My Japan Trip Part One
Thoughts and Tips about my trip
This has taken me longer to get out than I had hoped but since I have come back from Japan, work has been full on.
Going to a new country is always very exciting. When I was younger and travelled, I used to book the first few days and then let the trip unfurl. Nowadays and depending where you are travelling too, it’s almost impossible in certain places to turn up and find somewhere to stay (that meets your budget and requirements). Japan is one of those countries that being quite organised helps, although not impossible to book last minute! We had almost everything booked in except for 2 days with last minute (and good offers) on Airbnb we were able to book a couple days before. However we did book 9 days in a camping car which gave us the freedom to move around day by day. That was great.
I should just mention for those of you who don’t know me that we travelled as a family which included my husband Mike and our almost 13 yr old daughter Poppy. We all got different things out of this trip. More about that below.
One of the other things as an English/French couple is the different information/research we get as I often but not entirely read from an ‘English’ aspect and my husband Mike from a ‘French’ aspect. We did do quite a bit of research in the beginning and then I felt we arrived almost totally unprepared in Japan which in the end is not a bad thing. I think we can overthink and over plan and then get overwhelmed.
It is also interesting how many people told me how difficult it would be to drive around Japan and that it would be hard to understand the signs. As it happens it is the complete opposite. They drive on the left so very easy for me as I have been driving on both sides of the road for over 30 years. The signs are in English and most of the small roads you are driving at around 50 kms an hour. There is none of the European aggressiveness, so quite frankly it was a very easy and pleasant experience even in the larger towns and cities. Mind you driving through cities (avoiding the tolls) is painfully slow!
Once you have figured out the metro/tube/train and bus system it runs really well and efficiently. Even if you hadn’t paid enough or have the wrong ticket you can pay the other end and the Japanese seem to be quite used to this. One of the mistakes we made is the difference between a ‘local’ train which stops at all the stops and the faster trains that don’t. It’s worth double checking this!
We also booked the Shinkansen Train last minute at Narita airport as you can’t book online a certain amount of days before. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get on a train as it was during Golden Week but being the organised country it is. You line up in a queue waiting to board the ‘unreserved side’ and lo and behold you jump on the train (there are quite a few carriages available).
To note:
Have small change available (yen in 5000 bills or 1000 bills ) especially in smaller places and for buying tickets on buses.
Useful things:
A pocket wifi delivered at the airport or to your hotel etc is indispensable (although it chose not to work at the most awkward of moments!)
If you are going to drive you will need to get your driving license translated - we did as we hold French driving licenses but double check for licenses in English.
There is a service between airports or I believe certain hotels where they will forward on your suitcases. We had bought ‘ quite a few things ‘ which filled two suitcases and to avoid traipsing around with them we sent them from Narita Airport to Osaka Airport and then continued our last 10 days of travel. A fabulous service and only cost 30 euros!! Those Japanese are SO organised.
Japan is a huge tourist destination so it is often quite hard to avoid the crowds but NOT impossible. Often by walking one or two streets left or right you avoid the throng of tourists and find yourselves in fairly empty streets.
It’s obvious but true, go early or stay later in some of the touristy places and you will be rewarded with fewer people. Go to the smaller lesser known places which are also fairly empty especially if you have to walk to get there and the tourist buses can’t get there.
We also found that finding ‘local’ restaurants was just a matter of going into places behind curtains (not necessarily knowing what was behind) was a great way to discover places and local.
The ‘onsens’ mineral hot baths and public baths can often seem daunting because you don’t know how it works but they are fabulous. We were lucky to go with a Japanese friend. As a rule, you leave your shoes outside in a locker, you go inside leave your clothes in another place, the Japanese have a very small towel that they use for everything but don’t leave your towels on the floor. You take a shower first and then into the baths. You can but don’t have to take a shower on the way out. Et voilà !
Our daughter loved Tokyo loved the bright lights, the shops, the vintage clothes shops, the food markets, the food. She enjoyed the camping car. She loved Nara and feeding the deer. She particularly liked Takayama. She was not so enthusiastic about the remote villages and waiting whilst we chatted with antique dealers etc! She quite enjoyed some of the temples and getting stamps and all the little things that you can only find in Japan. She also enjoyed some of the accomodation we stayed in including some of the older houses.
We particularly loved the quieter, remote villages. We loved Antique shopping and wished we had been there for some of the larger flea markets. We all loved the gardens especially Kenrokuen in Kanazawa. The peacefulness of the country and spending time with Japanese families was also a wonderful experience.
We all felt VERY SAFE. I did not in anyway feel conscious walking around with my camera(s). I always ask to take photos and generally 90% of the time it was Yes.
What I didn’t like:
The amount of plastic used for everything was quite shocking.
The large michi no eki - free campsites with facilities are to be avoided especially as the Japanese also like to keep their cars/trucks running but they are safe and clean. The smaller ones are much better.
The thing is we all have our own unique experiences, I think it’s useful and interesting to pull information and see what other people have done but we are all different and our circumstances are different. Travelling with children has a huge impact at well.
Finally for this post: CAMERA EQUIPMENT
I have had a few questions about what photographic equipment I took on this trip (which was NOT a work trip).
One backpack which I did buy for the trip. I went to a camera shop to try them out and in the end I bought this one: WANDRD - PRVKE Lite 11 L bag which was big enough to fit in a computer, two cameras, cables, a book, and a pouch + more. The bag was also light enough for me to carry around during the day.
A tripod which I also bought a new lightweight one for the trip - I also tried it out in a camera shop and opted for this one: Gitzo GK1555T-82TQD * Â
Two cameras: My sony 7III with a 24-70mm lens and my sony 7IV with a 50mm lens
Computer
Battery charger for iphone etc
A hard drive - for this trip I took a Samsung Portable SSD (small and compact)
4 batteries & a charger
A bunch of memory cards
A lot of cables and then you realise how much we are reliant on electricity and different cables especially when in a camper van with limited power!
And remember Back up Back up Back up! You don’t want to lose those precious photos.
In my next post I’ll talk more about where we visited and show more photographs of the people and places we saw.
Thank you for reading and hope this was of some interest to you. If you have any questions or thoughts then please do let me know.
Joanna x
Looks and sounds beautiful and serene, not least for a first post with no people in your lovely pics!