21 days in Japan – Observations and Tips

Overview | Itinerary | Preparation | Tours | Observations | Q&A | Photos

 

 

Upper left: Tokyo, View near Sakurada-mon of Kokyo Gaen National Garden.

Upper right: Kyoto, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest.

Lower left: Kamakura, Hase-dera Temple.
Lower right: Kyoto, A path on Fushimi-Inari.

Overview

This post is about our 21 days in Japan. It was our first time in Asia. (We we were in Turkey for a bit but that doesn’t feel like it counts.) We had a fantastic time in Japan and are considering a follow-up trip in the future to further explore. Hopefully, if you are considering Japan, you might find a few useful tips here.

Itinerary

Our itinerary was planned by us and tailored for our type of travel, which is stay longer, go slower and deeper if possible. While it’s tempting with the bullet train in Japan to cover great distances in a short time. Resist!


Our stops in order where:

• Tokyo – 6 nights
• Takayama – 4 nights
• Kyoto – 7 nights
• Kamakura – 3 nights

We flew into Narita and out of Haneda (both serve Tokyo). All of our transportation other than flights in and out of the country, were on trains/metro (mostly), bus (more in Kyoto), and an occasional taxi here and there. In the Q&A section, we cover some of the details of train tickets.

   

Left: A overview of our train travel. Made with JR fare calculator.
Center: A heat map of the places visited with numbers indicating how many places we saw, ate at, or visited. Data from our Scrapbook project.

Right: A racoon dog statue that can be commonly found near front doors of homes. Brings good luck.

Preparation

Our Japan 2025 trip was without a doubt one of our most researched trips. Maybe we are just getting that way in our old age? Maybe it was the anxiety of our first foray in Asia?

The research paid off and had a funny path. Before any research, Japan lived in our minds as fantastical and exotic. As we started our research, Japan became more normal, quirky, and at times, slightly strange. As we continued with our research, we came back to a happy middle neither romanticizing nor nitpicking.

Here’s what we read to prepare:

• “The Beauty of Everyday Things” (1933 - 1960) by Soetsu Yanagi
• “A Beginner's Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations” (2020) by Pico Iyer
• “In Praise of Shadows” (1933) by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
• “Lonely Planet Japan” (2024)
• “Fodor's Essential Japan” (2022)
• “Japan Travel Guide 2024: Your Stress-Free Travel with Practical Itineraries, Local Secrets, and Complete Transport Details (2024-2025)” by Hana Takashiro
• “Norwegian Wood” (1987) by Haruki Murakami

The most useful resources for us were “A Beginner’s Guide” and “In Praise of Shadows”. Sure, the guidebooks like Lonely Planet and Fodor's are useful for practical details, but the two mentioned books really stay with you.

“Norwegian Wood” we finished midway through the trip. We felt for years that we ought to read something by Murakami and this was as good as a time as any. We didn’t hate the book but did really love it either. We did appreciate the references to places in Japan, especially in Tokyo that we could imagine and in some cases had been to.

“The Beauty of Everyday Things” and “In Praise of Shadows” may seem like odd travel preparation resources, if not a little dated. These books were recommended by friends who visit Japan often and we trusted their advice.

Reading "The Beauty of Everyday Things" inspired us to visit the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo.  

One area where had a huge hole in our knowledge was in the basics of Buddhism and Shintoism. While we got a good introduction to these belief systems while in Japan, it would have helped to have prepared some more to make our temple and shrine visits richer.

Finally, we watched many YouTube videos about Japanese history and how to use trains in Japan. Yes, YouTube can be a time suck but in this case it helped.

   

Books used to prepare for a trip to Japan.

Observations

On Cleanliness

* We saw next to no trash on the street. We were gob smacked on how clean the cities were that we visited. No cigarette butts on the streets and no graffiti.

* Ironically, walking around the cities we visited, there were few if any trash bins to be found on the streets. You might think this would lead to more trash on the streets, but that wasn’t the case. At the end of a day touring around, we found crumpled up bits of paper in our pockets because we had nowhere to dispose of during the day. #FindMeATrashBin

* Bathrooms are everywhere, easy accessed and generally clean. 90% of the toilets we used were in some way automated.

