アナリーズのトラベル ガイド (Analise's Travel Guide): Issue 1A

Notes on Being a Tourist in 東京 // 京都 // 大阪 (Tokyo // Kyoto // Osaka)

The Katsura River in the Arashiyama District of Kyoto

Hi hello こんにちは, it’s your favorite weeb! I’ve decided to double down on a couple of obsessions and put out a series of posts on traveling in Japan; I find myself chatting with a lot of people about their upcoming visits and I love writing about things I love, so I figured I might as well compile my experiences in one place. On the internet. Which may end up being a terrible idea, but certainly not the worst I’ve ever had. 

Who is this for? I don’t know, myself? The handful of people who told me they liked hearing about my time in Tokyo? The act of creation itself is worthwhile so the audience here doesn’t actually matter. Nihilism or the very opposite, sign me up! 

Get excited for a formal Issue One next week, but today we’re going to start with an intro chock-full of disclaimers because the internet loves an argument and honestly, same, but not here. So without further ado…

Issue 1A: Who the F*** Are You to Write About This?

Caffeinated at Kyoto's SCENE FACTORY COFFEE

I'm Analise! I’ve been a Japanophile since I was a kid, and now I’m an adult who’s managed to carve out a life that includes a trip to Japan once or twice a year, and a lot of time on the internet otherwise. 

My parents bought me tea sets and miso soup for Christmas at my elementary-age insistence, I pinned the bushido virtues to my wall in middle school as a guide to life, and I co-founded my high school’s Manga and Anime Club (shoutout to esteemed co-founder Hailey Hu! We ate a lot of Pocky). 

Instead of growing out of anything, I flowered further into fandom, such that these days I study Japanese in my spare time–my proficiency is beginner level but we’re working on it! Now comfortably in my mid-thirties, I’m also actively testing the boundaries of how old is too old when it comes to cosplaying slutty video game vixens at conventions. 

I’ve also spent an ungodly amount of time on the internet researching travel in Japan, and while some of the advice has been awesome, after being there in person myself I realized a lot of it is either extremely piecemeal (see: 15,000 disparate Reddit posts), and/or seems to be collated from articles written by people who may or may not have actually spent any time exploring beyond “we took a taxi to our hotel and then got a shuttle to Tokyo Disney.” 

I’m exaggerating a little bit and I’m also not shitting on people who want that vibe (Tokyo DisneySea is apparently extremely cool as far as theme parks go, spread across seven ports, google it), but I personally was dissatisfied with the internet’s version of travel tips and must-sees, so I’m ready to be your personalized search engine. I'm also happy to just share a bit of what’s so profoundly touched me about my time overseas, that keeps me prioritizing return trips over checking out literally any other place in the world. 

Now for the fun, arguably “duh” disclaimers. 

I’m a very white American woman. I spend a lot of time trying to educate myself on cultural history and ethos in general, but my experiences are absolutely and unavoidably defined by my personal profile. No matter how hard I try to actively consider perspective and circumstance, I simply cannot speak on anything beyond what I’m receiving through my own lens as well as the way I’m being received by others. 

Bibbed Jizo statues at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto

I simultaneously delight in and am troubled by and have a profound reverence for (what I know of) Japanese culture–it’s one of myriad nuances and dichotomies and surprises and prejudices and affinities and beauties and atrocities. To be expected of any civilization that’s been around for tens of thousands of years, frankly. And I’m 1000% not going to get into all of the complexities of a society to which I don’t actually belong. These posts are intended purely as tourism joy, written by a tourist who happens to care pretty deeply about the place she visits! If you ever want to talk about anything more or historic or specific definitely DM me but I’m not wading into that ish on a public forum. 

Lastly, I’ve visited only the tiniest bit of Japan in person! I’ve spent time in just eight cities, all of them on the main island Honshu, and most of them on the Golden Route. The majority of people visiting Japan for the first time do tend to plan itineraries along that path, which includes fan-favorites Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hakone. As a sort of “what you think of when you think of Japan” starter deck, those collectively make for an ideal inaugural visit. So that works out for me, and that’s mostly what this series is going to cover. 

Whew! Are we still here? Great, because…

Take your shoes off, you monster!

Coming Next Week 

Issue One: A Matter of Convenience 

Now that I’m out of the way, where to begin? I was going to start with the glorified “know before you go” tourist checklist, but I’m pretty sure not everyone loves logistics as much as I do, and frankly most people can get themselves through customs without fanfare (especially when for Japan you can just get set up online with a QR code in advance–ugh, see?? It is fun to talk about).

I will get into trip planning at some point, as well as all kinds of other topics ranging from coffee shop top-tens to budget breakdowns to traditional cuisine must-trys to hidden hideaways (and how to not be an asshole American while in mostly-locals-only spots). 

But I realized what I find myself sharing the most frequently are the little tips that make the day-to-day of a trip easy and fun.

(You can't actually choose wrong here)

So next week, look out for answers to pressing questions like: 

• Where can you find nail clippers in the middle of the night? 

• Which chain restaurants are The chain restaurants? 

• What’s the cheapest, easiest way to get drunk? 

• Which konbini (convenience store) food is required eating?

• Which app will let you pay for public transport and food? 

• Which three Japanese words will get you by like a pro? 

• And more, as they say 

Thank you for reading, let me know if there's anything in particular you would find interesting, and we'll meet back here next week.

またね !

Analise  

Sunset on a side street in Shinjuku, Tokyo