Japan

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It’s been awhile huh? There’s too much going on in my head, honestly, I haven’t really settled. But there’s a lot to share about Japan so I will pull through and bestow my experience in this article. Get comfy, this is going to be a long one.

No eggs for breakfast, really disappointing, at least at the hotel I stayed in, Day 1. They have curry but no eggs (is it the norm there? that would be sad if it is). The coffee cup was so small I had to come back three times to satisfy my already low appetite for caffeine. And the dining area, the most quiet hotel breakfast I’ve ever been by far. A bit eerie if you ask me. The walk to JR Tokyo station was about 15 minutes. It felt surreal walking along the streets. It was so damn neat. I don’t think I saw any litter. Almost everyone was in business attire so my black sweater on white tee and denim was a bit of a stand out. I haven’t seen a single soul wearing Yeezys so they may find my choice of footwear a little exotic. I had a decent amount of hours to kill before meeting up with the family so I roamed around the station like the tourist I am. It was massive. First in order was to find one of those luggage lockers I’ve heard about. Didn’t want almost 50 pounds of baggage slowing me down. They were not kidding when they said to get to them early cause I needed some luck to find a big one to fit my oversized bag. By the time I did, I was trembling a bit due to hunger (remember, no eggs?). And I haven’t overcome my intimidation yet of how the restaurant system works, so had to implement an observe-and-conquer tactic first. Paid dividends. Had my first I guess I can say authentic Japanese ramen. And man was it so exquisite! The serving was huuuuge!!! Did not look regular at all like in the picture. It came with Gyoza and a mug of ice-cold Sapporo. I had to walk off the meal after as my belly was about to explode. It came with uncontrollable burps, a bit embarrassing but what can I do. I didn’t exactly plan my day out so I just ended up at Starbucks to get anything hot and soothe my act of gluttony. I eventually decided that a short walk to Imperial Palace would’ve been feasible but halfway through my march I realized no one was headed towards it and everyone was against my direction. Found out it closes at 530. I was five minutes away. Certainly not a good sequence here. Finally met up with the family around 8 and we got one more trip down to Osaka, a bullet train ride. Man, that thing flies.

We stationed ourselves in Namba near Dotonbori, where that famous Glico Man resides. Still not sure what it’s famous for (and still don’t care enough to find out) but someone told me in a word— candy —whatever that means. We explored Dotonbori in the day, so no lights, businesses along the river were closed, not a lot of fanfare. It was better at night people say, so that’s the goal for later. We hit our first of I didn’t know how many markets we’re gonna go to. It’s the sister’s itinerary so I’m just tagging along, can’t be complaining either. The scenery in Kuromon Ichiba Market was an organized chaos. The walkways were dense. There were those Japanese lanterns cascading atop from end-to-end of every entry point. The smell of freshly grilled seafood and meat just flirts with your palate, you almost wanna try to taste it all. People walking in baby steps for it was impossible to do even one stride with the strip so crowded. This is Wednesday morning, mind you. We settled for some sushi and grilled crab legs for lunch, sumptuous! We spent the rest of the afternoon along the strip of the Shinsaibashi Mall. Mom, sister and niece went shopping at Wego. That I’m not doing. Dad and I decided to wait outside where I met Glico Man yet again. Still not interested. Decided to just grab something from the grocery below our hotel for dinner. A pre-prepared Katsudon meal that you need to reheat in a microwave. But I’m in a hotel, they don’t have one? Fear not, there’s a microwave stationed outside the register and is available for shoppers. How smart is that? Oh and the toilet seats in the rooms— deserving of a blog on its own. The Japanese have cracked the code of the best bathroom throne experience for the rest of the world. The technology is way too impressive. You just gotta try it to believe it. It takes going 2 to a whole ’nother level, if you know what I’m saying.

