KYOTO, JAPAN - February 20, 2000
I spent the weekend in Japan. Actually this was my third time to that country. Its always an interesting country, but always so expensive.
This time I flew into Osaka, and it cost me about $15 to take express train from the airport to the edge of the subway. Then I processed the work visa which cost another $60, and then the subway to the train that would take me to Kyoto, which was another $3.. so as you can see.. the costs kept adding up.. quickly! each subway ride.. was between $2-3... and later, so were the buses, etc., etc.
Well, the basic trip involved Osaka friday and sunday afternoon, and Kyoto friday night, all day saturday, and sunday night.. here are my observations...
One of the more interesting moments.. was the first subway i got on.. and i saw two large posters advertising "Michigan". Actually I've only met two people in my life who ever visited Michigan.. and it was a Japanese couple.. i met them on my plane trip to korea.. (i had layover in tokyo), and the older japanese couple took a trip to several US destinations including michigan, and when they found out that that was where i spent my youth, they never stopped talking about it, they loved it. They were the first people I've ever met who had ever traveled as a tourist to Michigan. So when I saw the Michigan posters in the subway, it kind of shocked me, because then I realized that maybe for Japanese, its actually a tourist attraction, which really amazed me. Even more amazing was, as as obsessed traveler, who checks the Lonely Planet guidebooks regularly, I saw a brand new book entitled "The Great Lakes" which has lots of Michigan information, and now I"m seeing the wasteland that I thought I grew up in as a possible travelers destination.
Another observation, which I've always noticed regarding Japan, is the technology. The one I was most aware of thist time, was a lever the taxi drivers have, which automatically opens and closes the back passengers door. Often as I walked by a taxi, they flung the door open for me, but as I can't afford the taxis, I'd just continue walking by, so they'd shut it again, all with a lever near the driver.
The other thing I noticed was the severe lack of Internet Cafes. That kind of reminded me of being in the USA, because you had to do some research to find out where to use the internet. It could have been they were all written in Japanese, but I actually had a hostel conversation about this one night, and none of the long-term expats really knew what of anywhere. By chance, I did find one, and it was written in 3 languages - japanese, english, and korean. I went inside to find out the cost, and saw a Korean guy who worked there, and we actually spoke in Korean. I would have stayed, but it was about $5/hour, just like in the USA, so it wasn't anything like the commonplace, 5 on every corner, $1/hour internet cafe, much like I"m using right now. That would be a hard adjustment to make, if I ever made the transition to Japan, (but I actually prefer Korea much more, so...)
Japanese fashion is also really interesting... for men, this involved growing your hair out, and then perming it, to give a shaggy unkempt look. Also, thrift stores and levis blue jeans, are all the rage, so those are musts as well.
The women have a more unique style. It involves finding the highest platform shoes you can find.. the kind that adds about 5 inches to the bottom of your feet.. this is accompanyed by the shortest miniskirt you can possibly find.. and usually no stockings.. just bare legs.. wich boots that come up to the knees.. and miniskirts.. which just barely cover anything at all...
Most of my Kyoto time involved going from temple to temple to temple. Kyoto was such a beautiful city, but it was the off-season, so the trees and flowers and many rivers, probably weren't quite as beautiful as they would have been any ohter time of the year. It was still a beautiful place though.
Oh, and another one of my favorite things about Japan, is the many outdoor vending machines. Since beer and everything was so expensive, I walked around friday night, and bought beer from the vending machines, as I took a walking tour around the city.
My other big destination was Osaka. As nice as Kyoto was, I preferred the energy of Osaka more, but the last few years I"ve been living in cities like Sao Paulo, New York City, and Seoul, so I"ve probably developed a taste for that kind of thing.
One of the more interesting parts of Osaka for me, was 'American Village'. There was a statue of libery on top of an apartment building, another statue of a red, blue, and white cow with cowboy on another building, and a big Uncle Sam like character with red, white, and blue on top of a thrift store. There were also some grafitti walls nearby, just two sides of one building - to give it more of the American feel. The entire area was filled with funky fashion clothing shops, thrift stores, and all kinds of the alternative youth culture things equipped with blaring American hip-hop, techno, and groovy sounds coming from every speaker around. There were even a few really authentic african-americans who were passing out some club information in the area. Maybe the strangest part of the 'American Village' was when I suddenly saw a mini-mall with a Disney store, set right in the middle of this kind of alternative Americana stores.
Oh, I should probably try to describe why I prefer Korea over Japan. Actually I like everything about Japan, but there are a few things about Korea I just happen to like better. For one, everything is much more affordable on a teachers salary, so I can enjoy going out in the evening without any financial thoughts going through my head. Also, I really love Korean food, Korean writing is really easy to read, internet cafes are extremely commonplace, and i think korean girls are much more prettier, and I'm probably just more familiar with Korea, and have alot of really good friends here. But if it wasn't for those reasons, I do think Japan is a fascinating place.
Well, next time I write, I'll try to get into my new apartment and situation, and what daily life is like for me now that I"m working regularly. Until then.. probably 10 days from now...
Next Journal Entry in Seoul:
March 5, 2001
You can email me at:
Wintermoon2@yahoo.com