Julie and Mark Down Under: Konichiwa!

[LtoR: Zen Rock Garden in Kyoto, Kajal consuming a nasty Bento box (full of raw stuff we couldn't figure out) on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto, All three of us in brightest district of Tokyo, Shibuya]

[LtoR: Julie and Kajal in front of the biggest Buddha in Japan in the town of Kamakura, Julie stuffing her piehole with 100 Yen ($1) sushi from a conveyor belt, All three of us in front of the Golden Pavillion in Kyoto

[LtoR: Jodie tying a prayer at a temple entrance, Geisha at a temple in Kyoto]

After spending only three days in Australia, I got right back on a plane and headed to Tokyo to meet two of my childhood friends. My friend Jodie is living outside of Tokyo in a town called Yokosuka with her husband Joey and their dog Jack. Joey is in the Navy, and they have been fortunate enough to spend the last year and a half based in Japan. Joining us was our friend Kajal. Kajal came straight from India where she and her husband Brett had been visiting relatives and traveling.

Yes, three girls from Rome, Georgia can do just fine across the world in Japan!

Places we visited: Tokyo, Kyoto, Kamakura, and Mt. Fuji (only from the train!)

Observations about Japan:

1. Toilets - Japanese toilets are by far the best in the world. Seriously. Those of you that know me well can attest to the fact that I am very picky about public restrooms. They kind of freak me out. Any place we visited, including gas stations or metro stops, had immaculate restrooms. Not only were they clean, but they also came with a plethora of water flowing choices, cleansing mechanisms, and sound effects (the fake flushing sound was my favorite).

2. Customer Service - The Japanese are very focused on the customer. For instance you might go into a store and buy a toothbrush and a pack of gum. You better believe they are going to wrap it up nicely in paper, bow as they hand you the package, and repeatedly thank you. Dining service is no exception. Most restaurants will have a bell by the table that the customer is encouraged to ring when they order or request something. Can you imagine that in the U.S.?

3. Great ice cream flavors - Most of you know that I am going to try the ice cream in any country that I visit, and I definitely sampled my share in Japan. The most interesting Japanese flavors were sesame, green tea, and sweet potato. Let me tell you....One of the best desserts I have ever had was some sesame ice cream with fried sweet potato sticks. Yum!

4. English - A predominant amount of the Japanese population does not speak fluent English. A few pointers that Jodie shared with us and proved to be true were to just add the letter "O" to the end of an English word. Kajal and I found this to be extremely helpful when we took a taxi back from the train station near Jodie's house. We said "right", and the driver had no idea what we were getting at. We then said "righto", and it was crystal clear. The only problem in that ride was that "stopo" did not seem to resonate with the driver. He continued on and on, paying no attention to our ridiculous attempts to mix English and Japanese, until we were well down the road from our stop.

To view some additional pictures from my Japan trip, follow this link: