Japan is an amazing place. Everything is just different. Even after enough visits to the land of rising Sun that I've lost count, there are things which still astound me. Nothing comes close though to your first trip to Japan.
Today I'm going to tell you about the top 5 things about Japan that suprised me on that very first trip. They include:
- Product variety
- Infrastructure
- Toilets
- Cats
- Lots to do without crowds
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| Nabega Falls, Minamioguni, Kumamoto Prefecture |
A first trip to Japan is guarenteed to be one of the best experiences of your life, so long as you arent expecting things to be exactly the same as home. Over the years i've heard of people coming back from various foreign countries and complaining about the lack of english or how the food is different. I guess they just want a sunny beach with all the comforts of home. Much like the British going to Spain for their holidays.
Back in 2016 I made my first much anticipated trip to Japan with my-then Fiancee. It was my first trip to Asia other than layovers in Singapore and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.
3 weeks were spent on a whirlwind trip of sightseeing and meeting family, and in doing so we experienced a lot of what Japan has to offer. From cities to the countryside, we shopped a lot, ate lots of great food, saw lots of great sights and generally just got a really great view of what Japan is all about from a tourist's perspective.
The 'Standard' Japan tourist trip usually involves some time in Tokyo, then a Shinkansen trip down to Kyoto and/or Osaka. We skipped this entirely and spent our time in Fukuoka, Kumamoto and the amazing countryside of central Kyushu.
So many things caught my eye or even shocked me, that even after watching plenty of YouTubers and their insights into Japan, I was still taken aback or simply didn't anticipate some of the things I saw or experienced.
Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my Top 5 eye-openers from my first trip to Japan.
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| A whole store just for Pokemon! |
1. Product Variety
We started our trip in Fukuoka, spending a few days in a hotel close to Hakata station. Fukuoka is a wonderful city, it feels modern, fresh, vibrant and diverse. Located at the top of Kyushu, wrapping around Hakata bay, it has a population of around 1.5 million. I highly recommend a visit for that 'big city' experience if you aren't going to the likes of Tokyo or Osaka.
Our time in Fukuoka this trip was spent mainly around Hakata station and the shopping district of Tenjin, and was basically a shopping trip for Tomomi. New Zealand really doesn't sell much in the way of women's clothing to suit diminutive Japanese women, so it was time for her to stock up as she had been away from Japan for a few years. I was gladly towed around the vast shopping complex of JR Hakata City, with my head on a swivel in awe of all the interesting shops and products.
The department store, Tokyu hands was the first large store we explored. Right away I was in awe of the variety. Of anything and everything. Pick a product and you'll have 50 to choose from. Even selfie sticks! How many different types of selfie sticks do you need, and how would you even choose one?
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| I wasn't kidding about the selfie sticks |
After a few hours of going from shop-to-shop of women's fashion I started to lose interest. What was nice though, is shop assistants would always identify my awkwardness and guide me to a little seat to wait on. Maybe a tall gaijin male standing around in a high end fashion shop wasn't the look they were after and simply wanted me out of the way. I wasn't complaining though as my feet were sore.
Plenty of other shops did pique my interest and I could have spent hours in them. Loft in Tenjin (which is another department store) has an entire floor dedicated to hobby products, from RC and Models, to Airsoft and swords, and a huge variety of Star Wars memorabilia. Model kits stacked to the ceiling aisle after aisle was a sight for sore eyes!
This theme continues around Japan, with big stores such as Yodabashi Camera and Don Quijote. Its worth dedicating time to full explore these places and all the interesting products if you haven't been before. Good luck trying to keep yourself from buying anything!
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| Just one side of the aisle full of fishing reels |
It's a similar story at specialist stores, maybe more so as they have that outrageous variety but all within their niche. In Kumamoto we stopped by a fishing store and it was ridiculous - two aisles probably 20m long were just dedicated to reels! And as a motorcyclist, 'Bikers' is a store in Kumamoto had my almost salivating, not just at the selection of products you expect like Helmets, but custom parts too.
