{"id":285,"date":"2015-11-10T22:30:51","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T03:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lyadova.design\/blog\/?p=285"},"modified":"2015-11-30T00:20:32","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T05:20:32","slug":"21-tales-of-the-country-of-rising-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lyadova.design\/blog\/21-tales-of-the-country-of-rising-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan. Travel notes, part I"},"content":{"rendered":"
The expectations.\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
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– Aren’t you\u00a0unbelievably excited about the trip? <\/em><\/div>\n
– I am believably excited.<\/em><\/div>\n
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When going to Japan you are expected to be excited. I think it\u2019s so far and still so mystified in the Western world that going to Japan almost\u00a0feels \u00a0like winning a lottery ticket. If you aren’t excited you gotta fake it at least. So I did.<\/div>\n
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Akihabara, Tokyo\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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21 days later\u00a0I’m on board of the beautiful 787 Dreamliner on my way back and I am\u00a0truly unbelievably amazed by the wonders I\u2019ve seen in this beautiful country. It is un-be-lie-va-ble. I have completely fallen in love with Tokyo. I think I\u00a0would even live there and\u00a0get soaked in its\u00a0amazing mix of culture, traditions, and hi-tech.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Shiragawa-go Ethnical village, Takayama<\/span><\/div>\n
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I love Japanese devotion to details. For a slightly OCD person as I am Japan is just the paradise on earth. Everything is clean, well-thought, convenient \u2026 and sometimes weird.<\/div>\n
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Hirajuku, Tokyo\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Infamous Pachinko game, Tokyo\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\nThe boredom<\/strong><\/div>\n
One\u00a0funny thing about travelling west is the time change. As you are flying from Toronto to Vancouver you are slowly going back in time. You leave in the morning and when you land it\u2019s the morning again! But then you fly over the Pacific\u00a0and all over sudden find yourself in tomorrow…<\/div>\n
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The time difference is brutal. The first 3 days were sleepy, stressful and least memorable. We spent them checking the major\u00a0touristy attractions off the list. I like to do this in the beginning just to get it off\u00a0the way. I find it boring to compete with postcards when photographing major\u00a0landmarks. The highlight was\u00a0taking\u00a0selfies\u00a0for Instagram.\u00a0People love landmarks, they do.<\/div>\n
Ok google, what is the best place to take selfie with mount Fiji?<\/em><\/div>\n
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Meiji Shrine, Tokyo\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0Odaiba, the island made of garbage, Tokyo\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\nThe other right.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Yes, we’ve been told\u00a0that Japan has\u00a0left-hand traffic. Cars have the steering wheel on the right. People walk on the left side of\u00a0the street and stand on the left side of the elevator in the subway. So simple, but so hard to get used to!<\/div>\n
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When waiting for a bus in Japan, remember that it’s going the opposite way.<\/div>\n

