Top 5 reasons to fall in love with Japan

I want to end my series of blogposts about Japan with a summary of why I find Japan as one of the best destinations.   It's a given that it's a beautiful place - so many things to see from nature, amusement to technology and architecture.

But here are the top 5 reasons why I fell in love with Japan (beyond its tourist attractions):

1.  People.  I find the Japanese very courteous, gracious, patient and friendly.  For me, they are the most consistently courteous and friendly (despite of the language barrier).  Wherever you go, whether in a restaurant, store or tourist attraction, they would cheerfully welcome and thank you (even if you don’t end up buying anything).   

They are also very honest.  When I was having a hard time with coins, I would just let the cashier count for me.  There was a time when I was purchasing something and I asked the cashier if it was ok to pay in coins (I brought out a handful of coins!) and she cheerfully counted my accumulated coins which totaled 6,000+ yen (mostly 100 and 10 yen coins).  I didn’t even see any trace of annoyance on her face. 

Here are more honest deeds: 

One of our tour mates left her camera inside the toilet at Sanrio Puroland.  When she realized it, we were on the bus on our way to our hotel in Tokyo already.  Our tour guide called Sanrio Puroland and explained the situation.  Sanrio Puroland found the camera and made arrangements to send the camera to our next hotel destination. 

Another tour mate left her jewelries in a hotel room in Osaka and again, the jewelries were returned. 

2.  Food.  If you love Japanese food - ramen, sashimi, sushi, shabu-shabu  - you know what I mean. Yum, yum, yum.  You can also check out my earlier blogpost - Food trip in Japan.

3.  Art.  Everything you see in Japan is so pleasing to the eyes – food, packaging, stationery, shrubs, the way they wrap gifts and even their staircase rails and manholes!   If you haven't read the fascinating story about Japanese manholes, check out my earlier blogpost on why the Japanese have beautifully-designed manholes.

Here are some random shots of the beautiful and kawaii (cute or adorable) things I saw in Japan:

We also went to this stationery store in Ginza called Ito-ya because our Japanese guide that day (a cousin of my tour mate) had to get a refill for his fountain pen and guess what?  We spent an hour sifting through 5 floors of stationery and supplies.  We fell in love with Japanese prints.

4.  Toilets.  I used to read all about Japan’s hi-tech toilets and it was such a treat to be able to experience it first hand! Haha... Heated toilet seat, trash can with sensor, sensor-based flush, and sensor-based sound effects!  In a toilet in one luxury store in Ginza, birds started chirping as soon as I sat on the toilet seat. haha...   

5.  Freedom of self-creativity.  You can wear whatever you want to wear, however you like to wear it, and people won't give you a second look.  Not that I wore something radical (maybe I should have tried!  Haha...) but it was refreshing to see people not throwing secret glances when they see someone sporting an unusual style.   I think their respect for individuality is very high and transcends race and color.  

And for all these reasons, I know I will be back.  :)

Basic etiquette and tips when visiting Japan

Source

I did some reading on basic Japanese etiquette before our trip since I am not that familiar with the Japanese culture. Here are the top 10 most useful tips I learned:

1. It is respectful to bow when thanking, greeting, congratulating or apologizing.   There are different types of bows with varying degrees but I think the simplest way to understand the bow is - the lower bow, the more intense is  your intention e.g. more respect, more thankful, more sorry, etc.  

2. When riding an escalator, always stay on the left side.  Those who wish to overtake walk on the right side.   Even when walking along a passageway, always stay on the left side.   Japanese vehicles are right-handed so the orientation is opposite to ours.

3. Keep your phone on silent mode when you are on a train or a bus.  

4.  When sitting on the floor for women, place your hands on your lap and your legs tucked under you or sit with both legs to one side.   For men, they can sit with their legs crossed.

5.  When eating a bowl of rice, hold the bowl in one hand (instead of setting it down on the table) and use your other hand to hold the chopsticks.

6.  When having miso soup, drink from the bowl.

7. Slurping noodles is ok. It is not considered bad manner.

8.  After using chopsticks, put them in front of you facing left.

9. When paying at a cashier, don't give the money straight to the cashier by hand. Place your payment on a small tray (small trays are usually placed on the counter).  When the cashier gives your change, use both of your hands to receive the change.  The same applies when handing out and receiving your credit card, calling card, gift, package or items you purchased.  As a rule of thumb, always hand out and receive with your both hands to show respect.

