We feel like contestants on the Amazing Race as we run through the train station in Takayama trying to find the platform for our train. The clock is ticking — we only have nine minutes transfer time to catch it.
We frantically scan the signs for the platform number. “I see it,” Noel says. “It’s number 23.”
But how far is it? Will we make it? Trains in Japan leave exactly on time — a few seconds late and you're waving goodbye.
Now, where’s the escalator? I spot it around the corner. We arrive breathless at our platform. Now to find the marker on the platform with our train car number — trains always stop precisely at the right place. There it is. We hop on with two minutes to spare.
Trains stop within centimetres of the exact spot.
Everything looked so easy when we planned at home.
Knowing Japan was experiencing a post-pandemic tourist surge, we decided to begin our journey with the one week Hokuriku Arch Rail Pass as it included destinations off the tourist hot spots.
While we knew that we had to get the actual physical tickets for the pass at a Japan Rail (JR) station in Tokyo, assuming we could buy the pass there as well was dead wrong. We stand in a long line only to be told that the actual pass has to be bought online.
We leave the line, purchase the tickets via my phone and return a little less patiently to the line that has grown substantially in the past few minutes. Reaching the clerk again, we tell her our preselected destinations and choose the train times. Boom, boom, boom, our tickets spit out and she’s on to the next customer.
But why do we have so many tickets, we wonder.
Japan’s Rail System
About 70 percent of Japan’s railway network is operated by JR. The Shinkansen, colloquially known in English as the bullet train for its speed of 320 km/h, celebrated its sixtieth birthday this year. But there are also dozens of other private railway companies.
One of Japan's cutest Shinkansen trains. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Small railway companies operate rail lines in rural areas.
We knew that Japan’s rail system is one of the most advanced in the world. What we didn’t know is how incomprehensible it can be for the novice. It all looked so easy on the videos. Just hop on the train and away you go.
We’re confused from the get go with our rail pass train tickets. Our first destination requires three different trains and three different tickets. We watch as others insert their ticket in the automatic ticket gate and walk through. But no luck for us. Inserting our tickets sets off a beeping sound and closes a small gate. Alarmed, we try again, but to no avail. There’s no one around to ask and we don’t want to miss our train, so we push through the malleable gates.
It’s only later we find out that all tickets for travel in one day must be inserted into the ticket gate at once. It’s an incredibly efficient system — once you know how it operates.
One of Japan's so called "character trains". The station is painted to match.
Rather than heading west, the most popular tourist route to Kyoto, our route heads north to onsen towns — Japanese villages with natural hot springs. Two trains and a bus later we arrive at our first stop, Ikaho Onsen, an historic hot springs town, also known for its 365 stone steps. We are glad to soak our tired feet in the free natural spring foot bath mid-way up the stairway.
The stone stairs are a popular tourist attraction for the Japanese. Photo: Noel Van Raes
My feet feel rejuvenated after a soak in the mineral hot spring bath. Photo: Noel Van Raes
An entrenched part of Japanese culture, these onsen towns usually offer ryokans, traditional Japanese inns that feature natural hot spring baths and include breakfast and dinner. All ryokans provide yukatas, (literally bathing clothes). Like a kimono, but more casual, yukatas are used as a bathrobe or loungewear. They’re worn to breakfast and dinner and we see many Japanese wearing them to walk around town. Neophytes such as ourselves are given instructions on how to wear them.
Noel is delighted to have dinner in the room at our ryokan.
Breakfast is a feast at our ryokan. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Sleeping on the floor takes some getting used to.
Our ryokan includes both a private natural spring bath and separate ones for men and women. Be warned though that bathing suits or any kind of clothing is not allowed in any bath or bath area, public or private. It’s considered unhygienic. No big towels allowed either, only the small one supplied.
Tattoos, for those foreigners who have them, can also cause problems. They’re considered offensive due to their association with Yakuza, a Japanese cartel.
It’s not only the Japanese people who enjoy bathing in hot springs. Ever since we saw photos of snow monkeys (Japanese Macaques) in Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park indulging in the pleasures of bathing in the natural hot springs, we wanted to see them. We are disappointed when our plans go awry and we don't get to the park.
The snow monkeys are still on our bucket list.
But we’re never disappointed by our route that takes in some of the most spectacular scenery in Japan. Winding through the jagged peaks and thick pine forests of the Japanese Alps, we eventually reach Kurobe Gorge where we board an open sided tourist train for a ninety minute tour through the gorge. It is one of the deepest in Japan, where the stunning teal of the Kurobe River cuts through the lush and verdant ravine of its virgin forests.