\nFour Hours for\u00a0the Best Sushi in Town.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Having failed to get into Tsukiji market for the famous tuna auction at 4 in the morning I joined an\u00a0Irish couple in line for what was supposed to be the best sushi joint in Tokyo. It\u00a0was an amazing experience\u00a0as I found out\u00a04 hours later.<\/div>\n
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Tsukiji, Tokyo<\/span><\/div>\n
but God… the sushi was amazing\"IMG_8047\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Never have I waited for food that long.<\/div>\n
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Special treatment.<\/strong><\/div>\n
One night we got lucky to be having drinks at Roppongi Private Club on 52 floor of the building. Admitedly the best view of the city. Fancy as shit and quite\u00a0expensive but worth it.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Photo credit: Felix Menard\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sushi, Ramen, Izakaya or Why I Will Never Eat\u00a0Japanese Again<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u2026 outside of japan. Because it is just THAT\u00a0good.<\/div>\n
Japan boasts an incredible\u00a0variety of fish and sea food. Needless to say that it’s all fresh and very delicious. You won’t find many\u00a0fruit or vegetables though. There’s simply no land to grow them. Thus some products in this country get a very special treatment.<\/div>\n
The stories about $5 apples in Tokyo are true.<\/div>\n
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Shaved White Bitches<\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan is the county of hot springs. The\u00a0traditional spa is called Onsen. Me and my European-looking girls living in Japan had a pleasure of visiting one\u00a0just outside of\u00a0Tokyo.<\/div>\n
These pictures were taken in Komikochi and Shiragawa-go, Takayama region, known for its hot springs. Wish I could show you more.<\/div>\n
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Kawaii overload\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
Japan is a shoppers paradise. And everything is my size.<\/div>\n
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Talking to Strangers Your Mom Warned You About.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Gion is the historical Red Lights district in Kyoto. One night\u00a0walking down the main street of Gion I was approached by a friendly Japanese guy who spoke surprisingly good english.<\/div>\n
– Do you mind if i walk with you, he said. \u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
I did not mind. He told me he\u00a0was\u00a0from Tokyo, he told me he studied engineering at\u00a0Kyoto University. He also told me that he’d show me a different Kyoto, non-touristy. So\u00a0we got\u00a0off the touristy path.<\/div>\n
He told he was taking me to the river. He told that the river was most beautiful at night. We were making our way down the dark alley that was getting more and more deserted. The river was nowhere to see or hear. It was getting\u00a0late and\u00a0really quiet.<\/div>\n
And then something inside of me started to freak out. First for long time I got very\u00a0scared.<\/div>\n
– I think I gotta go back to my hotel, i said\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
– You sure? The river is right around the corner…<\/em><\/div>\n
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\u00a0I wasn’t walking back, I think I was running.\u00a0On my way I past by some river. Not sure if that was the mysterious most beautiful river my random encounter was telling me about.<\/div>\n
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– Japanese guys don’t approach girls on the street, they are shy, told me Japanese girls the next day.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Japanese markets<\/strong><\/div>\n
Japanese markets is a very special thing that deserves a post of its own. During my trip I visited Tsukiji in Tokyo and Nishiki in Kyoto, the 2 most famous ones.\u00a0Full post about markets in Japan<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
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Hafu or Blending With the Locals<\/strong><\/div>\n
I have a strange gift\u00a0of\u00a0being able to blend with locals wherever I go. \u00a0In Peru I pass for a\u00a0highlander, in North America for first nations, in Scandinavia for a typical Saami; in Japan I qualify as a Hafu, a mix of a Westerner and a Japanese.<\/div>\n
Here it’s even easier, they can photoshop you even before photographing.<\/div>\n
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Best of Luck<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Inari is the head shrine and the major attraction\u00a0in\u00a0Kyoto.\u00a0The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span 4 kilometers.<\/p>\n

Since early Japan, Inari was seen as the patron of business, and merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshipped Inari. Each of the red gates\u00a0hare\u00a0is donated by a Japanese business.\u00a0\"IMG_8753\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If you want to take a good photo you better wake up early.
\nIn case you are interested in donations:<\/p>\n

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Ohayo!<\/strong><\/div>\n
Japan is best in the morning.<\/div>\n
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–\u00a0Do you realize that you are one of the first people to see the sunrise today? <\/em><\/div>\n
– Yes, one of the first 120\u00a0million people.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Osaka-style or Giriko<\/strong><\/div>\n
An old advertising from Osaka promises that you’d run 300 meters if eat the little heart-shaped candy.<\/div>\n
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Nowadays people line up to take “Osaka-style” photo with Giriko on the background.<\/div>\n
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Modern Osaka and traditional Kyoto have almost merged together. It is less than 30 minutes by train between downtowns of the 2 cities.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Nijo Castle, Kyoto\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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If Kyoto is the cultural capital of Japan then Osaka is its most prominent business centre. Osaka is so westernized that\u00a0people here walk\u00a0on the right side of the street.<\/div>\n
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