Since I’ve never been anywhere in Asia, and probably won’t be anytime in the next 6 months, I thought it’d be nice to share a few guest posts on it with you guys. Here’s one on Japan by Vivienne Egan, an insanely awesome fellow badass, I mean blogger, and travel goddess. Enjoy!
I’ve always had a bit of a thing about Japan. I learnt some (admittedly very rudimentary) Japanese while at primary school, and have appreciated everything from the tranquility of a well-kept bonsai tree to the neon kitsch of Hello Kitty. Growing up I learnt karate, had a kimono dressing gown, ate sushi.When I was at university, I directed a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which was set in downtown Tokyo and featured Japanese pop music… here’s my favourite film clip, which also gives you an idea of Harajuku fashions which also featured in the show.
So naturally, I was very excited to be spending two weeks in Japan last year with two of my oldest friends (one of whom was a performer at Tokyo Disneyland), and my mum (who decided to tag along when she found out about our plans).
I also thought I had a little bit of an idea of how things worked there, but I found out I was mistaken in this assumption. Like, completely. So here, for your benefit, are some of the things that surprised me about my trip to Japan:
There is no Wi-Fi
Okay, that is a slight exaggeration – there’s Wi-Fi – kinda. However, I was expecting that Japan, as a place that is technologically pretty developed, would just have Wi-Fi all over the place. It does not. And most of the places that have Wi-Fi will not accept, say, my western iPhone (for which it is impossible to get a local SIM card). On a rare occasion, you see the Wi-Fi symbol in a restaurant, ask if you can connect your phone and people will shake their heads: can’t be done. I know not the reason. The good news is that the hostels I stayed in (and, I believe, in many private homes), you can connect just fine. Just don’t expect it when out and about.
You use cash absolutely everywhere
Many Asian cultures prefer banknotes over card transactions, and Japan is no different. I tend to use card all the time so this is an adjustment I had to make quickly. Card machines aren’t guaranteed in shops and restaurants, so make sure you’ve enough cash on you. (By the way, never give anyone money into their hand. Place your money into the little tray that sits on every counter, and you’ll get your change from there, too). That said, ATMs are everywhere so it’s not hard to get your hands on cash.. except…
I had a nightmare trying to get money out of my card
This – I think – has something to do with my UK card having a chip rather than a magnetic swipe. However, it took me days and days to be able to withdraw cash in yen. I was told that the ATMs in the [surprisingly ubiquitous] 7/11s would be fine, and they were for my mum and friend who were using their Australian cards (no chip). Eventually I discovered that the Post Office would probably accept my UK card – and they did. Well, most of them. Just not all. My advice: have backup.
Vegetarianism is not that common
Despite it being the land of tofu, if you don’t eat meat or fish, you might have a difficult time in Japan. My friend Amy, a vegetarian of 15 years, learnt the phrase “I am a vegetarian” (watashi-wa begetarian desu – it’s telling that it’s an English loan word), but many people in restaurants simply gave her blank looks; some would eventually say “ohh – salad?”. Eventually, she learnt a phrase for “no meat” instead – which was slightly more helpful. Luckily, she does eat seafood these days – that would have been a whole other, and even more tricky, kettle of fish (sorry).
I felt safe all the time
Even in a huge city like Tokyo, where things are open very late and there are people pressing around you all the time, I felt an abiding and deeply comforting sense of calm (except perhaps in the frenetic Harajuku and Shibuya districts in Tokyo, where the colour and sound of everything is dialled up to 11). Despite a reputation for public transport groping and upskirt shots, I never felt uncomfortable on the train. Perhaps it was the fact that I passed hundreds of bikes parked with just a small ring to lock the wheel in place (markedly different from the hefty padlocks and chains that are a sad necessity here in London). Perhaps it was the fact that people would walk us in the right direction, even if it was out of their way. I’m not sure. But it was absolutely lovely and I can’t wait to go there again.
Vivienne Egan is a freelance writer and blogger. You can follow her sporadic travel blog Two Hands Free, her thrift blog BINORACLE or her upcoming book, Cracking the Fringe.