The reason this shopping variety makes the list is because its not something we are accustomed to in a low population country at the bottom of the world like New Zealand, where you have the same shops everywhere, selling the same limited ranges of product, which gets rather boring.
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| Shinkansen Viaducts stretch across many parts of Japan |
2. Infrastructure
Most people have the perception that Japan has amazing infrastructure, and indeed it does. There's a reason Japan has such a huge national debt (over 9 Trillion USD!), over the years it has invested extensively in building railways and roads (amongst other things) to a typically high standard, and in an geologically challenging environment.
Those who have not visited Japan likely are under the impression that Japan is all high tech, and also familiar with things such as the 'Bullet train'. I'd wager a lot of those people might imagine the whole country to look like Shibuya crossing, with Mt Fuji plonked off to the side.
Its far from that of course.
The one type of infrastructure that I was seriously impressed with, and largely unaware of its extent and significance, is the expressway road network.
The Expressway network covers over 10,000kms of road across Japan, and all of it is tolled. Originally they were only going to be tolled until the roads were paid off, but instead have kept them all tolled to fund the ongoing maintenance, which is done to a very high standard.
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| The expressway network, from the Road Bureau website |
It's not particularly cheap to use these toll roads however. Kumamoto to Kagoshima for example, a route that is 175kms and takes 2.5 hours, is around $35 NZD (one way) at today's exchange rate. On the other hand, the Shinkansen is half an hour faster but costs double. For a true cost comparison you would have to factor in the costs of car ownership. That's an article for another time.
The aforementioned route was what impressed me about the scale, planning and engineering involved in building these types of road all over Japan. It cuts across and through the mountains of central Kyushu. There's a total of 22 Tunnels between Yatsushiro and Hitoyoshi, with the longest being 6km long!
If you ever find yourself travelling on this road, I highly recommend departing the expressway for a short while to take the 'normal' road between Hitoyoshi and Ebino to experience the double spirals. One goes round and round a hill, the other is a loop bridge. Fantastic views, and great fun!
The beauty of how these roads carve inconspicuously through the countryside is that they are almost invisible. If you did not know they were there, you wouldn't give it a second thought. I wasn't even consciously aware of the Amakusa Expressway, until one day we were parked down in a valley for a toilet stop and in the distance, between two large hills, I could see a small bridge spanning the gaps as cars came out of a tunnel from one hillside, over and into the other.
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| View to Sakurajima from the Ibusuki Skyline road. Photo by Kimon Berlin |
Not all of the toll roads in Japan are four-lane 100kph expressways though. Last year we did a day trip from Kumamoto to the famous Samurai village of Chiran, in Kagoshima prefecture. We drove the expressway all the way down to Kagoshima, then exited onto a country back road called the Ibusuki Skyline. This was also a toll road! Its a wonderful stretch. It was early on a beautiful spring morning as the road took us up onto a ridgeline, providing views over to Sakurajima and beyond, before plunging back down toward the village of Chiran, barely seeing any other cars along the way.
For me, the Ibusuki Skyline road sums up a part of Japanese culture perfectly - make a road that hardly anyone uses and keep it in perfect condition at all times, because if you are going to do something, do it exceedingly well. Dedication to excellence.
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| Controls for a typical modern Toilet |
3. Toilets
Toilets are an inevitable inclusion. For me they make this list because of the extremes. On one hand you have the old fashioned squat toilet, and on the other you have the high-tech toilets that Japan is well known for. There is no middle ground, like a 'dumb', normal, western toilet.
I managed to avoid the squat toilets for about 5 trips. When you have no idea how to use one its just easier to avoid them. I did get caught out last year though, when a pottery gallery we were visiting in the countryside only had a squat toilet and holding on wasn't an option. Luckily it was just a #1 and it wasn't difficult to figure out. Just squat facing the high end. If you see one, give it a go and you too can scratch if off your list of fears.
