10 Things I Loved About Japan

Can you believe it’s been a YEAR since we went to Japan?!

Tomorrow marks a year since we flew out to Tokyo, so I’ve been reminiscing about our time there. What a blast we had – from the full-on bright lights of Tokyo to relaxing on a peaceful island with deer and shrines, from a sombre museum facing the resilience of humanity to being immersed in a video game theme park away from reality, Japan had a bit (or a LOT) of everything.

There’s no doubt that Japan is one of my favourite countries, and after the long wait to get there, it blew all expectations. This was one of the best trips I will ever take.

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I’ve written about everything we did there and everywhere we visited, but I find there are always things in between the bits “worth writing about” that slip through the net; things you notice in the moment, or that, looking back, you really enjoyed about a place. And believe me when I say Japan has plenty of those.

Whether it’s the awesome little things like the vending machines, or wacky things like the robot dinosaurs that checked us into a hotel, there are tons of things to love about Japan.

As well as that, there are the big things; the reasons we wanted to visit in the first place. Japan was full of teenage dreams for me, nerdy dreams for Ash, and dreams we didn’t even know we had.

Here are 10 things I loved about it.

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1. The trains – bullet trains & novelty trains

One of the (many) things I was most excited about on our Japan trip was riding a bullet train! I’ve wanted to go on one since I was a teenager, so it was brilliant finally getting to do it.

The trains are comfortable, fast and reliable, and are by far the best way to get around the country.

Want to hear something funny, in a “this could only happen to you” way? You always read that the trains in Japan are never late. Even a minute late is cause for disaster. So guess what happened to us? Our first bullet train of the trip was delayed by ten minutes. It’s unheard of!! Of COURSE it happened to me!

Oh, and another weird moment: we were queuing for train tickets one day in Osaka, and Ash got chatting to a Japanese man in the queue. When he found out we’re from Scotland, he asked where. At that point, you’re never too specific, are you? Ash just said Edinburgh. “Ah!” the man said. “I was a manager at Hewlett Packard. I used to go to Edinburgh for work to visit the factory near there.”

You’ll never guess where the factory used to be. Five minutes from our house!! I mean here we are, in the middle of Japan, and we’ve met someone who used to regularly visit our little town in Scotland??? What are the CHANCES?!

As well as the classic bullet trains, though? How about the NOVELTY trains?!

Ash & I rode the zen garden train in Kyoto, and it was SO COOL!

We also went on a Naruto themed train near Mount Fuji (there’s a theme park there which has a Naruto ride) as well as a Mount Fuji one itself.

I had several trains on my list, including the Hello Kitty shinkansen (turns out we probably *could* have worked this in on our journey to Hiroshima… I thought it would leave us too short on time), the beautiful Aoniyoshi train that runs between Osaka and Nara (which sold out), and the Pikachu train which unfortunately we weren’t planning to be anywhere near.

Needless to say, train travel in Japan is just brilliant.

2. The toilets

If you haven’t been to Japan, you’ll laugh at this one. If you HAVE been to Japan, you will absolutely agree with me.

Heated toilet seats, bidet functions, and even sound effects are all commonplace in bathrooms across Japan.

We were very sad when we arrived back in the UK to cold toilet seats, and toilets without fancy buttons. People even get them installed back home because they’re so great! Although you have to have some specific plumbing to make it work, and it’s very pricey even on top of that, which is why more people don’t.

3. Conbinis

Oh my God. There’s something about convenience stores in Asia. I loved 7 Elevens in Thailand, but Japan takes them to a whole new level. And, to be honest, 7 Eleven isn’t even the best. FamilyMart and Lawsons are also great.

It’s a good idea to go to a conbini at least once a day on your trip. We pretty much always popped into one as we left our hotel, to grab some snacks and something for breakfast (which we’d then have to eat outside, because walking and eating is a major faux pas!). Quite often we’d also swing by in the evening before bed, too.

I love going into supermarkets abroad anyway, as it’s always interesting to see what’s available, as well as being an affordable way to try local food. In a country where there are so many novelty snacks, it’s an absolute must.

Yes, that is a strawberry & cream sandwich, a literal boiled egg that’s been packaged, and a sweet potato ice cream thing. How’s that for a starter, main and dessert? I only bought the sweet potato one!

