Japan 2018 - Kyoto

Kyoto

Ride to Kyoto was smooth. I went on Hikari train, it's not the fastest one available,

but still pretty damn fast. On the way you see some suburbs / countryside, which reminds of the USA a bit.

On arrival, you immediately feel that Kyoto is way smaller than Tokyo.

According to the internet, Kyoto has around 1.47 million people, but it sure feels less than that.

Much more relaxed and "chill" atmosphere overall.

Old temples, buildings, streets... all this obviously attracts a lot of visitors.

Anyway, even aimlessly wandering on "secondary" streets feels damn good.

 

Summary:

Chill city, even though I've only got a really small glimpse of it, would gladly visit again (and I did, in 2023).

Japan 2018 - Tokyo

Tokyo

It's not an easy task to describe Tokyo in a few words... Realistically it's impossible. Tokyo is deep, overwhelming and amazing.

But, I'll try. So, here are some bullet points. Sure, many of those are obvious for well-travelled person, but I'm not that person 😀

• "Hello Kitty" is a thing
• People are glued to their phones in the subway
• First reminder that you're in the megalopolis (megapolis), is the view from the Tokyo Skytree. It is something special indeed, at least in the dark (I hope I come back to someday, to compare the view in daylight, if nothing else 😀). For the person who isn't used to the skyscrapers with red lights on top... I can't describe it properly, pictures I've taken also aren't good and don't do it justice. But...  if you've seen "Lost in translation" you should kind of understand what I'm trying to say here.
• Second reminder that you're in huge city indeed - is the amount of people in rush hour, especially in subway
• At daytime, river banks (promenades) were almost empty, streets also didn't seem crowded
• Foreigners are not uncommon, but there aren't that much of them compared to the number of locals
• (Kitchen) knife shops - that's something I haven't seen before
  
• Also a whole block of shops dedicated to kitchen / restaurant-related stuff  (including plasticky "demo food")
• You can even find Justin Bieber records in some random the book shop I encountered😀
  
• Some "weird" desserts in the convenience stores (you understand that it's a dessert, judging by the shelf it's located at, but you can't exactly figure out what it is even if there's a picture). Bought some, interesting taste (some green stuff, can't exactly describe)
• Heated mirror in the hotel's bathroom. Definitely a good idea if you ask me.
• They'll provide you with a chopsticks at the checkout if you buy a meal (sushi / noodles / ...) from the convenience store. Also, generally they can reheat your meal if needed (haven't tried though)
• Shinkasen trains (aka bullet trains) are something special, for sure
• Platforms are numbered in accordance with train car numbers, so you're in the right place in advance
• Shinjuku district is kind of uncomfortable, some shady-looking people around
• Shibuya. The infamous Shibuya crossing - it exists, and it's impressive.
• A ton of "capsule" wending machines (machines that sell stuff packaged in capsules)
• Insanely great shopping malls, especially Yodobashi. I almost got sensory overload from all the sounds and blinking lights 😀 Also lot of sophisticated toy / hobby stuff (like trains, glue models etc)
• "introvert friendly seats" at food places.. I mean, Japan overall is an introvert-friendly country, and food places aren't exception
• Newer subway trains have LCD screens with route / direction / transfer information, also show on which side the doors will open
• "sideways" light switches in the hotel
• just a single option of Japanese beer available in place called "Wold beer museum", kinda strange (I'm sort of beer aficionado)
  
• It seemed like Tokyo never sleeps, like with some planning you could find a meal in the middle of the night
  

As usual, I often felt stupid for not being aware / not adjusting to the situations quickly. 

Had some minor "customer service" issues, like item was billed twice in the shop (and I discovered it only after leaving the shop), and public transport ticket (Suica) wasn't working after returning from Kyoto. But both issues were resolved, even if it took a bit of time and the other person didn't understand me well (and for sure I didn't know any Japanese either)

Bottom line is - from what I've seen and experienced, Tokyo it is a great city indeed, would gladly visit again (and I did, in 2023).


Photos here - Tokyo album

Japan 2018

Introduction

Idea to visit Japan was in the back of my mind for a while. At the moment, it's still the only country I've visited outside Europe / North America continents

It took some time to do a research and make initial plan.

Planning points

• Keep it short (week +/-)
• Avoid "high seasons" ("golden week" etc) if possible
• 2 cities only - Tokyo and Kyoto
• there were NO OFFLINE Google maps for Japan due to legal / business reasons !
• Research about mobile internet (looking back, I would have been in trouble if I haven't bought the local SIM. I also managed to stay under 500 MB of usage AFAIK). Having mobile internet and Google maps in particular, at all times with you in the country where you can't read the alphabet at all, is worth a lot.
• Order Japan rail pass in advance

 Arriving in Tokyo

• It took about 3 hours from landing in Narita Airport (NRT) until boarding a train to Tokyo. Because I needed to
• get a SIM card (forgetting my account password in the process :)
• exchange Rail pass voucher for a Rail pass
• get a SUICA card (for local transportation)
• get some cash, just in case
• some other stuff I don't remember 

Some other "first impressions" 

• Weather was good and really warm
• even you know that they drive on the left, you don't notice it right away
• trucks / semis with lots of chrome, like in US
• a TON of vending machines everywhere, selling various stuff, for kind of reasonable prices
• 7-11 / FamilyMart convenience stores, there are lots of them and they're open until late. Godsend.
• More "sensible" / "serious" approach to everything in general
• Underground is a bit hard to understand / non-intuitive compared to Europe
• "politeness"
• English translations... aren't everywhere.
• Interesting "remaining time until green" indicators at the traffic lights
• "Cold coffee", not unique to Japan, but seemed like much more of a "thing" compared to Europe
• obsession with plastic bags. They have gazillion sizes and strive to pack your purchase  in the correctly sized bag

Overall, Japan is "crazy" and unusual. Would gladly visit again. Not sure when that could happen in current job market and pandemic thing though...

Eurotrip 2017 - Conclusion

To be done:

• stats (road tolls / fuel)
• other notes / remarks

Eurotrip 2017 - Day 10-11

Day 10-11 - Slovakia, Bratislava

Surprisingly, Bratislava exceeded my expectations (I had none). I mean, it's not fancy, glamorous or anything, but it had a good 'vibe'. And it was actually cheap (not 'Budapest cheap', Budapest didn't feel cheap at all for what it is), and cleaner than Budapest. Ok, I admit, my hotel choice was not good (actual time to reach center by bus was like ~40 minutes in rush hour instead of advertised 20, add walking time from/to bus stop on top of that), but nevertheless. So my first impression of the city was good, would gladly visit again.