A third Glico Man encounter, but this time at dark, was a no-go. The family was all too tired to go back out there at night after all the walking we did during the day. My calves and feet were actually killing me. Plus we had to go early the next day to Kyoto to visit arguably the most popular place in town, the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is home to those orange (or is it red?) torii gates lined up in the hundreds that follows a walkway to the shrine and has been featured in so many social media posts— currently the background on my FB profile pic if you need reference. It is an iconic spot to take a selfie but good luck finding a moment where there’s no crowd. Seems like it’s always packed. Before departing, we tried those Wagyu Beef skewers and Takoyaki along the food lane. Bomb! They were not over exaggerating about the street food quality. Glad we did that. After which we kinda scrambled to get back to the hotel to get some rest before our scheduled tour of TeamLab Botanical Gardens in Osaka. I was wondering why this was at night and Sister was not spilling. As we enter the premises, the trees started to light up as if it was interacting with your movement. On the next section, the forest-like area was just lights blending into the plants turning from one color to another. It was sending some serious Lights at Sensorio vibes in Paso Robles. It was part of the Pacific Coast Highway trip I did last year with my ex. I got sentimental about it and decided not to push through with the rest of the walk. There were too many sweet and deep memories that associate me with the scenery, I just couldn’t. Got me unexplainably teary-eyed. So I told the gang I’ll just wait this one out.

I was told that Friday was a holiday and reservations to the bullet train rides would be much harder to book. I could already imagine the chaos on those major train stations getting even more chaotic. It was the day we travel back to Tokyo, a 2.5 hour bullet train ride from the Shin-Osaka station. I was kinda dreading it but thought I will witness a good view of Japan since we’re traveling in daylight as suppose to the Tokyo-Osaka route at night. I planned of writing out this blog while in transit but the coziness inside the train was too inviting for a nap. It was kinda relaxing I’m not gonna lie, since my sleeping pattern has not been the best even halfway into my vacation. After arriving back at Tokyo, I had to witness another Instagrammable site before everything is said and done which is the Shibuya Crossing. Aaaand, what a disappointment! Duh, it’s just people crossing like what the name suggests. I’m not really as awed as I guess people should ought to be, so really it did nothing for me. I’m sorry Tokyo, it just reminds me of Times Square in New York.

On a side note, I was actually selling like hotcakes in Japan. In that short span of time, I managed to set 5 different supposedly dates. Will you look at that?

1. A pure gorgeous Japanese, single-Mom, who barely speaks English. She wanted to meet up but would bring her friend to help translate. I had to say no even if I was a bit smitten by her.

2. A younger smart Singaporean, Chinese-descent, fluent English but too aggressive for me. Willing to meet halfway to have a drink. I said no but she insists we stay friends at least. Sorry to turn her down twice.

3. How about a Brit, slightly taller, with the full London accent? We hit it off and was supposed to meet up until I unintentionally mocked her accent by saying, “A glass of whoa-tur (water)!” She went silent. My bad. That was insensitive of me.

4. Great hair, really hot body, 2 years in Japan, Croatian. She is still not as familiar with Tokyo so I was the one who suggested a place to meet. But my trip back from Mount Fuji that day took such a delay that it was too late for her to go out that night. She suggested lunch time the next day but unfortunately I was already headed back home. She was genuinely sad. Actually me too.

5. Then this Russian. More than 20 years living in the country. Still jaw-dropping to witness when her “whiteness” starts speaking in Japanese. Met with her, had a couple of drinks and had a really interesting conversation. We have stayed in touch but worlds apart, I’m uncertain at this stage how this goes.

