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The Journey to Japan!

Re-establishing connection to the Kyoto channel…

Connected!

June 25th, Monday

Woke up late, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Still, I was able to comfortably take my time packing my bags before it was time to check out from the hotel.

Connecting to the Osaka channel…

Connected!

Although it was incredibly hot, I wasn’t worried as I figured I wouldn’t be outside for too long during my rides on the train and bus. The only problem was that I had difficulties figuring out which bus I needed to ride. It took me a good 45 minutes of wandering around and asking people nearby for help. Finally, after almost literal tears and sweat, I was able to find the right bus I needed to take in order to get to the ryokan.

When I got off the bus, I started to walk in the direction of where the ryokan was supposedly located at. I was expecting a rustic building reminiscent of old feudal Japan, however I instead found a rather modern looking building. There was no other building around so I figured this had to be the one. It was much larger than I had expected though!

Upon entering the building, I was impressed with how fancy it had looked! I chose this particular ryokan as it had better prices than the other ones I had seen. It may be because every other hotels and Airbnb I had stayed at previously were so small, but I was simply overwhelmed with how spacious the lobby was!

After checking in at the front desk, I was told the breakfast is free, but I could also eat dinner (which would be at an additional cost). I figured why not, as I had decided I really did not care to go anywhere after practically being beat down by the sun. There was also an option as to when you’d prefer to board the shuttle towards the closest train station. I was impressed with how thorough the check-in process was.

I was later guided by a staff member to my room. I specifically remember how odd it felt to be practically pampered by the staff. In fact, the lady who was trying to guide me into my room seemed to almost sensory overload when I was trying to set my shoes nicely when entering. In any case, she not only showed me to my room, she also poured some tea into a cup for me and gave me instructions as to where the facilities were along with the rules one had to follow when using said facilities.

In any case, it was after I was in my room that I found out why they had advertised this ryokan as a traditional inn. While the building and their facilities may not exactly carry that “traditional” feel to them, the rooms where you sleep do. Inside the room, there were sliding doors, tatami mats, and a futon. Next to the futon, there was a tray that included all the little amenities you would normally find in a hotel. There was one other item included that I thought was pretty neat: a yukata. Sure, it was a kind of a bland color, but it was still nice! Decided to wear it just for the occasion.

Another one of the selling points of this ryokan was the onsen they had. Even though they were not natural hot springs, it was still really nice and relaxing. The one thing that I was not happy with was the fact the brand of soap and shampoo they used were that OF A HORSE KIND! I THOUGHT I ABANDONED YOU BACK AT FUSHIMI INARI SHRINE!!

Nevertheless, I took my time to enjoy the bath as much as I could. I even went back and forth from the hot outdoor bath and the (oddly really small) cold bath inside. It didn’t take long before I felt like I was going to pass out from staying in the bath for so long. I used to wonder why that would be such a typical thing to happen in those public baths until that moment

And before anyone asks: Yes, after I finished taking a bath, I drank a bottle of milk. Though I cheated and got some fruit flavored milk. I just can’t stand normal milk.

From there, nothing of real interest happened. I had initially debated whether or not I wanted to go back out and check out points of interest around Osaka, however I decided to rest. With nothing better to do, I just roamed around the hotel and explored. Most of it was exactly what you’d expect from a large hotel, but there were a few places that seemed to give off that “horror movie” setting. Needless to say, I definitely did not venture farther into those areas!

The only other thing that I did while I was waiting for dinner was take pictures of my nendoroids. There were a lot of opportunities for me to do so. There were a couple attempts I made to have them stand on a ledge, however there was a risk they’d fall off. In fact, they did fall off, making my heart jump. Thankfully the ledge was right above the futon, so they were safe!

I actually had lost track of time a bit and found out I was running a little late to eat dinner. Although that was the case, I wasn’t really too worried as I figured they wouldn’t have a really strict time slot. It was a Monday, after all. Thankfully I was correct and it was not an issue at all.

Dinner was… interesting. When I was seated, I was waiting for a menu to come up. When no one came to give one to me, I just assumed it was a fixed course meal. Turns out I was right.