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| The dreaded squat toilet |
An important note to make about Japanese Toilets and bathrooms, is that the toilet is never in the same room as a bath or shower like it western bathrooms. Its a hygiene thing. At my in-laws, they have two toilet rooms side-by-side: one with a high tech toilet and one with a urinal. The former has a little hand basin on top of the cistern, when you flush, the water comes out and you can rinse your hands - a great idea that saves water! I find it most odd that it has not been adopted elsewhere. In the other room is a full-height urinal. Having one at home is rather underrated. The females in the household would appreciate it im sure, I don't have to explain why!
Often known as Washlet's, due to the Toto brand name being synonymous with them, you'll find the high tech toilets just about everywhere. They are seen as a 'standard' item and not a luxury one to the Japanese.
They have either an armrest or a wall panel with buttons to control the various features. With all those options they can be intimidating for the uninitiated, particularly if the labels are in Japanese only. Deciphering these by experimentation based on the pictograms is an experience in itself. Right up until you get a blast of cold water up your wazoo unexpectantly.
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| Still have to put on the slippers, even though the toilet is just there |
Bidets (for front and back) are the standard feature and are usually adjustable in pressure for your preference. Other features include heated seats, seats that open as you approach, automatic flushing when you stand up, and they can even play sounds such as music or flushing sounds to cover any embarrassing noises that you make. In public toilets I thought that flushing sounds were an odd choice, as surely it would come across a bit odd to hear someone in a cubicle flushing multiple times, and that its clearly obvious what's actually going on.
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| The slippers never fit. I'm only size 11 |
It's probably prudent for this topic to mention footwear. Its a topic worthy of more than a short paragraph but alas I'll touch on it briefly for Toilets.
Toilets in Japan often require you to put on slippers that are restricted to the bathroom only, so that you aren't taking damp socks or whatever else you might collect off the bathroom floor around the house onto the nice tatami. Its a sound practice but sometimes it seems entirely impractical. We stayed at a Ryokan once where the toilet room was small enough that half a stride from the entrance to the loo, but I had to put on bathroom slippers nonetheless. Supplied slippers also never fit, being comically small for size 11 feet.
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| Pet stores always have lots of animals |
4. Cats
In New Zealand we've slowly seen a decline of there actually being real pets in pet stores. There are some exceptions, but long gone are the days of being able to take your kids in to see some puppies, kittens and rabbits whilst out and about doing the Saturday morning shopping.
Japanese pet stores on the other hand always have pets, and usually quite a few of them. Unfortunately they are kept in cages that aren't particularly big, and with nowhere to hide. Animal welfare sadly is something that isn't given much thought in Japan. Its a similar story at Zoo's, where the visitor experience is often excellent in terms of being able to see and possibly interact with the animals, but it's at the expense of the animals not having adequately sized or natural enclosures, often without sanctuary to hide away from the hordes of gawking DSLR-wielding onlookers.
Lack of animal welfare is the primary reason this makes the list, and its animals in general, not just cats. I just happen to be a cat person and that's where my interest tends to wander to.
Another reason the in the pet industry, cute pets are a commodity for those that can afford them, and they are very expensive. An example, for a standard tabby cat, not even a fancy breed, the cost of the first one I saw was ¥688,000. In today's money that is $7,000 NZD, and at the exchange rate back then, over $9,000 NZD. Outrageous money. The equivalent kitten could be had for $100, or even free in New Zealand. Our pure bred Birmans were only $650 each.
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| Convert that price into your currency. Ouch. |
And in researching further into the pet trade, I discovered that these animals are often put down if unsold, and have reached an age where they are no longer small and cute. Despicable and one of the very few things I do not like about Japan.
The solution to all this is for pets to stop being seen as commodities. Many people don't have the space or time for pets, and its further narrowed down by the high prices, essentially alienating a huge portion of the population who could potentially provide loving homes for animals.
Cat Cafes do their bit to help though. At first I wasn't a fan of many of the cat cafe's we had visited, as often the cats were basically rescued strays, not always friendly and looking a bit worse for wear - it didn't quite scratch our cat sized itch from being away from ours for weeks at a time. It was only upon learning more about the pet trade and cats in general in Japan that I wholeheartedly support these cafe's, as they are providing care, attention and a home for cats that otherwise might be struggling out on the street.
