So is the title a question or statement? After 5 days there, I am here to say, it’s a statement. What started off as a quest on the fly, as usual, ends up with another trip that took its course, as Rolf Potts would say. So without further ado, here is the 411.
1-Culture Shock- Yet again, another country hits me off my rocker. Picture NYC, but without the understanding of facial expressions, language, or the ability to read any information. Period! Either way, this is a true glimpse in my opinion of the future and that alone is an adventure in itself.
2-Attempting to Vagabond-Quite possibly, the toughest location for me to date. There is nothing cheap about getting around here and unless you speak the language, its next to impossible to travel hack this country on your first go around. I saw very few westerners and not one typical hotels or mom/pop accommodation.
3-Iwatayama Kyoto Monkey Park-Simply awesome. If a city and Tokyo is not your thing, you MUST give the suburbs a try. Exploring Japan is similar to the size of New Zealand, only you can use the train system to access everything. However, you will need your YENS (money) as the one way ride from Tokyo to Kyoto (2 hours) is around 175 USD. Once there, you will get a chance to visit all of the local hot spots, including my favorite animal interaction to date.
In summary, the Japanese people are extremely nice to the extent of the Kiwis from New Zealand. Regardless of the language barriers, that makes it well worth the culture shock. Understanding not every adventure has to be adrenaline will hold true in Japan. It is one place few Zen can be found along the road, less tourist travel.
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