Iizuka Shi

We opted for a one-night stopover in Manila in order to avoid a 5am flight and tight connection. While we didn’t see much of the city proper, we enjoyed our evening at the Mall of Asia and happily dined at Din Tai Fung (a favorite of ours – a Chinese restaurant with multiple locations in Seattle).

Guys, I can’t tell you how happy we are to be in Japan. Everett has been talking about Japan for years and we finally arrived. We decided to fly into a southern island (Kyushu) with intentions to make our way north (and depart from Tokyo). First, we did not anticipate the weather – it is barely 50 degrees and we have no warm clothes. We’ve been in the heat for the last few months so it’s a nice change. Cue: Uniqlo shopping. Second, there is very limited and sporadic English. Japan is our 13th country and it’s the first time we are using Google Translate daily. While the language is already posing some challenges, we are getting by with a lot of hand gestures and laughing. Third, money – a 10,000-yen note is $67 and they are going quickly. “We’re not in the Philippines anymore.” The best part so far is finally arriving in a “normal” city (e.g., no tourists) where we aren’t the center of attention (constant, uncomfortable stares), and we can feel like regular people. The city is so clean, everyone is uber-polite, and since Everett is learning Japanese (Duolingo) we receive the most heart-warming giggles of surprise/affection at every interaction. We feel so welcomed. With a sigh of relief, everything is easy again.

Week 1 Highlights:

On our first night we ate at Ichiran, a well-known ramen chain. Food was ordered via a vending machine and served at individual dining stations.

That evening at our hotel we happened upon a gathering and we did a Zoom call to a school in northern Thailand.

Our hotel had a delightfully weird “cat and nautical” theme. I can’t make this up.

We rode on a boat shaped like a swan (with a sign that read: “If you drop your phone into the lake, you will not get it back”).

We visited our first shrine – Kushida.

The toilet seats are heated and have interesting washing features. Toilet game is on point.

NO ONE crosses the street until the sign says Walk, even if there are clearly no cars coming and it is totally safe to cross.

We got lost in the Hakata Train Station (it’s massive!) and visited an underground mall (such beautiful clothes, ceramics, and home goods).

We ate sushi and met the cutest elderly couple who have been running their restaurant since 1970! That’s 54 years!!

People work late here; streets are full of business people (full suits with briefcases) leaving work at 7pm+.

Every day we eat something from a vending machine – on every street corner, sometimes multiple machines, with everything you need (hot coffee, ramen, fried chicken, sushi, ice cream, etc.).

The food is next level (favs so far: ramen, udon, sushi, sake, and a bunch of stuff in unidentifiable packages that we don’t know what it is) and even convenience stores sell delicious options -- our new Go To Item is $1 fried chicken at Lawson’s (like a 7-11).

The trains are so clean and QUIET – Ken and Everett are way too loud to be Japanese.

Everyone is fashionable and precise in their fit; we are frumpy, homeless backpackers in comparison.

People are strangely helpful… not just pointing to what we need… but actually walking us to where we need to be… and then giving us a friendly wave goodbye and smile.

The food portions are tiny. Like toddler-sized. Combined with the chopsticks… will we lose weight here?

There are NO trash cans – anywhere. We have been carrying our garbage for blocks or even bringing it back to our hotel.

People patiently wait in lines in places that are super crowded (train/bus/bathroom queues) and nobody gets upset about it??

We rode on a bullet train (200 miles per hour!) from Fukuoka to Hiroshima. It felt like we were flying. Incredible. Actually, we felt queasy looking out the window.

We had a hilarious conversation (entirely via hand gestures) with a spunky grandma (who spoke no English) as she cooked in front of us a delicious lunch of BBQ cabbage pancakes. We sat next to a Japanese Bruno Mars impersonator and an American air force linguist.

And we drank coffee made on a bicycle.

EVERY DAY is a unique experience and we are beyond grateful to be here.Read more