Far From It

My Big Adventure: Getting Lost in Japan

Eight hours on a night bus is a rough introduction to a foreign country. Japan is beautiful in the summer, but my first few hours in the country tested my patience. Shortly after landing in Osaka, I had managed to get lost. Usually, I wouldn't mind, but mistakes in Japan are expensive. I missed my bus to Tokyo and asked for directions from men in suits and schoolgirls in broken Japanese.

In spite of what you've heard, the Japanese are not rude to tourists. Their reputation may be due to an inability to communicate in English rather than a tendency for being impolite. If you attempt to speak to the Japanese in their own language, the usual reaction is a mix of amusement and surprise, especially if you're struggling. Gestures and sound effects help, but basic Nihongo is the way to go. The little amount of Japanese I know, mostly lifted off a phrasebook from a thrift shop, generated giggles and puzzled looks.

Every person I talked to seem like they genuinely wanted to help; a man even walked me to the bus station, which was a few blocks out of his way. A group of teenage girls, on the other hand, lent me a phone so I can book a new bus ticket. Within my first half day in Japan, I had gone from regretting my visit to wanting to hug every Japanese person I meet.

Daybreak on the Japanese countryside is as beautiful as anything I've ever seen, even from inside the glass windows of a bus. This is especially true if you've already been in the country for half a day but had yet to see anything other than the inside of a train and a few buses.

Tokyo is as bustling and hectic as guidebooks make it out to be. You'd think that by now everything worth checking out would be documented on TripAdvisor or CNNGo. Hanging out with interesting locals has its benefits, and in my case it was in the form of a booze cruise that circled Tokyo Bay.

My first night in Tokyo also included an introduction to the okonomiyaki (savory pancake) and (surprise! surprise!) karaoke. However, the night ended abruptly just before midnight. Since the trains only run until 12am, people hurry home because cabs are expensive. I was curious about what happens after midnight so I deliberately missed the trains one Saturday night. I was in Shibuya, which was lined with bars and restaurants. You'd think I would have a good chance for a crazy night, but the place cleared up by two in the morning. I did my best to meet people and hang out but everyone cleared out. It was a long wait for the morning train.