I have always thought of Japan as a futuristic country, reminiscent of The Jetsons television show, where the cars fly, everything moves faster than the speed of light, and everyone is dressed like Harajuku girls, B-boys, and ninjas. Obviously, my knowledge of Japan was very limited prior to my trip to Tokyo. All I knew was sushi, fashion, Harajuku, yen. And Hiroshima. Nonetheless, I was still exciting for my spring break trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. Getting to Tokyo proved to be an adventure within itself. Coming from Ningbo, my travel partner and I took a bus to Shanghai, slept there for a night, shuttled to the airport bright and early in the morning, and flew into Ibaraki, Japan. Getting from Ibaraki to Tokyo took a bus, an Amtrak-style express train, a metro, and a visit from my old friend "pat & turner" (aka walking), but once I finally arrived in Tokyo the long journey was so worth it!
When I got off the plane and began my stay in Japan, I immediately noticed how much it was unlike China. No one was staring at me, people actually formed lines when getting on and off the bus/train/etc, the streets were much cleaner, and most noticeably, it was very quiet. Oh and everybody BOWS - excessively (cue Beyoncé). It was quite the opposite from China in many ways, pleasantly so.
My 6-day trip, which unexpectedly turned into an 11-day trip that created a dent in my life savings, was exactly what I needed to give me a break from my monotonous wake up-teach-eat-sleep-repeat routine in Ningbo. In Tokyo, I was able to do some exploring and sightseeing and most importantly, eat lots of authentic Japanese food. Some of my favorite moments from the trip include: visiting Asakusa temple and shrines, seeing the Imperial Palace, eating ramen noodles (which are 135158 times better than the instant ones we ate growing up), seeing a bird's eye view of the entire city, partying til 6 am the next day, shopping at the cool shops on Takeshita St. and Harajuku St. and seeing the unique fashions, singing karaoke in a private room with my homies, sneaking a peak at a traditional Japanese wedding, experiencing an earthquake, and of course eating sushi. :)
I loved everything about Tokyo, except for the fact that everything was so expensive. Aside from the lack of flying cars and the fact that everything moved in real time, it was just how I imagined it would be. I will definitely miss the vending machines that served hot food and drinks and the nice public toilets that were equipped with an air freshener, built-in "distraction noises" in the event that you needed to move your bowels, a seat warmer, and a bidet. Despite the setbacks that came up during my vacation, like missing my flight back to China (twice) and being forced to take $50 cab rides when the metro wasn't feasible, I definitely had a great time on my spring break trip. Now it's time to get back to my students and finish the school year on a high note!
- FBG