This is the second in a three-part series countdown of my Top 15 moments in Japan; a look back at some of the funniest, unique, and treasured moments I could only experience in Nippon! My account may not be able to do them justice but I will try my best.
10. Chasing kimonos. Did I feel dirty? Not really … but the girls in their dress kimonos looked absolutely gorgeous. After the new year, it’s tradition that girls who are turning 18 during the year wear their dress kimonos and visit the shrines and temples around town. I guess it’s their form of a debut, quinceanera – a coming out of sorts. Everywhere I turned, a beautiful girl in a kimono would walk by. I was hooked! I chatted up a few and took photos with them. Knowing that wasn’t gonna go anywhere, I decided to pay more attention to the sites, and what better place to take it all in than Kyoto! That lasted for a good while until an episode with three girls who asked me to take their photo. We kept running into them as we exited the temple and went into the shops right outside. Some banter exchange went on and found out the one I was interested in is actually Chinese and from Australia.
9. Getting invited into a Japanese kitchen in Osaka. Chef’s are quite protective of their kitchens. It’s their space, their sanctuary. To be invited into the kitchen at a restaurant, in my opinion, is almost as personal as being invited to their home. So when the chef invited me into the kitchen after our dinner in Osaka, the best meal that I had during the trip, I was extremely honored. We were taking photos of everything, trying to hold on to every last bit of memory from that experience, and I wanted a picture with the three masterful chefs when the head chef invited me into the kitchen! It was a tight galley and frankly, I couldn’t believe all our food came from that tiny space.
8. No sleepless nights in the tatami room. Having traveled quite a bit in the last two years and jumping from hostel to hostel or crashing with friends, and sometimes when I’m lucky (or tired of being dirty) an occasional five-star hotel, I definitely know how valuable it is to catch a good night’s sleep. Hotel Aono was exactly what I needed for Japan! I had the tatami room to myself and it was absolutely amazing. To feel the woven tatami mats under my feet after walking all day and crawl into that warm and soft futon was nothing short of heavenly. It felt like I was staying in a Westin heavenly bed, but more traditional and that’s the good thing about it! Thanks to my amazing hosts, I now want a tatami room in my own home down the road!
7. Zooming by 4 seasons on the Shinkansen. It was a cold, crisp morning in Kamakura. We left before the sun was up and we were taking the shinkansen, the bullet train, from Yokohama to Kyoto. It turned an otherwise 5-6 hour drive to a 2 hour train ride. It was like going on a flight, except there were no security lines to go through with your shoes of, and about a 10 min transfer from the local train. The seats were comfortable, with large windows and there was a train steward that sold snacks and drinks. No need to purchase anything as I brought my own green tea and octopus. As we zoomed on by from Yokohama to Kyoto, we got to see a lot of different landscapes. Although, it was a bit cloudy and we missed Fuji-san. The crisp winter day, turned rainy within a matter of minutes and as we approached Nagoya, it began to snow and the snow covered hills started coming into view. As we approached Kyoto, it started to get sunnier again outside and we walked out to a “warm” city. Two hours … 4 seasons … and not a minute late. Why can’t we have such efficient and reliable transportation in the US?!?!
6. Eating at a Kaiten-zushi. Kaiten-zushi are sushi restaurants where sushi are presented on little plates that go on a conveyor belt (or as I’ve learned, train tracks in Australia, aka the sushi train), passing through bar seating and tables. We were sat at a table and the sushi just kept on coming. Ika, unagi, saba, tuna, salmon, etc. … we just kept on plucking away. No plates are taken away after consumption as that is how they tally your bill, by counting the number of plates and different kind of plates you have devoured. I don’t quite remember how many plates we took, I think it was somewhere around the ballpark of 30 or so. In any case, we were stuffed. This was the only meal I had in Japan that involved sushi. There’s so much more to their cuisine but it was really good sushi. I am now addicted to saba.
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