Observations

A number of interesting things come to mind about our experiences so far. Here are a few of them...

It's very common to see young women, or less often young couples, dressed in kimono. They rent these for a day's outing for about $50, and clearly really enjoy themselves. There are kimono-for-rent shops everywhere. Occasionally you will see an older woman dressed in kimono, and some look particularly elegant and expensively attired. The rental cost is much more than buying a second-hand kimono!

Unusually, this is a group of older women dressed in kimonos. They were having a lot of fun.

The level of politeness everywhere is extreme. Bowing is ubiquitous - checkout people behind the counter at the 7-Eleven, bus drivers and rail conductors, roadworkers as you walk by, people you pass by in doorways, anyone you talk to. Basically everyone. 

A love of uniforms is also evident. Immaculately turned-out bus and taxi drivers, stop-go wardens at pedestrian crossings, train station staff - all complete with hats and white gloves and, if necessary, a flag, whistle or flashing red baton. Everyone is waved on their way with grand sweeps of the arm indicating the direction they should walk. Many schoolchildren are dressed in Victorian-era naval uniforms complete with 5 brass buttons.

Instead of 50 (or 100?) 1-metre-spaced road-cones around a worksite as would be the case in NZ, here they have 2 to 4 uniform-clad older men guiding you around the entrance or exit in an extremely polite and helpful way. The politeness really does surprise you on many occasions, and it comes across as very friendly rather than just being for show.

Toilet instructions, even in braille, that thank you for using it and invite you to revisit!

We've found that, even in the large cities, the amount of traffic is much less than in NZ. Just one block off a main street the local streets are narrow and very quiet, with just the rare vehicle. The neighbourhoods are very calm. There are very few motorbikes but plenty of old-style bicycles being ridden by young and old, and some modern e-bikes.

Vehicles are kept in meticulous condition, including all the trucks. I didn't know a concrete truck could be so immaculate. 

This truck is pouring concrete, yet it's in immaculate condition, as is the stop-go person.

We love the little kei cars. They are beautifully made, remarkably roomy for their tiny size, and fit in the smallest parking spaces. They have legally fixed maximum dimensions to qualify for a tax exemption, so you see many car parks that have been deliberately sized for a kei car, with no room to spare. This trip there seem to be fewer of the fun modified versions that look like cars of the 50s.

One of the tiny kei cars. This one is rare. Most cars are black, grey or white.

Eating out is easy. Food places are either obvious, or become obvious once you realise that a 3-part curtain hung over an entrance means "food inside". From the outside, it may only be the curtains that give the game away, They may be tiny with one owner/cook and 6 seats, or large with booths or multiple tables and many staff. Most specialise in one style of food. The staff have been universally welcoming and helpful, and with the help of Google Lens and Translate you are rarely lost for what to order. Google can even decipher handwritten menus - here's an example from tonight...

Even without Translate, many places have English language menus (though often only a subset of what is actually available), or photos in their menu, or realistic plastic food models outside. If all else fails, pointing at a neighbour's meal still works, though we haven't had to resort to that yet. We have eaten octopus, beef tendon, miso, beef tongue, seaweed, pounded glutinous rice and unknown vegetables. I don't think there has been any meal yet we haven't found delicious, probably not even a part of a meal. I think the best meal so far has been the izakaya meal in Nagoya, where we chose a number of small dishes to make up a full meal, though the okonomiyaki meal in Osaka was more fun. 

We are finding that the little one-man or Ma and Pa places seem to have very good food, and offer the best experience. We are trying to have a more simple dish for lunch and something more serious with a bit of protein at night, sometimes with a bowl of rice to finish with. The rice is stickier and we think more tasty than the rice we get back in NZ; the stickiness helps when using chopsticks! They take rice very seriously here - I think one of the places we will stay at on our walk even grows their own.

If you are just after a quick drink, the vending machines are great, if rather ugly and garish. They seem to be everywhere except actually inside temples, and are super cheap (only 100-140 JPY, so under $1.50) and have a range of drinks - hot or iced tea and coffee, fruit juices, energy drinks and plain water. Perfect when you need a quick pick-me-up, though you should only drink while beside the machine - walking while eating or drinking is not ever considered polite.

The rooms have been good. Kyoto's and Hakone's were generous, some of the others are rather like the kei cars, small but perfectly formed. Most are very well appointed, often with little desks, and always with a jug for tea or coffee. About half have even had dinky little deep bathtubs which we have enjoyed soaking in. I can't wait for the onsens that we get to in 5 days' time. We have the buttons on the toilets sorted by now, no unexpected squirty surprises so far!

Our technology is working a treat this trip. The little cellular modem we have rented means that we have information on hand anywhere any time. It has been particularly useful when sorting out transport - Google Maps directions has become excellent. In this example of catching a subway train it says the following...

Enter Higashi-Umeda Station at Entrance 4 (exits and entrances to stations are in yellow). Take the Tanamachi Line (pink to match the station signs) towards Yaominami, on Platform 1 leaving at 12:41. It won't be too crowded, but take Car 1 of 6 to make the next transfer fastest. Ride 3 stops and 7 minutes to Tanimachiyonchome Station for your 1 minute walk transfer to the Chuo Line (green to match signage again).

We can use the time sitting on trains to sort out where we are going, and how to get there when we arrive. The one thing we are having trouble with is navigating inside the huge and complex train and subway stations. They may have 6 levels, 6 exits, 3 operators besides Japan Railways, 5 lines, 12 or more tracks and countless stairs and escalators. Finding how to get outside seems to be hit and miss. Here in Osaka exits are numbered, and we have done well, so we will see if that is universal! To give you an idea of scale, this shows just the restaurants within the Osaka main station.

Over 100 restaurants inside Osaka Station, plus shops, ticket offices, etc, etc