Week in Japan

I had the chance to spend nearly a week in Japan with a friend of mine. He had lived in Japan nearly half his life and was incidentally visiting just when my break started, so I thought this would be a great chance to see another country without much hassle. Plus, I had to get away for a while to decompress. 

This was my second time visiting Japan, but my first time actually experiencing much of the country. As much as I had passion, I really had not planned for anything. I had not even spent a single minute trying to study Japanese. Naturally, when the flight attendant asked (or so I think) what I wanted to drink, I had no idea how to say "water." Instead, I pointed towards a pitcher, which happened to be hot tea. Who serves hot beverages in a transparent pitcher anyways? 

That little incident was not the last of my stupidity. After having spent the plane ride sweating, my friend and I hopped onto the subway, only to see it backtrack to a completely different station. I wore shoes on the day that rained the hardest. I wore flip-flops on the day that I walked the most (all the way around the Imperial Palace). My friend got locked out in the middle of the night, which freaked me out as I thought I started hearing voices in my head. 

With all stupidity aside, though, I really did enjoy the time I spent. The best part of the whole trip was being able to venture onto where people actually lived. Instead of hanging around the major tourist areas, my friend took me to every corner of the city. With one turn to the left or right, the busy streets would be met with serenity, as each and every side street was in perfect bliss. And the pork cutlet. It was the best I ever had. 

All in all, I soon realized that Japan was yet another country filled with people simply living. Although so many stereotypes and false assumptions are abound, it was just another town, groups of people yet to be saved.