Japan – Land of endless discovery

This post is an entry for #tripexperts 2017 awards!

Japan isn’t the first country I have visited. But in terms of soul connection, Japan is definitely the first country I have connected with. My Japan travel was an experiment in terms of living without internet and smartphone. Because of this, I managed to connect with the locals, explore like locals and experience the warmth of the ‘origin of the sun’. Thus, believe it or not, I was without google maps and google translator. Speaking or I would rather say gesturing with the locals on practically everything I needed. Japanese people understand English but the chances of finding ‘the one’ is as rare as finding Johnny Depp sleeping next to you. Well! That’s exaggeration but it conveys the point.

So there I was lost like a Leopard in the city albeit my excitement could be compared to Alice and Japan definitely is no less than a Wonderland. If this excites you, read ahead for a daily breakup in Japan.

Day 0 – When I landed in Japan

On the night of 26^th August 2017, I reached Japan. My flight landed at Haneda airport and I did what everyone does after landing; rush to find a toilet. Toilets in Japan are a revelation. The basic ask for any person using toilets would be cleanliness but Japanese have taken this to another level. Their toilets are anything but toilets. They are comfortable and hands-free!

Yes, you read it right, hands-free. You walk inside any toilet in Japan and you’ll be amazed by the technology you’re exposed to. Japan has by far the best toilets in the world, even when compared with the developed nations of the world. I was floored, quite literally, on features including but not limited to anus washing, bidet washing, seat warming, and deodorization. Everything is automated which means you never use your hands. How cool is this!

However, this hasn’t stopped Japanese from including toilet paper, a toilet brush, a sink, etc. in their toilets though you’ll rarely (read never) use them.

The Sound Princess – A separate battery-operated device is attached to the wall of the toilet which is activated via motion sensor. When activated, the device creates a loud flushing sound similar to a toilet being flushed. All this to save women from the embarrassment of being heard while peeing. This takes thoughtfulness to another level. Wow, Japan!

By the time, I was done by my toilet adventure it was already 2 in the night. From Haneda airport, I had to reach to the hotel as well. With this thought, I turned to my travel buddy (TBu) and asked her Taxi or public transport? As you see, an experiment is on and there is nothing that I know about Nippon.

We reached out to the information desk and this is when it struck us, Tokyo is not costly. It is exorbitant. A trip to the hotel via taxi would cost us more than 10,000 yen. We decided to use public transport which was available even at this time in the night. But my TBu was concerned about ‘safety’. And this is when we had our second revelation. The woman at the information counter was bemused by this question. She queried back asking what we meant by safe? This speaks volumes about safety in Japan. Over the next ten days we agreed beyond doubt, Japan is as safe as mother’s lap.

The bus ride was fantastic. It gave us a night view of Tokyo. The dancing lights made Tokyo as appealing as the Goddess of Love (for the lack of a better metaphor, okay, I admit I wanted to use Sex Goddess). I took so many videos of our bus ride and still couldn’t get enough of it.

When we reached our hotel a surprise awaited us. We had made the booking via booking.com and apparently in Japan, you must inform the hotel authorities 24 hours before about your arrival. I am not sure if this is required in any other country because I haven’t made such confirmations before. So, here we are at the hotel with our booking canceled and it is past 3 in the night. Yet, the hotel staff was accommodating and helpful. We were given a room after much gesturing. Remember, Japanese don’t speak English. By the time we entered our room, which was a little big than a matchbox, it was past 4. My TBu wasn’t happy but at last, we were inside a room and were going to sleep. This in itself was an achievement. To mention, don’t let the size of the room determine the facilities inside the room. The Japanese had managed to incorporate in that matchbox – a queen size bed, a TV, a telephone, an electric kettle, coffee and tea, cups and glasses, a high tech Washlet and bath tub (yes, you read it right) and more.

In all our interactions, until now, with the Japanese junta, two prominent physiognomies stand out – politeness and patience. At no point in time, did they lose their patience with our gestures or our lack of understanding the Japanese language? Nor did they became impolite with our inability to understand the message they were trying to convey with so much of rigor. They would welcome with a smile and say goodbye with a bow. The respect which a tourist receives in Japan is indescribable. One has to be in Japan to experience how an individual must be respected irrespective of culture, ethnicity, creed, country of origin and gender.

Moral of the story

1. In Japan, clean is beauty
2. Any amount of money you take along is less. You’ve got to be liberal with your ‘upper limit’ in Japan.
3. Remember to inform hotels about your arrival at least 24 hours before
4. Don’t carry body wash, shampoo and conditioner along. Japanese hotels, give you the best in class. We were given Shiseido products
5. Don’t worry about safety. You are in the world’s ‘safest’ country
6. Toilets are modern-day miracle – reduced amount of detergent usage, less usage of toilet paper
7. Japanese are extremely thoughtful of others

There are soul mates and then I believe there are soul cities. I feel in Japan, I found my soul country. An instant connection on the day of arrival affirmed my belief – This is going to be one hell of a trip!

Note: The hotel we stayed in was Apa Hotel, Kuramae. I would give the facilities in hotel full marks. With that size of the room, they magnificently accommodated the world for us!

 

Believe it or not this is inside the toilet in Japan

Divya in Wonderland

At the bus station towards our abode!