I know it’s been a while since I wrote, quite frankly I’d rather we move on from the judgment since I have no excuse. It has taken marathon readings of at least 4 books in six weeks for me to realise that the only way to write is to actually put pen to paper (or in this case fingers to keyboard). I have become so lazy with life, not in the jokey ‘selective participation’ way I mean the house-full-of-junk-wrappers, couch sleeping, and not being able to climb 2 flights of stairs stairs way. The kind of laziness that makes your Yoruba aunty call you “ìyá àpàtì”, maybe sluggish is the word I’m looking for here but allow it (as you can read, I’m already being hard on myself). So why did Japan remind me of all the ways I could improve? Discipline. For a population of seniors (read old people), the Japanese have such high standards of behaviour and they don’t be playing with work, my friends! Every time I entered Kyoto Train Station, people were purposefully walking somewhere and get this? I never saw a homeless person. Not in the subway or street corners, not on the train or by malls. It’s almost like the government gives a damn about its citizens and created affordable housing for them. Can’t say the same for Giant of Africa but I digress. Now I didn’t explore as much as I’d like because my primary reason for the trip was work however I had quite a unique travel experience for the whole trip. First of, it takes over 20 hours to fly from Lagos to Tokyo and the airline thankfully had short layovers and straightforward transfer protocols. Let me tell you about the stark difference in conduct of Nigerian travellers in comparison to the foreign/Asian travellers on the 2nd leg of that trip ayyy God! Let’s just say I had a renewed respect for the cabin crew by the time we landed from Lagos. The plane looked to run through! Litter everywhere like a trash-laden tornado made a quick stop in Economy. Don’t even get me started on the sizes of carry-on bags that made their way onto the plane
. Again, new respect for cabin crew members o, the real flight heroes. The second half of my trip was rendered a little inconvenient because I had a European seat-mate with a tiny bladder and motion sickness (I’ll let you guess what seat I had) after getting up to pee about 4 times in 2 hours this young lady announces that she gets airsickness from turbulence and the captain had stopped service and kept the seatbelt signs on indefinitely. My sleepy ass was making silent prayers that she would not be nauseated while we sat there. See, there’s a way smells travel on flights. That fart smell would reach you regardless of your position in the cabin,
It’s in the constitution! Talk less of in-flight barf
Sorry for being graphic. By the time we reached Tokyo, we were spent! It was past midnight when we arrived at the airport hotel and my room was the cutest shoebox I’ve ever slept in. I was so impressed by the space management that I called my girls to give them a tour. I always do that by the way (give room tours) it’s like bringing them on the trip with me. I slept so much I almost missed breakfast but we weren’t done travelling yet.
We had 2 train trips ahead of us and one of them was on the famed ‘Bullet Train’ like the movie. Interesting observation, all the train terminals had 3 authentication options; manual ticket machines, card readers and QR scanners. After going through one of them I remembered train trips to my hometown and the manual validation system that allows strays on the train… Tears, silent tears. Anyway, we had a 2.5-hour trip to Kyoto and that required snacks so we grabbed some at the corner shop in the station. Hot coffee in a can! I was so excited to see this. Damned my lactose intolerance to have the experience and recorded no regrets at all. Even the sandwiches were fresh and delicious.
Now that bullet train was so fast the videos I made on it were like Timelapse. It reminded me of the 2 hours and 45 minutes it took for me to get to Ibadan. Three experiences were unique to me in Kyoto you see, I’m somewhat of a food connoisseur but I don’t think I’m as adventurous as I parade myself to be
let me explain with 2 experiences:
I had my first ever cup noodles experience in Japan.
Also made my first-ever McDonald’s order there
Why? I didn’t think they qualified as real food when I had opportunities
Blame America for the McDonald's one but you see the cup noodles? I used to turn up my nose in disgust when I saw students gobbling them up. The air of superiority I had while eating Indomie with loads of vegetables and shrimp with grilled salmon or chicken made me feel like I was better than them. Look at me now, I even use chopsticks and drink the broth
Lahillah! Bonus points for good sushi with wasabi. The next experience was an 8-floor shopping mall inside the train station in Kyoto. JR Isetan was like IKEA without the bondage. Fashion, books, toiletries, cookware and liquor stores co-existing without confusion was a sight to behold. It had 2 basement levels for heave… sorry food. And wasn’t even as magnificent as the Yodobashi Multimedia store, enter for electronics and come out with a new interest in camping and golf. Japanese Wonder fr!
May God bless the man at Kintesu Mall who put me out of my misery finding the multimedia store when Google Maps was taking me where I didn’t know. I just asked for directions and this man checked his watch and decided he had enough time to take me there. So kind. I also marvelled at the age of the unsupervised schoolchildren who joined the subway for many stops on their way home. They were mostly under 7 years old (youngest was 4) taking 15-17-minute train rides without fear of harm God when?
As I come to the end of this blog post I realise that my journey with Japan isn’t over yet, I need another trip for tourism and I know it will happen in a matter of time.