto but we went to Kyoto thinking it was going to be that old school type of Japan. And it is partially. Where we were staying, a cat sanctuary/airbnb, it looked not that dissimilar from any small city. There were small areas, like a few shrines, that offset but overall typical city. However, if you go towards a monkey park it will be very much American stereotypical old school Japan.
10. Also, the various 90s Anime like YuYu Hakusho and Sailormoon give a good representation of the architecture.
11. I couldn’t find a sports drink like Gatorade or Powerade at any of the convenience stores.
12. Speaking of which, 7/11 is an abundance there. Like it is extremely common there and surprisingly their hot food is really good for a late night snack.
13. Also, they are vending machine culture. Literally one every 100 yards.
14. The sunrise was extremely early. Like their 530 am, looked like Tulsa’s 830 am.
15. They have a robust public transportation system. Between taxis, subway, bus, and trolley you can easily get around. So if you aren’t great at walking long distances(we did about 10-15 miles a day) you can find a way.
16. One thing people say is Japan is extremely clean and you don’t see litter, this is very true in Kyoto. I saw no litter there ever. With that said, by clean they don’t mean shiny and things looking straight. This may not be best word, but Kyoto does have a bit of run down quality to it. You will see most things metal things rusted, buildings will be faded or peeling, their windows are full of mismatched signs, very cluttered. Tokyo is a bit different. There definitely is litter, though it may be from tourist more so than locals. But everything has a nice shine to it and organized quality. And even with litter, the first thing in the morning you see are shop keeps sweeping it up.
17. Coming back to Kyoto, even though “run down” it feels extremely safe, even middle of the night. Unlike Tulsa there was no fear of being robbed.
18. We saw no homeless people which was odd. Also, we didn’t see bugs.
20. I recommend carrying something that you can put trash in, we carried a backpack. We didn’t come across any trash cans really. Surprising due to lack of litter.
21. So people in Japan are kind but not “American” friendly. Like we were stopped and helped more than once(prolly helps we had an attractive blonde). However, they aren’t social in terms of randomly talking and they allnhave RBF.
22. Most of their traffic lights don’t have a button, they are automatic and most of them don’t have the beeping for the blind.
23. Asahi beer cans had braille which was cool.
24. All of the toilets we used had Bidets which was cool. However, their TP sucks. If I go again I will bring a roll. They don’t even have one play, its like half ply. Like I love a Bidet, I have one at home, but you still need a strongTP to hold up to moisture.
25. Coming back to food, their food will satisfy you but won’t make you “full”. What I mean is you won’t be hungry but unlike an American meal won’t feel stuffed.
26. Smoking is a lot more common than the states.
27. Not all prices include the tax.
28. If you are using Google maps while walking and it tells you to take a turn and you don’t see it, look closely. It is very Zelda like and it has hidden paths.
29. If you do try Tinder, you will need to validate your age. We couldn’t get it to work while there. My friend who is staying 6 weeks got it to work eventually and said this “I kept having it go to chrome instead of keeping it on the internet page it sent me to. The other part, it needed to see both pages and all 4 corners of the passport”
30. They are extemely ruthless in an elevator. Like they wait no time to close the elevator after people exit. Like I got my arm hit because someone hit the button so fast. They do not wait for someone to enter.
31. Coming back to walking, these peopl give no fucks when it comes to walking in front of cars. If they have the right of way they take it. In Tulsa if you see a car coming even if you have right of way you wait to ensure. These people are like nah I am going. And if a car is waiting to turn, you will hustle across. Nope they leisurely stroll.
32. Also, I know they are walk centric but really surprised by lack of gas stations. Here we have them roughly every mile. Them nope.
These are my observations for a week in Japan.
31 comments
For (11), “Aquarius” and “Pocari Sweat” are your answers. My wife found out the hard way thinking Aquarius was just regular drinking water so she boiled some and put it in her tea. She was wondering why her tea had a strange sweetness to it. 😂
On number 11, Pocari Sweat looks like a regular water bottle but is a lemon flavored sports drink and is literally everywhere 🙂
The part about the food not making you full is the hardest thing as someone from America who just moved here two months ago. I’m always hungry! Haha. Also the pedestrians know they have the right of way and a car has to stop if they see a pedestrian on the crosswalk as it can lead to getting arrested as my boss told me when teaching me to drive here. Seems like you enjoyed Kyoto which is so far my favorite place here.
For (23): most bidet will have a blowdry feature.
/#3: Unless there’s arrows, people don’t care which side to walk on.
You’d think they would care enough to figure that out by now
Half of your points were essentially about how when you build a city for people and not for cars, it’s better.
