In my highly unscientific polling of friends that have visited Japan, “Amazing” is the number one term used to describe trip. “Really amazing” is a close second. I see no reason to be a contrarian: Our trip was “amazing”.

People have asked about my favorites, be it food, places or experiences. I’m not always so good at picking favorites, and I don’t want to bore you with a recounting of the entire trip (for that see the photos in this section). So, here are a couple things that immediately come to mind.

The Japanese have a unique and special culture. I mention it because it permeates everything, as culture often does. Perhaps it was more noticeable to me since it is so different from what I’m used to. It also seems more consistent there. In New York and other Western cities, cultural norms can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. This is not to say that there is no variety in Japan, because there absolutely is, it’s just that they are able to retain some of their best customs throughout.

The trains, I could talk about them for days if anyone cared to listen. They are frequent, fast and clean. I wish that, one day, we might have intercity service in the states that even slightly resembles the Shinkansen. They’ve been building out that system since 1964, so we have some catching up to do. The superior experience doesn’t end with the bullet trains though. Every train we rode, from subways to regional trains, was great. The demand is so high, that despite the frequent service, they can be crowded at times–even outside of rush hour.

The food is, of course, wonderful. This is not limited to high-end dining experiences. Slow food, fast food, pretty much all food there is high quality, even at the konbini (think 7-11). One thing that surprised me was the number and quality of bakeries and pâtisseries–great for picking up a quick breakfast or snack. While many international foods are on offer (we even tried a bagel), Japanese cuisine has a rich history and many regional variations to explore. For example, I may have never known of Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki unless I was there to try it.

Lessons Learned

No trip is complete without learning a few lessons. I would have learned all of these that hard way if not for the meticulous research by my wife. So, full credit to her for saving much time and frustration by setting us up before we hit the ground there.

I would do these things before you go (except the picture posting), especially those that require setup on your phone.

  • Suica (transit card)
    Massive time saver. It can be used to pay for local and regional transit, as well as small purchases like food and drinks. Shinkansen tickets can also be associated with your card so you can just tap in at the station.
  • eSIM card (for mobile data)
    In the past, I relied on wifi while traveling internationally. After all, we traveled before smartphones existed and lived to tell the tale. This trip may have converted me though. We used maps, a lot. Having a data plan makes it much easier to navigate. AT&T would have charged me more than $150 in roaming charges for this privilege. With an eSIM, it was $8.50 for 3GB of data, of which I only used half. We used Airalo. They have really solid instructions on how to purchase and set up your eSIM.
  • Don’t be a bad tourist
    I really tried to fit in and not rock the boat too much. But, I still made my share of faux pas. There’s a lot of information out there on what to do and not in Japan. Abroad in Japan’s 12 Things NOT to do in Japan is a good start. Also, it doesn’t hurt to learn a few key Japanese words and phrases. People find it amusing when foreigners butcher their native tongue.
  • Posting Pictures
    I spent some of the down time on the trip (jet lag induced early mornings, train rides, etc.) editing and posting pictures. This isn’t unusual for me, but for this trip, I posted them on my site rather than some social media site. Sure, I don’t get as much engagement, but I think I’m close to being done with these corporate sites–I don’t need to feed that beast. Also, it was a lot easier to pick a couple or three pictures from a day’s worth of photos than trying to curate hundreds from an entire trip.

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