Digital Vortex A-Go-Go

Quicky: I read that it’s not done to blow your nose in public in Japan. OK, then I won’t. But slurping your noodles appears to be perfectly OK. I cannot decide which of both I prefer to not hear.

Fun fact: the moment I got to the airport in Ōsaka, there was a sign next to a water tap specifically asking people not to gurgle. OK. A minute later when using the rest room, I hear someone gurgling.

Right, so there actually appears to be a need for such a sign.

Quicky: so apparently Halloween is a thing in Japan.

Pics will follow.

Quicky: as mentioned before, bicyclists ride among pedestrians on the sidewalk. I was remembered of that this afternoon, when I was almost run over. Yes I should have watched over my shoulder before sidestepping. My bad.

Anyways, many roads have got no sidewalk at all. Just so you know. On the other hand, if there is a sidewalk, it will have a guiding strip for the blind. Almost guaranteed.

Quicky: at the moment I’m in my hotel room in Himeji, the first place I’m at that’s outfitted with a television. xD It was an hour definitely well spent, watching Japanese commercials and such.

Quicky: I have gotten the distinct feeling that I occasionally see Japanese versions of people I know (either personally or from elsewhere).

Quicky: getting on the rail platform is easy. You show your JR pass to the employee in the booth and you’re granted passage. When getting off the platform, don’t just follow the rest of the travelers because you will get caught in the gates. Instead present your JR pass again to the employee in the booth and you’re good to go.

Fun fact: I’m getting more and more convinced that Japanese really like doing things backwards. Instead of the gates opening when you “check in” with some ticket (except the JR pass), they close when you do not. (i.e. by default they are open, instead of closed, like in the Netherlands)

Quicky: while the bus that took me to Rosekitamachi was not really noteworthy, I’d say, the bus that took me back to Hiroshima eki (station) was something else that made me take notice of some things.

Firstly, in general what’s different to what I’m used to is a) getting on the bus not near the driver’s seat, b) paying with cash for every fare afterwards and c) getting off at the front of the bus. Maybe Japanese like doing things in reverse..

Secondly, while the first bus I took appeared relatively modern, this bus I took this morning was definitely old and almost rickety. I even noticed that it had a manual gearbox, whereas the first bus had a stop-start system, as made famous by Volkswagen’s Blue Motion technology.

Yes, opposites, the Japanese haz dem.

(presently waiting for the Shinkansen headed for Himeji, my next stay)

Quicky: is there a thing as someone being too friendly to you? So much so that’s it’s beginning to get creepy? Yes, definitely. Is that the case with Japanese? (eg: clerks, servants, salespeople) I shouldn’t say so… Honestly, this is something to very easily get used to.

Tuesday 28th October

Yes, I did the walk. And didn’t even get blisters. Huzzah!

OK, what I mean is that today I’ve been mostly walking, all around parts of Hiroshima and Itsukushima (an island off the coast of Hiroshima and better known as Miyajima).
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When it comes to traffic in Japan, some things are the same whereas some things are not. Yes, Captain Obvious is reporting for duty.

As said, pedestrian crossing indicators tweet like birds (more on that at the bottom of this post) and the fact that bicycles generally ride among pedestrians on the sidewalk was also already mentioned. That traffic goes on the wrong side of the road (left not being the right side), was probably also already common knowledge.

However, something that you have to quickly get used to is a completely different thing.
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Quicky: if you think that we in Europe have a problem with over packaging everything in plastic? Think again… In Japan, even if you buy one pre-packaged sandwich, in plastic, you get a small plastic bag in which to take it with you.

Quicky: there be pigeons over here (still in Hiroshima). While that is not a surprise to me, it did surprise me that they are way, way less forward than I’m used to.

Quicky: I’ve been wondering what those things are that I see attached to the steers of many bicycles.
Turns out that it’s a holder type thing for umbrellas. Clever.

Quicky: even at the ginkō (bank) they couldn’t help me get more o-kane (money). But they did have friendly employees, of which one spoke enough English to point me to the nearest yūbinkyoku (post office), where I got to make a cash withdrawal.

Quicky: yes, all doors open up outwards, not inwards as is common in the Netherlands.

Quicky: there’s little trash to be seen (as far as I can tell), even though trash bins are terribly scarce.

Well that is, if you discount those next to the numerous vending machines that sell you all kinds of drinks. But I suspect you are only allowed to put empty drinking bottles and cans into those… So, for now I’ll just hang on to my precious trash, which I cannot seem to get rid of.

At least they were containers of delicious sushi. *nom

Quicky: it’s true. Relatively few Japanese are able to speak English. Demo watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu! (but I speak a little Japanese – for which I am very glad)

Monday 27th October

This morning I had some time to spare, so I went for a walk through Kōbe. I walked to the part of the city that is on the side of the hill and thus I got a nice exercise. 🙂

It has gotten very windy all of a sudden but at least it wasn’t raining and storming like the night before. Although being in a lightning storm at the 46th floor of a building is quite awesome (at least, to me, not to Midori).
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Quicky: Dutch debit cards and credit cards don’t work in common ATM machines. Tomorrow I will go to the ginkō (bank).

Sunday 26th October (mo ichi do — once more)

As mentioned before, today I went to see a sakkāgēmu (soccer game) of Vissel Kobe versus Omiya Ardija.
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Quicky: If Japan is one thing, then it’s the country of little noises and jingles. Everything needs to “pling”. This of course includes the audio indicators at pedestrian crossings, which signal that pedestrians can cross the road. Of course they need to “pling”. But while they’re at it, they do have to sound like the chirping of birds. Of course they do.

Sunday 26th October

After getting a good night’s sleep, I feel much refreshed. Momentarily I’m taking it easy and simply enjoying my stay. That is, I’m sitting on the balcony of my host’s apartment, enjoying the view, the scenery and everything that’s going on down below.

Yes, I’m staying on the 46th floor of the tallest building in Kōbe, which goes all the way up to the 60h floor, or so. Pictures will follow. 😉 It’s so tall that you even need to pop your ears when taking the elevator up. Nice!
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Saturday 25th October – arrival

On the last episode we learned that our hero had made all kinds of plans for his trip through Japan. What would come of it?

On today’s episode, we continue where we left off: the flight to Hong Kong was underway and finished by the time the previous episode aired. That is, Hong Kong had been reached, hence the publication.
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I will post / add pictures later.

Friday 24th October – departure

After weeks, nay, months of preparing, today is the big day. Yours truly is on his way to Japan. Konnichiwa, birches!

As I’m typing this, I’m on board of flight 270, en route to Hong Kong, an 11h trip. There I will take my connecting flight to Ōsaka, another 4 hours. Side note: I’m glad I have my phone charger with me and that there’s a socket available to keep my phone charged. Very handy!
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Yours truly will be going to Japan… You can follow me here.