Haven called Japan*

*Author's note: This post will most likely sound like an over-the-top tourist advertisement, but I simply can not but rave about Japan! I assure you that Japanese government did not pay me to publish this :P

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Girls wearing yukatas (not kimonos)

The moment I landed in Fukuoka, a small city in the south parts of Japan, I felt a long missed sensation of a modern society. Everything was clean, efficient, no-nonsense, people were respectful, polite - they even smelled nice and clean. (I wonder if I've lived in China too long to notice the lack of body odor...)

I was impressed with how high-tech everything was, even the toilets with their built-in bidets! After dirty, old fashioned China it was so refreshing to visit a developed country and I must've looked silly smiling to myself at every turn admiring the smooth operation of everything around me. For instance: All transportation ran on time. Smoking was prohibited in most places. Even during rush hour there was no pushing or showing: people gave way to each other. People QUEUED (this NEVER happens in China) politely and quietly everywhere possible. There were signs on public transportation that asked you nicely to turn your mobile phone on mute and to refrain from speaking to it as it was disrespectful to your fellow passengers. Seriously?! I felt like I was in heaven!

Old straw boots hanging on a door of an
ancient village house. Gokayama,
West coast Japan

The genuine smiles I got from people truly warmed my heart and I fell in love with Japan during the first hour I was there.

Many Japanese people apologized for their level of English but honestly mostly everywhere I managed perfectly. Navigating throughout Japan was a piece of cake as most signs are in both Japanese and English. I traveled in six cities using the high speed trains which were marvelous. From Tokyo to Kyoto in 2 hours 20 minutes! The trains travel at 300km/h+ and have all the comforts you might want: luxurious big, reclining chairs with plenty of leg space, plugs for charging your electronic devices, AC, etc. If you're planning on traveling to Japan I highly recommend buying a Japan rail pass before entering the county - as the expense of traveling in Japan is very high.

That might actually be the only downfall of my trip in Japan: compared to China everything was very expensive. Though it was still a lot less expensive than Scandinavian countries, mind you. It was still easy to find cheap places to have a really nice meal in, but beer and other alcoholic drinks were so expensive that I didn't enjoy too many during my trip!

Miyajima Shrine

But the most important thing (for me) in Japan was the culture: I visited countless temples, shrines, a ninja house, samurai castles, ancient villages, the imperial palace and felt nothing short from impressed. I still couldn't get enough and will have to return to find out more about the history and the culture in Japan. It was truly fascinating.


The nature didn't disappoint me either: lush green forests, some of the most beautiful gardens in the world (and I've seen many), cozy city parks, clean rivers and oceans (safe drinking water) and quality of air. Inspired by all the beauty I must've walked a good 10km a day almost on daily basis! I even was spoiled with a beautiful sunset on a beach for my last night in Japan. Truly unforgettable.





















And I couldn't forget about the more creative part of my trip either: all thanks to my amazing Couchsurfing host I got to try plenty of Japanese arts and crafts, such as origami, calligraphy, paper making and I found out about the gold leafing technique.

Practicing calligraphy...it's hard!!

Decorating the paper I made myself

As a food lover the Japanese kitchen deserves to be mentioned, too - and to be honest I was anticipating the sushi for weeks before my actual trip! (And I indulged myself with it at least once or twice a day during my trip!) In addition I was lucky enough also to have my new Japanese friends cook for me and take me to amazing Japanese restaurants to eat yakitori, sashimi, tempura and other amazing dishes. I tried eel for the first time and found it very tasty. Plum sake also took my heart whereas the original sake I can't really rave about.

Finished! (This was the work of only two people)

For a food lover such as myself it was simply divine to experience the real Japanese cuisine and I can't speak too highly of it!

Sushi train! 

All in all  Japan for me was a haven. I needed an escape from the Chinese reality and I can't imagine a better cure than what I experienced :) I fell in love with the country and will organize a more (semi) permanent return to soon. To be honest if I could've gotten away with it, I would've just stayed in Japan and forgotten all about China!

Alas, Japan will have to wait for a few months. For now I'll savor my wonderful memories :)

One of Fukuoka city's parks

Revelations and life choices

I'll be honest. I never wanted to come to China to work. A couple of years ago I had an idea in my head that I wanted to go work in Japan. I'm not sure how that happened since I'd never been to Japan before and didn't know much about it, but I was determined to go through with it.
Unfortunately after I got my English teaching certificate last year the majority of opportunities for an inexperienced teacher were in China, not Japan. I tried applying for many teaching jobs in Japan only to find that I lacked the required experience. Hence, I came to China. My biggest mistake was assuming that China would be similar to Japan.
How bitterly mistaken I was.

I can confess that going to Japan was like a dream come true. Once I was there I realized that Japan was exactly what I had wanted to experience all along: old culture, ancient customs mixed beautifully and seemingly seamlessly with Western modern culture and comforts, along with polite, super friendly people. I knew that Japan was everything I was hoping for when I first flew to China. And never got.

Now I can admit to myself that I have been disappointed with China since the beginning. I don't think I need to repeat my issues with China since I often write about them: pollution, dirt, chaotic no rules mentality, rude and disrespectful manners of the general crowd.

Visiting Japan truly made me happy: in every six cities where I traveled I was thrilled that I could go and walk everywhere - and enjoy it - since there was no human waste or rubbish on the streets, no need to wear an air pollution mask, the cities were well maintained, organized and beautiful; the locals were incredibly friendly and the Japanese people are SO polite! What a contrast to my life in China.

During the trip to Japan I experienced a growing feeling that I'm wasting my time in China. I realized how it's not just enough for me. Not even for the sake of the experience anymore. Sure, it's been a novelty, the craziness has been a test whether I could adjust to an extreme existence or not. I think at the end of the day I come out as a winner: I survived the massive culture shock. I feel like I've immersed into the culture.
I read articles written by Westerners who have lived in the mega cities of China (ie. Beijing or Shanghai) and smile to their stories of how different life is for them there. Well, I can honestly say that one hasn't experienced "real China" unless they've lived outside the mega cities. You simply can't imagine how it is here unless you come and see it for yourself. Living in a mega city in China is a piece of cake compared to the small cities.

While I was in Japan I fell in love with it. Truly, it made such an impact on me I did not want to leave. The saddest part? Coming back to China AND I can't tell any of my Chinese friends here about my wonderful holiday because Chinese people hate the Japanese and everything that comes from Japan.

I see now that my time in China is coming to an end. When exactly, I am not sure. I still have some three months to go til my contract here ends but in so many ways I feel like I'm done with this all. I'm contemplating how important is it to have that full one year of teaching experience under my belt (and in my CV) versus to go and be somewhere I really want to be.

A friend of mine told me a while back that she hopes "China is either treating you well or teaching you a lesson". I think I know now which.

At the moment I'm standing on a crossroads. Where will the next path lead? I can't wait to find out :)

I feel a need to pack my bags