Japan
The ties between Taiwan and Japan are long and very strong. It is telling that so many Taiwanese are so fond of anything Japanese even though Japan occupied Taiwan for the first half of last century. It was equally interesting that so many of the Japanese we met on our 2 week trip had traveled to Taiwan or wished to do so.
Now my wife and I are travelers of old and have always been ready to pack a bag and venture off. But this trip was a little different. We started out as a party of 8, my in-laws, nephew, 3 kids, wife and myself. Backpacks not being appropriate, we decided to start with a 5 days Tokyo tour group.
The tour was great. It was well organised, well filled with activities and even managed to arrange the bus trips so all the Taiwanese participants could get their mid-afternoon snooze. As it had a Disneyland day included there were a few young families which gave the whole group an extra casual feel.
We farewelled the in-laws and returning tour group to spend an extra day at Disneyland and a couple of days in greater Tokyo.
We then activated our 7 day Japan Rail pass and hit the precision rail system for as much value as we could squeeze from it with 12 Shinkansen rides and a handful of regional and local trains in the week. I have never used the second hand on my watch for catching trains before but sitting on trains in in Japan I discovered it was 35 seconds fast. What an incredible system Japan Rail run!
Though traveling at 285 km/h the kids still managed to build card houses on the seats. Though they never completed a full second story!
The last few days we spent near Himeji in Western Honshu with friends. A relaxing end to busy holiday.
Japan is a fantastic place to travel with kids. There is so much for them to see and enjoy. Though our Australian/Taiwanese free-range kids in a Japanese battery kids world can be a little stressful at times!
There were comic books with naughty pictures in them and free magazines with enticing pictures for kids.
And so many buttons and levers to push and pull.
Despite the crowds and concrete jungles we still managed to find plenty of wildlife and enjoy some of the natural parts of Japan.
Japan is a fascinating place; so organised, so polite, so efficient. But for me, Taiwan beats it on so many accounts.
It was something about the toutured trees and domesticated stones.
I always had a feeling we were breaking some unwritten rule. Give me the free-flowing pragmatic chaos of Taiwan anyday.
Sounds like you had a great trip. Great photos too! But five days with a Taiwanese tour group?! For some of us, that would be an unspeakable nightmare! At least you were able to break free, and actually see some of Japan. I know of people who went on those tours to Japan, and came back not even knowing the names of the places they visited (and who maintained that Japanese cuisine tastes better in Taiwan!).
[Reply]
Stephen reply on September 17th, 2008:
The tour group was as much a Taiwanese cultural experience as a Japanese one! I too am not sure where we went but we did have a Chinese dinner in an underground resturant in Ikebukuro.
Traveling with kids and in-laws is a whole different ball game to independent backpacking. The tour gave a good base start.
Not quite as fun as your recent trip to Japan but fit for purpose with a family.
[Reply]
Kaminoge reply on September 17th, 2008:
At least you know the area is called Ikebukuro. I’ve had students come back from trips to Japan talking about “Daban” and “Beihaidao”, seemingly unaware that the locals might actually use different names (such as Osaka and Hokkaido). And I don’t know how many times I’ve heard Taiwanese express amazement at how the Japanese “use Chinese” in writing! A Middle Kingdom mindset still lives on with some folks!
There are lots of unwritten rules in Japanese society, but usually people who are obviously foreign are excused from having to know them. Other than remembering to take your shoes off when entering a home, or rinsing all the soap off your body before getting into a bathtub, visitors are given a lot of leeway. Having lived in both countries, I would have to say Taiwanese are more face-conscious, and therefore I find I have to be more careful what I say, or how I react, to people here than I do in Japan. I always feel more relaxed around Japanese people in general (of course things vary depending on the individual), especially when beer and sake are involved!
[Reply]
Stephen reply on September 17th, 2008:
We should be thankful that the Taiwanese are able and willing to travel and discover the world around is not all karaoke and green tea. I cringe at the nationalistic ignorance those in the real middle kingdom have of Japan.
That is interesting as I feel completely at easy with Taiwanese while I always felt like we were being judged in Japan. Specially with kids in public places, I always felt we were being carfully observed. But in general the people we met very friendly, accepting and quite worldly I found.
Don’t you love sterotypings!
As much as I was tempted, we managed to keep the soap out of the bath.
You all had a great time in Japan with family. I found out that you will have more activities in Taiwan than in Perth. Miss this chance with you, due to the time schedule. Wait for the next time. Cheers
[Reply]
Stephen reply on September 17th, 2008:
It is not our first trip to Japan but was our first big travels with kids. But with a bit of flexibility in our routine it was fun and interesting.
We still have lots of great traveling ideas. Please join us again soon.
[Reply]