Joy in Japan 

私はリオ、ウィーブです

Watashi wa Rio, weeb-u des

I am Rio, a Weeb.

And because I am, I want to say that this trip was so freaking cool! I enjoyed this trip so much that I want to go again, I wouldn’t be able to go any time soon, but this post will be me reminiscing what I liked, what I think Japan does better that the states, and what was my favorite part about traveling with friends.

Preparing for my trip to Japan, one of my best friends bought Duolingo for the year, and we started learning some Japanese. That was so helpful because there were some formal greetings and sayings that are important to know, also just to be respectful as a guest in another country. It goes without saying though that we were recognized as Americans almost everywhere, simply because we talked. Some would say loudly relative to others, lol. So the train is quiet, and the only people that are talking are the teenagers, children, and… Americans. I swear we were just talking at a normal inside voice level, but that is what Americans do; we talk, and we talk loud, lol. So we learned pretty quickly to be more quiet.

Being in Japan, the best thing about it is the public transit system. You can literally travel practically anywhere in Japan by train. I wonder what they do with the prices or if they are heavily regulated. But being able to travel with just the train, and not needing to worry about parking, and paying for parking, and not worrying about other people’s driving was amazing. One thing that I learned about Japan is that they are punctual when it comes to trains, also real strict with the rules. On one of the bullet trains, we asked if we were on the right car, and the train attendant said, “no no, you have to get off” and held their arms in an X formation and basically pushed us off the train, not in an aggressive way, just more assertive. We were trying to get clarity on where to go, and the attendants just moved us off, lol. It was more funny and surprising that it happened, but I swear that if the train was moving, the attendant still would have kicked us off the train, a la “we are Japan! (Sparta).” The look on their eyes, as they were wearing a mask, was one of dread, like you are not making this train late with your American incorrectness. It was funny, and we left flabbergasted, but we also learned that another thing about Japan: there is always another train… unless it's past midnight, then you have to wait till 6 am the next morning.

Japan has such a respect for its past and traditions, and the way that it's integrated into their society is almost magical. Every place in Japan, there is a shrine to be found, something you can pray for, wish for, and learn about the country’s past. One of my favorite places to visit was Hakone, where we tried the hard-boiled eggs cooked in hot springs, rich in sulfur, which turned the eggshells black. According to their tradition, eating one of the eggs will extend your life by 7 years—I don't know where that number came from, but I made sure to eat one! We rode a cable car on the way up and down to get to Hakone, and the cable car down was like a scene from a Ghibli movie. If you are constantly consuming Japanese media or content that has their cultural influence, you can really see how those things take inspiration from their country. If you played the Pokémon games Violet and Scarlet, there is a Zero Zone where it is just dark. Well, that exists in Japan, and you can see it from the top of Shibuya Sky Tower. At night, it's just a dark section of the city of Tokyo that gets no light because it is a park in the middle. I feel like it takes a Weeb’s eye and Pokémon game fan to notice that. One of my goals was to visit as many Pokémon Centers as I can, and I got to four of them, and best believe, I spent money. I even got the last sleeping Gengar plushie in one of the stores for the day!

Traveling with friends is always exciting and never a dull moment. We make each other laugh, make each other buy things that we need a little encouragement to justify, and if someone wants to visit something, we make sure to try to fit it. My favorite things with traveling with friends are the hangout moments where we are all just together talking, reviewing the day’s activity and laughing. Those get photographed in my mind's eye the best. Also, traveling with friends means that you have people that will take your photo, lol. I also learned to travel with friends in a way that I always make sure to take time for myself and do something solo, which I did. I saw the largest Buddhist temple in Japan on my own.

The food was so delicious! I tried grade A Kobe beef IN KOBE. Whenever I think of that meal, my mouth waters! I don’t eat a lot of beef in general as I age, but I made sure to try this one, and honestly, the best beef ever. I guess I’ll push being a vegetarian for another couple of years. The seafood was always so fresh, and the shrimp was something else. It tasted so sweet and tasty and not fishy or ocean-y. I don’t think shrimp in the states can compare. There is so much street food to try. Also, y’all, Japan has the prices of food as if we're in the 90’s; yeah, food was something we could always depend and splurge on.

Japan is one of the safest places I have traveled to, and it would definitely be a place that I would love to visit again. We mainly visited the southern part of Japan, and I would like to take a tour of the northern part one day. I will think of this country with such fond memories and appreciate the gifts it gave me.

Thank you very much, Japan.

Arigatō gozaimasu, Nihon

ありがとう、日本