* Walking around Tokyo or Kyoto and going say one street off the main route you are immediately walking by someone's front door. Everything is neat as a pin. There are usually potted plants and small statues (usually of our friend the racoon dog). Residents care about appearances and we found that refreshing.

* Very little smoking and cigarette butts. We went to Shibuya one day while in Tokyo and somewhere near the famous Shibuya Scramble we saw a bunch of people packed behind glass smoking. What we saw was a designated smoking area enclosed by glass partitions. Tokyo’s regulations are designed to minimize both second-hand smoke exposure and cigarette butt litter, so smokers are required to gather in these specific zones rather than lighting up while walking on the sidewalk. Finally, a little respect for non-smokers.

* For more on cleanliness, see the post Japan Trip – A Salute to People We Saw and Cleanliness.


On Politeness


* People wait in lines to board trains or buses. Sometimes, there are marks on the floor to show, for example in a congested station, how to make a snaking line that doesn’t block foot traffic. We were in awe.

* Staff at hotels and restaurants were generally very polite and helpful. (When they didn’t seem helpful, it was more a problem of understanding what was being asked.) 

* We passed under several underpasses in cities, which are usually scary and dirty places, not at all in Japan. There were no graffiti or people hanging out underneath.

* We did see isolated cases of someone living on the streets in Tokyo. Someone told us that it would be impolite to bother people if you are living on the street, so coming across them is not as shocking as we’ve experienced say in Seattle. Case in point, we took a walk along the Sumida River going far outside tourist zones and saw a tent or two in areas bordering the river. The tents and surroundings were neat as pin. One had a broom at the entrance of the tent suggesting that the area was cared for and it looked that way.

* On trains and buses, a beautiful silence reigns. No one is sitting next to you watching a video with the volume turned up. And fellow riders are courteous about space occupied and making room for others. Again, we were in awe.

* It was interesting to see how tourists adopted the more polite behavior.

* Masks in public are not uncommon. They are not required. The why is probably a blend of public health mindfulness, cultural values, and social courtesy that predates the COVID-19 pandemic and remains evident today—even in settings like public transit.


On Food

* Japanese cuisine is not only sushi. There are many other choices in the cuisine. In fact, we suggest that you learn the names of types of restaurants before going so you can better navigate what you might want. For example, here are some of the types we tried and certainly not a complete list:

• Takoyaki (octopus balls) is a popular street food made from wheat flour batter filled with octopus and served with sauces.
• Sushi Restaurants. No explanation needed. Or for sushi with some background, trip REONA Sushi
• Izakayas are informal pubs offering a variety of foods and drinks, often enjoyed after work.
• Kushiage/Kushikatsu involve deep-fried skewers, a popular dining choice where various foods are fried and served on skewers .
• Kissitan is a traditional coffee shop.
• Traditional Japanese Restaurants, Shokudo and Teishoku styles, where set meals are served.
• Okonomiyaki restaurants specialize in savory pancakes.
• Donburi restaurants serve donburi, which are rice bowls topped with various ingredients.
• Tonkatsu restaurants serve breaded and deep-fried pork cutlets.
• Ramen restaurants. Often, there is a kiosk/screen where you order first and then sit down. Your order arrived not long after that.

* Eating and walking is frowned upon in Japan. If you get something to eat, you eat at the place you purchased it and dispose of trash there.

* 7-Eleven and other convenience stores can have decent food choices.

* Japanese are masters of taking something and refining it, be it coffee culture or French pastries. When the Japanese do something, they do it well – case in point, coffee. See more below.

* Drink vending machines are always at hand. At first, we looked down on these fixtures of Japanese streets and public spaces, but then we began to appreciate them as a point to stop, buy a drink, refresh, and move on.

* At first, we avoided eating establishments with a line outside. Then we learned, this isn’t all that strange and often, these lines move quickly. Where there was a line, it was typically a place where maybe 1 or 2 people are serving just 4-6 customers. The turnover is quick, so waiting isn’t as bad as it seems.

* One thing that took a while to get the hang of were oshibori (wet towelette) in eating establishments. Often, we were just given an oshibori and no napkins and puzzled over whether to use it right away or save it. You are supposed to – as far as we can tell – use it to clean your hands before eating and then maybe discreetly use it during the meal.

