Just returned from Japan

[Bob in Iowa]

My wife and I returned a week ago from a wonderful trip to Japan. It was the first time we had been there in 14 years. We travelled by rail from Tokyo to Southern Kyushu and back, stopping in Osaka and Kyoto , visited with relatives whom we have not seen for many years, ate a lot of good food, saw many fascinating sights, and just had a great time in general.

Although it is always good to return home, I wish that we could have stayed longer, but now we are determined not to wait another 14 years before we return.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

That's Really Great Bob !

Hope you took some pics you can share! Welcome home, glad you and yours had a safe trip.

Frank

 

[Leroy_Brown]

Hey Hawkeye!

Glad to hear you had a great time!
Please tell me, people there weren't as racist as some members here make them out to be.

Frank,

Nice avater! How'd you get away with it?

 

[Bob in Iowa]

Thanks Frank and Leroy. Frank, I took a lot of pictures, and have been sorting through them for the last week, making copies, resizing for email, etc.

Leroy, I really did not feel much in the way of racism. I was stationed in Japan for five years during the 70's, and have only visited for short periods of time since then. I am aware of a general distrust of foreigners, but my experience has been mostly one of acceptance or at least one of tolerance by the Japanese people. My wife's family has certainly accepted me over the last 30 years, and have welcomed me into the family, and this has probably made my outlook a lot more positive when meeting people in Japan.

Also, Frank -- I do like the avatar. Bounciness equates to joyfulness, doesn't it?

 

[Flashjeff]

Yo, Bob! Wassup? Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself over in Japan! I echo your sentiments about not experiencing any sort of racism, and given that I'm African-American, that means a lot.

 

[Bob in Iowa]

Yo, Bob! Wassup? Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself over in Japan! I echo your sentiments about not experiencing any sort of racism, and given that I'm African-American, that means a lot.

Jeff, I am glad to learn that. I remember the words of a friend and fellow GI with whom I was stationed when I first arrived in Japan, who was also African-American. He and I made a few trips together to Tokyo and he used to remark that "to most of these folks, it don't matter if you're a black gaijin or a white gaijin". As I recall, we were both treated exceptionally well, and had a really good time.

 

[mad pierrot]

Glad to have you back

on the forums Bob. Like it's been said, I hope you've got some pictures and funny stories!


:sorry:

 

[Flashjeff]

Jeff, I am glad to learn that. I remember the words of a friend and fellow GI with whom I was stationed when I first arrived in Japan, who was also African-American. He and I made a few trips together to Tokyo and he used to remark that "to most of these folks, it don't matter if you're a black gaijin or a white gaijin". As I recall, we were both treated exceptionally well, and had a really good time.

Well, I might even go so far as to say that it didn't matter if you were a black gaijin or a white gaijin, as long as your yen was good! After all, the international color of acceptance in the world these days is GREEN!

 

[misa.j]

Hi Bob!
Wow, it had been 14 years since you were in Japan last time? That must have been quite a trip to go back there.

I am glad that you had a good time in Japan. Did Japan and Japanese people seem different from the last time when you were there? How long did you stay in Japan?

I haven't gone back to Japan for 6 years ,and I am curious how you and your wife felt about being in Japan after 14 years.

 

[Flashjeff]

It's kinda funny for me. Twenty-five years had passed between the time I left Japan in December of 1978 and August of 2003 when I returned for my little trip. In fact, I had flown into an airport (Narita) which probably wasn't even on the drawing board back in '78, so that was quite a surprise in itself!

The overall experience of going back in Japan was terrific for me. It took no time at all to reacquaint myself with the sights, the sounds, the food, the people and, most of all (well, for me anyway), the trains as I LOVE riding trains. As for the people, the Japanese treated me courteously, heck, schoolgirls even giggled at the tall black gaijin while I was making like a dopey tourist with my camera. But I didn't mind, I thought that was cool!

Overall, the experience of my return trip to Japan was fabulous. Hopefully I can get to do it again sometime in the future!

 

[Leroy_Brown]

Overall, the experience of my return trip to Japan was fabulous. Hopefully I can get to do it again sometime in the future!

