There are two main reasons why I try to write while traveling:
1. Safety, it tells people where I was last if they expect writing each night. Or couple nights.
2. Documenting things you "think you'll never forget" because you do indeed forget.
There is one main reason why I don't:
1. It is a lot of work. Traveling is work, but then blogging is even more work, and if you know me, I don't like spelling errors (though there are some, I try my best to proofread). It is very difficult to take the time necessary while traveling to sit down each night and write.
With that said, I did not write in Japan. Mostly because I was with family and also because I needed as much of a vacation as possible. Traveling with family was beautiful, memories I will never forget with people that have been the biggest part of my life. I got to know my family in ways I never knew them before. Traveling with my dad and sister was just like I remembered for the most part, but traveling with my Aunt and cousins was a first for me and I really got to know them better (especially my aunt!!!).
While there are a lot of memories, I wish I could write in detail, there are a few that stand out to me. The part of Japan my family was from called out to me. My father took me over the bridge his father walked him over when they left. I was able to swim where my father swam with his father and so on, for generations. It is odd that the river was one of the most beautiful rivers I've ever seen, and I've often been drawn to similar rivers when I see them. The water was clear, you could see through it, something that I don't often see. The bottom was rocky, it was winding, and the vegetation surrounding it was very green on top of what seemed like volcanic rock. Similar scenes could have been set in Jurassic park or New Zealand maybe Thailand I don't know how to explain it, rocky and very covered in dense vegetation. I had traveled to Europe to see where my mom was from and honestly it reminded me a lot of where she lived in Minnesota - which reasonably enough was settled by Europeans for looking much like Europe. Japan was something else, and that odd affinity for very specific rivers I've always had made sense suddenly which was really weird.
We were able to bury my grandma. It was a small event. In a lot of ways I must thank her for her strength, in fact, I had two very strong grandmas that played an important role in my life. I would say I am very lucky and deep in my core these women play an important role in most of my thoughts, along with my mom, sister, and cousins.
After the service, we went north to Osaka, and then Kyoto; I eventually went to Tokyo by myself. Osaka was ok, but Kyoto, was amazing. We were able to reserve a tour guide, and she was so lovely. I thought she did a marvelous job of engaging us and meeting what our goals for the day were. We learned custom feedback about a marvelous ancient city from a resident. There were stairways where if you fall you have bad luck for three years, two years, and one year... so perhaps you may want to walk down the one year one. There were signs with "Oku" on them and a station named "Oku" station. I took a jog and ran through the imperial palace grounds where there were four baseball fields all overlapping and filled with kids playing baseball. I joined them and checked out their equipment. They played fast pitch with an odd rubbery baseball, had on american jerseys and hats, and were super friendly to me.. For the most part, I really felt like they were very respectful and engaging, interested in me as much as I was interested in them. It was a great trip. Something that struck me as odd was that young girls (children, like I don't know, 10?) would walk the streets at all hours of the evening, whether it be from class or wherever - and wave to you or say hi, unafraid. To me, it seemed that Tokyo was very safe (and I believe it's known for this).
I broke off from the family and went to "Himeji" castle, and literally hundreds of kids on field trips were high-fiving the group I was taking the tour with because we were obviously western. They practiced their English with us and made us feel very appreciated. It was a really unique experience on my first trip to what I believe is my biggest portion of genetics (50% Japanese). My friend I had made told me to take a tour with him but I declined having already taken the tour, and apparently I missed out, the tourguide gave random tours for free (never charged) and has been giving tours for decades. She gave tours to presidents etc. No one would take tips, and everyone had excellent service. What a unique country. My dad gave some feedback that suggested there is more than meets the eye, I heard him and understand what he means but I was almost too immersed in what seemed like really great qualities for a country.