* We were pleased to find a great coffee culture in Japan. And, the word "specialty" is not abused there or really used as can be in Europe. Their coffee places we tried were all good, some a little bit more than others and those are the ones we call out here. We really liked these places for coffee: Tokyo (GLITCH), Takayama (Falò and EMBER), Kyoto (Ichikawaya Coffee and KéFU STAND), Kamakura (Coffee Talks). All great places.

  

  

  

  

  

On Spirituality


* To say that temples and shrines are everywhere in Japan is an understatement. It got to the point that we had temple/shrine fatigue. Then, we thought abut it for a bit and arrived at this advice:

• These places are oases of green and reflection, a nice place to pause in the city. Some of the most interesting plants and trees are found around temples and shrines.
• Japanese come to temples and shrines to work out a problem, ask for something, or connect.
• Don’t try to understand or intellectualize every temple/shrine you see. Just absorb it. As Soetsu Yanagi says in “The Beauty of Everyday Objects” (p.271) "Those who first grasp an object intellectually cannot hope to comprehend its beauty."
• Avoid the crowded or popular temples and shrines.

* Know the basics before you go:

• Shrines (神社, Jinja): These are associated with Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion. Shrines honor kami (spirits or gods) and are often marked by a torii gate at the entrance. Worshippers typically clap and bow when praying at a shrine. Shrines often have guardian animals like foxes or lions. Shrines focus on nature worship.
• Temples (寺, Tera): These belong to Buddhism, which was introduced to Japan from China and India. Temples house Buddha statues, and visitors may see monks performing rituals. Instead of clapping, worshippers bow and pray silently. Temples may have pagodas and incense burners. Temples emphasize meditation and enlightenment. Often temples have an associated cemetery.
• Sometimes, there is a mix of the two or they are side-by-side.
• Traditional cemeteries are almost always associated with Buddhist temples rather than Shinto shrines. This stems from the core cultural and religious beliefs of each tradition. In Shinto, death is considered impure and polluting, so Shinto shrines—places dedicated to celebrating life and nature—generally do not host funerary services or cemeteries. Instead, Buddhist traditions, which offer elaborate rituals concerning death, afterlife, and memorial services, handle most of the funerary practices, and cemeteries are typically located on or near temple grounds.
• We read or heard (maybe the Pico book mentioned above or a YouTube video) that Japanese are born Shinto and die Buddhist as a way of describing these two belief-systems function in Japanese culture.

* Shintoism says everything has a soul. We think this helps explain why the cities appear greener than they might be, why things are taken care of and maintained, why places, like a street or alley, are generally taken care of.


On Language


* It helps to devote a little time before going to learn the basics:

• Hello - kon-ni-chi-wa
• Thank you - a-ri-ga-to-u go-za-i-ma-su
• Excuse me - su-mi-ma-sen
• Good evening - kon-ban-wa

* It also helps to understand a little about the Japanese writing and in particular the romanization of Japanese, that is, the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. Extra points for you if you can learn some bits of the romanization that can help unlock meaning. For example, here are just a few we found useful:

• Dera – Buddhist temple 
• Dōri – avenue or street
• Gawa – river, when used as a suffix.
• Higashi – east, as in the Higashiyama part of Kyoto (eastern mountains) 
• Ji – Buddhist temple (Sino-Japanese origin)
• Jinja – Shinto shrine
• Taka – high
• Yama – mountain
• Wa - “Japanese” as in “wagyu” - Japanese beef, “wagashi” - Japanese sweets.

* Spend time aiming your phone at text and translating. It helps to have your process be as easy to and as fast to do as possible so that you are ready when in Japan. We used this kind of translation a lot to decipher signs in temples, menus, and general instructions. For example: In Kamakura, we were walking on the Daibutsu Hiking Trail and as we entered forested parts there were warning signs in Japanese and it made sense to not ignore them. In this case, most of the warning signs were “be careful of this” or “don’t do that”. Still, good to know.

* We found that enough English was spoken that you we could get by. In only one case, we used a translator app to talk to someone, but it was in a knife store and the concepts were complex.

* In terms of getting around trains, many of the signs are written in English as well. Also, Google Maps is your friend, it is very reliable. For example, if you need to get from Ochanomizu to Shibuya....put the starting and destination points and in and follow the instructions. Google Maps will even give you the optimal train cars to get on to be near the right exit (which it also indicates).