Everything they brought to me was interesting. It was also the first time where I asked myself the same question every time they brought a dish to me: “What is this?” I’ve said this several times and I’ll say it again: Japanese food, while they’ve definitely nailed presenting the food with great aesthetics, always seemed to lack any flavor that’d leave an impression. With everything that came up, I was always left feeling the same way. “What’s this? Looks interesting. I guess that’s what it was, only interesting. Tasted okay.” That was fine though. It filled me up enough and that’s all I needed. Still, the presentation of the dishes and the timing of when they’d bring the food was pretty impressive!

When I finished, I spent most of my time just relaxing in my room, drinking all the tea they had available. I really enjoyed my time there and decided if I were to book a room in a ryokan, I’ll definitely have to stay for more than just a day!

June 26th, Tuesday

When I woke up, I had debated whether or not if I really wanted to get breakfast. I was still feeling a little tired after having a bit of a coughing fit that night. I hated the idea of not being able to take advantage of what was free for all patrons, so I went anyway.

Like most hotels that serve a complimentary breakfast, it was in a buffet style. The variety of items was shocking! They even had kimchi! Of course I had to see if that tasted alright, but I had some suspicions it wouldn’t meet up to my standards.

It was absolutely terrible.

Everything I had chosen met what I had expected, but the kimchi ended up tasting worse than I had thought it would. I don’t think I’ve ever had kimchi as bad as the one I had at the ryokan. This was the first time in my life where I needed to eat something with the kimchi to make it edible rather than the other way around. I could not have been as disappointed as I had been that day.

I thought about taking another bath, but decided against it. I didn’t want to cut it too close with my check out time, so I just went ahead and packed up to get to my next destination, Hiroshima!

I managed to get everything packed in time and boarded the shuttle I had chosen to board. As we were leaving, there were two staff members that came out from the hotel to the side of the shuttle. The moment we were about to leave, they rolled down a banner thanking us for staying with them. I thought that was pretty neat and further displayed the level of professionalism I had noticed throughout my stay in the hotel!

Hiroshima is pretty far away, so I had to travel back to the closest station where I could ride another shinkansen. Just like last time, I stayed on my laptop to try and catch up as much as I could in my writing. I couldn’t really find a good momentum, however, and ended up watching some more Darling in the Franxx episodes. I’ve become extremely hooked now!

Connecting to the Hiroshima channel…

Connected!

If there was one thing I definitely noticed when I got out of the station was just the overall feel of the area. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what felt different about it, however it felt noticeable enough that I still remember to this day. Perhaps it was the grey weather, perhaps it was the fact it was my second to last day there, perhaps it was nothing. Regardless of what it actually was, I tried my best not to let it get the best of me. After all, I still had time to do things! But first, I had to drop my stuff off at the Airbnb place I had booked.

Now let me tell you about how amazing the Airbnb host is. Out of everything that I had to deal with when preparing for my trip, my host Yukiko made sure nothing would go wrong. Her communication was perhaps the absolute best I had ever seen from anyone online. As with most hosts, she had sent instructions on how to get to her apartment, how to get the key, and what to expect in her apartment. What she also did was keep me updated on the Airbnb policy updates. She knew this was an issue that would worry any patrons of Japanese Airbnb hosts. With that in mind, she had sent me an email letting me know that she was on her way to get her listing registered. When I had sent messages inquiring a bit more on where her apartment was exactly located at, she responded quickly and provided me with the exact information I had needed.

Yukiko was the best Airbnb host I have ever had the pleasure of working with. That was before I got inside. Upon entering the studio apartment, I noticed very quickly just how cozy it was! On the kitchen, there were a few snacks Yukiko had provided as little gifts! My god, I seriously can not tell you just how much I had appreciated every little bit of this. It makes all the other Airbnb locations I stayed at pale in comparison. If it sounds like I’m practically writing a review of Yukiko and endorsing her, that’s because I am. If any of you guys are ever in Hiroshima by yourself, I insist you book her apartment. You will not regret it! Anyway…

After I dropped everything off, I went out to find something to eat. I didn’t really want to spend too at this point, so I decided to try the Moss Burger chain a try. It ended up being how I had expected: a slightly better fast food burger joint. The only thing that really stood out was how the restaurant was made. When you first enter, you see the typical lobby with the counter and a few tables to sit at. Further from that, there’s a section that’s separated by a glass wall. This was the smoker’s area. I couldn’t help but find it so funny looking. It was almost as though it was specifically designed for people to view smoker’s similar a zoo spot. It was another instance where I was pretty proud of America for generally abandoning the smoker’s area in their establishments.