I was able to go to the monkey park in Arashiyama, the orange arches at Fushimi, the bamboo forest at Arashiyama, Kobe (where I couldn't find beef), several palaces, the golden and silver temples, Nara, and one of my favorites was Kiyomisodera. Tokyo gave me one of the best massages I've ever had (fully clothed) and my first foot massage mostly because the other massage was so good, (and cheap!!). Unfortunately, you should read reviews as I always read reviews and some places were more legitimate than others easily distinguishable by the reviews. I rode the bullet train past Mount Fuji and hopped on a train to go to Yokohama just because I knew the tires. I found some amazing places in Tokyo to eat dinner with some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen of dominating skylines filled with spread out skyscrapers. Tokyo had a really dense feeling contrasted with a sort of spread out feeling and things like ancient imperial palaces in the middle of them with large gardens etc... I marveled at the peace and tranquility I found all over the place, of simple flowing water and well manicured grass/gardens etc. Also I marveled at how much my dads property had commonalities with Japan. Some things I never asked questions about growing up suddenly were surrounding me, such as how resourceful the culture is at reusing things like bamboo or wood to make fences or roofs etc with just some hard work and thought.
Listening to some of the stories of how Japan's history unfolded was amazing to me. What a interesting place. I don't know if it's because I am Japanese or not that I was so fascinated with it. Even growing up in a Japanese household, I really was fascinated with Japan. My grandparents would always watch Japanese TV, they never really spoke much English. Going back there really answered questions I never knew I had. Maybe they weren't questions but I just got some answers, I guess, if that makes any sense. I can see what a lot of Japanese households do (on a surface level) and in example I can see the part of me that is ok with sleeping on the floor etc. I can see why I am slightly obsessive about cleanliness and certain things but not others. I share commonalities with people I've never met. The culture is strong. One of the most beautiful things to me was that EVERYONE in huge lines of multiple escalators obeyed the rules of walking is left, standing is right (or vice versa). Thousands of people just lined up on one side, not one person out of place or disrupting things. When you're on a bus, young people stood, old people sat, it is just the way it is. They just expect you to move, and it made me feel better because it was that way instead of awkward "you don't know me, I'm not that old" or whatever other reverse antics you may get in the USA simply by trying to do something nice. I wonder what is the isolated factor that changes a society like that, and is it worth it? What are the consequences? Many questions.
I am forgetting a lot, and leaving a lot out, but, I think I got some of the important stuff. This takes a long time to write!! I am very tired and only logged on to get my stuff ready for the upcoming trip I am leaving for in three days.
1. Safety, it tells people where I was last if they expect writing each night. Or couple nights.
2. Documenting things you "think you'll never forget" because you do indeed forget.
There is one main reason why I don't:
1. It is a lot of work. Traveling is work, but then blogging is even more work, and if you know me, I don't like spelling errors (though there are some, I try my best to proofread). It is very difficult to take the time necessary while traveling to sit down each night and write.
With that said, I did not write in Japan. Mostly because I was with family and also because I needed as much of a vacation as possible. Traveling with family was beautiful, memories I will never forget with people that have been the biggest part of my life. I got to know my family in ways I never knew them before. Traveling with my dad and sister was just like I remembered for the most part, but traveling with my Aunt and cousins was a first for me and I really got to know them better (especially my aunt!!!).
While there are a lot of memories, I wish I could write in detail, there are a few that stand out to me. The part of Japan my family was from called out to me. My father took me over the bridge his father walked him over when they left. I was able to swim where my father swam with his father and so on, for generations. It is odd that the river was one of the most beautiful rivers I've ever seen, and I've often been drawn to similar rivers when I see them. The water was clear, you could see through it, something that I don't often see. The bottom was rocky, it was winding, and the vegetation surrounding it was very green on top of what seemed like volcanic rock. Similar scenes could have been set in Jurassic park or New Zealand maybe Thailand I don't know how to explain it, rocky and very covered in dense vegetation. I had traveled to Europe to see where my mom was from and honestly it reminded me a lot of where she lived in Minnesota - which reasonably enough was settled by Europeans for looking much like Europe. Japan was something else, and that odd affinity for very specific rivers I've always had made sense suddenly which was really weird.
We were able to bury my grandma. It was a small event. In a lot of ways I must thank her for her strength, in fact, I had two very strong grandmas that played an important role in my life. I would say I am very lucky and deep in my core these women play an important role in most of my thoughts, along with my mom, sister, and cousins.