Had to wake up really early the next day for the Mount Fuji trip. It was probably the least prepared I was going out. It was a 2-hour drive and I forgot to bring my iPad (to write some stuff), my power bank (worried my phone will run out of juice) and my selfie stick (how do you expect I produce better inclusive pics?). Plus my thin checkered shirt jacket on top of my white polo was not enough to warm me up from the really chilly 30 degrees at the bottom of the already snow-topped mountain. Fuji was riveting. There was enough clouds and sun to make the landscape picturesque. The fresher air was invigorating. I had to go inside the cabin store and grab some coffee to warm myself up, when the meat-filled white soft bun peripheral from the next stall hit my eye. I gotta have one of those (what is called in Tagalog as Siopao). I grew up loving this and Japan’s did not disappoint. No surprise there. But coffee and siopao was a weird breakfast combo to be honest. I didn’t care though. It was yummy! So after the big mountain, the tour included a stop at a small historic village famous for its series of ponds. Yes, ponds. Would rather be in Shinjuku at this point but here we are walking around acting cultured enough to appreciate these modest fish habitats. Of course there’s a street food lane again (there’s always one at every event) so this time the Kobe Beef skewers was what I’m eyeing. We also had some fresh grilled squid and I washed it down with ice-cold Asahi. Now how can I complain? I didn’t know what the last leg of the tour was and was too full from being curious. But what a surprise— the Premium Outlet Stores. I had to give it to my Sister. I did not see that coming. I just pretty much sat the entire hour as they wandered around. Still wishing I brought my iPad. There were a couple of accidents along the freeways that prolonged our return trip to Tokyo, which resulted in me missing out on hot Miss Croatia. Oh well.

My last day in the Land of the Rising Sun was a crunch. My niece wanted to go to Harajuku where the controversial street Takeshita is. Get it, Takeshita? I’m sure that kills with Americans but probably not funny at all with the locals. It was just another narrow street slowed down by a mob where more than half doesn’t even do any shopping. We found ourselves at the second floor of a mini food court for lunch. Late lunch actually. There was a small stage where I’m inclined to say a J-Pop group of boys(?) were performing. It was loud in there. We were kinda pressed for time— since I need to be back at the hotel to do last minute packing for my return flight that night— so no option to find another spot. Downed our food and now we really need to rush back since I gotta “Takeshita” (c’mon that was timely). We rested for a bit and as I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, I felt melancholic. The other day Dad mentioned about doing a trip to Canada next year. I can’t figure out if he was kidding or not. But he did say that he’s getting weaker and may not be able to handle long travels very soon. He’s right. I suddenly realize how much in the last 20+ years I missed the opportunity to not just travel with my folks but spend time with them in general during their prime. So I guess this trip to Toronto must push through, and I better go, bankrupt or not.

It was that time. Los Angeles is calling. Everyone else is staying behind for another night. They’re all accompanying me up to the Hamamatsucho Station where they get off to do yet another set of shopping at Don Quijote in Shibuya, while I take the monorail to Haneda airport. It was another heartfelt set of hugs and goodbyes as they fade away into the herd. Got to Terminal 3 and was dragging myself to get to where I needed. Did my check-in and screening, and I was at my gate a whole hour before boarding. I was in denial that I was leaving such a lovely country. I know I’ll be flying out with a heavy heart. Hefty. As I took my window seat and got the comfiest I can get, there’s a million things running through my mind. One emotion was standing out and for the first time in a while, I felt so alone. Separating from a place you totally fell in love with was also a heartbreak. You go through the same dejecting emotions as breaking up with a partner. A bit of a consolation though, the middle seat is free again. Both me and Miss Aisle was happy about it. She was very cute. We talked for a bit. Her Japanese accent is still prominent when she talks but her English was understandable. Just like me, she’s by herself in California. No family. But unlike me, she comes visit Japan three times a year. What luxury! I wanted to befriend her cause she could be a good asset if I do decide to go back, correction, when I go back to Japan. We continue talking on our way to Immigration and unfortunately got separated lining up towards the inspecting officer. I could see her trying to look for me when she finished her screening, but obviously didn’t want to wait up. By the time I got to baggage claim, she was on her way out to the exit but I still see her turning around a few times maybe hoping to find me, I’m assuming? That’s the last I’ve seen Ultrasound Tech at Hoag Hospital from Irvine. If anything, I wanted just to thank her for keeping my mind occupied for majority of the trip. That was big.

I opened the doors of 152. It was about 3pm Pacific Standard Time. Closed the door to my flat, took my shoes off and just laid down on my couch, mind wandering yet again.

Just like that, Japan is over.

Why not??