Last year in 2022 December, I travelled to Osaka, Japan with my family. Once I landed to Osaka, Japan, I felt a strong breeze blowing over me as I walked through the plane tunnel connecting to the inland airport. "It's the smell and air of freedom and travels!" I thought to myself as I embarked on this journey of exploration and fun.
When I got out of the plane, the first thing I saw were really polite Japanese flight crews bowing and waving at us, as if we were VIP members from a boy band's team haha. Just an interesting privilege to be in Japan and become part of the courtesy for 10 days, I thought to myself. If you have been to Japan, you would know that it is really commonality for Japanese people to bow and be exceptionally polite to everyone really. Courtesy is in their blood.
I really like how Japanese people are so meticulous in their dressing styles and attires. THEY ARE SO PRETTY AND NICE! That was the first thought that came into mind when I saw Japanese people in the airport. If you looked closely, you would know that Japanese people do have really nice facial features too, haha.
After numerous rounds of checking, scanning passports and taking mugshots for immigration, we finally arrived to Japan! Upon landing, we were knackered and starving like hungry ghosts. So, we planned to have something to fill our stomachs first. At the Osaka International Airport, there was a huge canteen where cheap and yummy foods were just around the corner. Udon with Japanese curry sauce, fried rice with fried pork, or miso soup, they have them all! The canteen was packed with all sorts of travellers from different countries, Korea, Hong Kong and even foreigners from other overseas countries. Clearly, it is undeniable how Japan is so popular for people around the globe.
And after we ate and filled up our bellies, we went to take the airport bus straight to our hotel. And did I mention how I really like the machines in Japan where they automatise everything? If you have been to Japan you would notice that, staffs at convenient stores in Japan do not need to calculate changes themselves. They just simply insert the money their customers gave them into the machine, and the machine will automatically give out changes for them. Isn't that really fascinating and convenient? Even with restaurants, they just have machines where you check your bills yourselves. Just simply scan the QR codes and there you go. The change and a receipt.
Japan is just a place full of wonders and fascinations. It is also a place full of hospitality and courtesy. I recounted twice of my interactions with Japanese people. Honestly? They were so nice and kind to foreigners (Though, I have to admit that I look like a genuine Japanese; there were two incidents where some Japanese grannies mistaken me as a Japanese girl and talked to me in Japanese, once in 2022 and once in 2017. It was hilarious yet interesting to me, haha!).
So there were both times where I got lost in Osaka, because clearly I do not read Japanese and clearly I am new to Japan's geographic locations as a traveller. I asked a Japanese dad for help. Even though he was so busy looking after his two kids, one boy and one girl, he did not hesitate to help me out. He was so kind that he even airdropped me the pic where I could get the exact travel route to my destination. His kids were getting so annoyed while we were talking and all he said was, "Chottomatte" (Which means "wait a minute"). It was so cute how Japanese people spoke Japanese, there is just a very cute vibe to it. It's so Kawaii ne!
"You know, you just pass go....to this station....you can interchange there," the uncle was using his limited English to explain to me his instructions. And when we did not understand each other, we just simply translated our words using Google Translate (yes, this app finally comes in handy!).
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I will further update on my travels to Japan in the next couple of days. If you are interested to find out more, don't forget to follow me or add my book to your reading list, so that you could stay tuned to my writing! Peace out! xoxo
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