10.  There's no tipping but don't forget to say thank you or arigato. :)

More places to see in Tokyo

Here are more places we saw in Tokyo, Japan.  

On the right side of the photo below is the Asahi Beer Headquarters (golden building).   

That golden thing which looks like a chili pepper to me is called the Asahi flame designed by Philippe Starck.  Our tour guide said it represents the frothy foam of beer.    

Spotted this Nissan car which is shaped like a beetle.  Nice.

We also went to the Diver City which is a shopping mall.  But nope, we didn't go there to shop but...

to see the Gundam robot.  Haha... How tall is it?  It's 60 ft tall.  For some perspective, check out the spectators at the foot of the robot. 

Here's the front view of the Gundam robot.  We were able to catch the robot exhibition where the robot moves (complete with sound effects and music).  

But I am more of a Voltes V and Daimos kid.   I couldn't remember watching the Gundam series.  Or maybe I am having memory lapses already.  Haha... 

Walking distance from the Diver City is a replica of the Statue of Liberty with its back on the bay.  Our tour guide kidded us that it's because people love to take photo ops in Japan. Haha...

Behind the Statue of Liberty replica is the Rainbow bridge.  If you can see the buildings behind the bridge, that's central Tokyo.  Diver City (where Gundam is) and the replica of the Statue of Liberty are located in a place called Odaiba which is an artificial island in Tokyo (or what we call a reclaimed area).  

We had dinner at Odaiba and here's the view of the statue and Rainbow Bridge from the restaurant in the evening.

During our free day in Tokyo, other than visiting the Meiji Shrine, we also went around Ginza.  

In Ginza are upscale department stores - which means a place where I can't afford anything. Haha... 

Since we were a bit early when we got there and most department stores were still closed, we stayed first at the Starbucks branch across Mitsukoshi.  That Starbucks branch happens to be the first Starbucks in Japan.

I don't usually buy souvenir Starbucks mugs because they are too bulky to bring home but for the first time, I decided to get one - the only thing I could afford in the Ginza area. Haha... 

We also got 1-day train passes to save on transpo costs and when we got off the Shibuya station, this is what greeted us - Hachiko!

I have never watched the movie because I think it's too sad for me, but years before the movie, I have already read Hachiko's story.  If you don't know the story, here's the gist:  A Japanese professor took Hachiko as his pet in 1924.  Since then, Hachiko would go to the Shibuya station at the end of the day to wait and greet the professor.  This was their daily routine until one day in 1925, the Professor suffered hemorrhage and died.  But every single day in the next 9 years, Hachiko still came to the train station to wait for the professor.  Hachiko died in 1935 but after almost 80 years, Hachiko's memory still lives on.  

This is the Shibuya crossing which is a popular location for films and shows such as "Lost in Translation" and "The Fast and the Furious:  Tokyo Drift."

Here's another view of the Shibuya crossing.  During rush hour, they say that there are about 500 people crossing every time the pedestrian light goes green. Wow.

At the second floor of Tsutaya (that big building in the crossing) is a Starbucks - a popular place to watch the Tokyo scene.  All the seats by the window face the crossing.  They say this Starbucks is a consistent contender for the busiest Starbucks branch in the world.   

We also went around Harajuku and Ometosando while in the city. They are also shopping districts.  

And this is Tokyo by night.   

At past 9pm, a lot of lights in office buildings are still on.  Some of the windows I saw are not tinted and since we passed by flyovers, through the windows, you could clearly see employees still working on their computers.  

They say the Japanese are extremely hardworking.  On our flight to Osaka, I was seated beside a Filipina who works for a school in Osaka.  She shared with me that her Japanese colleagues (and the Japanese in general) would report for work even if they are sick because they don't want to put the burden of their work deliverables to their co-employees.  :)

Food trip in Japan

One of the things that I looked forward to our trip to Japan was food.  I super love Japanese food specifically uni (sea urchin roe), tuna and salmon sashimi, spicy tuna salad, seaweed salad, gyoza, Kobe beef, takoyaki balls and ramen.  Just typing the words here makes me drool already! Haha...  

Anyway on our first dinner, we had buffet at a restaurant called Rico Rico at Hotel Universal Port (just across Universal Studios).  Imagine eat-all-you-can Japanese food!  But most of us focused on one specific food that night -  Kobe beef!  Haha.... 

Anyway, I wasn't able to take any food photos that night except for a birthday cake served to 2 of our tour group mates who were celebrating their birthday.

