Quicky: although (to me) a Nihon no takushi (Japanese taxi) looks rather old fashioned, I can assure you that it is in fact not.
It even has doors that open and close by themselves. Do not attempt to operate them manually.
Also, for some reason the mirrors are not placed where the bonnet and front window meet, but rather half way up the bonnet.
Quicky: this afternoon I wanted to take a train ride to Sakou eki (station) but I couldn’t figure out which platform to enter at the eki. And I definitely was showing it with my confused look and fondling of my keitei denwa (mobile phone).
And what do some Japanese who are confident enough in their English language skills? They help out the poor gaijin (foreigner). xD
Quicky: when I went out again this afternoon, I very optimistically put on my shorts. It’s been rather cold. :-/ No sunshine anymore. ¬.¬
Quicky: I’m learning Japanese. This means entrance:
And this means exit:
Can you spot the character (kanji) for “gate” (or passage)?
Quicky: during my trip, I have occasionally stumbled upon neko (cats). Not any seemed to be interested in receiving attention from me. Just now, I met the first. Cute neko!
Not 10 seconds later I saw a skunk fleeing from sight.
Nice kōen (park), over here at Nagoya jō (castle). *g
Quicky: today is a very lovely day with nice and sunny weather. This made the Shinkansen trip from Kyoto to Nagoya very memorable. And I have pictures to prove it. (yes, they too will follow)
Quicky: I took the basu (bus) to Kyoto eki (station) this morning. Kyoto eki was the terminal for that particular line. When arriving at Kyoto eki, a very very sad organ music was played in the basu. Yes, the basu was also very sad to see me leave.
Quicky: something funky I noticed, after I got to Kyoto by a limited express train.. After getting off, the seats where switched/reversed. That is, the upright part (where you rest your back into), switches position so that one can now sit in the seat, facing the other direction.
Not really sure why that is..
Quicky: no reception for my pocket WiFi when in the clear and at top speed. Yikes!
Quicky: no, not the operating system. I’m talking about having a window seat for the duration of the entire ride from Kyoto to Nagoya. Booyah!
Sunday 2nd November
I already mentioned it: there be raaaains here in Kyoto. At least this morning so much so that I decided to stay in and read my non-galactic travel guide on the subject of Nagoya. Preparations about my next stay, I makes them.
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Quicky: it’s official, this country is too small for me. Or rather, I’m too big for this country. Or for certain rooms anyways…
Quicky: although, like back home, mirrors are used in some unclear situations in traffic, the Japanese have almost made an art out of placing them in strategic positions.
Quicky: it’s not obligatory to have a red tail light. Having a white front light and a red reflector at the back is enough. But, but, but…?
Quicky: my ultra deluxe compact photo camera (which is taking lots and lots of very nice pictures — they will follow) seems to be running Windows 95 or Vista because it crashes and freezes multiple times per day. Otherwise, I am so very happy with it. <3
Quicky: you can always tell at what operator’s station (train, subway, or otherwise) you are because each operator will play different sounds and tunes at for example entrances, platforms and moments of arrival.
Quicky: when spontaneously visiting a restaurant, be prepared to have a need for a “reserve” (that is, a reservation) or look for foodstuffs elsewhere. This looking elsewhere can take lots of time, mind you.
Quicky: traffic lights blink yellow where I come from, to indicate that they’re out of commission for the moment. They may blink red in Japan. Be careful.
Quicky: you don’t bring your wet umbrella into a store, that’s just impolite what with the floor getting wet from your dripping umbrella. Instead you are offered some kind of condom to stick it into (or so I’ve heard) or are required to leave your umbrella at the door in a designated holder.
Quicky: you are easily underdressed in Japan. Many folks, even in the simplest of jobs (no offense!), will wear a uniform. Yesh, that does impress, I must admit.
Quicky: as said, many things make noise. For example, (some) trucks turning left or right will have a recorded female voice playing, warning it’s surroundings of this fact.
Also: while there is very little green (nature) to be seen (except in kōen, parks), crickets are heard everywhere. Even in rogue flower pots or in front of the central station.
Quicky: no matter where in the world you are, to kids the black “stripes” in zebra crossings are lava.
Quicky: it’s 17:09h, I just saw the street lanterns being turned on. Yup, it’s getting dark very quickly.
Quicky: yes, this morning it started raining a lot. To me, that means cycling around town is a rather uninteresting option, at the moment. >_<
Saturday 1st November
So, what have I done today? This morning I checked out of my apāto (apartment) in Ōsaka and took a train to Kyoto. I didn’t take the Shinkansen, although I think that was an option. No, I took the hard way which required me once more to figure out the subway system. Looks like I’m really getting the hang of it. Oh, and did I mention that I Love Google Maps?
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And another day has gone by, making it a grand total of 8 already. This means I’m half way down my trip through Japan.
What does that mean? How does that make me feel? Actually, it makes me feel many things.
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Quicky: I saw another ambulance come by. As it neared an intersection, it lowered it’s speed to a crawl, because other motorized vehicles appeared to make little effort to get out of the way. Worse even: pedestrians who were crossing the street, didn’t make haste to finish their crossing.
Quicky: handshaking is a typical western tradition. In Japan, one bows his or her head to greet and in other situations where one would handshake.
On occasion you will be offered a handshake. In that case, take it easy: a firm handshake will probably not be appreciated.
Quicky: although it’s strictly not done to stick your chop sticks into your food and leave them there (or so I read somewhere), I have learned that it is in fact OK to spear your riceball (or to stab it in the chest, as I’ve heard it is called) so you can simply eat it off your sticks.
Tip: stick your chop sticks in, not too close to each another.
Another tip: you put your used sticks (for grilled items) in here:
Also: it is not considered impolite to eat your sushi using your fingers, instead of using chop sticks.
Bonus: generally, you never tip in Japan. (or so I read)
Quicky: This afternoon I have been planning my stay in Kyoto, finding nice locations to go to. Only to find that at the moment I left my room, most locations had already closed for the day. Bummer. So, now I’m out for dinner and maybe later I will try to find Kyoto’s nightlife, if it exists.