As detailed in a previous post, 2014 was a particularly huge year for me in both personal and academic events, not the least of which is the numerous trips out. (Off-topic: what is it with me and travel? I go maybe two to three years without going anywhere then BOOM several trips in one year?) While all my trips out of the country are special and memorable, this one trip is sure to be seared into my memory because I’d been waiting to visit and explore and dive into this country since I was in high school. This year, I went to Japan. JAPAN!!! <3
I visited Japan with my family last May 16-24, basing out of Osaka and Tokyo and taking day trips out to Kyoto, Nara, Nikko, and Hakone. When I say “family”, I mean a literal tour bus with about 20 people, ranging from 7 to 60 years old. Yes, my mother’s clan loves to vacation together. It can get overwhelming at times but hey, they’re family.
We took Philippine Airlines late afternoon flight out to Osaka via Kansai International Airport. Combine it with the bus ride from the airport to the actual city, we got to our hotel room near dinner time. Our first challenge: figuring out the ordering machine for the nearby hole-in-the-wall shop:
It’s basically a vending machine: you punch the button for your orders, pay the total, get your change, and bring the printed order slip to the chef who then prepares your order. The problem was the buttons had text labels, not photos. Whoo. There were photos above the machine but truth be told, I had a shitty time comparing the labels on the photos with the labels on the buttons. So much for that 1.0 in Elementary Japanese I class. Luckily, a very nice man who spoke English helped us out with the machine and we were able to eat our first dinner in Japan. Of course I ordered ramen š Finally: the real thing!
After satisfying our cravings, we went back to our hotel rooms to rest up. We stayed at the Hilton Osaka because of a discount that a friend of my mom’s was able to get for her. We were also granted access to the Executive Lounge! I guess one advantage of traveling with family is the much nicer hotel room that I couldn’t have afforded had I gone on my own. Hooray for being a recent MS graduate with no money.
Next day’s itinerary: Kyoto!
Note: This is a Back Blog, AKA I Should Have Written This Earlier But Couldn’t For Some Reason. My actual trip to Japan took place on May 16-24, 2014 but I’m dating this entry for July 13, 2014. I’m actually posting this on January 12, 2015 as part of my New Year’s Resolution to actually get some blogging done this year and fight through my backlog. Wish me luck!