If doing Kyoto, I suggest staying at least overnight. A day trip just isn't enough. IMO Narra can be a great day trip Phil. Too bad you don't drink. I hear the distillery tours are awesome! ....hic....
I stayed at such a hotel in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Thank heavens I was told which color flag to look for or I would have stripped to nothing with 50% chance of doing so in ladies section!Yes Jack, I plan to do 3 days in Kyoto. My friend who frequents Japan told me there's even a hotel there with a hot spring bath inside.
I stayed at such a hotel in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Thank heavens I was told which color flag to look for or I would have stripped to nothing with 50% chance of doing so in ladies section!
And one of the most amusing objects I've ever seen is their toilet, which is a bidet combo. The one in our hotel opens its seat cover once it detects a person. A bright white light flashes and illuminates the bowl, showing how clean the inside its, like brand new. The controls have various functions. Low, high and eco flush mode. Oscillate mode. Bidet water temperature setting controls, nozzle pressure control, and nozzle distance control. And then you're done, there is a dryer control. And oh, standard item is, the round seat is heated, always. By the end of our trip. my brother in law and my wife said this is what they miss most upon arriving back in Manila. I can't say I'm not with them.
Best thing I ever bought abroad (outside of audio of course ) was our Toto Washlet with matching toilet! I think I actually started a thread here in the very early days of WBF.
I "enjoyed" the heated seat so much that when we built our vacation house, I made sure there is electricity right next to the toilet. But try as I might, i could not convince my wife to get one of those because she had never experienced it!And then you're done, there is a dryer control. And oh, standard item is, the round seat is heated, always. By the end of our trip. my brother in law and my wife said this is what they miss most upon arriving back in Manila. I can't say I'm not with them.
This reminds me. It never hurts to ask for an English menu if one is not provided per above. Often when they see you are a foreigner, they give you one. But many times they don't. So I just ask the in Japanese: "eigo no menu arimasu ka?" (do you have English menu?) They are shocked at first that someone who seemingly is speaking Japanese wants an English menu. But then they get you one or say no. If they don't, they may switch to speaking English which while broken, will be better than our Japanese!We were recommended by friends to try Ichiran Ramen in Tokyo, but I never expected to be seated in a cubicle like voting booths. It has individual drinking cold water dispenser, and a curtain in front of you where in the waiter pops in and brings in your ramen bowl. You only get to see his hands, and the usual murmur of Japanese words which probably mean 'enjoy your ramen'.
The pen and paper is for you to fill out to order more ramen noodles if you still are hungry, with the distinct warning that you must still have some soup left before you order the ramen noodles because they cannot sell you more soup, just the noodles.
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This reminds me. It never hurts to ask for an English menu if one is not provided per above. Often when they see you are a foreigner, they give you one. But many times they don't. So I just ask the in Japanese: "eigo no menu arimasu ka?" (do you have English menu?) They are shocked at first that someone who seemingly is speaking Japanese wants an English menu. But then they get you one or say no. If they don't, they may switch to speaking English which while broken, will be better than our Japanese!
That's true Amir. On some occasions, there were English menus provided. If not, the next fallback is 'sign language', which we in the Philippines are good at, the non formal one, like drawing a rectangle shape with your index fingers to indicate a menu card, and a smaller rectangle to indicate you're asking for your bill. My last fallback, is that fortunately I was schooled in Chinese characters and Japanese Kanji writing is the same as Chinese, so it's easy for be to detect words like chicken, beef, pork, vegetables and a host of other animals. I told my kids, eat your heart out for not taking your Chinese lessons seriously in high school. And talking about the language barrier, I spotted a few salesladies in department stores with an arm band that says 'I speak Chinese'. And amazingly, they speak Mandarin Chinese with the tone like they were from mainland China.
Indeed Japanese are excellent at sign language. I use my hands all the time even when speaking Japanese. Like how many of us are there for dinner. I say it and hold up my fingers at the same time.
I also took some Taiwanese people with me to Japan and indeed they did manage to read Kanji characters many times although sometimes their meaning was quite different than Japanese for more exotic stuff. I really envy anyone who can read Kanji/Chinese symbols at any level!
You are making me really hungry to go back to Japan! My Japanese friends/colleagues there have been asking me to come for a union this fall and if all goes well, I will do that.
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