In the succeeding days, we tried more Japanese food -

Bento box

Shabu-shabu

Soba

More shabu-shabu

Gyoza

I was also able to eat a lot of sushi, miso soup and my favorite Takoyaki balls.  Guess when I had the chance to eat Takoyaki balls?  Every breakfast at the hotel buffet!  I didn't know they could be breakfast food because I always ate them as snack food.  Haha...  (BTW, did you know what Takoyaki balls are made of? Minced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion.) 

There was also one night when we had a Kimono dinner. Yep, we donned Japanese kimonos and slippers (btw, when you wear a kimono, always remember that the left side is always over the right side.  Doing it the other way around is for funerals).  

We did the Kimono dinner when we spent overnight in a city called Atami.  Our tour guide said it's the summer destination of the Japanese.  So think of rows of hotels by the cliff and overlooking the sea.  The place reminded me of Sorrento and Capri.    But I wasn't able to take photos because we arrived late in the afternoon, then left early the next morning.

So this was the traditional Japanese meal that was served during our Kimono dinner.  In addition to this, there was a mini shabu-shabu, rice and ice cream.  So little right?  So I got hungry that night. Haha... 

Among all the meals that we had in Japan, the most that I enjoyed was our food trip during our free day in Tokyo because we went to local restaurants that weren't for tourists.  A cousin of one my tour mates who's an English professor in Japan brought us to the usual restaurants they go to. 

For lunch, we went to a ramen place called Kin den maru - he said when translated in English means "gold legend round" which doesn't really make sense.  Kin den maru is just a few meters away from the popular Shibuya crossing (it's located in one of the side streets and it's no more than 100 meters away from the Shibuya crossing).

To order ramen, you have to select your order and pay in a vendo machine at the entrance. We had to make the English professor do it for us because we couldn't understand anything. Haha...    

A bowl of ramen costs 880 yen or about Php385.  I had the pork bone soup (forgot the Japanese translation) and some gyoza.  Super yummy! :)

Then for dinner, we went to a shabu-shabu place called Onyosai (when translated in English, it means hot vegetables).  It was buffet at about 3,200 yen per pax or about Php1,400.

The shabu-shabu experience we had at Onyosai was different from any other shabu-shabu I ever had.  For example, for the broth we had a choice of 2 from the menu (they had about 6 kinds of broth if I remember right).   Ok, now I couldn't even recall what broth we chose. Haha...  

The broth was contained in this YinYang-shaped pot.  

As you can see in the photo above, there's something being scraped off a bamboo tube.  The bamboo tube contains minced fish meat and we're making fish balls out of the meat.  

Then we had the usual shabu-shabu ingredients - assorted veggies, thinly-sliced beef ...

and thinly- sliced pork.

After you cook the meat, you dip it in a bowl of scrambled raw egg and / or sesame oil.  This was the first time I had raw egg in a shabu-shabu. 

You know how much food we ate that night?  To give you a perspective first, there were 5 of us.

Ok, here goes -  we finished 34 trays of sliced meat (the one in the photo below is just 1 batch! Haha...).   And in addition to that, we had platters of veggies and multiple servings of fish and meat balls!

The English professor told us that when we could feel we were 90% full, we had to alert him because for the finale, we'll have rice and noodles with all the leftovers.

The noodles was cooked in one broth.

And the rice in the other broth.

So imagine, after consuming 30+ trays of meat, veggies and balls, we still had rice, noodles and ice cream for dessert.  Burp, burp, burp!  Haha...

Things to see and do at Tokyo Disney Sea

The first time I went to Disneyland (the one in Anaheim, California), I was overwhelmed.   I was already an adult then but I was carried away by the Disney magic.  

For one day, I forgot everything else - no single thought about anything - not even work or nagging concerns.   We were busy trying out the rides, exploring, getting autographs of Disney characters (Shhh....) and just taking the Disney experience all in.  

Becoming a mascot even crossed my mind. I saw how the faces of kids lit up when they saw their favorite characters and I thought it's one of the most fulfilling jobs you can do.  Too bad though, I can never qualify as a Disney mascot.  My talents are so hidden.  I haven't uncovered any until now. Haha...

Anyway, I was so excited to visit Tokyo Disney Sea because I read that it's the only one in the world and it had unique attractions.  

        

We were there on a Friday, about an hour before it was to open.  And guess what?  The queue was already long.  Here's after we got past the entrance.  