33. Oh also I forgot to mention if you don’t speak Japanese but English you will be fine. While there are some places that you may struggle, they are very much English friendly.
34. There was debate about jogging with no passport. While legally you need to carry one, i was never worried about showing my ” papers”. I passed several police offixers and not once did I think I would have to show. Again legally keep it on you but no big fear if don’t.
You may of heard a bird like noise when the crosswalk was green? It sounds like chirping. That’s for the visually impaired. Although, I notice it’s not for all crosswalks. It seems to be just main, heavy traffic ones.
Totally different experience with the elevators. People always hold them open until everyone got in or out here.
24. There is good reason that 42% of American adults are obese. American portions are huge, and generally too large compared to Asian portions.
Dude. Kyoto prefecture is 1,000 years older than settled Oklahoma!!!!! Yeah, it’s going to look a little more “run down.” Also, how did you miss the energy drinks?? Google is your friend!!!! Japan is so much hotter than OK, literally teeming with energy drinks or electrolyte replacement drinks just so the people can stay hydrated. Those vending machines that are every 10 feet are FULL of them. Also, Japan has more Michelin Stars than anywhere in the world. I don’t want to use that as a measure of portion size but suffice to say that if you had complaints about the food in Japan, or not feeling full, you are in a very very very small minority and did not eat enough!!
Hey fellow Oklahoman! I appreciated the travel tips you posted. We are planning a trip for next year.
What were some of your favorite places to visit or things that you did on your trip?
Did you do the luggage transport?
(5) The opening of Japanese restaurants are very typical first-world opening hours, so they might be atypical for US, but they would be fairly typical for most European countries with higher-end ones having separate lunch and dinner opening hours.
(9) Considering that Kyoto would have been the sixth most populous US city and is part of the metro area that would have been first or second most populous area in US – “small city” is the last description one would expect.
(11) Aquarius and Pocari Sweat are your usual go to drinks, but there are plenty of other isotonics in any konbini store.
(14) Japan does not observe daylight saving changes and is in a proper timezone. Most of US is not.
(18) Laughs in Nishinari Ward in Osaka, or in Ueno in Tokyo.
(23) True. Toilet paper in public toilets in Japan can suck.
(30) Welcome to the civilization.
>They do a lot biking, especially in Kyoto. They have very much an infrastructure that allows for it, and walking compared to Oklahoma. FYI I didn’t bike but our AirBNB host lent us bikes but warned us to make sure we do park our bikes in designated parking spots or it could be towed so be warned.
I thought the bike culture seemed kinda off. Lots of people riding bikes, but lots of people would ride on the sidewalks even when there were bike lanes. Lots of places where there were no bike lanes but lots of riders and room for bike lanes.
​
>Speaking of walking, I am not hundred percent sure what side of the sidewalk to walk on. I think left but i saw many people ve on right.
I was surprised by this on the sidewalks. Sometimes crowds seemed to stay to one side or the other, but mostly it was a free for all. Only time it seemed to really matter was escalators.
​
>Coming back to food, their food will satisfy you but won’t make you “full”. What I mean is you won’t be hungry but unlike an American meal won’t feel stuffed.
The feeling of “fullness” really means you ate too much, I think the key is their food is simply healthier. Less processed and less greasy, leaving you less bloated/full. I’m so envious of the ability to walk a few blocks and get a freshly cooked meal.
I think the biggest lie I’ve ever been told about Japan is “they have small portion sizes”. If you go to a katsu place the pork is a good size, but then you get a big ass bowl of miso soup, a mountain of cabbage, and a giant bowl of rice to go with it. It’s a lot of food. Same thing with ramen, a lot of the ramen shops were massive portions.
Lots of misinformation here. Ex. No gatorade counterpart (there’s many, like Pocari Sweat) and no beeping for blind. Japan probably has the best blind infrastructure I’ve ever seen. The streets have grids and dots to indicate to the blind where they are. And the birds you hear chirping in transit also indicate this.
Kyoto is rusting etc. because it’s literally thousands of years old. Nothing in America is over 250 years old.
Meals won’t fill you up because Japanese have a culture around eating 80% full. One reason why they’re so lean. Your concept of a full meal is alien talk to Japanese.
12. I love convenience store in japan. Lawson, 711 and family mart, each has their own specialty but all are good. Look for other smaller conbini such as mini stop and daily yamazaki they are good too, esp daily yamazaki has amazing bread as they started as bread store. I usually eat at conbini for breakfast. Usually sandwich, bread and / or onigiri, sometimes something heavier such as noodle, curry or gyudon.