An extra bonus—we spot a troop of Japanese Macaques monkeys sitting by the tracks watching nonchalantly as we go by.
Kurobe Dam
Stunning teal lake created by the dam.
Bridge across the gorge. Photo: Noel Van Raes
The monkeys remain unconcerned as the train rolls by. Photo: Noel Van Raes
This monkey regards the train with a contemplative eye. Photo: Noel Van Raes
We catch our breath in Takayama, known for its well preserved wooden buildings, where we stay for two nights before heading to Kyoto, the final stop on our seven day rail pass.
Many beautiful buildings have been preserved, some dating back to feudal times. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Japanese tourists enjoy seeing the town the old fashioned way.
While we would travel the route again, we wouldn’t buy a rail pass next time — it’s too rushed getting from place to place. A leisurely pace works for us. We spent our lives hurrying.
Our passes finished, we must now tackle the train ticketing machines — a formidable challenge, even with English instructions. Confusingly, it’s the fare, not the destination, that appears on the touch screen of the ticketing machines. We join groups of people studying a large map of rail routes and find the fare for Kyoto. But how do we reserve
seats? Or the time of departure?
Seeing our indecision, an attendant on duty comes to the rescue and we soon have our tickets.
Ticketing machines.
It's always a lucky day when we find an information volunteer.
Sans a line helper in the next train station, we push a help button located on some machines and poof — we’re startled as an attendant magically pops out from behind a panel that blends into the wall to assist.
But trains aren’t just a mode of transportation in Japan — they’re a cultural and social experience as well.
Public transportation etiquette
The tradition of a quiet train is not merely a preference: it’s a fundamental part of Japanese culture. Respecting personal space and privacy are revered values.
Constant reminders in Japanese, English and Chinese flash across the digital screens urging passengers to silence their phones. If a phone call has to be taken, the passenger must go between cars so as not to disturb anyone. All beeping and any other sounds from a computer or keyboard must be silenced.
Because the concept of personal space is highly regarded, noise is considered intrusive. Loud talking is perceived as rude and never heard, only the odd quiet whisper. Silence creates a peaceful environment for passengers to relax or work, demonstrating consideration and courtesy toward others and maintaining a congenial communal space.
Casually chatting or making small talk with strangers, embedded in North American culture, is not practiced in Japan. I think of our recent train trip to Toronto, when two gentlemen sitting across from us talked our ears off — an experience unheard of in Japan.
Throughout our journey in Japan, we miss that engagement and sense of connection with others that chit chat provides. But we embrace the silence on the train and relish the opportunity for new experiences.
Eating and drinking on trains is permissible, but with some caveats. It’s only allowed on long-distance trains, such as the Shinkansen, as long as the seat has a tray table. Indulging in hot food is a no-no though. It’s considered impolite to subject other passengers to excessive smells.
Most passengers wanting to eat buy a bento box — a Japanese style single-portion take-out lunch box available at all the larger train stations. But don’t think greasy fries and sloppy burgers. Every box holds its own delectable array of food — rice or noodles, fish or meat, pickled vegetables, sushi, seaweed, or Japanese curry, always accompanied by mini servings of sweet Japanese rolled omelet, tempura, or a small dessert.
Taxis
Taking a taxi is no run-of-the-mill experience in Japan, either. Taxi drivers take pride in providing a pristine environment for their customers. Seats and headrests are covered with spotless white doily-like material, bringing back memories of my grandma's house. We never see a speck of dirt inside.
Although drivers are typically middle-aged men, women are beginning to join the ranks. All dress formally in a suit or a crisp white shirt and black pants, most sporting white gloves and a chauffeur’s hat.
Drivers are all professional and polite, jumping out to assist if you have luggage for the trunk. But don’t try to open the door on the left-hand side (driving is on the left). Doors are opened and closed automatically by the driver. We had to constantly remind ourselves not to slam the door when entering or exiting.
We feel more like we’re being chauffeured than riding in a regular taxi.
A Nation That Pays Attention to Nutrition
The traditional Japanese diet encourages minimally processed foods and is based on rice, often accompanied by miso soup. Being an island, fish (raw and cooked), seafood and seaweed figure prominently, often accompanied by seasonal foods served in a variety of small dishes. Meat, dairy and eggs make up a small portion of the diet.
7-Eleven is a great source of healthy tasty food.
Unlike their counterparts in North America, 7-Eleven, as well as junk food, offers a cornucopia of delicious, inexpensive, healthy prepared foods such as tofu, seaweed, edamame and bonito broth salad, trout and vinegared rice, green onion and squid salad, chicken, lettuce, cabbage and radish salad with spicy yuzu dressing and, of, course sushi.
