Hello World,
Our trip to Japan was very nice. We decided to stay in a hotel for only one night of the trip, the other nights we stayed with local people. One couple was actually from the Bay Area, but relocated to Japan. They sold everything they owned and did a world trip with practically no itinerary; their funds supported them for ten months-that is ten months of traveling the world! At one point they found themselves in Japan and fell in love with it. Fortunately, they found job opportunities and settled in. The other couple was much older (early eighties) and a friend of our neighbors here on the Saudi compound. This couple was both very traditional and untraditional at times. We were pleased with our decision to stay in homes rather than hotels.
We visited Japan to participate in Phillip's high school 100 year- centennial celebrations. There were several events arranged and many opportunities to catch up with classmates and teachers. You would have thought Phillip's mom was a celebrity when she taught there because everywhere we went, there were at least two people that said 'Phillip Young, are you Patty Young's son? Is she here?'. And then tell stories about how fantastic it was to work with her. We joined some of their old colleagues for a backyard kickback and many of them reminisced about Chris' 'Aloha Friday' emails and coffee days. They made a memorable impact on the school, it was really nice to hear all the great things about them.
One thing we did was a walking tour in Kyoto. It was special arranged for the centennial celebrations by an alumni that started a local touring business. On the tour we saw a bamboo forest, moss garden, a rock garden, ate soba (without fish for Brittney), and saw the Golden Temple. The whole tour was pretty rushed but it was nice to see many things.
We also participated in a traditional tea ceremony hosted by senior students at the school. We watched a Rakugo (comedy storytelling), and some musical performances. Two alumni are currently singers and played a small concert. There was also a Taiko drumming show-fantastic. It was great to see Taiko drumming when we saw it because of the jet lag. We were both very tired and relieved to be able to sit down for a show. It was mesmerizing to hear and see the performance, and just as our eyes were fighting to stay open, they would BANG BANG BANG and SHOUT very loudly and the two of us would shutter and become wide awake again. But in all honesty, Taiko drumming is an experience. Luckily we were able to watch another performance, sans jet lag.
Shopping in Japan is FANTASTIC. When people tell you that Japan is expensive, they must be talking about Tokyo, or someplace other than Kobe, because everything was very reasonable. Also, the transportation is absolutely amazing. It is a shame how limited California is. We both love California so much, but it would be absolutely the best if they had a fully functioning rail system. It makes life so swell.
In Japan, there is very very little English-spoken or written. Phillip's Japanese came back quickly and Brittney was impressed, and relieved. He was also able to read some of it too. We never thought we would say this, but we are quite spoiled here in Saudi; English language, words, and western food are quite accessible here. Most other places are not as 'easy' in that respect. Japan is no exception. The Apps 'Tap and Say', or 'Learn Japanese' proved to be very helpful (check out Tap and Say if you plan on traveling to a foreign place anytime soon).
Eating was the only struggle. Brittney really looks forward to eating local food, but avoiding gluten and seafood in Japan are challenging. Towards the end of the trip she dreaded meal time. Again, part of this was because of the language boundary...you do not always know what you are getting, but you could bet it was seafood. Most things have seafood, and if you play it safe with the vegetarian route, chances are you will be eating noodles-so there goes the gluten. But, being flexible, Brittney welcomed the gluten and just regretted it later. Some dishes were really great, and a fun experience. Our favorites were Okonomiyaki (they prepare it on a hot griddle built into your table), and ShabuShabu...kind of like fondu. They serve a broth in a hot pot, and you add vegetables and meat (pork!) and dumplings. The broth was served in a sort of gelatinous state, it was visually amazing when it instantly turned to liquid once it approached the heat. This was one of those social meals where there is one opt for the table and you put what you want into your bowl. It was really delicious.
In Japan, the toilets really vary. They range from squatters (hole in the ground..but has a flush) to the most fancy high tech toilet ever. You have heard about the heated seats, its true. They also have a bidet, and a dryer, and music, and the craziest thing was a TV screen with waterfalls and water sounds. At first I thought this was to, encourage the experience, but I found small English writing that said it was to muffle your own bathroom sounds. Genius! Also, there was one high tech sink. Today, most bathrooms have a touchless faucet, a few also have touchless soap dispenser; most also have touchless towel dispenser, a few have touchless air hand dryers. Well, this one bathroom had an all in one sink: touchless soap, water, and the basin rim (nearest to your hips) had a touchless air hand dryer. Genius!
