Re-experincing Japan on a 7-day holiday
Part IFasinated by Japanese culture and artful scenary, I again picked up Japan as the destination for my 7-day holiday during Chinese new year, just a little less than a year after I killed 9 days there back in Feb. 03. Despite my unsurpassed distaste of Japnese which I never want to disguise on historical factors, I could not resist temptations of Japan and its appealings as a place to visit.
There are of course added factors to it. Thanks to regular trips to Beijing over the past five months and my patronage of Grand Hyatt Hotel in Beijing, I have accumulated enough free nights for redemption. Expensiveness has made Japan the best place to use up those free nights, which would otherwise go expire by the end-April.
In fact, this is my 4th trip ever to this country. The 1st trip took place in April 89, when I was still working at ICBC Dalian. Sponsored by Bank of Tokyo, I came here, along with the other three from our bank, for a 2-week training at Bank of Tokyo’s HQ. One and half decades gone by since my first trip to Japan is only a short moment in mankind’s history, but a memorable period we Chinese people should all feel very proud of. Not only did the period witness profound social evolutions and economic leap in our country, but also involved tremendous changes in my personal life as well.
My journey to Japan back in April 89 was also my maiden overseas trip. Today, my feet have touched down on soils of over 30 countries. 15 years ago, I was here, overwhelmed by what I saw and shocked by modernization gaps between the two countries. My mind and attentions were not on anything cultural but fully occupied by obsessions in ways to minimize my consumption in order to save up enough to bring home much admired Japanese brand color TV, out of limited meal and transportation allowance dispensed by the Japanese sponsor. Today, I am here, as a tourist, financially independent, to explore Japan culturally. Material part of Japan is no longer of my interests, as most of what are available here are also attainable in China, more often than not, at much cheaper prices.
I certainly view myself as a common example of beneficiary of Deng Xiao Ping’s economic liberation policy. Deng Xiao Ping, the greatest mentor and reformer in Chinese history, in my view, has transformed China and lives of all Chinese people. He took China out of ideological traps which Chairman Mao had enjoyed so much in building and fortifying. Deng’s reforms have laid down solid foundations for ever-stronger, wealthier peace-loving China.
Part 2My 2nd trip to Japan happened 13 years after the first one. In Dec. 02, I was here for the second time on a 4-day marketing trip. From the beginning to the end during the trip, I only stayed in Tokyo, busy meeting clients without having much time to take a serious glance at the city. Then it came my 3rd trip in Feb. 03, only two months after the 2nd one, and now the 4th one, both of which are meant to be holiday.
On my holiday here in Feb. 03, I stationed in Tokyo and Osaka, commuting to nearby cities via Shinkansen. The 9-day holiday covered 8 cities, one city a day, including Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima and Sendai. My busy travelling schedule made it more like a business trip than a holiday. It is only suitable for people like me, who have been addicted to a life like a fast-running machine, have not really learned how to slow down even when I am supposed to. Such kind of hectic schedule is only possible in Japan, where Shinkansen trains make trips to nearby cities from Tokyo/Osaka only a matter of one or two hour journey.
While my trip a year ago only covered cities in central Japan, close to Tokyo/Osaka, this time around I decided to replicate the model, using Fukuoka as the commuting base, travelling to one of the selected nearby cities each day in western Japan, including some rural areas.
Part 3Busy with a project, I had not had time to plan my journey, until 4:16pm flight took off from Hong Kong airport on 18th January. Armed with a travel guidance book, I quickly formed a clear idea during the 5-hour flight over how to spend my 7 days efficiently.
When the plane landed at Tokyo Narita Airport at about 10.30pm (local time in Japan is 1 hour earlier than Beijing time), the airport was almost half empty. I was able to catch the last JR train (Japan Rail) after converting JR weekly pass voucher (purchased in Hong Kong) into offical weekly JP Pass at JP counter at the airport. JR Pass is only available for foreign tourists, voucher for the Pass can only be purchased overseas for conversion into official ticket upon arrival in Japan. By the time I finally arrived in Century Hyatt Tokyo, it was nearly midnight.
The next day when waking up, it was already 10am. The complimentary breakfast offered to Goldpassport members was already closed. After packing everything up and grabbing a meal box from a street vendor, I rushed to JR Tokyo Station to catch the next available train to Fukuoka.
