Turning Japanese

I love Japan...I didnt expect to, not with the crowds and the "big city" atmosphere but I think we fell in love with the place. It honestly comes down to my simple principles of life...the people are amazingly polite and kind, the food was good (big ol plus) and it was really clean.  Anyone that knows me knows that I have a mild OCD when it comes to cleaning. I don't walk barefoot, sheets must be clean, etc. Well, I must have found heaven in Tokyo! Our room was so clean, it was like being at home!! The staff was so nice and I really got used to the bowing...The piece de la resistance was the awesome automated toilet in our room...There is NOTHING better in life than a heated toilet seat!!!! It was wonderfully cold in Tokyo, complete with snow on the ground. We arrived in Tokyo after a long, painful 12 hour flight from San Francisco. Although we were exhausted, we were excited to start our journey. The first thing we noted was the efficency of the airport. The customs and immigration line was non-existant and it was complete with nice policemen to usher you to the shortest line. Our luggage came out within minutes of us hitting the baggage claim and we actually easily found transportation to our hotel! Simple! The only hitch was the ride to the hotel. I had no idea that the Tokyo-Narita airport is actaully no where near Tokyo...Seems like the airport name is a misnomer. I think the airport was actually closer to Hawaii than to central Tokyo. We got on a nice, heated motorcoach and proceeded to drive 2 hours into central Tokyo...oh well, it was still a smooth trip thus far.
The next thing I noticed was the bowing and the extreme politeness of everyone. Anyone that you made eye contact with immediately folllowed with a nice bow. From the time we exited the bus at the front of the hotel to the time we made it to the reservations deck I bowed no less than 10 times to random people.  I think the thing in Japan is service above all else. There were people, standing around at the hotel who's sole purpose was to look out for any log-jams, lines or anything that could annoy you and immediately make it better. We never stood in a line. We kept getting ushered from one place to the next. It was awesome. (Bow, bow)
We also got a shocking dose of reality on our first meal in Japan. That place is expensive!!! Whew! We decided that after a $100 noodle dinner we would walk around more and price compare!

On our second day, we decided to do a day trip to Mt Fuji and a small village, Hokone. We had an cute little tour guide, Tadashi, who entertained us on the way up about Japanese Shogun history and information about the mountain. Mt. Fuji is the tallest point in Japan and also a huge volcano.  The special thing about the mountain is that it is usally very hard to see because of the beautiful cloud cover but winter time is the best opportunity to see the peak. We had a dose of amazing luck that day. Not only did we see the peak without clouds but it was such a clear, cold day!! It had just snowed and it looked like the set of a Japanese movie.  It was a memorable day. We actually dressed right for the weather!!!! Here is our pic with the beautiful Mt. Fuji in the background.

 On the long trip back into Tokyo, our guide, Tadashi kept us entertained with oragami paper tricks. We both tried our hand at the art of paper folding...see:

The most fun of the day was riding the famed Japanese "Bullet Train" back into the city of Tokyo from Hokone. Normally it is a 3 hour drive by car but the Bullet Train turned that into a quick 30min ride. We were armed with directions on how to ride the train and did just fine by ourselves, even though we had to make 3 connections. Once again, the Japanese were horribly nice and helped us several times navagate the station when we looked lost. One business man actually walked us to our train and almost missed his!

My only gripe about Japan? The toilets. I cannot tell you how happy i was to see "Western style Toilets". The alternative?

Overall, I wasn't ready to leave Tokyo. I really thought that it would be fun to explore a little more...I really thought the people were nice, the city was big and clean and I really loved the super punctuality of everyone!!! No sitting around waiting for no reason here! I'm sure one day, we may come back, but only if I can find Western Toilets!

Check out our pictures of Japan: Bruce and Carmen in Japan