On our last day, literally the day we left, we found our way up the mountains to Arima Onsen. This is a hot spring/public bath. When Brittney first heard about public baths, she thought they sounded like a dirty and gross experience. But, she loved hot springs in Calistoga so decided to give these a try. Phillip was happy to realize that even thought the Onsen was tucked up on the mountain, there was an easy route to take to get there from a train station near the hotel. Especially because a typhoon was hitting eastern Japan, and it was a little raining, the train, bus, cable car, bus, didn't sound like an undertaking that they wanted to take up.
There are numerous blogs and websites about proper Onsen etiquette. Phillip remembers watching this "bathing" etiquette and the cultural differences in a scene of the 1990s movie Mr. Baseball when Tom Selleck plays an American baseball player who gets traded to the Japanese league. The most important information is that you clean yourself both before entering and when exiting the hot spring pool.
Brittney with towel in front of Onsen #1
Brittney's favorite thing about Japan was how clean everything was. Perhaps this is because everything seems clean when you arrive there from Saudi. The cleanliness of someplace seems like a stupid thing to remember, but it was SO clean. Phillip frequently heard Brittney say, "Are we on a movie set? This looks like a movie set because nothing is on the ground." The strange thing was that there were never any people cleaning. No street sweepers, no maintenance people sweeping or changing garbage cans...the few cans that existed. Garbage cans were few and far between, but when you did come across one, you actually came across four-five attached to one another: one was for bottle caps only, one for plastic, one for metal/glass, and one for everything else.
We were happy to meet new friends that we stayed with, both American and Japanese. It was a perfect balance of cultural events and exploring; fully scheduled days and nothing on the schedule days. We were lucky that the 100 year celebration fell on the same week as the Muslim annual pilgrimage and thus our school was off a week. It was the perfect trip for the perfect time of year.
Our trip to Japan was very nice. We decided to stay in a hotel for only one night of the trip, the other nights we stayed with local people. One couple was actually from the Bay Area, but relocated to Japan. They sold everything they owned and did a world trip with practically no itinerary; their funds supported them for ten months-that is ten months of traveling the world! At one point they found themselves in Japan and fell in love with it. Fortunately, they found job opportunities and settled in. The other couple was much older (early eighties) and a friend of our neighbors here on the Saudi compound. This couple was both very traditional and untraditional at times. We were pleased with our decision to stay in homes rather than hotels.
Brittney in Sannomiya
We visited Japan to participate in Phillip's high school 100 year- centennial celebrations. There were several events arranged and many opportunities to catch up with classmates and teachers. You would have thought Phillip's mom was a celebrity when she taught there because everywhere we went, there were at least two people that said 'Phillip Young, are you Patty Young's son? Is she here?'. And then tell stories about how fantastic it was to work with her. We joined some of their old colleagues for a backyard kickback and many of them reminisced about Chris' 'Aloha Friday' emails and coffee days. They made a memorable impact on the school, it was really nice to hear all the great things about them.
One thing we did was a walking tour in Kyoto. It was special arranged for the centennial celebrations by an alumni that started a local touring business. On the tour we saw a bamboo forest, moss garden, a rock garden, ate soba (without fish for Brittney), and saw the Golden Temple. The whole tour was pretty rushed but it was nice to see many things.
The Golden Temple
Soba Lunch in Kyoto
We also participated in a traditional tea ceremony hosted by senior students at the school. We watched a Rakugo (comedy storytelling), and some musical performances. Two alumni are currently singers and played a small concert. There was also a Taiko drumming show-fantastic. It was great to see Taiko drumming when we saw it because of the jet lag. We were both very tired and relieved to be able to sit down for a show. It was mesmerizing to hear and see the performance, and just as our eyes were fighting to stay open, they would BANG BANG BANG and SHOUT very loudly and the two of us would shutter and become wide awake again. But in all honesty, Taiko drumming is an experience. Luckily we were able to watch another performance, sans jet lag.
High School students preforming tea ceremony for us
Sweet treats with our Green Tea
Shopping in Japan is FANTASTIC. When people tell you that Japan is expensive, they must be talking about Tokyo, or someplace other than Kobe, because everything was very reasonable. Also, the transportation is absolutely amazing. It is a shame how limited California is. We both love California so much, but it would be absolutely the best if they had a fully functioning rail system. It makes life so swell.
Japan Railway Station Map speaks for itself
In Japan, there is very very little English-spoken or written. Phillip's Japanese came back quickly and Brittney was impressed, and relieved. He was also able to read some of it too. We never thought we would say this, but we are quite spoiled here in Saudi; English language, words, and western food are quite accessible here. Most other places are not as 'easy' in that respect. Japan is no exception. The Apps 'Tap and Say', or 'Learn Japanese' proved to be very helpful (check out Tap and Say if you plan on traveling to a foreign place anytime soon).