I hope you go back soon, Jeff! Things change a lot more, a lot faster over there than in the U.S. Don't wait too long.

Did you ever take the "Romance Car" Express on the Odakyuu Railway?


dfltweb1.onamae.com – このドメインはお名前.comで取得されています。

 

[Flashjeff]

I hope you go back soon, Jeff! Things change a lot more, a lot faster over there than in the U.S. Don't wait too long.

Did you ever take the "Romance Car" Express on the Odakyuu Railway?


dfltweb1.onamae.com – このドメインはお名前.comで取得されています。

"Romance"? YIKES! I'm a bachelor, so don't scare me like that!

That link looked awfully interesting though! Certainly worth investigating! If I do make it back to Japan this year, I certainly intend to ride on the bullet train. That would be mondo cool!

 

[Bob in Iowa]

I am glad that you had a good time in Japan. Did Japan and Japanese people seem different from the last time when you were there? How long did you stay in Japan?

I haven't gone back to Japan for 6 years ,and I am curious how you and your wife felt about being in Japan after 14 years.

Hi Misa. We were there for two weeks. We arrived in the late afternoon, and as soon as we arrived at Narita, after exchanging money and getting our JR rail passes, we went to Tokyo station and then over that night and into the next day, we travelled by rail on numerous trains into southern Kyushu, where Ritsuko's mother lives. There were certainly a lot of changes, and we both felt some culture shock initially, but at the same time it was all very familiar too, and I would have to say that even through the periods of culture shock, I felt at ease and I felt at home. As I get more time, I will write more about the way I felt seeing the new and the familiar, the old and the new, the ancient and the ultramodern, and the mundane and the bizarre.

the trains as I LOVE riding trains

So do I. In Japan, I love travelling by rail, and fortunately my wife shares that love of rail travel. Whether it is accross town or cross country, I am ever fascinated by the complexity and precision of the Japanese rail system. Given the amount of ground that we covered in our two week trip, it would have been a lot faster to travel by air, and numerous people commented as to "why don't you just fly?" but I think that we would have missed a lot of great memories from our trip by having done so.

 

[misa.j]

jeff and Bob,

I really love riding trains, too. They seem quieter and more relaxed than planes.

Have you had one of those luch box you can only get at the stations? I'm sure your wife knows what I'm talking about, Bob. My husband and I bought them at Tokyo station on the way back to Osaka where we lived, and he thought it was very neat.

 

[Bob in Iowa]

Have you had one of those luch box you can only get at the stations? I'm sure your wife knows what I'm talking about, Bob. My husband and I bought them at Tokyo station on the way back to Osaka where we lived, and he thought it was very neat.

Ekibento!!!

Yes, that is one of the great little treats of travelling by rail in Japan. One of my favorites from this last trip was a bento that we bought from the lady with the refreshment push cart on the Shinkansen as it left Hakata on the way to Osaka that was loaded with unagi. It had a layer of rice then a layer of unagi, a layer of rice, and two layers of unagi on top.

 

[Leroy_Brown]

"Romance"? YIKES! I'm a bachelor, so don't scare me like that!

That link looked awfully interesting though! Certainly worth investigating! If I do make it back to Japan this year, I certainly intend to ride on the bullet train. That would be mondo cool!

No, it's not like a "Mile High Club" plane at all. They like to give fancy names to trains, like the "Metro-liner" that ran between DC and NYC.

You haven't been on the bullet train yet? That thing is out of sight! THe trains are spotlessly clean, announcements are made in both English and Japanese, it's like being on a plane. Damn thing is so fast, it's like being on a plane as it speeds down the runway before take off. You have got to do it, Jeff!

You're right. Trains, both private railways and JR, are very nice in Japan. I also like the little boxed lunches they sell on JR trains or at the stations.

 

[misa.j]

My favorite is this one. Trout is spread on sushi rice, then tightly-pressed and wrapped in bamboo leaves all enclosed in a round container.

 

[Bob in Iowa]

My favorite is this one. Trout is spread on sushi rice, then tightly-pressed and wrapped in bamboo leafs all enclosed in a round container.

Now THAT looks really good!!! somehow, the Subway meatball sub that I had for lunch today just doesn't compare.