We never tried anything we didn’t like. If only we had that in Canada.
But don’t be strolling down the street munching on your sushi. Japanese people don’t eat or drink while walking around on the streets.
However, there is a fly in this ointment — salt.
Salt consumption is high in Japan thanks to soy sauce and dishes like miso soup, salted fish, ramen noodles, pickled vegetables and seasoned rice. On occasion, the salt content in our bowls of ramen noodles made them unpalatable.
And, where’s the fruit? Given that parts of Japan are blessed with seasonal fruit throughout the year, we find it strange that we see little evidence of it on our travels. Breakfast buffets always feature fresh vegetables but only one or two previously frozen fruits. Nothing fresh.
We’re told that, because of fruit’s sugar content, it is viewed more as a dessert. The Health Ministry of Japan is now actively promoting fruit as essential to a healthy diet.
Eating Out
It’s all that delicious, healthy food that we look forward to every day during our travels. The challenge for us as foreigners is ordering. The restaurants with plastic replicas of the food in the window are easy — just point at the desired meal. But others aren’t quite so simple.
Raw tuna and salmon salad.
An extravaganza for our taste buds.
Okonomiyaki, sometimes called a Japanese pancake, is filled with cabbage, meat and/or seafood.
Ramen is a popular Japanese noodle dish. Different regions have their own variations.
We're excited every morning for the various breakfast buffets.
The plastic replicas of various dishes look quite real.
Hungry after our arrival in Tokyo, we head out in search of a restaurant. We’re staying in the Chiyoda ward in central Tokyo, a shopping, financial and office district — a quiet area without the glitz and glamour of many other locations in the city. We find a nearby restaurant and immediately confront a machine at the entrance. There are lovely pictures of appetizing meals, but how do we order? Does the money go in first? Which button corresponds with which meal? Stumped, we summon an assistant cook, who gladly helps us. We point at the meals we want and he does the rest.
Other restaurants have a tablet at each table for ordering — sometimes in English, sometimes not. We still can’t make head nor tail of it and invariably need help, which is always offered graciously.
And then there’s those restaurants with servers who take the orders but that only have a large Japanese menu and not a word of English. It’s Google Translate to the rescue — well, sort of. In a restaurant in Shikoku, we order what we hope is a traditional meal, tai meshi. It is. It arrives artistically plated — visual appeal is paramount in Japan. But what wasn’t translated is that the sea bream and egg are both raw. Putting fears of food poisoning aside, we follow the instructions on how to mix the ingredients on our plate and put our adventurous palates to the test.
Tai meshi comes with instructions on how to properly mix the ingredients.
It’s tasty, but the texture of raw sea bream is not something we’re accustomed to. We gain experience ordering and go on to savour the rich flavours and diverse cuisine of Japan, acquiring a new appreciation for uncooked fish. One of our favourites is sashimi, a sublime Japanese delicacy of thinly sliced raw fish.
Bowing: Respect and Politeness
Refreshingly polite, helpful, gracious service is the norm in Japan. There's no tip creep in Japan. In fact, tipping is never expected and is considered rude. The Japanese value hard work and dignity and believe good service is standard so there is no need to tip.
It’s that respect and politeness that we notice upon arrival in Tokyo. Social harmony is highly valued in Japan and, despite being the most populous city in the world — almost forty million in the wider Tokyo urban area — the high standards of respect and politeness are astonishing.
Japan, from our Western viewpoint, appears to be collectivist rather than an individualistic culture. Their prioritization of social harmony and conformity is in direct contrast to the “me first” mentality so prevalent in our culture.
Japan is one of the safest and most peaceful countries in the world. We’re amazed to see so many bicycles parked on the streets unlocked.
Although Japan has an extremely harsh legal system, we contemplate whether Japan’s lack of deviance and low crime rate — one of the lowest in the world — also reflects that respect and social harmony.
Bowing is an integral part of respectful social etiquette and it is common to bow in many social interactions. Bowing can be used to greet or say goodbye to someone, to show respect, express gratitude or appreciation, congratulate someone, or to show sympathy.
Children learn to bow at an early age and companies train employees on the fine points of the art. As foreigners, we’re not expected to know proper bowing rules, but it’s contagious and I quickly find myself in the habit.
So entrenched is the custom of bowing that in Nara, the ancient capital of Japan, even the deer have learned to bow. Considered sacred, the roughly 1400 deer who wander freely around the park, bow to visitors in hopes of getting the special crackers sold by numerous vendors.
This young deer peers expectantly at us to see if we have any crackers.
