yunko's trip to japan @ 2026 ft. the new ego

starting april 3rd, i went on a week long trip to japan! it's the second country i've visited and i had never felt so stressed yet happy in my life. it was a longterm goal since i was like 11 yr old. my mother allowed me to go on this trip for my birthday instead of a party. there's not a lot to talk about though, so i'm just gonna start with what happened.

the moment you step outside the airport, the first thing you'll notice are the busy train stations during rush hour. i came at an unfortunate time, and endured having to dodge the hundred different salarymen with my bulky suitcase, and at one point, someone even tripped over my suitcase and dropped their laptop. i was so shocked, i just stood there but we both bowed to each other so maybe it was okay?

another thing you notice is you earn the instinct to bow at everything. the most common occurance of a bow would be when you're passing by someone. in fact, even when you're at a crosswalk, the drivers bow to you while letting you pass by. everything is done while starting with すみません. you say that. every. time. and once i was back, i nearly bowed to my girlfriend's mom when i wanted to squeeze past her (´∇｀'') lel

OSAKA ( 3 days ) what did i do there?

- went to do dotonbori

cream soda was not worth it. i do like the melon flavor though!

- katsuoji temple.

"The word "katsu" in the temple's name refers to winning. People buy daruma dolls hoping to obtain "winner's luck".[6] If the wish is fulfilled, the daruma is often returned to the temple and left somewhere on the grounds." cited from the Wikipedia. i bought my own daruma, and got this mikuji.

a painting from a restaurant whose name i can't remember.

there's a nice story associated with said restaurant. it was a more local area, but the woman at the front desk said i was cute and she even went out of her way to help find my taxi, during her shift. without an umbrella! she was the first instance of actual hospitality, i didn't know how to feel. but she made us feel so welcomed. there were more instances like this.

- went on tour to kyoto.
i bought candies there but at that time, i was already running out of energy from horrid blood pressure. it was packed with other tourists.

during said tour, a tour guide assistant found me sitting down somewhere instead of being with my group because of exhaustion, and he decided to wait with me. "you came back here all by yourself," he typed into google translate. i didn't have the heart to tell him i got lazy.

- nara park.
they may look calm but they were far from polite. i cant count how many times fat deer bit my butt because i couldn't give them crackers fast enough...

there was a baby deer sleeping and i managed to sneak up to it for a photo and pets. deer fur is a little course, and i could feel a sort of residue from sweat and dirt. yuck. deer also shit a ton as well. they're cute but they're so gross and stupid!

TOKYO ( 3 days ) what did i do there?

- i went on more tours to ginza but i barely took photos.

- visited the evangelion store tokyo-01.

- same goes for the malls. i went to laforet harajuku, shibuya 109, and shinjuku marui annex.

i was right about lolita fashion there, because in all three malls i've visited, there was at least one floor dedicated to lolita fashion! i was called cute by one of the saleswoman. and pretty by another. at least 60% of my money went to these stores. pretty hefty price, but worth it compared to buying it online with tarrifs. so many new clothes!

tokyo was the only and first place i got courage to wear lolita in public. knowing, i will almost never be seen in lolita in america, the experience felt extra special. i stood out but, at least i wasn't obviously laughed at. this lolita identity of mine will be locked away until further notice. it's as if once i put on lolita fashion, i don't feel like my original self, but in a good way y'know? this other self (a new ego) gave me euphoria and guided me to stop bitching when i was zooming through shibuya crossing. i might as well call this identity denko (inspired off of my username elsewhere). i'll miss you.... maybe next time i visit japan again, denko will reemerge. in years. decades. hopefully.

do you like my haul? (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) i still have some yen leftover.

FINAL THOUGHT how was it?

japan is an amazing country, and should be people's first out-of-country vacation simply because of convenience and affordibility. you can get through at least one week with standard, textbook phrases and google translate on standby and it's pretty easy to navigate around.

the train systems (both bullet and JR) are such a stark difference here in my area, and i never got lost. japanese subway stations have translations in english to chinese, so your only best assistance is paying close attention to your surroundings and following the arrows on the walls/floors. first time visitors should REALLY CONSIDER relying on google maps for directions using trains. they outline what stop you should get off on along with the lines.

while i did say japan is an amazing country, i mean that it's amazing for tourists, but i can't imagine existing there as a citizen. it wasn't as fantastical as influencers make it out to be and i think the overabundance of tourists is part of why you may go through that "i'm not welcomed here" feeling. the atmosphere is busy, but i rarely saw people laughing and being silly with each other. they all had somewhere to go to. and you'll really only get "japanese hospitality" with mall and restaurant staff, but local citizens can still be reliable, if you target the right ones. my tip: find people standing in a corner on their phones, and they will have time to help you. .

i recall two instances:

i saw this lady doomscrolling on her phone, and upon asking where a certain line was, she told me to follow her and USED HER PASS to cross the ticket scanners, just to drop me off at MY line. she literally didn't need to do that, but i'm very thankful for her.

there was this guy i asked and he walked me through in broken english to show me the fastest bullet train ride to my destination. thank you sir.

thankfully, i never experienced the "gaijin treatment." everyone online tells you to follow very specific rules if you want japanese people to like you, but i think they're way too stressed on trying to impress them. you're really only ever going to follow train and restaurant etiquette. you can have fun but be considerate, and thats all you should keep in mind. i promise you the japanese do not care about how you should slurp your ramen.

this doesn't mean anything, but on the plane home, i sat with a japanese lady in her 40s who occasionally tried a conversation. she talked to the flight attendants for me, and it was just pleasant to be around her for 11 hours by myself. "we're really poor here, please come visit us again" LOL? i even saw her leave her seat to help another lady calm this baby down. thats all

fuck i missed the eggs. i like the way they cook eggs, so savoury.

8/10 trip, would fly again but with friends and girlfriend maybe! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