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| Cat cafes are great for the cats and customers alike |
Japan has a lot of stray cats. You will find them just about anywhere. If you want a cat, just befriend and start feeding strays. You could even eventually bring entice them inside, take them to a vet and try to make them a house cat, though it may be difficult with an older stray who is set in their ways. A lot of folks in Japan 'have' cats by just befriending and feeding their local strays. It's a good arrangement for both parties, and its nice walking around the village bumping into the friendly stray cats, just make sure you wash your hands afterwards!
Ideally, neutering and preventing the number of strays is the main solution and there are programs around that are trying to tackle this. It will likely take generations and a much more concentrated effort.
So yes, please support cat cafes if you visit Japan, and by all means visit but please do not buy anything from large chain pet stores.
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| The most random thing I've seen on a roadside. Somewhere near Kuju, Kumamoto Prefecture. |
5. Lots to see without Crowds
I've lived in Auckland for nearly 20 years and there is so much to do within an hours drive, from beaches to parks, to treks and viewpoints. 20 years ago you never gave it a second thought about going to one of these places on a nice day, you could easily get a car park and the place wouldn't be teeming with people.
That was back when the population was below 1 million, now its over 1.5 million and it shows. Unless you are going on a weekday or in bad weather, reconsider. All of those places will be packed and you'll need to plan to get there by 9am just to get a car park, and that's getting harder because everyone else is doing the same thing too. As I'm writing this I'm realising this is a big reason I don't love Auckland anymore, because I can't enjoy it.
If you hadn't guessed I don't particularly like being around masses of people when it comes to the outdoors and nature, as you can't experience and enjoy the beauty and serenity which only comes from peace and quiet.
The Japanese countryside is a bit different. Sure, there will always be places that are absolute tourist traps; I recall the Kokonoe Yume Suspension Bridge, the largest of its kind in Japan, and the car park was full of Chinese tour buses. You'll always get those places, and they are usually so because they cater for it with facilities, making them accessible for a day trip with places to eat and souvenir shops. Golden week is another matter entirely and from what I hear, its just best to hunker down and stay home!
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| Kokonoe Yume Suspension bridge, busy even on a rainy day |
What I love about the central Kyushu countryside is there is just so much to explore that's relatively accessible - even more so if you want to go for treks venturing further afield, which I look forward to doing in future.
Japan, being in a volcanic zone has such diverse features making for stunning natural landscapes. Central Kyushu is no exception and is filled with Mountains, rivers, valleys and a couple of volcanoes. With all that comes natural springs, hot springs and a lot of stunning waterfalls, and for the latter I mean lots! It would be entirely possible to create an entire blog just on waterfalls. I'm not kidding. Study Google maps and you will see what I mean.
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| Unoko Falls. Kumamoto Prefecture. It wasn't on Google Maps when we found it. |
One waterfall we found, now this helps me make my point, as after the trip we could'nt not even find in marked on goolge maps (its there now, Unoko Falls) We only found it originally after driving down a back road and seeing a tiny brown sign. It was one of those spontaneous 'lets go check that out' moments. Navigating down a single lane road, we had to stop to remove a large snake that was across the road sunning itself. Cue a nudge with a big stick and we were back on our way. The road wound itself down into the forest to a valley floor. We parked up (only space for 2 cars) and walked through the trees for 20-odd yards, for a stunning vista to open up in front off us a clearing with a small lake, surrounded by sheer cliffs rising up, and a small waterfall shooting outwards down into the lake. It was out of this world to find something so wonderful yet so little known.
The best thing of all is that plenty of these places are pleasant places to be because they aren't often busy, and if they are, its full of polite Japanese, who don't walk around with horrible music blaring from a portable speaker like we get in Auckland.
So yes, I'm very excited to get back to exploring nature.
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| A friendly village stray cat, I've named him George. |
There you have it, 5 things that really blew my mind from my first trip in Japan.
Did any of these surprise you? how do they compare to your own experiences?
Please let me know in the comments!
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