But conbinis in Japan also do hot food, like fried chicken, as well as heated bottles of tea and coffee. To be honest I tried one hot tea and it was disgusting (and probably the only bad thing I tried in Japan!). But you gotta try these things once!

Ash was on a mission to compare the fried chicken (his verdict: FamilyMart is best), and we also had a go with the chicken egg sandos – that is, buying an egg sandwich and sticking a bit of fried chicken in it. Apparently this is a huge thing!? Japan is crackers, I tell you.

4. And on that note, vending machines

Vending machines in Japan are legendary. From any snacks and drinks you can think of to Pokemon cards to hot pizza, and of course a few less savoury items (we’ve all heard about the used underwear…), you can buy anything in Japan on the street.

I don’t think I was expecting them to be quite as ubiquitous as they are but they really are on pretty much every street.

The weirdest one I saw was probably this diaper (nappy) one which mostly actually sold drinks – but what a great idea for anyone getting caught short!

5. Train station stamps

One of my absolute favourite activities in Japan was finding the eki stamps in each train station! My friend and I LOVED this. We even risked missing trains for this. We didn’t care; it was great fun!

I bought a notepad at the start of the trip to fill with stamps, and fill with stamps I did – my stamp at the airport station is on the very last page of my book!

There are also stamps at various other locations, like shrines and Universal, but we didn’t try to collect these. I did get a giant one from a ridiculous restaurant in Kyoto, just because it was hilarious. That’s taken pride of place across the middle of my notepad!

Stamps in general are quite a big part of Japanese culture. People use “hanko” stamps which serve as a signature for all sorts of things, and can be used to identify people on documents. A bit like a seal, but still commonly used today!

6. Train station assistants

There’s a running theme here with trains and stations, but this is actually one of my favourites!

I remember seeing something YEARS ago about how if you’re stuck with a ticket machine in a train station, a man will pop out of the machine to help. Well. I assumed it was a myth, or at the very least that they wouldn’t be used any more.

Nope.

We SAW IT HAPPEN! This is probably such a mundane thing to Japanese people, but it was one of those moments where I looked at Ash with a “OMG!! IT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING!!” look on my face.

7. Mascots & kawaii character culture

There are mascot & kawaii signs and products everywhere in Japan!

I knew Japan love their kawaii (cute) cartoon characters, but I expected them to just be on the odd signs. On the contrary, they’re on construction site signs, shopping centres, leisure centres, warehouses, train station safety signs and most advertising.

As well as general cute characters, there are also the famous ones like Pokemon and Nintendo characters, like Pikachu and Kirby. We spent a lot of time in their stores, including the Pokemon store in Tokyo Station where you can buy an exclusive Tokyo train conductor Pikachu! Also loved the Kirby store at SkyTree, and of course Studio Ghibli is one of my favourites.

There are also lots of anime girls – including train information centres and all sorts of advertising. Some of it is very creepy, and I have a few NSFW pics which I won’t share on here!

And, of course, there are virtually unlimited kawaii and otherwise nuts wares in the arcades and gonpachi machines, which are just as widespread as the vending machines.

Would you like a hamster butt, a Fluffy Puffy, or a giant otter?

This one of the bread is hilarious, because later that same day, I found some homeware with the same character on it. So obviously I’ve had to look it up – he is Pandoro, the bread thief, a mouse that dresses up as bread to steal more bread. It’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard!!

Also, Ash failed to tell me that he spotted an actual mascot wandering the streets in Hiroshima. I can’t believe I didn’t, but they weren’t exactly at the forefront of my mind when looking at memorials. But then I suppose that’s the thing with mascots. They do pop up when you least expect them! As is the way in Japan.

8. All of the Japanese food

Can’t really talk about what I love about Japan without mentioning the food, can I?

It’s rare that a single cuisine offers so many iconic dishes. We had plenty of ramen, tempura, tonkatsu, takoyaki and sushi. Then there are regional dishes like okonomiyaki, popular menu items like yakitori, snacks such as mochi, and the unique novelty food like custard taiyaki. Also worthy of a mention: melonpan!! I had this delicious bread every morning in Tokyo, as our hotel had an on-site bakery.

Beyond that, there’s the fried chicken from conbinis, not to mention all the snacks. Bento boxes are also mandatory for any train journey.

