1) Toilets
Japanese toilets make Western toilets look severely outdated. Nearly every toilet in Japan has (at minimum) heated seats and a contraption for rinsing one's nether-parts after one has relieved oneself (saves on toilet paper!) Other toilets get fancier. For instance, this one:
[Plays music for greater discreteness, sensitive control of the water temperature and pressure, and a bunch of buttons in Japanese that I couldn't decipher]
Also, for toilets located in small spaces (a common occurrence), here's a two-in-one toilet/sink. The sink starts automatically when you flush the toilet.
2) Kyoto
This is such a nice city! A great mix of old and new. A lovely river full of waterfowl. A world-class shopping district where Japanese women still walk around in kimonos. A series of ancient shrines and temples, built at the foot of the eastern mountains, connected by a winding Philosopher's Path.
3) Amenities present and absent
A) Unlike most cities, I found Japanese cities to have a TON of free public restrooms.
B) However, these restrooms almost never have drinking fountains. Nor do hotels have drinking fountains. Nor do universities, nor conference centers. In fact, I encountered a total of 3 water fountains in my entire trip.
C) Even more rare are public trash cans. People actually bring bags around with them to carry their trash home in. I walked many dozens of miles during my trip, and encountered only ONE location with a public trash can.
4) Tokyo
This city is great. All the excitement and electricity of New York City without all the incessant horn honking. Literally, NO ONE honks in Tokyo. What can you do in Tokyo? Just about anything:
Looking for an arcade dedicated to claw crane games? Check. An arcade dedicated to music-themed games? Check. A hundred stores dedicated to anime? A three-story McDonalds? A lake full of giant lily pads? An imitation Eiffel Tower? The world's largest fresh fish market? A whole store of vending machines? Check, check, check, check, check and check!
[Vending machines serving ice cream, beer, fresh-popped popcorn, canned goods, etc. etc. etc.]
5) The Deer of Nara Park
My conference was held in the moderately-sized town of Nara, where for centuries deer have been considered "sacred," and it has been illegal to harm them. Thus in modern Nara, the deer are extremely friendly to humans (when they have food). Look how well they've integrated into the culture:
[Deer patiently letting me pet it]
[Deer patiently letting me touch its antlers]
[Deer patiently waiting for the bus]
[Deer 'patiently waiting' for man to feed them deer cookies]
[Deer patiently waiting to be served at a restaurant]
6) Bike lanes
There are no bike lanes, but there are a lot of bikes. They all ride on the sidewalks, where there are a lot of pedestrians. You would think this would cause a lot of chaos and collisions. But I did not see a single collision, or a single person getting cut off, or a single angry or agitated pedestrian or cyclist.(Besides myself.)
7) Old wooden buildings
Japan is a very old country, but most of its ancient buildings were constructed entirely of wood. Therefore, many ancient buildings have been lost to fire. But those that remain are pretty spectacular.
[The largest ancient all-wooden structure in the world]
[Inside it houses this ginormous Buddha statue. Note the size of the person (bottom right), then note the size of the Buddha, then note that it was built in the year 751 (!)]
8) Food
I was not at all disappointed by the food. Excellent ramen, sushi, fish of all sorts, exotic snacks (cuttlefish jerky anyone?) and the like. Most of the meals I ate were of the traditional variety, where you are served a very large number of very small portions. My guidebook says that traditional Japanese meals strive to include five tastes, five colors (white, black, red, green and yellow) and five "ways" (simmered, fried, steamed, grilled and raw) into every meal. Makes for a fun meal!
Only problem is, all the meals are pretty similar in theme. Even breakfast tastes just like dinner. (Apparently the translation of "breakfast" from Japanese is "The Morning Rice.")
[Yes, this is breakfast. Note the whole grilled fish to the right of the grapefruit. Also, NO COFFEE. OR JUICE.]
9) Bullet train
These things are fast. They go up to 200 mph. The craziest part is not riding the train, but sitting at a station and watching a bullet train speed by (one that's not stopping at your station). The train appears at the station, and in about two seconds the whole ~20 cars have zoomed by and disappeared out of sight.
[Doesn't this just look like the future??]
10) Madame Fuji
The Grandmother of all mountains (the Japanese call it "Mr. Fuji," but the "Mr." is gender-neutral, and my Japanese companions tell me it's mythologized as a lady). Climbing a volcano is utterly unlike any hiking I've done before. It's like hiking on Mars.
[Fuji or Mars? You tell me!]
[Fuji or Mars? You tell me!]
To climb Mount Fuji: There are no "trails" with switchbacks. You hike straight up the mountain. At never-ceasing ~45-degree angle. There is no dirt. You climb from one lava rock to the next. There is no shade. You are above tree-line for 90% of the hike. There are no streams or rivers. There is no wildlife. If you wish to be at the summit for sunrise, you camp out halfway up the mountain in a hut, where you sleep shoulder-to-shoulder with 100 other people. Then you awake at 1 a.m. to finish the last 3-4 hours of the hike.
Is it all worth it? Yeah, it is.
[Sunrise over the caldera's edge]
[Just hanging out, above the sky]
