Week 8: Asia Trip: Part 1 - Japan

This week on the Blog I would like to talk about something a little different. I would like to give basic insight about one of the most interesting journeys I’ve had - traveling in Eastern Asia. I’ve divided this blog entry into 3 parts. Each is related to a different country as each country in Asia provides totally different kind of experience and atmosphere.

The first part is related to the country perhaps most familiar with fellow students of our university. Obviously I mean Japan. The country of blooming cherry trees (Sakura), Manga, martial arts, geishas and robots. That’s what most people imagine when they think of Japan, I suppose. In reality one has to truly experience Japan to really know what it’s about and realize that the generalizations about Japan are very shallow, while the culture and things you’re likely to experience in Japan will leave you with very amazing impressions that go way beyond what you’re likely told about that place and the people living there.

While most people associate Japan with Tokyo as the main city representing that country, to truly experience Japan you have to visit the Kansai area. To get there you have to travel to the magnificent, artificial island airport - the Kansai airport. You can get there from Poland in 12-15 hours by plane including stopover (you're just an average "Asian" work day length away from being there ;-) )

Reaching the Kansai Area

The stunning views of Japan’s most beautiful regions and the airport, which is possibly one of the leading examples of amazing, modern construction engineering will greet you as you arrive.

Kyoto, near the top of the Fushimi Inari

From the airport, you should travel to Kyoto - the fastest way to get there is by the limited express - “Haruka”. 
A train that will get you from Osaka to Kyoto in about 40 minutes, that departs straight from the airport terminal and stops in Kyoto’s central district. 
Right next to the Kyoto Tower, the most "crowded" area (Kyoto is not a crowded place, it's more like the Japan that you see in anime/ manga) and most hostels/traditional guest houses.














Speaking of which, a stay at a Japanese guest house is a very memorable experience, so I truly recommend  trying it at least for a night or two. 

A small, cheap guest house room in Kyoto

Kyoto is what most people fascinated with the older part of the Japanese culture will be absolutely in love with. The life in Kyoto is slow, it doesn’t feel like a city at all - it feels like a small town living its own, Japanese life. People riding bikes to work, traditional Japanese architecture everywhere, temples, small restaurants, geishas, shrines. 

The Fushimi Inari entrance, it's just like this for the first 20 minutes of the hike..
 the rest is for you to explore

Speaking of shrines, you haven’t truly lived if you haven’t visited Fushimi Inari. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. A scenic route to the top of a mountain covered with hundreds of gates, dozens of shrines and small cemeteries. If you go there after dark, that’s a lifetime experience for many people. 

There’s so much more to Kyoto, but you just have to visit to truly feel the atmosphere, and what this beautiful place really is about. To me it was the essence of what I liked the most about Japan. 
I arrived with high expectations, and when I started exploring the place they were only superseded.

Kyoto hostel balcony

Kyoto, Emperor Tokugawa's estates

The "Golden Pavilion", Kyoto

Kyoto, Gion

Another very traditional place you absolutely have to visit in Japan is Nara. It houses the oldest temples in Japan, the most beautiful nature and wild animals just roaming around the streets and approaching people(!). 

Nara's oldest temple

In general, there seems to be some informal conflict between Kyoto and Nara, as the two most traditional cities in Japan - Kyoto is said to contain more famous historical places, but Nara is said to be more beautiful and it is a fact that it is also older in general (it was the capital city before Kyoto too).

Nara

Nara's chilling wildlife

Nara's hostile ;-) wildlife

Streets of Kobe

 If you want a very livable city, look no further than Kobe. The city known for Kobe Beef, mountains and beautiful harbor, as well as home to most Yakuza houses and a giant earthquake that forced the city to rebuild a lot of its infrastructure, which happened in just 2-3 years, Japanese style. I think it's totally worth a visit, as you might just want to stay, like the biggest group of foreign expats moving to Japan.

Kobe

Kobe from a cool mountain nearby

The Himeji castle, interior

Other than those mentioned above, amongst others, Kansai region houses such things as the Himeji Castle - perhaps the most famous building of Japan that is currently being renovated.















But also Iga - the place where Ninjas originated from, and where you can check the original Ninja museum with all the weapons, floor traps and hidden wall passages, as well as learn some Ninjutsu straight from the descendants of real “Ninjas”.

In fact, probably everything you love about Japan, minus Manga emerged from the Kansai region. That’s where the Japanese history happened, and where it still lives!

Finally Osaka- the flagship city, the biggest one of the Kansai region. It gets a lot of comparison to Tokyo, but really it’s an entirely different world. People speak with the famous “Kansai” dialect and really are entirely different compared to Tokyo people. The place, despite soaking the western culture is still far more “Japanese” feeling than Tokyo. You can just hang around Umeda, see the Sky building with an amazing panorama of Osaka, check the Osaka castle and learn about “uniting” Japan, numerous museums, crazy shops, amazing food.. and so on, so on, there’s just so much there. Best of all, it’s less than an hour away from each of those places mentioned in this post by amazing Japanese trains, and costs less than a Polish train.

Osaka from the Osaka castle

You have to be in Japan to truly experience Japan and know what it’s about. It’s an amazing place, every bit as amazing and it’s said to be, and even more. I could say a lot about the people there, as well as many other things, but I’m running out of space ;-) Dozens of pictures will not even give you a glimpse of what's to come after you visit. It's necessary to feel it. I just recommend you to go, and totally make Kansai area your destination. The prices of goods are not much higher than Polish prices, which probably contradicts opinions of people who go to Tokyo, where you’re not likely to feel the same Japan you probably want to find there anyway. So totally, as soon as you get some time, book a trip to Osaka and travel around. There’s a JR West Rail pass that you can buy at the airport, that will enable you to take any trains in the Kansai area and because of their speeds, you can see all those places within a week, and it’s probably going to be one of your most enriching weeks of your life.

Finally, some Japanese curiosities seen shopping in Osaka:

Question time. Being a student of a Polish-Japanese university.. 
Have you ever been to Japan? If not, why? 
Do you plan to go, and if yes, what would you like to see? What do you expect to experience?

Sources: Own experiences and photos
PS. Sorry for poor formatting under some browser window widths, and some browsers. I tried but couldn't fix it, looks like it's Google's job now.