I think what may have surprised me the most (because let’s face it, the quality of the food did not surprise me at all), is just how affordable it all was. We could eat a good meal for a fiver, and even our best meals barely cost more than £20 each. Unless you’re splashing out on kobe beef, it’s extraordinary value.

Also – as well as the actual food, loads of restaurants have plastic food outside to showcase the dishes. And… they actually look GOOD?! They’re so popular that you can even buy them from shops! Once again, taking plastic fruit to a whole new level.

And also whatever the heck is going on in that display on the right.

One of my favourite things is all the unique snacks you can get there, like the many, many flavours of KitKats. I bought different things almost every day.

9. The weird & wacky tech

If there’s one thing Japan is famous for in modern culture, it’s the tech.

For decades, Japan has gone above and beyond in the tech industry, with an entire neighbourhood of Tokyo known for just that, as well as a futuristic feel in their cities.

The best place to go is Akihabara, which is packed with arcades and gaming stores.

But my favourite things were the type of things you wouldn’t find anywhere else.

Like the hotel we stayed in which was manned by robot dinosaurs.

Or Pepper Parlor, a café where the servers are robots who will chat to you. Several others like this are popping up, like Syabu-yo and Dawn Cafe (which is brilliant because the robots are actually controlled by housebound people – set up to empower people with debilitating disabiltiies. What a great initiative!).

The only thing I was really gutted about was the fact Robot Restaurant has shut down. This was the epitome of wacky Japanese culture, assaulting all the senses and one of those things you have to experience for yourself. I was genuinely upset that we couldn’t experience this for ourselves!

One fun-looking alternative is Kujira Entertainment, a vibrant not-quite-club / not-quite-restaurant.

10. The themed & novelty cafes

We could have gone to a different themed cafe every day on our trip. We didn’t go to the Pokemon café or the Pompompuri one, nor did we go to any animal cafés (I have opinions of those…) but we DID go to a Final Fantasy cafe for Ash’s birthday, and a Studio Ghibli themed restaurant which was incredible!

There are also some amazing ones like Yokozuna Tonkatsu which is run by an ex-sumo wrestler.

And it’s not just specifically themed ones – there are lots of novelty places like the Pepper Parlor robot cafe, Kumachan Onsen where you can get a teddy bear hotpot, Le Shiner where you can get a (very average) rainbow grilled cheese, or Totti Candy Factory where the candy floss is bigger than your head. SO MUCH NOVELTY! I am here for it!

And the same goes for bars – Neo Shinjuku Atsushi is a cyberpunk themed bar I had on my list, along with Vampire Café (no prizes for guessing the theme) and even Bar The Church, which comes complete with bartender nuns. And that’s just in Tokyo; over in Osaka there’s Pachimon Wars, a Star Wars themed bar, and a secret bar which you enter through a red telephone box, appropriately named Bar Call Me Tell Me. We went to none of these, as we simply ran out of time.

I could probably write a post about 50 things I loved about Japan. How clean it is, the queues at train stations, the stationery, the kawaii wares which I’ve only touched on above, the shrines dedicated to anything you’d like (even specifically driving safe), the arcades and gonpachi machines everywhere. I love the calligraphy, the hidden historic corners that you can just stumble across, the traditional decorations, the beautiful dress, the incredible castles. Not to mention the beauty of the country, the excellent theme parks, the history, the fact it caters to so many niche interests.

The fact that I could probably go back ten times and have a completely different itinerary each time is testament to just how brilliant it is. For such a small country, it truly has so much.

This has been a fun excuse to reminisce, but unfortunately I just want to go back now. And goodness knows if/when that’ll ever happen.

Missed all my Japan content? Here are some of my favourite posts!
⭐ My Top 10 Highlights Of Our Trip To Japan
⭐ Five Days In The Bright Lights Of Tokyo
⭐ Shrines, Temples & Geisha: How To Spend Two Days In Magical Kyoto, Japan
⭐ A Love Letter To Osaka, Japan: Why It’s Worth More Than A Day Trip
⭐ An Overnight Trip To Hiroshima, Miyajima & Himeji From Osaka
⭐ Visiting the Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo + Tips For Buying Tickets
⭐ Everything We Bought In Japan – The Best Souvenirs To Buy