Cracker vendors do a booming business.
Public Toilets
But what really bowls me over — pun intended — are the free public toilets. No plain Jane’s here. State-of-the-art Western-style bidet toilets are the norm in Japan. Just a push of a button, located on the side of the toilet or the wall and voila, a stream of warm water washes your nether regions. There’s even another button especially for women. I confess — I tried it. It’s actually much better than I thought. I could get used to it. The heated seats would be great in the winter but were a bit much in the unseasonable 35º C heat.
In depth instructions are provided on use of the toilet.
This model is a bit less complicated.
The basics of toilet use.
We do encounter the odd, not-yet-phased-out squat toilet — quite the contrast after their high-tech counterparts.
Squatting the right way around is important as I discover when I can't reach the toilet paper.
Plus, public toilets are plentiful. We’ve never been in a country with so many — 53 per 100,00 people compared to a meagre 18 per 100,000 in Canada. And they’re all sparkling clean. No vandalism marring the buildings, some beautifully designed, inside and out.
Beautifully designed public toilets dot the city of Tokyo.
Public Spaces
Public spaces are respected in Japan and cleanliness is highly valued everywhere. There’s a cultural aversion to litter and there’s none anywhere, despite the paucity of garbage cans. After the sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, they were removed throughout the country as a security measure.
So, what do the Japanese do with their garbage when they’re out? They take it home with them, and we took ours to our hotel. There’s no flicking of cigarette butts onto the street either. Smokers carry a small container for carrying them home.
This underground crosswalk, like all we saw is pristine. No tagging, no graffiti, no one using it as housing.
Perhaps this deep-rooted respect for public spaces in Japan also partially accounts for the absence of graffiti, tagging of buildings or vandalism of any kind.
But there is one anomaly regarding public space, one that almost runs into us several times: bicycles. On main thoroughfares bicycles, including e-bikes, are always on the sidewalks, never on the roads.
Transportation by bicyle is popular. Photos: Noel Van Raes
Despite signs on sidewalks designating lanes, riders meander willy-nilly through pedestrians, sometimes at high speeds. Normally, I keep an eye out, but when travelling I need to look at the GPS on my phone to get around, resulting in a few near misses.
Vending Machines
The Japanese people have a love affair with vending machines — over five million — one per approximately thirty people, blanket public spaces in cities and rural areas. We seldom walk a block without seeing one, a godsend in the scorching heat weave.
Soft drinks, water, energy drinks, tea, coffee, alcohol, wine glasses, cooking sauce, snacks, ice cream and capsule toys are the most common items. The most unusual — underwear and ties. Usually located outside they are universally cared for and we never encountered one that didn’t function.
No one checking ID at this beer vending machine
If you don't want to drink your beer out of a can you can buy a glass
Homelessness
What we don’t see on the sidewalks or in any public spaces during our six week sojourn are any homeless people. We’ve become so accustomed to the sight of unhoused people wandering the streets in Canada that it's one of the first things we notice. Nor is there any panhandling of any kind.
Do the bureaucrats in Japan have magical powers to wave away homelessness? Probably not.
Accurate statistics on the numbers of unhoused are hard to come by. Hard work and self reliance are highly valued and it’s considered shameful to be homeless in Japan. Those who are, do their best to hide it, often staying up at Internet cafes or 24-hour restaurants. Public toilets are used to stay clean and presentable. Begging and sleeping on the streets is socially unacceptable.
Buddhism or Shintoism?
Although by and large the Japanese don’t consider themselves religious, many of the rituals of religious beliefs remain when it comes to weddings, births and funerals. Many Japanese practice both Shintoism, Japan’s indigenous spirituality, and Buddhism, which arrived in the 6th century.
Traditional weddings remain popular
Births are still celebrated
Young women dressed traditionally for a ceremony celebrating the birth of a child
More than 150,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines dot the landscape in Japan, from tiny to grandiose. Sometimes both shrines and temples occupy the same complex and share the same architecture. As we make our way around Shikoku, we see many pilgrims making the journey to the eighty-eight Buddhist temples on the island, some walking, others using public transport.
Pilgrims often wear a straw hat as part of their traditional attire and carry canes for sometimes rocky treks.
Well off the beaten path, Shikoku, situated off the southeast coast of Japan, is the smallest and least populated of Japan’s four major islands. Uncrowded, sometimes almost empty local trains transport us around the island to a world far away from the heavily populated and industrialized cities.
Most trains in rural areas have very few passengers.
