The week before we left for our 6 week trip to the U..S Randy and I were able to sneak off for a week in Japan. Randy and I have always wanted to go and we knew it would be much easier without kids. Grandma Gertch took amazing care of the boys and they had the best time!
I have never been any place like Japan! It’s really such an amazing place. We flew into Tokyo and spent the night there before we headed to Kyoto.
Randy and I kept a list of the things that we loved about Japan. It grew and grew, here are the highlights.
1) You get a wet towel before every meal, even a fast food place. At a fancy place its steaming hot.
2) There is hand sanitizer everywhere!! With two toddlers who touch everything this was awesome.
3) There are wide sidewalks and streets and its so easy to walk everywhere.
4) The toilets are as amazing as everyone says.
5) The food is even more amazing than they say!
6) When you asked a Japanese person a question and and the answer was no or they didn’t know the answer their face would fall and they really seemed so upset. I almost felt bad asking a question when the answer was no. They would then say sorry 10 times. This was for everything, when you asked directions, when you asked if they sold something in a store, if there was an ATM machine, anything!
7) The Japanese pay painstaking attention to every little detail. This applies to everything, food, architecture, botany, temples. This also applied to the most thoughtful thorough answers with a printout and important points highlighted. We would ask the hotel lobby a question, they would say one minute. They would come back in one minute with the most detailed complete answer.
8) Everyone waits for the walk sign to cross the street. Even on an a completely empty street with no cars or people anywhere around no one crosses until the walk sign is up.
9) There is an amazing train and rail system which allows you to get EVERYWHERE and it leaves exactly on time! We got on our the train from Tokyo to Kyoto that was supposed to leave at 11:30. I turned to Randy at 11:29 and said this train is going to leave late. 30 seconds later the train pulled out of the station!
10) Every window is completely spotless!
11) The taxi drivers wear white gloves and keep the taxis spotless.
12) When you ask where the bathroom is they insist on leading you right to the door. They would never just tell you to go down the hall and turn left.
13) You open the bathroom door and the toilet seat cover lifts right up.
14) People dress so well! No one wears T-shirts and shorts. They were blouses and slacks.
15) Everyone has an Iphone 6. Apple must have made a Yen fortune when they came out.
This country is just so cool! When Randy and I tried to think about what we didn’t like about Japan….it took us a while and here is what we came up with. The hotel rooms are on the small side and the Yakitori has cartilage. After a whole week there these are the only two things we could think of. I would live here in a million year
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