Here I am, writing this post on a Shinkansen speeding across Japan bound for Shinagawa before transferring to another line for Haneda Airport. We left Osaka at 8:30 this morning and will be home in approximately 27 hours.

What can I say about this trip?

It was fun, dotted with red now and then from the pain and anger and frustration. I had fun during those moments I had to myself. It was one of the perks of having mom’s friend traveling with us, though mom often chose to let her go off on her own rather than me.

I enjoyed the nights in Kyoto when I got to find my own meals, rather than needing to accommodate mom and her friend. Her friend isn’t picky but mom, my oh my, you can take her down a street full of restaurants serving lobsters and caviar and still, she wouldn’t like it. Trying to find a place to dine with her is as tough as satisfy a Goddess.

Even her friend asked me the other day, “Your mom doesn’t like to try new things, does she?”

“Not. At. All.” I told her and recounted the time we went to Moab and Yellowstone and she insisted on eating Chinese food every night. I think her friend saw the side of my mom that only I see on this trip and was a little surprised and shock that I’m dealing with this on a daily basis.

I saw quite a few places on this trip, many of which I can barely recall at this moment though can fully recount once I look at the pictures. The spots that stood out to me were probably Toshodaiji and Nara Park. I loved the nature walks and the deer, though I can do without getting murdered by mosquitoes. I can’t remember much of the other places most likely was due to the weather.

My my my… the weather! I swear, if you want to lose weight, go to Japan in August or September, and walk outside around Tokyo, sweat will be pouring from your pores and you’ll instantaneously be slimmer. I don’t think I have ever sweat this much.

Overall, Japan did not make a bad impression. I will definitely visit again, preferably in cooler weather and alone. I will not visit its tourist-filled cities. I will most likely visit its rural regions to see its natural landscapes.

As nice and well-mannered Japanese people are, the fact that they understood next to no English really frustrated me. We got robbed by the taxi driver this morning because of that. The taxi driver took the long route and charged us nearly double of the supposed fare. He also didn’t take credit card, only cash. That was the other frustrating thing, in the world of electronic payments, we still had to carry a wad of cash and bag of change around for subway and train fare.

Add that onto the fact that no one wanted to help, everyone just whizzed by while we were spinning in circles, trying to find our way. When we were in Himeji, we discovered we were low on cash for our train ticket. We asked every bank and shop where to find currency exchange, no one knew, until we reached the visitor information desk. Oh, and people are always trying to cut in line. Someone cut in front of me yesterday, she just stepped in front of me like I wasn’t there. Then again this morning, fortunately, I stepped forward and blocked his path.

It’s funny, many told me I will like/love Japan. I don’t know why people would think such thing. I am not in like/love with Japan, not yet anyway but I’m not giving up. Perhaps if I visit again in another time.

To view all the posts on my trip to Japan, click here.