Nippon journal entry 1

「今、あなたは私たちの言語を理解するのを助けるために私に追加料金を支払わなければなりません。」, said the conductor. I rolled my eyes and paid him ¥6,500 (50 USD). He gives me a dissatisfied look for a moment and says「もっと。」 I give an exasperated breath as I pay him another ¥13,000 (100 USD). "There, ya happy?!" I say. 「はい。」, he says, casually pocketing the cash I just gave him. 「さて...」

After a long train ride, I finally arrive in my destination Kyoto. 「京都でのご滞在をお楽しみください。」, says the conductor. "Thank you..." I say to him, adding "...swindler," once he closes the door.

Kyoto is just stunning! I arrived later in the day than I had hoped, but at least I got a lovely view of the sunset as I was exiting the train station.


As much as I wanted to go sight-seeing already, I was feeling very tired after a long plane ride and train ride all in the same day, so I summoned a taxi to take me to my hotel where I checked myself in and retired for the night.

I got up bright and early and texted my unofficial tour guide who I had arranged for and conversed with online before flying to Japan. His name is pretty long for a Japanese name, a fact he acknowledged himself. I'm not gonna repeat it all here. I don't even remember half of it!

During our discussions, he noted that my name Alex would be difficult to pronounce for Japanese people, so he suggested that I go by the alias 海員 during my stay in Japan. It means mariner. Nice and simple enough, I suppose. He also said for the sake of simplicity, I could refer to him as Tashiro. I could work with that! With that, I had my Japanese name (in a manner of speaking) and my trusty tour guide Tashiro-san!

Anyway, I texted Tashiro-san to let him know I arrived and was ready to meet him whenever he was. I informed beforehand what hotel I'd be staying at so he would know where to find me. He told me to meet him in the lounge next to the lobby in about 30 minutes.


After half an hour I waited in the hotel lounge and heard someone call out from behind me 「海員様!」 There were other people calling out to each other, so I just didn't pay much attention to it at first. But then I hear it again, a little closer 「海員様!」 After a moment, I suddenly realized "Oh crap, that's me!" I turn around and there's Tashiro-san in the flesh approaching me.

My instinctive reaction was to reach out to shake his hand, but then I quickly remembered the proper way to greet people in Japan. When he got close, I gave a bow and said "Nice to finally meet you, Tashiro-san." He smiled and gave a bow in turn. 「あなたはすでに日本のエチケットに精通しているようです。」 he said to me, looking impressed. 「でも、名前を忘れなかったの？」 I sheepishly admitted I did. In all fairness, the "様" honorific threw me off as well!

After we exchanged pleasantries for a bit, he then asked me 「どこから始めたいですか？」 I was itching to get acquainted with Japan's famous café culture first thing, but I was also feeling pretty hungry since I didn't eat anything at all the previous night (I was exhausted!) I explained this to Tashiro-san and said "How about we kill two birds with one stone and get some breakfast at the nearest café?" 「良いアイデア、」 he said 「私も朝食を食べませんでした。」

My hotel was only a 15 minute walk away from the nearest café, so we just walked. Tashiro-san knew Kyoto like the back of his hand! He was all pointing out all the various landmarks and other interesting sights during our short walk to the café area. There were several cafés to choose from, so I just went to the first one I saw that had a sign in English out front, lol.


Tashiro-san suggested ordering just a small meal so we could save some room for later while we're café-hopping. It was tempting to eat more since we were both hungry and it didn't help that the little grilled tuna and egg sandwich we ordered to share was absolutely delicious! But he had the right idea; I didn't want to miss out on more tasty food.

Once we were all done, I asked Tashiro-san "Where should we head next?" 「それはあなた次第です、」he said, 「あなたは道を先導し、あなたが終わったときはいつでも私と話すことができます。」 "Alright then," I said "Let's find another café." 「お先にどうぞ 海員様。」 Tashiro-san said, gesturing with his arm.

We only had to walk a short distance before I found this interesting little café:


It was a cute little place and the staff there were real friendly and excited to meet me, for some reason. They even spoke to me in English. "You are American?" one of the waitstaff asked me. I laughed and said I was. "Oh, we love seeing your kind here. Please, sit anywhere!" They asked me what my name was and I told them I was going by 海員 while I was in Japan, but that my real name was Alex. They said it kinda funny, sounded like "Areksu". Tashiro-san smirked and said 「あなたに言った。」 I told them they could just call me 海員 , lol.

They were very welcoming! I half expected them to give me a foreigner's discount or something (they didn't, lol.) But what they did do is offer me some suggestions from their menu. In particular, this little coffee float with soymilk ice cream I ended up ordering:


I asked what that thing on top was and they said it was a sesame cookie. I was intrigued! I never heard of a sesame cookie before. Neither I nor Tashiro-san were able to make out what the shape was supposed to be, lol. We thought maybe a fish. Anyway, it was okay. Tasted just like what it was: a sesame seed flavored cookie. The drink itself, however, was delicious! The ice cream was yummy and the coffee, once flavored with the ice cream, was divine!

Once I had finished and got ready to leave, I left the café a generous tip of ¥2,500 (About 20 USD) as thanks for how nice and welcoming they were. I told them I was café-hopping and even if I find a place with better coffee, I doubt I'd find a place with better service. I think they appreciated that.

The day started off cloudy, but the sun was coming out a little more by the time Tashiro-san and I were finished at that last café. "Know of any good outdoor cafés?" I asked him. 「もちろん、」he said 「フォローしてください。」

Tashiro-san led me to this much fancier café that was partly open air. It had nice, comfortable seats you could slouch in, lol. They also had wifi and little outlets for people to plug in their devices. It was actually encouraged that you stay there for a prolonged period of time! Good thing Tashiro-san and I were able to find ourselves a table.


This place had a signature drink and dessert: a green tea latte and a three-colored cheesecake. I ordered both, of course, and I was digging the cheesecake right away because its three colors were red, white and green. Just like the Italian flag!


It tasted even better. That and the latte! Tashiro-san and I hung out there for a little while enjoying, the sunshine while it lasted. But all this café hopping was too much fun and I still had plenty more to go...