Real Japan

I went up to 'real' Japan for 2 weeks of work and I was shocked, once again, at how different life in Okinawa is.  I noticed all the little details when I first arrived in Oki, like the need for cars, diet differences, etc.  Now I'm starting to realize how different I am in Okinawa vs real Japan...and apparently I'm starving for Japanese conversation.  It's also apparent that I'm a glutton for punishment because I visited 4 major cities (Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, and Fukuoka) over those 2 weeks...I need a nap

Anyway, to remedy my need for Japanese, my coworkers were kind enough to take me to some very chill whiskey and snack bars.  I've mentioned snack bars before but without too much elaboration, snack bars are bars with female staff, usually with an older woman in charge, and the staff hang out with you and mooch off of your booze all night.  So after a few drinks of liquid courage and a shot of fluency juice, my (limited) Japanese was pouring out of me and I truly felt better about being in Japan.  All was right with the world...the booze and the karaoke certainly helped too.

Real Japan, particularly the big cities I visited, also has a certain 'feel' to it.  The hustle, the energy, the faint smell of soy sauce and urine...It just feels right.    

Plus...THE WOMEN.  They are seriously on a completely different level.  Okinawa is playing pee wee football while real Japan is playing no holds barred MMA with flamethrowers, in SPACE.  I appreciate Oki's weather and laid back lifestyle, but that translates to laziness when it comes to fashion.  Sometimes you want to see insanely thin women rocking 8" boots and 4" skirts in a snow storm and looking fine as hell doing it.  

What was I talking about?  Ah, the mainland is awesome.  Okinawa is just too full of us foreigners to make it feel 'special'.  Plus, Okinawans see gaijin every day so they  treat you like real people instead of racist stereotypes or ask if you can use chopsticks.  Whats up with that??

Business Hotel Room...cause I thought it would be classier than showing a picture of the above mentioned hotty in 8" boots.

Okinawa

Well, I'm officially off to Okinawa to live for a couple years starting in December.  I told myself I wouldn't go there because it isn't REAL Japan but the more I look into it, Okinawa is looking pretty chill.  I mean, what's not to like about an island with good food, local booze (awamori) and tanned Japanese girls?

All the military bases and white people?  Yeah, that is probably going to suck, but I'm hoping it is just more motivation to perfect my Japanese and set myself away from the herd.  I've heard there are places off the military bases that accept dollars, so that is kind of a bummer too.   Public transportation?  I've heard that is also crap...damn, Okinawa is starting to sound a lot like America.

Before I make myself too sad, I need to think of more good things. Okinawa has the most centenarians, so kudos to the old folks.  Lots of good SCUBA locations and a brewery in close proximity. What else..what else...ah, it is still Japan and therefore awesome. I feel better now.

Okinawa, often called the Hawaii of Japan, is not THAT far from the 4 main islands.  A couple hours and a ~$50 ticket from a low cost airline later and you can be in Kansai living it up.

2 more weeks.  Sayonara old life, and Haisai Okinawa.

夜行バス - Night Bus

While the nightbus can be a great way to catch a cold and some lower back pain, it is also my favorite means of travel in Japan. I just recently went from Osaka to Toyko then from Yamanashi to Osaka with a total cost of less than 一万円 (Convert To Dollars). I strongly recommend the night bus for anyone out there looking to travel around Japan for a host of reasons....which are:

1) It's Cheap - As mentioned above, night bus travel is dirt cheap. There are a LOT of companies out there, and a lot of demand for travel which is a great recipe for competition and cheap fares. I usually take the cheapest buses (about 3000 yen from Osaka to Tokyo one way) but if you value comfort they offer buses with better seats, WIFI, and more space for an extra one to two thousand yen. Sure you could spend 4X that on the shinkansen and get their in 1/4 the time, but wouldn't you rather arrive with an extra ichiman in your pocket to spend on souvenirs booze, or your plane ticket to get to Japan in the first place?

2) They're everywhere! Even in rural ass Japan (Yamanashi) they had a pick up spot along the expressway. The pick-up was basically a rest stop for travelers between two big cities. The rural stops tend to be more expensive, but still a good way to travel, but the buses do show up early so it is best to get there 20 min before your departure. My buddy and I had to sprint through a food court and parking lot because the bus driver was calling to ask where we were...15 minutes before the scheduled departure!

3) Rest Stops - The buses I've been on stop every 2 hours or so. In my half awake fog I don't remember much about the rest stops, but what I do remember is that they sell a lot of regional goods. For example, when traveling to Tokyo from Osaka, the rest stops in between offer the regional Kit Kats from Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, and everywhere in between. It is pretty convenient if you forgot to pick up some omiyage (Japan is a souvenir culture) or if you're like me and just want to try some of the hundreds of Kit Kat flavors (spoiler alert: they're all awesome!)

Rum Raisin (bottom right) actually lists a small alcohol content. It was メッチャ tasty

And the Wasabi (middle left) was less subtle than I remember

4) Touchaku! - Getting to your destination at 6am is pretty awesome. You have the whole day ahead of you so you can go straight to work, breakfast, shower at a manga cafe, wherever. Be sure to pick up a complimentary toothbrush on your way out to cure that morning breath. The down side is most department stores don't open till 10 or 11, so you need to kill some time before you can do some shopping and eat free samples of roll cake and whatnot. I try to get my sight seeing in early before everything gets hot and crowded.

Are there downsides? Of course. You could be stuck sitting next to a salary man that smells like a chimney had sex with a pile of wet garbage, but its all part of the experience!