Day 1

After arriving in Japan, our group stayed in Tokyo for the night before heading out to Hakodate in the morning.  The first night in Japan was interesting.  First, the hotel room.  The hotel gave the guest many free items, shower caps, q-tips, slippers, and even razors (yes, you heard me razors!).  The rooms, from an American perspective, were quite small. Although considering the Japanese like to minimize the use of space, unlike American people, it makes sense why the room is small.  Oh, and of course the highlight of all the hotels, they all have a bidet toilet.  In case some of you readers don't know what that is, it's a toilet that shoots water up your butt hole so when you wipe yourself after going to the bathroom it's cleaned.  At first, I was sketched out using such a contraption that shoots water up there, but I was curious so I tried it and it's actually not bad.  In fact, I actually miss it, I recommend trying it once in your life.

Following the hotel room, the second most interesting thing about the first night in Japan was the pachinko parlor. A small group, including myself, thought we were going to an arcade, to actually find out it was a pachinko parlor.  A Pachinko parlor is where individuals go to gamble.  Of course, gambling is very strict in Japan, so a pachinko parlor is one way around it. When we first stepped in, it was extremely loud and it smelled like cigarettes.  I did not know how anyone could concentrate on the game they were playing with this much noise, but yet the players were.  I was also surprised how big the building was and how many machines were on 1 floor.  Throughout the trip, I notice pachinko parlors everywhere we went, it made me think of the USA, with casinos.  If you want to learn more about pachinko parlors click here.

     

Lastly, vending machines and convenience stores.  Trust me when I say, you can find a vending machine or a convenience within a 5-minute walk from wherever you are in a city in Japan. The vending machines can contain a variety of drinks, such as hot chocolate, hot coffee, green tea, water, etc.  There were also vending machines for cigarettes and food.  The convenience stores were just like the ones at home except with Japanese style food. I was surprised how popular 7-eleven is in Japan, although I was disappointed they did not have their famous Slurpees like they do back in the States.  So if you do visit Japan and need a quick and cheap meal for your journey, a vending machine or a convenience store will save the day.