After the service, we went north to Osaka, and then Kyoto; I eventually went to Tokyo by myself. Osaka was ok, but Kyoto, was amazing. We were able to reserve a tour guide, and she was so lovely. I thought she did a marvelous job of engaging us and meeting what our goals for the day were. We learned custom feedback about a marvelous ancient city from a resident. There were stairways where if you fall you have bad luck for three years, two years, and one year... so perhaps you may want to walk down the one year one. There were signs with "Oku" on them and a station named "Oku" station. I took a jog and ran through the imperial palace grounds where there were four baseball fields all overlapping and filled with kids playing baseball. I joined them and checked out their equipment. They played fast pitch with an odd rubbery baseball, had on american jerseys and hats, and were super friendly to me.. For the most part, I really felt like they were very respectful and engaging, interested in me as much as I was interested in them. It was a great trip. Something that struck me as odd was that young girls (children, like I don't know, 10?) would walk the streets at all hours of the evening, whether it be from class or wherever - and wave to you or say hi, unafraid. To me, it seemed that Tokyo was very safe (and I believe it's known for this).
I broke off from the family and went to "Himeji" castle, and literally hundreds of kids on field trips were high-fiving the group I was taking the tour with because we were obviously western. They practiced their English with us and made us feel very appreciated. It was a really unique experience on my first trip to what I believe is my biggest portion of genetics (50% Japanese). My friend I had made told me to take a tour with him but I declined having already taken the tour, and apparently I missed out, the tourguide gave random tours for free (never charged) and has been giving tours for decades. She gave tours to presidents etc. No one would take tips, and everyone had excellent service. What a unique country. My dad gave some feedback that suggested there is more than meets the eye, I heard him and understand what he means but I was almost too immersed in what seemed like really great qualities for a country.
I was able to go to the monkey park in Arashiyama, the orange arches at Fushimi, the bamboo forest at Arashiyama, Kobe (where I couldn't find beef), several palaces, the golden and silver temples, Nara, and one of my favorites was Kiyomisodera. Tokyo gave me one of the best massages I've ever had (fully clothed) and my first foot massage mostly because the other massage was so good, (and cheap!!). Unfortunately, you should read reviews as I always read reviews and some places were more legitimate than others easily distinguishable by the reviews. I rode the bullet train past Mount Fuji and hopped on a train to go to Yokohama just because I knew the tires. I found some amazing places in Tokyo to eat dinner with some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen of dominating skylines filled with spread out skyscrapers. Tokyo had a really dense feeling contrasted with a sort of spread out feeling and things like ancient imperial palaces in the middle of them with large gardens etc... I marveled at the peace and tranquility I found all over the place, of simple flowing water and well manicured grass/gardens etc. Also I marveled at how much my dads property had commonalities with Japan. Some things I never asked questions about growing up suddenly were surrounding me, such as how resourceful the culture is at reusing things like bamboo or wood to make fences or roofs etc with just some hard work and thought.
Listening to some of the stories of how Japan's history unfolded was amazing to me. What a interesting place. I don't know if it's because I am Japanese or not that I was so fascinated with it. Even growing up in a Japanese household, I really was fascinated with Japan. My grandparents would always watch Japanese TV, they never really spoke much English. Going back there really answered questions I never knew I had. Maybe they weren't questions but I just got some answers, I guess, if that makes any sense. I can see what a lot of Japanese households do (on a surface level) and in example I can see the part of me that is ok with sleeping on the floor etc. I can see why I am slightly obsessive about cleanliness and certain things but not others. I share commonalities with people I've never met. The culture is strong. One of the most beautiful things to me was that EVERYONE in huge lines of multiple escalators obeyed the rules of walking is left, standing is right (or vice versa). Thousands of people just lined up on one side, not one person out of place or disrupting things. When you're on a bus, young people stood, old people sat, it is just the way it is. They just expect you to move, and it made me feel better because it was that way instead of awkward "you don't know me, I'm not that old" or whatever other reverse antics you may get in the USA simply by trying to do something nice. I wonder what is the isolated factor that changes a society like that, and is it worth it? What are the consequences? Many questions.
I am forgetting a lot, and leaving a lot out, but, I think I got some of the important stuff. This takes a long time to write!! I am very tired and only logged on to get my stuff ready for the upcoming trip I am leaving for in three days.
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