The Japanese Toilet: A free experience in itself

This is not a joke. Using a Japanese toilet is almost pleasurable. I am an American and I know that we are very blessed to have great plumbing and Western toilets but the Japanese have really outdone themselves.

Google the Japanese bathroom (or Japanese toilet I should say) and you will see why it is so great. When I was in Japan the first time it was SO cold and I'd literally go into a McDonald's in Ebisu and sit on the toilet just to get warm! Yes, their seats warm your butt! Well your thighs I mean! Oh but speaking of butts, they wash your butt too! Omg, so awesome. It *is* rather gross how Americans just use toilet paper.

If you think about it, you do a #2 and just wipe it off with toilet paper? So you're basically walking around with dry poo around your u-know. Yeah, it's pretty gross.

But my FAVORITE was this, something I found on my last trip:


See the object on the right side? That's a device that plays running water sound effects so that it blocks the sound of what YOU'RE doing so that it isn't awkward and/or embarassing for whoever else is in that public bathroom!

Oh man...one hasn't experienced a real toilet until they've experienced a Japanese Toilet. And you can do it for...0 yen!

Cheap and chill: Japanese People Watching

If there's one thing I absolutely love doing in Tokyo it's people watching. It's a great way to soak in the culture for sure, just watching people pass by.

I *loved* this outfit!

Young Japanese women, imho, have the best taste in fashion and also the best bodies for them. Sure they're short (which goes against western standards) but it just makes their short skirts look even cuter with their big hair and dramatically done eyes. Most westerners are critical of how skimpy they dress. However when I look at them, I simply see stylish, sexy beautiful women.

Anyway, I actually went into that big Starbucks (which for the record is way too expensive there but the special drinks are still less than 400 yen) that I had photographed and posted on one of my entries from last year and sat there drinking a jelly frappucino, just in a daze from watching all the different types of people and styles at the crazy Shibuya crossing.

Here are some photos:





It's a lot more interesting in real life! I didn't want to take too many pictures and have people think I'm some sort of weirdo. I wasn't about to play the dumb tourist card either.

But fun fact: The big window where I was sitting on the second floor of that Shibuya Starbucks was where one of the cameramen for Lost in Translation was sitting to get that shot of the Shibuya street crossing in the movie!

Lost in Translation happens to be my favorite film ever.

How awesome is that? :-) I was at a filming location...for freeeeeee!

Giving back etiquette...on a budget.

I took this picture. And I also felt like a third wheel. S'ok I got free wine!

Now before I go any further I do not know what the rules are when it comes to drinking alcohol at the park so if it's illegal then...don't do it! Hahahaha. Er, I didn't know at the time but I just went with the flow when a gaijin friend invited me to have a chill Sunday at Yoyogi Park.

The only thing I had to pay for were WATER! That was like less than 300 yen for everyone.

I'm not a mooch but I do understand that when you are a guest, people will tend to give you things (ie. free booze, free food, etc). Having said that, it is important that you contribute as well. In a situation like this, I was invited out and I didn't realize we were going to be drinking wine. All I knew was that I was going to be meeting up with a friend and his friend, who I think he might've had a tiny crush on. ;-)

Once I found out he was bringing wine, I offered to get snacks and/or water. The thing with snacks and water is that they are very cheap, depending on what you get. What's most important is that a)they don't taste crappy (meaning they don't have to taste the best either) and b) it fits your budget.

I spent about 400-600 yen for my contribution and it was nice. I can't remember what snacks we had but I know we definitely had wine, good conversation, lots of laughter and nice memories under a tree that Sunday at Yoyogi Park.

The best souvenirs are free. And do you know what they are?

No not trucks!
No not sleeping-at-the-wheel truck drivers!

The answer: Photos! The best souvenirs are photos! And yes, they are free!

Really?

Really!

Photos capture real moments and are the most authentic thing to get out of your trip you can give someone to let them peek into your experience.

Here are some of my favorite photos I took with my simple point and shoot camera:

Yes. It is what you think it is. Everything in Tokyo is adorable.

Harry Potter movie poster in Japanese. I took this in Roppongi Hills.

This is actually a photo someone else took of me. I was at the Yebisu Beer Museum (yes I HAD to go there again!) and in the gallery of their poster ads throughout the years!


It doesn't get any better than this. What I would do is print this out when I get back to the states and put it in a frame that I would've gotten from the 100 yen store! That way, the recepient of the souvenir gets both a shallow souvenir but also a real souvenir that almost takes them to where you were by looking through your eyes that day...through the photograph.

UPDATE!

Wow I haven't updated this blog in forever. So here's an update now!



I visited Tokyo a few months ago for the first time since my last entry and stayed there for a couple of weeks! Another friend from the states and I stayed with my friend Andrew again (yay for saving money on lodging!) and I got to try some new things! But man...karaoke is still super pricey, bleh!

Hopefully it won't be too long until I make it out to Japan for my third time and hit up another city other than Tokyo! Preferably Osaka! Can't wait to find out some budget finds out there! But all I know is no matter where I go I *WILL* make it up to Mt. Fuji and climb it! Still getting a group together.

I'll be posting some entries on new budget tips from my most current Japan trip! :-)