When we finally touched down in Narita Airport outside of Tokyo we were greeted with our first language barrier … the ATM. No English. This was a harbinger for what was to come in the following week …expecting a developed country with a sophisticated population to speak English, but finding us using some rudimentary version of sign language in an attempt to communicate with most Japanese.  We met Jess at our hotel in Shinjuku and spent the next two nights enjoying the sights of our first Asian adventure. We had read that Shinjuku was considered the red-light district of Tokyo and braced for that reality.  However, as we would quickly learn, Shinjuku along with the rest of the country is incredibly safe, orderly and we rarely found ourselves in an uncomfortable position.

We found Tokyo to be less crowded with people and structures than we anticipated. This is partially due to the sheer size of the city and the general introverted personalities of the Japanese.  Quiet voices, limited conversation, organized street crossings/transportation boarding, directional stair cases. Nearly all men in the city wore suits, while younger women walked pigeon-toed in an effort to woo the opposite sex. While we were only in Tokyo for a limited amount of time, we made it to Shibuya (busiest pedestrian street crossing in the world), Akihabra (electronics district), Rappongi Hills (nightlife), fish market, and Harijuku (where were all the Harijuku girls?). It was a whirlwind 36 hours, but enjoyable.

We then picked up the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto and found our way to the Hanakaya Inn, where we slept in a traditional Japanese guest house. This included futon style beds, beanbag pillow and a shared bathroom. The experience was made much more pleasing due to our fantastic host, Eimi. Eimi had previously studied in the US and therefore was able to speak acceptable English.  We spent the following few days in Kyoto visiting various temples, shrines and pagodas. Kyoto highlights included renting bikes and riding to the Golden Pavilion, strolling along the Gion district, enjoying our first Keitan Sushi experience and hunting for modern day Geishas. Luckily, we did spot several Geishas scampering about at lighting speeds.

Next stop was Kobe. This was our first experience Couch Surfing and it was incredibly positive. We stayed with Maddy, an American born teacher at an international school in Kobe. She was fairly new to Kobe, but directed us to some fantastic Indian and sushi joints. In addition, Kobe is home of the infamously pricey beef. However, after conversing with the locals we discovered that the closest they come to Kobe beef is Kobe Bryant. Tourist trap alert. Regardless, someone with great marketing skills found a way to make a lot of money; it just happens that it’s the Westerners who are paying for it. Kobe is also known for its Sake breweries and after Frankenstorm delayed Jess’s flight back to New York, the three of us headed out to find one. While we were initially disappointed to find that most were closed, we stumbled upon Sake tasting downtown and decided to add some “white rice” to the party. Side note … we were surprised at the lack of Western tourists we saw throughout Japan and were the only Caucasians in many situations. That night, we enjoyed a sampling of a variety of different Sake options and snacks from the region. With the juices flowing, we decided to make a quick stop at a local drinking establishment and found ourselves conversing with several Japanese who had studied in the US and had fantastic English, a true rarity. Needless to say, we ended up participating in the great Japanese past-time of Karaoke with our new friends. However, this is not your father’s karaoke. Think walk-in closet size rooms with karaoke machines, a phone to place your drink order and a couple of mic’s to serenade your friends. A truly local experience and an awesome time.

The next day we headed up to Arima Onsen, home of one of the older hot springs in Japan. Located on the other side of Mt. Rokko, we found ourselves in a sleepy town with noticeably cooler weather at altitude. The three of us split up as we entered the public onsen as it is a gender specific, nude experience. We separately spent some time enjoying the 100+ degree water, which felt great on our joints after the last few days of intense activity.

A few other tid bits we noticed along the way:

–          Hot drink vending machines with canned coffees and teas on every corner. Makes sense right?

–  Beer vending machines

–          Japanese people try very hard to be of assistance, even with poor English skills

–          The Japanese lifestyle is surprisingly unhealthy. Sodium packed broth, fried everything, white rice, no calcium, rarity to drink water, limited exercise and stressful working environment. It shows. It’s been much more difficulty to eat healthy here than we previously thought.

–          Can’t stress enough the politeness and orderly actions of the country.

–          High speed rail is incredibly efficient and expensive.

– department stores stairs with calories burned

Next Stop Osaka and Nara, then off to South Korea!