There were two places I wanted to check out after I finished eating: Hiroshima Castle and the Hiroshima Atom Bomb Dome. Since it was closer, I decided to check the castle out first. Out of all the castles I had seen up until then, I found the Hiroshima castle to be very underwhelming. The only building that you could enter could hardly be considered worth checking out. It was like a very small museum with several signs describing the history of the castle. At least there were no admission fees!

Next up, the Hiroshima Atom Bomb Dome (or otherwise known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial). This was one of the biggest reasons as to why I wanted to visit Hiroshima. When I got there, I wasn’t sure if I was at the right place until I saw the ruins of the building fenced off from the public. It was pretty jarring, seeing the destruction left by the nuclear explosion. In fact, as I kept looking, I was getting strong Fallout vibes from it, a video game featuring a dystopian future caused by nuclear warfare. There was also a stray cat that started wandering inside the building further creating that dystopian atmosphere.

Satisfied with the pictures I took, I went to spend the rest of my day back at the apartment. It was time to be a bit more frugal, so I stopped by a convenience store to get a microwaveable dinner as well.

Another small amenity Yukiko had provided in the Airbnb included was a sizeable amount of tea. If all I’m gonna do is lounge and wait for the day to end, you bet I’m gonna drink all the tea that’s available! Thankfully it wasn’t just green tea, but also darjeeling. Man, another point for Yukiko!

Day falls and the night rises only to allow the sun to appear once more.

 

June 27th, Wednesday

It’s the final day in Japan. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to go back home for a while and I was pretty relieved to know this would be the last day. There really isn’t much to say other than the fact most of the day was spent making sure I got to the airport in time. I didn’t even take any pictures with my camera as going home was my only focus.

When I did ride the shinkansen though, I started talking with someone named Heather. I had originally thought most of my ride would be spent just trying to pass the time as much as I could, but I actually really enjoyed Heather’s company, chatting most of the ride away. While we were talking though, one of the attendants came by and asked for our pass. After taking a quick look at Heather’s, he let us know that we were technically not allowed on that particular train (Nozomi) as the regular rail pass does not cover for that one. However since we were obviously already on train, he said we were fine. Just something to keep in mind in the future. I was totally alright with it as I was on my way back home anyway!

Really, it was pretty uneventful all the way to the airport otherwise. On the plane ride from Japan to LAX, there was a gentleman who was sitting next to me that I ended up chatting with for a while. Since the plane didn’t really offer great charging speeds for my laptop, it really helped kill time!

When I was waiting for my plane at LAX to go back to Washington, I actually had almost missed it. Looks like Tikbalang was trying to get me stranded again! Not today! I actually double checked the flight schedule to see if they had changed the gates (as I noticed the sign wasn’t displaying the correct plane I needed to board). I noticed just in time and managed to get onto the plane with little worries.

And finally, I was back home after what felt like forever. It was nice being back home where it was no longer humid!

Really, that was when I realized that two weeks was definitely more than enough time to spend anywhere that isn’t home. Although there were easily several things that I would have liked to visit, I was starting to feel the fatigue from being away for so long. Calls with my parents back at home along with pictures of my dogs helped, but also made me want to go back even more as well.

One of the things that definitely made this experience much better than I would have imagined was the fact that I was not only able to meet up with a friend I knew living there, but I also got to meet up with three different friends who happened to be visiting Japan the same time I was! The odds of all of them being in the same country, around the same time, and around the same area is ridiculous! I don’t think I would have had as much fun as I did if they were not around. I just hope I also helped add on to their experience as they did for me!

And that’s it! Not much of a big finale and that’s in part due to the fact the funniest, most eventful stuff happened in the Animaren saga. Eventually, however, I will probably write up an entirely different post with my thoughts on my experience with Japan.

With that said, I wanted to thank all of my readers for keeping up with the updates! I’ll be back to my regular schedule of little to no activity whatsoever! Until next time~

Logging off.

Disconnecting from servers…

Thank you for reading The Journey to Japan!