Tokyo

If you follow me on Instagram (or Facebook), you know that I've just returned from a 2-week trip to Japan. I've been home almost two weeks now and finally getting over jet-lag. I took a huge load of photos, most of which I shared on social media, so I hope not to saturate my blog with them. It would take me all winter to post on every place we went so I will stick with the highlights.

This was a big deal for me - my first ever trip outside the U.S. It was an eye-opening experience and an amazing one.

First, Tokyo, which dazzled me. The architecture was phenomenal. I will have to do a separate post on the city at night. It was stunning.

I was there two nights before our official tour began. On the second day (after arriving in Tokyo on Saturday night in pouring rain), I got a chance to walk around and explore some of the city with a few others.

My first impression was how well organized and CLEAN this city was. Now this is coming from a person who thinks the city of Portland is too crowded. Tokyo is densely populated but yet - I never felt rushed or apprehensive and the city was so quiet. There were no honking horns or engine noises and only rarely a motorcycle. Ocassionally, you would hear a siren, but not very often.

Again, the cleanliness and lack of litter was astounding. A few of us created a game to comment when we saw a piece of litter. That did not happen often! One of our tour guides said that Japanese children are taught at an early to not litter and they are quick to pick up anything they do see. Incredibly, there are also very few garbage cans for public use. Most people have their own trash bags with them and they dispose of it when they get home.

Take a look at the subway - you could eat off that floor! 

I was apprehensive about traveling because I'm such a sheltered country-bumpkin but Lois, our tour guide, assured me that this would be the country to start your travel with because it was very safe. We were amazed to see bicycles in public storage places that had no locks on them at all.

You can see some bicycles below in the following photo as well as something else I saw often - laundry hanging over the balconies. This was very common, even in swankier high rises. The Japanese like to sun-dry their clothes and linens.

On the walk around the neighborhood near our hotel, there were many interesting people and places to see. Notice the two girls on the left - this was a common sight around Tokyo and Michael, who keeps up with these things, said that it is a popular fad (although it baffles him too). Girls dress up in elaborate clothes and make-up to resemble dolls. I wish I could have taken a photo from the front, but I was afraid I would appear rude. 

Some interesting shops along the way. Lots of salons which I photographed for Michael.

We came upon an interesting event which I assume was a boy band concert, judging from the poster. Lots of teen girls, who were being allowed into the building in groups of about a dozen at a time. Very quiet, no screaming fans!

And then we came upon another big group of people. Okay, the muscular, skimpy-attired men (and women) outside the open building doing exercises got our attention here (sorry, I didn't photos of them). I would normally have kept walking but a member of the group wanted to see what was going on. We walked into the building and was greeted by a young woman who gave us a Red Bull. The place was packed, mostly by young people and the happiest people I've ever seen. Turns out this was a Crossfit promotion. There was an American man who spoke Japanese demonstrating the exercises on the outside. Apparently, this is (or is going to be) very popular there.

Many, many temples and we visited a number of them (more later). In Kyoto, we were told that there were 1700 in that city alone. Shrines and temples were at every corner and in the middle of quiet neighborhoods.

Japanese Yen - it took me a few days but I got familiar with using it. To get the price of something, you basically move the decimal point over two digits and then take away about a fourth of that for the American equivalent price. 

Tokyo Station, an incredibly busy terminal -

An arcade -

A drugstore - a place I found myself several times. Most people there spoke or understood English. However, not always. Someone turned me on to Google Translate and it was remarkable, not just for showing people text of what you meant but also it was excellent for translating labels!

And finally, more architecture and interesting places -

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy