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| Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto |
Japan, in my mind a magical surreal country, high on my wish list, finally checked! Thanks to circumstances which made this the holiday choice for a family vacation.
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Arashiyama Bamboo forest,
Kyoto |
The trip was in two parts for us 2. First 9 days as part of the larger group of 12 people, we visited most of the well known spots as curated and managed by a tour group. For next 5 days, just the two of us explored the natural beauty of Japanese alps. I will try to pen down mostly just 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 (Last updated: 21.9.2025). Some interesting images are embedded in the blog, not all are connected to the writing. I scattered them around just for some color. Albums of selected images from the full trip are at the end of this blog.
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| Takoyakis, Dontonburi St, Osaka |
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| Binzuru, Todai-ji Temple, Osaka |
One of the most well known Japanese trait is their punctuality. Even though we had mentally prepared to shed our Indian flexible time habit, there were some interesting moments as Japan takes it to the next level. One of our Japanese guides, was quite direct at the introduction itself and politely told us that she knows Indians are not very punctual but she will manage! Oh well. Guilty. 🤷. Near Sensoji Temple, Tokyo, we had just finished shopping and were returning to our Bus. A rickshaw tourist activity person tried to sell a ride. After we told her our schedule, she pointed out that it takes 10mins to get to our parked bus, which we had to reach in about 20mins. She immediately advised us to go quickly so that we would be on time. Us being punctual and not inconveniencing others was more important than her making some money! Something I doubt would have happened in India. 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 and just went and sat in the drivers seat. 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 and obliging us would have made him late by maximum a minute or 2. Yes, we understand now. 😊
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| Umeda Sky Building, Osaka |
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| Lady with Umbrella, Gion Area, Kyoto |
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| Borderless Digital Art |
The biggest cultural feature is of Japan is of course, their politeness.
Arigato gozaimasu or just Arigato, thank you in Japanese quickly became our most used phrase. Bowing was a bit awkward to time and sync so we reciprocated mostly. Their politeness transcends normalcy as we know it to a fault many times. For instance, if you are blocking a bike, walking path or a narrow corridor, more often than not, rather than an excuse me, they just wait quietly until the path gets cleared. If on a bike, sometimes the biker even dismounts and follows slowly until we get off the path or go around us with a polite bow, and even an
Arigato to us! Compare that to Amsterdam where we got yelled at to get off the path. The funny thing is, they have many unwritten rules that makes life better in Japan. However, when you break them, either ignorantly, carelessly or intentionally, no one will point it out or scold you. They just adjust preferring to avoid any confrontation. For example, 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, become conscious, then embarrassed, finally self correcting the offending behavior. I have been trying that approach in Bengaluru hoping for similar response. 🤞
Another instance that comes to mind is when we checked out of the hotel in Kurobe. The receptionist was professionally helpful as expected in getting us on the the shuttle in time. After waving to us as our shuttle pulled away, she stood in perfect pose and gave a deep bow that she held until our bus circled around and she was out of our sight that was for about 200 mtrs, 1 minute or so. Felt unreal.
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| Dragon fountain to wash hands,
Sensoji Temple, Tokyo |
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| Buffet plate, Royal Park, Kyoto |
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| Sake! |
Food is an indulgence in Japan. You can squeeze into any one of the cozy little
izhakayas which are everywhere and enjoy wholesome tasty food with a carafe of Sake or local beer Asahi/Sapporo to keep the conversation going. Each place are different in cuisine, ambiance and experience. Izhakayas, as per google means: stay drink place and it is exactly that. A place to have a drink, order some food, get comfortable and unwind. We tried and enjoyed Sushi, Ramen noodles, Yakitori (grills), etc.,. Many are run like a family restaurant, and one in Matsumoto was managed entirely by a single person, the owner. Exterior will look like a quiet place, but will be lively once you push through the door or curtains and enter.