Only after I got myself seated on the HK-Tokyo flight and started unfolding the travel guidance book did I realize that I’ve paid a price for my stupidity and lack of advance planning. I mistakenly thought, with Tokyo located in the center of the country, everywhere could be reached via Shinkansen in 2-3 hours, as it was the case for my trip in Feb. last year. On the back of such misperception, I set my base in Tokyo and used up all Goldpassport points for redemption of free stays for 2 nights at Grand Hyatt Century Tokyo and 4 nights at Park Hyatt Tokyo. Among different classes of Hyatt hotels, Park Hyatt is the best, followed by Grand Hyatt and then Regency Hyatt. As the only Park class hotel in the whole Asia, Park Hyatt Tokyo offers unbeatable comfort and luxury that is unmatched by any other hotels I have so far stayed. As a matter of fact, my decision to take Tokyo as the commuting base is partly related to my desire to refresh memory of my Park Hyatt experience during my stay last Feb. and partly due to the fact that Hyatt hotels are only available in limited cities in Japan. I need to tailer the choice of commuting base to the cities with availability of Hyatt hotel.
However, when opening the travel book on the flight, I then realised that it is not practical at all to commute from Tokyo to western Japan on a daily basis, with travelling time from Tokyo being 6 hours to Fukuoka and as much as 17 hours to Kagoshima. Realising my mistake, I adjusted my hotel bookings with four nights at Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, upon my arrival in Grand Hyatt Tokyo from airport. Still, a part of my mistakes can not be reversed. That is my flight bookings. As a price of my stuipidity, I will have to waste about a day travelling back to Tokyo from Fukuoka and return back to Hong Kong from Tokyo, instead of more ideal route to take flight back to Hong Kong from Fukuoka directly.
Part 4
However I dislike Japan and Japanese on historical factors, objectively I could not help praising them for their superior quality collectively as a nation and as human being. Honestly, over my stays there, I have encountered nothing that warrants my complains, apart from expensiveness in everything. After all, safety, cleanness and amicable natural environment all come with a price!
Much publicity has been given to Japan about what make it good about the country. Despite so, you will not fall short of pleasant surprises in what you see there, physically or intangibly. If being asked about what impressed me the most about Japan and Japanese, they should include convenience, punctuality and safety of the society, high degree of self-imposed disciplines, sense of responsibility and politeness of people, and well-preserved natural environment.
Travelling by high-speed bullet train Shinkansen, you do not need any allowance for missing schedule in planning train connections, as 99.9% of the chance trains will arrive and depart almost exactly in time, only missing the schedule by seconds, rather than by minutes. Exceptions to such were rare, but were luckily encountered by me. On 22nd January, I was trying to catch 7.56am train to Nagasaki from Fukuoka. The 2-hour journey turned out to be a 4-hour one. The strong wind and heavy snow hit western Japan, paralyzing railway network and leading to closure of highways.
To me, Japan appears to be a fine machine, well maintained and fast running. Each individual Japanese, whatever a role he or she is playing, functions in precision as an integral part of it. The machine is so well-lubricated that friction has been reduced to minimium. I have never spotted even once any one arguing in public. Japanese people made their name for themselves being quiet in public and polite to each other. Even travelling in a bullet train, for example, you will not feel people around you. What you will hear is only sound of page flipping (most of Japanese read books on trains or subway) and, of course, noise of running train itself. This is in sharp contrast to people in Hong Kong. Hong Kong people are notoriously famous for their incapability of making enough noise in bed with their sex partners (being the least frequent in exploring sexual pleasure in the world) on one hand, and their excessive power in speaking loud and noise making in public on the other. Luckily, I am an exception in both regards.
While I can not hide my appreciation to Japanese in their sense of social responsibility, disciplines, their nature in attention to details and hard working, there is indeed a downside in their personality. Masked behind their politeness are their cold and expressionless faces and unreadable minds.
Part 5The 7-day journey elapsed quickly. On 23rd, I found myself having to call my hard-won holiday an end, feeling just arrived. Taking into account of the 1st and the last day, which were spent on flights, and then barring many hours wasted on return journey from Fukuoko to Tokyo, which could otherwise be avoided if with proper planning, I effectively travelled 4.5 days only this time in Japan.
Despite limited time, I have had another good taste of diversity in Japanese climate and scenery, running from snow-covered Nagasaki, Goshiki-numa Swaps to sunny Himeji, from metropolitan Tokyo to rural town of Dazaifu, from fountain-rich Beppu to volcanic, forestry Kagoshima. Such has been made possible by highly developed web of Japanese railway network. Railway network in Japan stretches into almost every corner of the country and is unrhivalled by any other country in the world in level of penetration and sophistication. The railway network has served as nerves of Japanese society and contributed massively to even development and wealth levels across the whole country.
Having traveled to over 30 countries so far, this is my 2nd try in writing something during or post holiday. By doing so, I hope to share my travelling experience with you, in the same way as I would like to share with you my joy and sorrow.
(Japan)
(Germany)
(Austria-Alps)
(Paris)
(Denmark)