Twelve Brief Observations After Spending 2 Weeks in Japan
They’re not all good; I hope that’s okay.
My husband and I decided to visit Japan for our honeymoon.
He had two weeks off, and we love Japanese food. Plus, isn’t Japan on almost everyone’s bucket list to visit? After a seven-hour flight and another hour and a half to our AirBnb, our journey began.
During this trip, we covered 3 places — Tokyo, Hakone, and Kyoto.
I’ll write more about my itinerary soon. But here are my 12 observations after spending 2 weeks in Japan. They’re not all flowery as YouTube vloggers and Instagram reel creators tell you, so I hope you’re okay with a different perspective.
1/ They Like Their Space
Before our trip, I saw vlogs on Japanese people and culture and understood that not all of them are introverted but they’re shy. When I visited, there were no random conversations about how we were doing and where we were from.
I actually like this because when I was 9 and went to the U.S., I had no clue why everyone would smile and ask how are you, without bothering about the response.
2/ Kindness
People will go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, even though chances are that they don’t know your language at all.
They’ll be too shy to approach you to click their photo but will be more than happy to click yours. Of course, once you do that they’ll politely request you if you could click a photo.
I’ve been to many countries and it’s common to experience rude or arrogant behaviour because I don’t speak or look like them. But here? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
3/ Strong Eating Out Culture
My grandmother often tells me that it amazes her how much people eat out nowadays. My mom hadn’t seen a restaurant till she was 15, and even then, going out wasn’t a part of their life.
Even though our finances got better with time, I too didn’t eat out as much growing up because we didn’t have enough money.
But we’re at an all-time high now with disposable income increasing in India
Coming back to Japan — everyone is eating out all the time. Restaurants on weekdays are full. I’ve seen outdoor tables in Europe full during the summer but I’ve never seen every single restaurant full all the time!
4/ Lots of Fashion
Some ‘fashion districts’ I’ve travelled to are London, Milan, and Paris. But the fashion in the streets of Tokyo definitely surpasses Milan and Paris.
Everyone is so beautifully dressed and incredibly stylish. Even in the harsh winter, women especially were so well-dressed and fashionable. In Tokyo, we also saw lots of them with 6-inch high soles (not heels).
I didn’t expect to see so much colour in winter where you usually call it a day with a black overcoat.
Fur, earthy tones, nude shades, all-black clothes with fishnet stockings, or bright coats — they do it all so well.
5/ Less Spice, Barely Fried, Sometimes Raw
In Japanese food, you can actually taste the ingredients.
They don’t murder their food with spices as we do in India nor do they go all out with frying and sauces like the West. They do have tempura which is fried, but that’s about it.
I ate sushi twice. The first time, I loved it.
The second time I went to a famous restaurant and I mostly ate avocado sushi. After trying salmon and tuna, my tummy felt strange because the fish tasted completely raw.
I know sushi has raw fish, duh, but this tasted horrible.
They also have fewer rice rolls and more nigiri. In India, rice rolls are more common than nigiri so I guess my taste buds are adapted to that.
Also, chicken soba noodles have boiled chicken and I’ve never tasted boiled meat so there was that.
6/ Plastic Overuse
I’m shocked at how much plastic is used. Trust me, I have a separate post on things that disappointed me in Japan and this is the biggest point.
In India, a “third-world country”, we don’t use plastic bags. Only cloth or paper. All major brands have paper bags printed.
We don’t have plastic cutlery, and absolutely no plastic straws — not even at the most expensive bars.
I don’t think I’ve seen this much plastic in my entire life. Even tissues are individually wrapped in plastic. Lots of cutlery and the jug of water is plastic too.
Seeing so much plastic gave me a sour taste.
7/ Extremely Cold Water
It’s 2 degrees Celcius.
I’m freezing.
I come to eat warm ramen.
When I ask for water, I get ice-cold water where the glass is half-full with ice.
I mean, that kind of water doesn’t even go down. My throat felt so heavy drinking it.
And doesn’t eating hot ramen right after give you a sore throat?
I don’t know. I just made peace with the fact that the only water you get is with lots of ice. We met a Korean solo traveller at a bar who told us that they use even more ice in Korea.
Does this happen in your country too?
8/ Clean, But No Trash Cans
Cities in Japan are cleaner than most cities I’ve seen.
But there’s a plot twist — there are no public trash cans.
Not in the train station, streets, malls, or cafes. Only some stations have plastic water bottle recycling units.
This actually intrigued me and spoke well of the Japanese who are sincere enough to keep all trash with themselves during the day and throw it once home.
It’s a beautiful irony, isn’t it?
9/ The Local Alcohol
Is better than the one you usually drink.
My husband loved his sake and Asahi beer. I stuck to wine because I don’t enjoy alcohol much but I tasted the local sake and local liqueur.
When you visit bars, there are huge 2-liter colourful bottles.
And those are the real treasures if you’re into it.
10/ Expensive
Another point which is a part of the article where I write about things that disappointed me.
You spend way too high in Switzerland but hey, you come home with an experience. I was there for 8 days and I can’t wait to go back again someday. You experience beauty no place in the world has to offer, and there are plenty of activities and beautiful architecture.
It's not about how much you spend (even if one pizza is for $35), it’s about the experience you come back home with.
In Japan, everything is shockingly expensive. Even Western Europe isn’t this expensive!
11/ Onitsuka Tiger Isn’t Cheaper
When you visit Paris, you know that Gucci or LV is cheaper. When you visit the U.S., you know that GAP and Under Armour would be at a better price than in your home country.
And when you visit Japan….
Onitsuka Tiger is not cheaper!
In fact, it’s the same price as in India where imported goods are taxed heavily.
But I did buy two $10 pyjamas from Uniqlo!
12/ So Many Women!
The streets are full of women.
When we were heading back home from the bar at 2 am, we saw mostly women around.
There are more women everywhere at all times.
As a woman from a male-dominated country, this made me feel so safe for some reason.
I’ll be writing more about my experience in the coming few days.
Not all places are rosy and while I had a lovely time, I also have a lot of unconventional things to say.
Stay tuned!