My daughter loves anime, and as a result developed an interest in Japan and Japanese culture. It took a couple years to get a trip actually on the schedule, but I booked our trip for the second half of July. For a first trip we decided Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto would be a good itinerary. I think I have heard this referred to as the Golden Triangle of Japanese tourism.

It seems like this has been the summer of the heatwave with temperatures significantly higher than average for my trip to Uzbekstan along with heat waves in Europe. Japan was no different. We knew in advance July was a hot humid time of year, but Japan was also experiencing a heatwave. Daily highs were pushing 100 degrees almost every day of our trip, and exceeded 100 degrees a few days. While the trip was still very enjoyable, we definitely had to modify our activities by focusing most of our sightseeing in the mornings, working in rest breaks and inside activities like museums and anime shops, and reserving late afternoons for rest times inside. The main effect the heat had on our trip was that because we planned to do Kyoto as a day trip or two from Osaka, we ended up spending very little time in Kyoto because without a hotel our options for cover from the heat were limited.

Japanese people are friendly, hospitable, and helpful. I have read that it is difficult for foreigners to really integrate and build friendships in Japan. For the relatively superficial interactions I engaged in as a tourist they were wonderfully helpful. This is good, because you will likely find yourself needing every bit of help you can get to navigate the Tokyo subway system. It is tempting to call the Tokyo subway a nightmare, but I think this overstates the issue. Make no mistake, almost anywhere you want to go in Tokyo, the subway will get you there, generally quickly and efficiently and more or less on time. However, from what I can tell the system is cobbled together from multiple rail lines runs by multiple government agencies and companies that sometimes occupy shared spaces and facilities, but that barely cooperate. If you are a local and speak and read Japanese it is probably much easier but figuring out which line to go to catch the right train and navigating between lines was a challenge. Layout are confusing. You frequently have to leave a station to the street level and walk a few meters or a few hundred meters to another station to catch a different line. I found the absence of signs pointing to exits until you were close enough to the exit that you didn’t need a sign anymore immensely frustrating, but we managed to navigate for almost two weeks without ever taking the wrong train. There was one close call. I think getting the metro card would help with some of this frustration, but I had chosen not to because the information I read indicated there was little to no cost advantage for the number of trips we thought we would take. For ease of use, it may be worthwhile anyway.

I do not speak Japanese at all, and my general attitude on learning Japanese was that I am already studying one insanely difficult language (Arabic) and don’t need another. Nevertheless, I spent a week or two using Youtube videos to learn a few basic phrases for please, thank you, excuse me, sorry, I don’t understand, toilet, and other essential tourist needs. Surprisingly, this was adequate.

I have been to nearly 40 countries, and can think of only one place where I felt truly overwhelmed, and that was Tokyo. The heat probably contributed to this feeling but for me it felt intimidatingly massive. Using the subway system is essential. Osaka has a more relaxed feel that is more my thing.

The gardens in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Beautiful and well worth the visit.

A friend who lives in the Tokyo area met us our first day gave us a tour and cultural introductive to the Meiji Shrine.

The next day we visited the Senso-ji Buddhist temple.

The Imperial Palace East Gardens. From what I understands, tours of the Palace itself are possible but difficult to get tickets for due to high demand. We satisfied ourselves with walking through the gardens.

We spent a lot of time in Tokyo shopping in Akihabara for anime memorabilia. I would have liked to get my daughter tickets for the Ghibli Museum, but like the Palace tours, demand is high, they typically sell out within minutes or hours of availability. I was on a plane to Uzbekistan the day I would have had to purchase them.

Osaka, while far from being a small city, was a bit more my speed. Upon our arrival in Osaka, we set out for Osaka castle, and made a stop by Hokoku Shrine near the castle.

There is an Osaka Day Pass that allows you into many tourist sights, but it is only good for a day or two. My daughter and I agree to keep our pace slow, so we did not get the pass. There is a large oval-shaped ferris wheel called the Donki attached to a Don Quixote (Think a Japanese style super-dollar store) that provides views of the city. Supposedly it is best at night when the city is lit up. My daughter really wanted to do this, but it appeared to be closed every day we were in Osaka. My guess is it might have been because of the heat. While disappointing to my daughter, it was something of a relief for me because I am afraid of heights.

We daytripped to Kyoto, but decided to cut our time there short. Kyoto is a pretty walkable city, but in the heat it was not enjoyable and I was very aware of the risk of heat stroke. If I ever have the opportunity to return to Japan, I would like to spend more time here.

We spent the rest of our time in Japan exploring Osaka, including a food tour.

These were the highlight of the food tour for me. I can’t remember the name, but basically they are fried octopus balls.

My daughter and I were introduced by my friend in Tokyo to Kura, a Japanese sushi chain restaurant that delivers food to the table by conveyor belt. I understand that it is not considered the best quality sushi but is reasonably priced and convenient. The wait for a table can be long at certain times. I read and heard stories of the dangers of eating fugu (pufferfish) when I was younger. So, I was thrilled to be presented with the opportunity to play Russian Roulette with my life at the dinner table, but disappointed to find that almost all fugu for consumption is farm-raised on a diet that prevents the flesh from becoming toxic. Therefore the chance of dying from fugu consumption at a restaurant is low.

We also went to the Osaka aquarium, attended a tea ceremony, and took a day trip to Sakai, a city in Osaka Prefecture known for crafting very high quality kitchen knives. Sakai also included a bicycle museum that was interesting to me as a moderately avid cyclist. But my ass hurts just looking at this thing.

My daughter absolutely loved Japan, in spite of the heat. I wouldn’t say it is one of my favorite destinations ever, but I enjoyed the trip a great deal. Nevertheless, two two-week plus vacations in one summer is a long time away from home, and I was happy to return home to the company of my dogs.