Travels In Japan

Introductory Disclaimer

Firstly I need to make a disclaimer, I have spent a total of 10 days in Japan on two separate visits. On both occasions I didn't leave Tokyo, however, as that is probably more than the average westerner, I shall consider myself an expert and continue to pass judgement/wisdom.

Unfortunately as a business traveler you rarely get time to engage in the culture or history of a nation so you tend to notice other things. 

Food

Food is taken very seriously in Japan, even an everyday "stop on the way home from work" and eat for £15 including beer would make a far more expensive establishment in the UK look bad. Every dish is served with MasterChef precision arrangements that perfectly matches the plastic model outside and photograph in the menu. The plastic food even extended to the University Canteen. I strongly recommend if you don't  speak Japanese that you choose a restaurant with the plastic models, if things get bad, you can always persuade the waitress to accompany you to the plastic model so that you can point at what you want.

Arrangement of Plastic Food so that you know what to expect.

There is an enormous variety of Japanese food, if you though that Japanese food consisted of Sushi and Teriyaki Salmon, you are wrong. There is a mind numbing variety and it can be purchased at very reasonable prices.

Some type of Salad

Japanese BBQ

The real thing

That said I do recommend trying Sushi in Japan so you know what it is supposed to be like. I also recommend trying the Japanese BBQ, though the Chick Gizzard was not my favorite.

Throughout Tokyo I was more than often presented with an English menu which does make things a bit easier. However, some of the translations may not have been accurate  I was not sure what an "Amusement" was but I think I ate one.

Finally, the following advice may not apply to all overseas cities but the best meal I had was up an alley by one of the major train stations (see the Sushi which with a Kirin Beer cost £12).

The best meal I had, complete with two old guys at the bar whose only words I could understand were "Greenpeace". Not sure what was going on but the Sushi Chef seemed to agree and I think they were not keen on the organisation

Bowing 

I am ashamed to admit that my Japanese does not go much beyond "Yes","Hello" and "Thank You". I don't know the word for "No" but I am given to understand that saying No in Japan is far more complicated anyway. I am pretty convinced that my pronunciation of "Thank You" was less than perfect, judging by the lady in the souvenir shop who had to go out to the store room to compose herself after she started giggling. However, my mumbled attempts which I always accompanied by a bowing to match theirs normally got a smile back.

The Trains

According to Google 13.23Million people live in the greater Tokyo Area and most of them use the train. You have all probably seen the YouTube video as station attendants do a running charge at the passengers to get the doors closed and I can believe this. However, unlike other parts of the world: London, Bejing etc.. the people do genuinely make an effort not to crush you to death. That said the train system is fast, efficient and clean. Most places in the world I would get off the plane and take a taxi, only braving public transport once I had taken advice from a local. However, Tokyo is an exception to that rule, The Narita Express (which runs from the airport to central Tokyo) initially feels like a StarTrek episode and is a user friendly.

The Tokyo subway is not a single company, you often have to change network to complete your journey. This may involve leaving one station and going into another next door (though there is often a cut-through if you study the signs carefully). Most of the signs in Tokyo are in English as many of the train networks make announcements in English, so not speaking Japanese need not stop you.

There are two main ways of paying: 

1. You have an RFID card (like an Oyster card in London) which you simply swipe at each station and in hindsight I ought to have bought one. A handy hint I learned after I arrived is that you should buy this with you train ticket for the Narita Express (main train line from the airport to the city). Make sure you go for the Sucia deal, this gets you the card with 1500Yen on it and can be charged up. 
2. You need to buy a ticket at the station at the start of your journey, there will be a subway map on the wall and which tells you the price to each station in the vicinity and you buy a ticket to that value. However, the station names on the price map are not always listed in English. So hint of the day : "The fare Adjustment Machine is your freind" - At each station there is a machine by the outbound ticket barrier that allows you to upgrade your ticket if it is insufficient  Therefore if in doubt about the correct priced ticket, buy the cheapest and adjust the fare upward on arrival.

The Fare Adjustment Machine is your Friend

Taxis

Unlike most Japanese services where the staff cannot be too helpful, Taxis come as a surprise  I was in the supermarket when the queue at the till reached 3 long and the member of staff then started hammering a bell with increasing urgency which caused the other staff who had been stacking shelves to come running down the store to serve me. Taxis on the other hand have a series of internal levers that allow the driver to release the rear passenger side door and boot without leaving his seat. The Taxi will come to a stop the door will pop open and you are expected to get in.

Vending Machines

There are vending machine everywhere (and not the Cola kind you find in the UK). I am told you can find a wide variety of things sold in them though the one in my Hotel sold beer and I stopped looking past that.

The Hotel vending machine complete with Beer

The Bathroom

In most places in the world you would probably be alarmed if you saw electrical cable coming from the toilet seat. In Japan you should not be alarmed, up to this point in your life you may never have missed an electrical toilet seat heater and a range of other features. 

My only word of advice is that if you are planning to press all the buttons to find out what happens, do it in the privacy of your Hotel room. Sooner or later the temptation to press the "lady button" to see what happens will probably get the better of you.

Wiring coming of the toilet seat 

The instructions (note that you can adjust the water pressure for you liking)

Conclusion

Mainly because of my job, I have had the chance to see more of the world than many people but Japan remains one of the places where you remain genuinely surprised by things. Rather than simply noticing the same stuff as back home served with a strange accent, these surprises include the very small and compact nature of things to the ordered harmony.