Eating was the only struggle. Brittney really looks forward to eating local food, but avoiding gluten and seafood in Japan are challenging. Towards the end of the trip she dreaded meal time. Again, part of this was because of the language boundary...you do not always know what you are getting, but you could bet it was seafood. Most things have seafood, and if you play it safe with the vegetarian route, chances are you will be eating noodles-so there goes the gluten. But, being flexible, Brittney welcomed the gluten and just regretted it later. Some dishes were really great, and a fun experience. Our favorites were Okonomiyaki (they prepare it on a hot griddle built into your table), and ShabuShabu...kind of like fondu. They serve a broth in a hot pot, and you add vegetables and meat (pork!) and dumplings. The broth was served in a sort of gelatinous state, it was visually amazing when it instantly turned to liquid once it approached the heat. This was one of those social meals where there is one opt for the table and you put what you want into your bowl. It was really delicious.
Enjoying Okonomiyaki
In Japan, the toilets really vary. They range from squatters (hole in the ground..but has a flush) to the most fancy high tech toilet ever. You have heard about the heated seats, its true. They also have a bidet, and a dryer, and music, and the craziest thing was a TV screen with waterfalls and water sounds. At first I thought this was to, encourage the experience, but I found small English writing that said it was to muffle your own bathroom sounds. Genius! Also, there was one high tech sink. Today, most bathrooms have a touchless faucet, a few also have touchless soap dispenser; most also have touchless towel dispenser, a few have touchless air hand dryers. Well, this one bathroom had an all in one sink: touchless soap, water, and the basin rim (nearest to your hips) had a touchless air hand dryer. Genius!
Rare English! Thankfully its public toilet instructions!
On our last day, literally the day we left, we found our way up the mountains to Arima Onsen. This is a hot spring/public bath. When Brittney first heard about public baths, she thought they sounded like a dirty and gross experience. But, she loved hot springs in Calistoga so decided to give these a try. Phillip was happy to realize that even thought the Onsen was tucked up on the mountain, there was an easy route to take to get there from a train station near the hotel. Especially because a typhoon was hitting eastern Japan, and it was a little raining, the train, bus, cable car, bus, didn't sound like an undertaking that they wanted to take up.
There are numerous blogs and websites about proper Onsen etiquette. Phillip remembers watching this "bathing" etiquette and the cultural differences in a scene of the 1990s movie Mr. Baseball when Tom Selleck plays an American baseball player who gets traded to the Japanese league. The most important information is that you clean yourself both before entering and when exiting the hot spring pool.
Onsen Q&A from Brittney
Brittney, were the onsens different than the Calistoga hot springs?
Yes, very different.
Were they dirty and gross?
No, not at all.
Do you need to be completely naked?
Yes, you are not allowed to bring anything but a tiny towel with you, and the towel cannot go into the water.
Brittney with towel in front of Onsen #1
Was it weird to be completely naked in a public place?
Kind of, but not really. It is the norm and expected. Also, I did not know any of the people there, and they did not know me. I was leaving the country in a few hours so...no, not that weird. Also, the first place we went to I pretty much had the place to my self, just one older woman that was on her way out when I arrived.
Are the baths so public that men and women are together?
Yes and no. We read online that some are mixed, but we had no way of knowing until you walk in-naked. Both places we went to were public tour driven (but locals attend too) so they were separated. The first place we went to had a giant rock wall dividing the men and women. This wall was complete wall to wall, and too high to see over, but it was not all the way up to the celling which meant it was not sound proof. When I got the the changing room, I could hear men talking and I thought, 'Oh gosh, this is going to be strange'...thankfully I had nothing to worry about. Once inside I did the 'family whistle' and Phillip must have heard me because I heard it back...unless that was a magical onsen echo.
Would you recommend it to your friends?
Yes, but consider who you are traveling to the onsens with as it might be unusual to be naked in front of your friends or family-it just depends on your comfort level with that.
Brittney's favorite thing about Japan was how clean everything was. Perhaps this is because everything seems clean when you arrive there from Saudi. The cleanliness of someplace seems like a stupid thing to remember, but it was SO clean. Phillip frequently heard Brittney say, "Are we on a movie set? This looks like a movie set because nothing is on the ground." The strange thing was that there were never any people cleaning. No street sweepers, no maintenance people sweeping or changing garbage cans...the few cans that existed. Garbage cans were few and far between, but when you did come across one, you actually came across four-five attached to one another: one was for bottle caps only, one for plastic, one for metal/glass, and one for everything else.
Phillip walking down the clean streets of Summiyoshi
Very jealous of these trips. The pics remind me of my Japan trip. Hope you are doing well besides that.
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