16. Yeah kyoto is much more run down, and actually kyoto in a lot of debt too, so maybe that is why they don’t fix a lot of things due to limited budget
For those correcting me on sports water. Thanks! Yeah to me sports drink is a bright color of dubious liquid.
About trash cans- they apparently removed them about 30 years ago after one of the cults used trash cans to set off sarin gas in a subway and have not replaced them
3. As for walking it’s actually complicated! In Tokyo people tend to walk on the left, but it’s not set in stone like in the US where when I go home and forget to walk on the right people get annoyed. I’ve never really noticed a preference in Kyoto but have heard Kansai is right-walking. When I was in Morioka recently everyone seemed to walk on the right.
Also just got back from Japan!
A couple things I noticed as well:
1. It’s very easy to bike places
2. Transportation is quick and reliable
3. People in Kyoto are some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met!
4. People were very considerate of each other… held doors and elevators, used google translate to talk to us, smiled at us, went out of there way to help us when we looked/felt lost
5. The food omg … amazing. But you’re correct, I never felt “stuffed” but was always content / satisfied. Being stuffed IMO is not a nice feeling
6. Do not sneeze in public – lol
7. Shrines are everywhere – it’s totally worth checking out some of the free ones
I think Japan may be my favourite place I’ve ever travelled to. Also with all the walking and eating healthy I lost 12lbs in 2 weeks and trust me I ate…. A lot and often.
Did you do any cash conversion States side before the trip?
Many of Kyoto’s smaller traditional buildings and homes have outer walls with charring to protect the wood longer than bare, which gives them that charcoal color. But with the omnipresent rain and humidity, it still fades pretty quickly.
If you’re used to paint on everything, it does appear rundown.
In Japan, sports drinks are Pocari Sweat, Aquarius, others.
Energy drinks here usually come in small 3-4 oz bottles and are loaded with caffeine. Convenience stores usually carry Red Bull and Monster, too.
So two notes from feedback.
1. I was horribly wrong about sports drink. I was thinking too American. When I think of sports I think of bright colored bottles of sugar water.
2. Run down was wrong word. I undertstand why Kyoro is weathered worn. Its not disgusting but not what you think fo as clean. If someone described a clean kitchen would you think stained tile, peeling painted, rusted faucet? No, they could be completely sanitary, which Kyoto was but not what you think of as clean.
3. As for blind friendly, i am not saying they arent blind friendly, just that their lights consistently didnt have a blaring sound to indicate crossing.
For the money conversion, I move the decimal point over 2 digits, then imagine a 30% discount.
E.g. 1350 => 13.50 => about $9 USD after 30% discount
But wow, the yen really has gotten weak. It used to be roughly 100 yen to 1 USD, which made conversion super easy
Ok where you stayed sounds awesome, cat sanctuary + Airbnb? Can you share the name or location??
I just got back from Japan too. I actually thought everyone was really nice. I am from California and the Bay Area . No one is nice here. It was a surprise even annoying at times how nice they are there
Always fun to see an American realize that his home country is a 3rd world country.
If you want to see people who have no fucks to give when it comes to crossing the street go to Manhattan in NY. Japanese pedestrians are incredibly patient and polite in comparison. My kid keeps telling me not to cross the dinky one lane streets if no cars are coming and just to wait, because I am happy to just cross.
One thing I will mention, is Japanese speed limits are considerably lower than the equivalent speed limits in the US. In Kyoto itself, I suspect most roads have a 25 kph speed limit which is like 15 mph. Accidents are just going to be a lot less serious and it is easier to stop your car or truck at 15 mph vs. 30+
You see a lot more gas stations in areas that are more car dependent in Japan and there are places that are more car dependent. (Until you get on more rural roads, where you’re just not seeing anything but countryside.)
Kyoto is a city where you really don’t need to own a car. I have friend who lives in Osaka with PR and they don’t own a car. However, when they were a JET in Toyama, they did have a car.
I just got back from Japan too and agree with some of your observations. I only stayed in Tokyo tho so it’s a little different but I did see homeless people, and litter. but even then it was pretty orderly and contained to some places lol. Like the litter was there but whoever littered had the sense to put it in a place where it was out of the way.
7/11 and family mart, Lawson etc had such good food. I legit only ate there for my first two days lol. Those onigiri are so cheap and good. I really wish I brought some more back with me, especially since customs didn’t even bother to ask about any of that.
Don’t bring your own toilet paper, you will break the toilet, the reason it’s so thin is it’s for pat drying after using the washlet, the pipes can’t take thick western style toilet paper.
We’re comparing Japan to Oklahoma? Alright.