Photo Trip Report: Japan in a Van

[pharvey]

Most "budget" rooms in Japan are that size, we also had to squeeze two pretty large cases into that box ... which was smaller than the van!

Yep, that was about the size of the room(s) I stayed in. To be fair though, we were working long hours and all I needed was a wash and bed at the end of the day!!

Yes, there was even a tub. The bathrooms and toilets in Japan were very impressive with all the high-tech functions.

It's a fair few years since I was there, but what stood out for me was that the "bathrooms" were simply a moulded plastic unit that would have simply been dropped in - shower/toilet/sink all part of the "mould" (though not linked!!). Can't say they were exactly high-Tech, but certainly functional!!

To show how long ago it was, my/the company credit card wouldn't work as they had a different system in Japan and the magnetic strip on the back of the card was a different size to those accepted in Japan (certainly made things a tad difficult having to pay cash for the likes of the "Bullet Train"). Similarly, mobile phones didn't work unless you had this "weird system" called Tri-Band!! How times change.....

[Nereus]

It's a fair few years since I was there, but what stood out for me was that the "bathrooms" were simply a moulded plastic unit that would have simply been dropped in - shower/toilet/sink all part of the "mould" (though not linked!!). Can't say they were exactly high-Tech, but certainly functional!!

Yes, I was going to mention those! I was also working, or going to work, and we stayed in what were called "businessmans hotels". They also had a small resturant attached, and I remember trying to teach the Jap cook to say "pork chop". It was the only bloody thing that we could eat! This was in the mid 1970's.

edit; The other thing that I recall was that the bloody pillow on the bed was a small rectangular block of either wood, or something similar!

[caller]

2005. Mobiles didnt work and the only ATM's usable to foreign cards were located at hotels

[buksida]

Day eleven
We only had this hotel for one night (about 18 hours in reality due to the tight check-in and out times) and it was the most expensive of the trip at 21,000 yen due to everything being full for Japan Culture Day, but at least breakfast was included. We stayed at a Japanese hotel chain called APA which is their equivalent of Premier Inn – budget (for Japan) but tiny hotels with all the trimmings.

By 10am we were standing on another train platform trying to get across Osaka to our next APA hotel and last of the trip in the Namba district.

Osaka has rough around the edges feel, a little more lively, edgy, and down to earth than Tokyo which was very shiny, sanitized, and a hub of business and commerce. Since we couldn’t check in, we left our luggage at the hotel and went for a walk through the busy walking streets around the Tsutenkaku Tower, Osaka’s iconic landmark.

This massive bazaar of restaurants, arcades, souvenir shops, and general tourist tat was heaving due to the long weekend so we escaped to the city park for some solitude among the meticulously kept trees and shrubbery.

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To follow: More from Osaka.

[Dannie Boy]

Did you try one of those burgers and if you did, were they as tasty as they looked?

[buksida]

I did and they were!

[Big Boy]

DSC_6501 - is that a leaky beer tap? Did you take advantage?

[buksida]

We did indeed, it was some kind of park festival going on for the long weekend. Cant beat a draught Asahi!

[buksida]

We stopped for a couple of draught Asahi’s on the way back to the hotel for the 3pm check-in and relaxed in the room before heading back out for a Katsu curry then into the Shinsekai Market area for the evening to head up the tower and get some photos of the visual feast that the area’s illuminated eateries provided.

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Cold beer comes out of a coin-op machine in Japan ... with no stupid time or date restrictions, place limits, train/boat limits, park restrictions, ad banning, censorship, sneakily drinking out of coffee mugs, cartels or monopolies, ridiculous prices for imports or 'exotic non-lagers', finger-wagging purist abstention brigades, packs of cops raiding restaurants, or fines for posting pictures. Thailand is like the Middle East in the dark ages in comparison.

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To follow: more Osaka

[Nereus]

Being an electrician must be a very good business in Japan! Not surprising that they need nuclear power plants to keep all those lights on!

[Dannie Boy]

Did you try any Japanese whisk(e)y?

[buksida]

Oh yes, and its rather good. Biggest regret was not buying more of it before we went to Korea or came back to Thailand ... but more on that in a later trip report.

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Even the imported stuff was a fraction of the price it is in Thailand. Their own lower end whisky comes in 4L bottles

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[pharvey]

I know we're talking a different scale certainly population density-wise (therefore housing/buildings) when talking Tokyo/Osaka vs say London, New York et al. But when looking at the London Skyline (or other major international cities) there always seems to be a mass of construction/Tower Cranes etc. perhaps building the "New City" - does Tokyo compare, or is construction minimal as it's already a relatively modern city? It's one factor I honestly can't remember....

[pharvey]

I'm assuming pic 182800 is "Pachinko" - Christ, they were everywhere!

How did the 4L (Plastic) Bottle of Whisky go down BTW?

[buksida]

Construction appeared minimal in both cities by comparison. Another thing was it was a lot more "low-rise" presumably due to the earthquake threat.

Not sure what a Pachinko is but the effigy all over Osaka was called a Billiken. https://www.osaka.com/info/osaka-histor ... -of-osaka/