Rambling around Nature: Enchanting Japan: Food, people, nature and sake!

Japan! A place high on my wish list, finally checked. Thanks to circumstances which made this the holiday choice for a family vacation.

For us, the trip was in two parts. First 9 days as part of the larger group of 12 people, we visited most of the hot spots as curated and managed by a tour group. Second, for 5 days we experienced some of the natural beauty of Japan by exploring the alps.

It was a packed 2 weeks and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I will try to focus more on our experiences for this writeup and keep it active as I intend to update it whenever I remember something fascinating that I want to share.

Lets start with Japanese punctuality which is well known. We have lived in America and travelled wel in Europe, so are aware of the countries where time is taken seriously. Japan seemed to take it to the next level. Since we, Indians, have quite a flexible with time, it was a clash indeed a clash culture. One of our Japanese guides, was quite direct about it. She politely told us that she knows Indians are not punctual but she will manage! Good... because she had to in our trip 😃. During our stay several incidents highlighted Japanese seriousness about time. When we were approached by a rickshaw tourist activity person selling a ride near Sensoji Temple, Tokyo, we told her her that we were supposed to be on our tour bus in 20 mins at a landmark. She immediately pointed out that it takes 10mins to get there and that we should start right away or else we wont be on time! Another time, a hotel receptionist in Matsumoto who was also the driver to drop us to the station, ignored our request to take a photo of us in front the hotel. First, we felt he was rude, then realized he was just being professional or Japanese if you will as it was just few minutes to the announced 9am departure.

The biggest cultural feature is of Japan is of course, their politeness. We soon realized that they maintain it to a fault. Arigato gozaimasu, thank you in Japanese quickly became our most used phrase. Bowing was a bit awkward to time and ended up bobbing our body all the time! The politeness transcends normalcy. For instance, if you are blocking the bike path, more often than not, rather than telling us to get off, the biker will slowly follow/wait until we get off the path or even get down and walk around us. All this with a polite bow, no angry looks and sometimes even an Arigato to us! Compare that to Amsterdam where we were yelled at to get off the path. The funny thing is, they have so many unwritten rules that makes life better in Japan. However, when you break them, either ignorantly or intentionally, no one will point it out to you. They will just adjust and avoid any confrontation. Rules like no eating/drinking while walking, no loud talking/music in public spaces. If you are sensitive and empathetic, you will soon realize yourself and correct your behavior.

The izhakayas, were everywhere and we managed to try many of them for dinner, each different in cuisine, ambiance and experience. Izhakaya, as per google means, “stay-drink-place.” A spot to grab a drink, settle in, and get comfortable. That's exactly what they were along with good food. Sushi, Ramen noodles, Yakitori (grills), and so on.

Another purely Japanese experience we enjoyed were the Onsens, which are public baths with some minerals in the water. The fascinating part were the strict rules (not forcefully enforced but expected) on their use mostly for hygiene reasons. We learnt about them from other blogs and YouTube videos. Some hotels too provided sufficient information, even pictorial ones! The first attempt by one of us was in Kyoto at the hotel (free for guests) in the middle of the night for the obvious reason that you have to be fully naked to use them. As hoped, there was nobody else which helped tremendously to figure out the rules and understand them. Once we got to know how it is and got over our shyness, the luxury of relaxing in the Onsen after a tiring day(touring in our case) was just too good to skip and we did it every opportunity we got.

In general, Onsens have a nice shower area with a low stool to sit and all bath accessories. Fresh towels (one big and small) and robes are provided in the room or handed over at check-in. Change area with basket and lockers to keep your robe and things. The bath itself is like a shallow swimming pool designed such that you can sit immersing yourself up to your waist or neck as per your liking. Water is quite hot, so how long you can stay depends on your tolerance level. After this they have a cooling off area with dryers/moisturizers/earbuds/etc. Finally, lounge area with chairs/fans/water/massagers to rest and maybe socialize if you came in a group.

There are many funky things to mention which vary from one Onsen to another. To list a few, some hotels had a plastic basket which we found out later was to carry our things like towels to the Onsen and back. You need to wear Japanese Sandals provided in the room to the Onsen. Since all look alike, you will find tokens with numbers that you can place on your sandal pair to identify it when you come back. The small towel helps to cover your privates if you are shy as you walk from changing area to bath and then into the pool. It also helps for a quick dry in the bath area itself before you return for your robes in the changing area. One family friendly Ryokan had lots of water toys for the kids.

Kurobe is known for its natural mineral water fed Onsens. Hotel had a beautiful ones that we used multiple times. Highlight was the natural pool open air one at Kuronagi reached via the Gorge Railway.

And yes, after more than a week of everyday Onsen baths, we did feel our skin feel softer and nicer. :)

Japan was similar to western countries on personal space. People waiting at street crossings place themselves at arms length of each other. We also noticed school children on a field trip keeping their bags evenly spaced out as they explored the area. One wonders though about the subway train videos where we see white gloved ushers pushing the riders and packing them like sardines inside the full coach.

I have this tendency to explain a lot or generally talk a lot. This clashed with the service agents who are extremely professional and dont care much for small talk like in America. Once after I asked the agent to check about a bus we were interested in, I started asking about our options after we reach the destination. She just put a finger up to shush me and said, let me first finish this.

Summary of our itinerary.