Check out how thick the crowds passing through the door leading to the Mediterranean harbor, the nearest attraction from the entrance. This was just in the first 30 minutes when the park opened.

There are so many things to see and do at Tokyo Disney Sea and here are some of them:

1. Rides.  Since we had only 1 day to go around, we had to be strategic in our selections.  There are 8 popular attractions and we pre-selected which ones we really wanted to go to.  We also made sure to use FastPass so we don't waste too much time waiting in line.

The first one we tried was the Journey to the Center of the Earth.  It's a ride but there are no loops, just a couple of drops.  Nothing really scary. And usually the drops are in the dark areas so you don't really know when they are about to happen. Haha...

Journey to the Center of the Earth

The next one is 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.  You'll ride mini submarines and explore underwater.  Actually the underwater experience is not real.  The windows of the submarines have water in between glasses so your vision throughout the ride is as if you're underwater.

20,000 Leagues under the Sea

Raging Spirits is a roller coaster ride.  It has a 360 degree loop so I skipped this ride. Haha... 

Raging Spirits

Indiana Jones Adventure, Temple of the Crystal Skull is also an adventure ride.  Again this one doesn't have any loops but it has a few drops. There's one major drop where they take your photo (haha...) but it's tolerable. 

Indiana Jones Adventure:  Temple of the Crystal Skull

Stormrider is a 4D ride.  You'll ride a flying contraption in the midst of a storm, aiming for the eye of the storm.  Just imagine the powerful and turbulent winds. And yes, you'll get a bit wet.  Just a bit (not to the extent that you need a change of clothes).

Stormrider

The Tower of Terror I think is the most daring ride but no one in our group was able to try it.  From what I read, you'll go up an elevator and there's a free fall experience.  Based on the description, it's something I don't want to try anyway. Haha...

For kids, there are a lot of attractions too.  Here's the Mermaid Lagoon and the only reason why we dropped by there is because our tour guide said if the weather becomes too cold for us, this is the warmest place in the park. Haha... 

2.  Shows.  Throughout the day, there are shows all over the park.  So check out the schedules when you begin exploring so you can plan well when to stop for a show and when to ride to maximize your time. 

Performers at the Arabian Coast

There are 2 shows which we were able to catch.  One is called Mystic Rhythms.  It's similar to the Cirque du Soleil performance staged in Manila before (Varekai).

The other show which we watched and which I really enjoyed was the Legend of Mythica.   It's a water show held at the Mediterranean Harbor.  Check out the photos below.

3. Food.  I wasn't able to take photos of food but it's mostly Continental.   The meals are not as fancy as the meals at Sanrio Puroland though.

There was a food item which we wanted to try at Tokyo Disney Sea but we couldn't find where to buy it. A cousin of one of my tour mates said that there's a Gyoza-dog snack there. It's a gyoza the size of a hotdog!  Opportunity loss. Haha...

BTW, signature popcorn is very popular in Japan. There are long lines in flavored popcorn stalls. This one is selling Milk Tea flavor.  Even during our visit to the city, we saw long lines in a newly-opened popcorn place.      

4.  Flowers.  It's spring and what better time to see colorful flowers.  The Cape Cod section has the most variety of flowers.  Check these out.  

5. Characters.  I'm always happy to see Disney characters loitering around the park.  Although I no longer ask for autographs nor take selfies with every character I see (haha...), I still enjoy watching kids starstruck and in awe when they see their favorite characters.   

There's one Disney character I saw which intrigued me.  At Cape Cod, I noticed a lot of kids, teens and even adults carrying a bear stuff toy like this with them.

And then they put their bear stuff toy in doorsteps, on the railing by the harbor, in flower pots or set ups like the one below and take photos of the bear.  Instead of taking selfies, it's the bear that they take photos of.

Anyway, this popular bear is called Duffy the bear.  The story behind is that Minnie Mouse created Duffy the bear when Mickey was about to go on a voyage to the sea.  So it's officially Mickey Mouse's toy bear.   There's a female bear too called Shellie May.  According to our tour guide, these bears are very popular among Japanese.  A lot of them buy the big Duffy toy which costs 10,000 yen and buy clothes for the stuff toy!

Anyway, while at Disney, you are entitled to have fun and be a kid all over again.  Anything goes.  You can get cute Disney caps like these and wear them while you go around the park.

Check out this couple taking a selfie with their kawaii (cute) caps and cardigans. 

Or you can also wear your favorite Disney costume.

Disney is consistently a magical and happy place for me.  :)