Japan Musings

Elderly

Clean

meticulous

cute displays

tons of desserts

Fishy food

Good vegan options

Curry - not bad

Small rooms

toilets - so cool

Saw a sink come toilet

Foot massage came with drink, matcha soak

Small baskets to hold your bags in every restaurant

wet wipes with no chemicals at every restaurant

Small restaurants - love the cute private rooms.

Tokyo never sleeps.  We woke up first day at 6 and roamed around at 7:30 and streets were empty and some folks were just going home from their evening out.

Tokyo you see people in Anime costumes and unusual clothing/ makeup.  Not common anywhere else

Saw quite a few men and women in kimonos in Nikko and Kyoto. Not very common but many folks rent them or buy them for tea ceremonies

Gion was empty in the evening, couldn't easily find a restaurant, most need a reservation.  Streets looked like a movie set. 

Saw Geishas sweep by us in Gion in Kyoto.  Saw one Geisha up close as she was entering a restaurant. 

Cute coffee shops/dessert stores close by 5pm

NIkko - cooler weather, less commercial. Very little English spoken. Google translate to the rescue.

Kyoto - they speak good english.

Tokyo - mixed results
Gracery hotel in Tokyo - rooms were too small but great location.

So many lights, flashy stores in Tokyo.

Subways, trains clean.  Bathooms clean. Easy to navigate.

We bought a Japan rail pass, - might be better to buy individual tickets.

If you want specificy tea ceremonies , cooking classes, reserve a week in advance.
Gracery rooms were too smal

Nikko - airbnb was cosy and small.  One bathroom only. No space for all luggage. Ant problem. But very convenient to the town and stores. host was very responsive and decently close to the train station. 

Tokyo seems advanced But Nikko seems a bit more 

Houses are small everywhere , even in Nikko and remote towns, everything is compact but neatly arranged. The whole country is clean

You don't see garbage cans, every stores sometimes won't take your garbage  (like wrappers/bottles) but  noone leaves garbage anywhere, so clean.

Women wear loose cltohing probably because it's so hot. They don't wear crop tops and short skirts. They are quite conservative.  Cotton and linen long dresses are common.  

People are very polite and they bow . 

Nikko - lake and waterfall are worth seeing. Also the shrine.  You can take the Heritage busses to get around.  Stores in Nikko very cute. All run by elderly people. You can see Ikagai at work.  Coffee shops are so cute  and great food

Each town has their own cute desserts. Lots of food options to try.  

We had Indian food near Nikko - Ashirvad. Pretty good good, we took a taxi to get there.  Taxis are all driven by men over 65.  Uber is not common.

Kyoto and Tokyo - public transportation

Nara is cute - cute shops, the Todai-ji is worth seeing, the Buddha statues are huge.  The English guide is sweet and provides some basic history.  In general it is hard to get a lot of history at the locations so you need to read up before. 

Nara - deer are cute for 5 min but they are a bit of a nuisance in general. Maybe because I'm not a 

It is hot hot hot and humid. Evenings I have enjoyed since it's so pleasant even if humid. 

But we still had fun . Stepped into AC stores/restaurants/busses/taxis/train stations and tons of 711s, Lawsons, Family Marts for a pick me up.  But the humidity 

711s have the same logo as in the US. I didnk't know it was a collaborative  joint venture with the US.  Lots of great food options for snacks. Their custard buns, egg sandwiches are great.   Kids enjoyed the salmon rolls. We have yet to try the marinated eggs from their corner stores

Food - It's not easy to keep 2 vegetarians and 2 non vegetarians happy in one place.   We have had eaten at some vegan places. but kids didn't particularly enjoy them.   They are loving the food in general, I havent' seen Rushil enjoy food so much. Sindhu said that you feel very light  after eating Japanese food and it's true .