Much of the island is mountainous and agriculture is squeezed in every nook and cranny. Rice rather than grass grows in even small yards, while rice terraces climb up mountains. Rows of Mandarin oranges are cultivated on slopes with access to full sunlight. Fishing is the other large industry on the island.
Rice fields dominate the countryside. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Mature rice, ready to harvest. Photo: Noel Van Raes
As always, the towering torii gates at Shinto shrines, usually a striking vermillion colour, beckon us to cross from the secular to the profane, to leave behind the travails of everyday life and enter into the sacred. In tourist hotspots, the aura of that beckoning is dim, but in the out-of-the-way places on the island where few tread, we feel the history and spirituality.
Purification fountain. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Foxes are considered guardians at Inari Shrines.
Explicit objects were common at fertility shrines until the incursion of puritanical values from the west.
Japanese pagodas are definitively Buddhist. The stunning architecture of wooden pagodas up to five stories tall, towering mystically over a complex, is unforgettable. Stone pagodas rarely exceed three metres, but all add to the atmosphere of peace and contemplation at temples. We take the time to just sit and embrace the moment. We’re not hurry-up-and-get-to-the-next-site travellers.
Japanese pagodas were traditionally used to house sacred relics.
Todaiji Temple in Nara houses the Great Buddha Hall
The world's largest bronze stature of Buddha Vairocana dominates the Great Buddha Hall.
Knitted hats symbolize the Buddhas as protectors of children.
Superstition, fate, and luck are central to the Japanese worldview. The Maeki-neko, or lucky cat is believed to bring good luck to the owner. Also popular are small good luck or protection charms sold at temples and shrines. We buy some for ourselves — just in case.
Lucky cats are popular. Photo: Noel Van Raes
We give it a try. No results yet, but maybe it takes awhile.
Noel gives in to the temptation to find out his fortune. Dropping his money in the box, he picks up a cylinder and shakes it until a narrow numbered wood stick comes out the small hole. Eager to know if good luck awaits, he takes the corresponding number from the rack of fortunes. Alas, Google offers a murky translation — hopefully not an indication of his future. He ties it to a wire along with others so any bad luck will stay behind when he leaves the shrine.
Noel takes a stick out of the cylinder. The number is 6. Will his future be good?
The translation isn't clear, so it's wait and see.
Unlucky fortunes are tied on wires in the hopes that any bad luck will remain behind. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Also hanging on wires in the temple grounds are small wooden tablets on which Shinto or Buddhist prayers or wishes are offered. Worshipers believe the kami (gods or spirits) will receive them.
Messages await the Kami. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Hiroshima
I reflect on our upcoming visit to Hiroshima as the almost empty ferry glides across the Inland Sea from Shikoku Island.
How does this city, the first to suffer the horror of the atomic bomb live with that memory.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park established in memory of the victims of the attack on August 6, 1945 is one way.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
The cenotaph for A Bomb Victims contains a stone chamber containing the names of more than 220,000 victims.
The Atomic Bomb Dome rising hauntingly in the background was the only building left standing in the area where the bomb went off. It is preserved and protected in perpetuity as a reminder of the horrors of atomic bombs.
Atomic Bomb Dome
The Children’s Peace Monument commemorates Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of other innocent children killed in the bombing. Sadako Sasaki, two years old at the time of the bombing, became ill several years later. She folded paper cranes (origami) in the belief it would make her well. She didn’t survive, but the monument to console all children was erected in her memory. The paper cranes have come to represent peace and millions are delivered every year, many by Japanese school children who visit the site.
Children's Peace Monument. Tens of thousands of Japanese school children come every year in the name of peace.
Millions of peace cranes are sent to Hiroshima every year.
Statue of a Prayer for Peace. Hiroshima city seeks to persuade the world that a nuclear war could destroy humankind and that using nuclear weapons was and is inhumane.
Seeing The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum’s displays of personal items, photos and stories of victims written and on video is like a punch in the stomach. The horror of that day and those following is unimaginable. It is an intense emotional experience and we wonder about the effects on the multitudes of Japanese school children who visit.
So much destruction and loss
Surprisingly, at least to us, is that although Japan has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the government refuses to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The vast majority of Japanese want their government to sign it and the remaining survivors consider the non-signing a betrayal to them.
Goodbye Japan
Japan has been, in many ways, a revelation for us. What stands out most is the respect, politeness and caring that followed us on our journey, making us feel like treasured guests.
Like lifting a curtain and peering behind, we had only a quick peek into Japan's history and mix of traditional and modern culture. We will be back for a closer look.
Traditional Japanese puppetry.
Traditional Japanese dance. Photo: Noel Van Raes
Japanese modern art takes many forms. Photo: Noel Van Raes
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