Japan Through The Eyes of A First-Time Traveler | Part 1

Japan's reputation precedes it. The land of the rising sun, in my head, was a glorious country that couldn't do any wrong. After spending two weeks in the country, I realized my mistake. I shouldn't have placed it on a pedestal. Japan isn't perfect, but it does a lot of things right. Pretty much like knowing people, exploring Japan as it is with all its beauty and imperfections leaves a lasting impression of wonder - the type that will make you want to visit it again.

This is the first part of my Japan travel series and before I begin, I'd like to say that this is my first time doing such. In this series, I tell my stories as they are. I will do a highlights post real soon, to help those interested travelers get to know the country even more. With those out of the way, let's start. Shall we?

Even from up above, I already knew I was in Japan with the organized fields and all

I came to Japan not solely on my own interest, it was more like an act of seizing the opportunity. My boyfriend's family kindly extended the invitation to me and they generously paid most of my expenses. We also went there after the last day of the board examinations; so, I haven't prepped my mind to take in Japan with an unbiased perspective.

As it was summer season (May-June) when we went there, I packed 2 denim jackets and 2 sweaters just in case "warm" to the Japanese was a few degrees lower than our definition of "warm." With a packed luggage in one hand a full handbag in another, I got a taxi to the airport. I arrived early of course, I didn't want to miss my flight. My boyfriend and his family arrived a few minutes after. They were carrying a month's worth of luggage with them! Emphasis on month. We were staying for two weeks in Japan and I wondered why they were bringing so much. I found out later why that was and you just have to read until the end to find out why! It's worth it, I swear. So we checked in, paid the terminal fee, went to boarding and my boyfriend and I kept ourselves occupied by talking about the board exams. Another reason why I was so intent in going to Japan was - I was really scared of the board exam results. I was even more afraid when my boyfriend's answers differed from my mine. I comforted myself with the thought that "If I fail, at least I'm going to spend my time crying in a beautiful country." So, we hopped on to the plane, with excitement and fright battling their place in my heart.

The flight lasted for four hours. We got to Narita Airport and met my boyfriend's sister who just landed from London. I forgot to mention that on the plane, we were asked to fill out two forms, I think it was an Embarkation form and Goods form? I forgot the official name of the two but I will check them out for you when I can. We signed another form (basically telling immigration that we had a place to stay) in the airport before we were to go to immigration. As we were overwhelmed by the speed that these processes were done, Wayne's (my boyfriend) father, had to fill up the form three times before he got it right. Erasures weren't allowed. An airport staff got a bit irritated about our delay. Wayne's sister then took over the writing and we went on our way. We then rented a portable wifi device in the airport. We got our JR passes(?) right after. We then went to the Narita Express station to proceed to Tokyo. The train ride was so quiet! I didn't mind. It was just so weird that when I opened a pack of cake, I had to make sure that I was super quiet because I saw from an anime once that Japanese considered it rude to eat in open, public spaces. I was just so hungry and I think that the area where we were seated was well-hidden enough. I took a bite off my cake as silently as I possibly could.

The picturesque Narita Airport

We were now in Tokyo! I was so overwhelmed with the number of people that I was seeing. People wearing business attires, rushing to catch their trains, people sporting the Harajuku fashion, tourists like us. To say that Tokyo is a busy city is an understatement. I got on my first ever express train! The family with their month's worth of luggage went through too.

Busy was every Japanese's middle name

My first express train ticket

Happy train passengers

The place where we were supposed to stay was in Shin-Okubo, better known as Korea Town. Most of my Japanese students ask me why we were staying in Korea Town in Japan. Well, we wanted the best of both worlds or countries, so. I remember walking a couple of blocks with our luggage to our place. It was quite a long walk but I consoled myself with the fact that I got to observe the place with my own eyes and pace. It was still so full of people - stylish people! The town was filled with Korean shops and food shops. The Korean influence was hard to miss! There were women in their 40's wearing shirts but their outfits were far from ordinary. I was feeling a bit underdressed with my denim jacket, rubber shoes and all. But maybe it was just me. Despite it being summer, there was a cool breeze that made you shiver alright, I mentally patted myself in the back for wearing a jacket.

K-pop merchandise stores filled the neighborhood

I found myself an oppa

We arrived at the place and it was in this Japanese apartment that was so quiet as well. We even joked amongst ourselves that the Japanese can immediately tell Filipinos were living in an apartment floor with the noise. The place had a homey feel to it. It was quaint and it had four queen-sized beds. What caught my attention was the bath. There was a square-shaped tub that was hip deep on the outside. Attached to it was a shower that you can switch from cold to hot. It does this because a burner is inside. It was literally connected to a gas tank which most Filipino moms would consider unsafe. But, I thought, this was Japan. This is safe.

Our cozy place

Remember the month's worth of luggage that the family brought with them? One luggage was actually filled with food! From biscuits to ketchup and even Jollibee! Wayne's sister from London missed having Jollibee so much that she asked for her mom to bring some to Japan. Wayne's brother had a Filipina friend (who was working in Japan for quite a while already) who missed Jollibee too. So we had just that for dinner. The thought of eating Filipino food in Japan makes me laugh until now. It wasn't only food though, Wayne's mom also brought a massage device with her! I swear, his mom was a girl scout. I now get were Wayne and his siblings got their scout genes from.

After we had our fill of the food, Wayne, his sister, her boyfriend and I went strolling around the town. Tokyo at night was beautiful. Apart from the Korean shops selling Kpop merchandise, the town was flooded with convenience stores - 7-eleven, Lawson and Family Mart. The air and street were so clean that walking long distances was almost a pleasure. We saw a lot of Pachinko places that gave us a glimpse of the Japanese night life. Of course we couldn't pass the opportunity to get our drinks from a "vendo."

A glimpse of the Japanese night life

Of course, we had to try the vendo!

As the office wokers were about to go to their homes to end their days, these tourists were just starting to witness their journey unfold.

Thanks for reading the first part of my Japan travel series! Any Japanese Steemian out there who wish to report us to Customs for bringing Jollibee? Haha, see you in the next part :)

With love,
@thegaillery