The hotel buffet breakfasts were quite an adventure into new flavors. I especially enjoyed the one at Osaka our first stop, where the plates were cute with many separators to pick different dishes. They also had a card to place on table to indicate still eating or done so that you can go back to get another plate or drink without worrying about your plate getting taken away. Another hotel in Tokyo had a preset menu, one of which was Sumo Wrestlers breakfast. Of course I tried it and yes... felt strong afterwards. Honest. Sake, rice based drink, is nearly flavorless but very popular and available almost everywhere. We had Sake shots mostly whose cost ranged, per shot, from over 1500 Yen (900 INR) at an izhakaya in Osaka to my favorite experience, 100 Yen (60 INR) from a roadside vendor who served it with some flourish, near Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Truth be told, we could hardly make out the difference from the fancy ones to the basic ones. We could have been served just a shot glass of warm water and felt high! 😁. We finally figured out that the cheapest Sake were at the neighborhood convenience stores like Lawson or 7-eleven!
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| Kajika Izakaya, Unazukionsen |
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| Canvassing Poster, Tokyo |
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| Typical Ryokan |
Another Japanese experience we enjoyed were the
Onsens, which are public baths or Spas. As per rules they can be called Onsens only if the water has with natural minerals. The fascinating part were the strict rules (not forcefully enforced but expected) on their use mostly for hygiene reasons, primary one being you have to be naked! We learnt how to Onsen from other blogs and
YouTube videos. Some hotels also provided pictorial information sheets. Indians are very body shy by culture so this was as scary as jumping into a pit of snakes. The first attempt by one of us was in Kyoto at the hotel (free for guests) in the middle of the night with the hope no one else will be there. And it worked. Once we got to know how it is, the luxury of relaxing in the Onsen after a tiring day(touring in our case) was just too good to skip and we used it at every opportunity we got, even mornings as Onsens are usually open 24x7 except for a small break to clean.
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| Rail guards waiting at Kuronagi |
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| Kurobe rail and walk bridges |
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| Collecting our Yukatas |
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.
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Private Jacuzzi,
Andon Ryokan, Tokyo |
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. Highlight was a visit to the natural open air Onsen at Kuronagi which can be reached via the Gorge Railway and a nice trek of about 30mins from the station. And yes, after more than a week of everyday Onsen baths, we did feel our skin feel softer and nicer. 😀
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| Running Trail, Tokyo |
Japan is similar to western countries when it comes to personal space. People waiting in queues and even 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. Maybe an exception is made there?
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| Japanese alps, Kamukochi. |
I have this tendency to explain a lot or generally keep talking. This clashed with the service agents who are extremely professional and don't 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 talking about our options after we reach the destination to get her opinion. She just put a finger up to shush me and said politely, let me finish this first before you start asking me more questions. 😊
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| Umbrella and a fan! |
One of the most unique aspects of Japanese culture is how they treat toilets. Respectfully and aesthetically. So much so, that they even have a toilet god, kawaya kami!. During our short visit itself we experienced many different types with one common trait, all were functional, very well designed, easy to use and very comfortable. A simple or sometimes complex dashboard with pictorial buttons, bidet style, music to drown sounds, temperature control, etc. I even read about a toilet with one way mirror (you can see out) set in public places as a social challenge. Children are given fun toilet lessons right from kindergarten. In one ryokan, we found amazing commissioned art by a famous artist in the wash area and laminated sheets of a short fable for some toilet read. At Tokyo Sky Deck, there is an emergency button too which we got to know when a rescue guard appeared suddenly outside the toilet, because it was pressed. After few minutes person inside came out relaxed oblivious of that fact. Apparently, not understanding some of the buttons, person had pressed all of them with one of them being the emergency one! 😂
It was indeed quite fascinating and fun to experience another culture so different from ours. If you do make the trip, do observe and leave a comment of anything that you felt was special and unique.
Summary of our itinerary.
- Osaka (2 nights)
- Kyoto (3 nights)
- Kimono Experience
- Arashiyama Bamboo forest
- Tokyo (4 nights)
- Sensoji Temple
- Tokyo Skytree
- Mt Fuji
- Digital Art Museum
- Andon Ryokan
- Kurobe (2 nights)
- Matsumoto (2 nights)
Photo albums with captions
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