Tours

We tried to strike a balance between organized events (tours) that gave structure to our days and days of complete freedom to do whatever we wanted. And to be honest, some experiences have to be organized in advance and don’t allow you to book last-minute.

Here’s what we did and booked in advance. (5 days were programmed out our 20.) This is also a small plug for the wonderful people we met and who helped open up Japan for us.

Tokyo Foodie Tour – Full day private tour

This tour booked through Tours by Locals was a good albeit brief introduction to the Tokyo food scene. We usually try to do any food tour at the start so we can get some basic info that will help the rest of the time. In this tour, we were guided by Eunji. We felt like we were hanging out with a friend the whole day while sampling different food and learning about Tokyo and Japan.

  

  

Takayama/Shiragawa-go Tour

This was a tour booked through Takayama and Shirakawa-go One Day Bus Tour from Takayama - Klook Singapore. We were based in Takayama and had arrived the day before the tour and hadn’t seen much of Takayama yet.

The first 1/2 of the the tour takes you through the Takayama Jinya, a historic government building stands out because it’s the only surviving example of its kind in Japan. Originally serving as the local administrative office during the Edo period, offering a glimpse into the way regional governance was organized in feudal Japan. 

The second 1/2 of the tour takes you to the UNESCO designated site of Shiragawa-go, one of Japan’s most enchanting traditional villages, celebrated for its distinctive gassho-zukuri architectural style. Located in the remote, mountainous region of Gifu Prefecture, the village’s name combines "Shirakawa" (which means "white river") with "go" (meaning “village” or “hamlet”). The hallmark of Shirakawa-go is its unique houses with steep, thatched roofs that resemble hands pressed together in prayer (the term gassho literally means “praying hands”). These roofs are ingeniously designed to shed heavy winter snow, ensuring the structural integrity of the buildings in the region’s harsh winter months. Many of these traditional structures, some of which are over 250 years old, were built using methods that forego nails, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship and a deep connection with nature.

  
Views of Shiragawa-go.

Nijo Castle and Tea Tour in Kyoto

This was a tour booked through Tea Ceremony in Half Day Kyoto Tour - Private Tour by Yoriko O. The best private tours in Kyoto. Yoriko was fantastic. We enjoyed how she opened up the tea ceremony for us and we liked her so much, we had lunch with her just to talk to her some more.

Where you do the tea ceremony varies; we did it at the shop Bikouen, in business for 5 generations. We watched the tea ceremony and then got to try our hands at making matcha tea. It wasn't easy!  

Hata and Harie - Rice Terrace, Water Spring tour outside of Kyoto

This tour was booked through YUTour. The owner and guide Seita is incredible. If we go back, would definitely do another one of his tours.

Why did we book this tour? Many years ago, we saw a BBC documentary " Satoyama: Japan's Secret Watergarden” (2006 – 2007) and were fascinated with the area featured (Harie).

Here's some background:

• Satoyama is a Japanese term applied to the border zone or area between mountain foothills and arable flat land. Literally, sato means village, and yama means hill or mountain. Satoyama have been developed through centuries of small-scale agricultural and forestry use. 
• In the BBC documentary, they spent a lot of time in the village Harie, in the Shiga Prefecture on the northwestern side of Lake Biwa. What is this tourist attraction in Japan called HARIESTER tap water of the township? The tourist attraction is "Harie Shozu no Sato Kabata" in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture. Harie is known as the "village of pure water" due to its abundant spring water. The term kabata refers to traditional water systems used by households in the area, where fresh spring water flows through small channels and is used for daily activities like washing and cooking.

We went to go see rice fields in Hata and then the kabata in Harie. We ate lunch at the house of local woman, whose kabata was featured in the NHK documentary on the subject. The NHK documentary ("Through the Kitchen Window") inspired the BBC documentary, using some of the same footage.

This was a highlight of our trip!

  

Left: Harie stream.
Center: Hata rice fields.

Right: Young rice plants ready for planting.

  

Left: Harie kabata at Joeiji Temple.
Center: Our guide showing locations to be visited along Lake Biwa.
Right: Rice fields in Harie.

Saihōji (Kokedera) Temple

This temple requires a reservation that you can make via temple website. Most temples are free or charge a small entrance fee, and you come when you want. Not the Moss Temple - “Kokodera” translates as “Moss Temple” - is located on western side of Kyoto and is a serene and peaceful place to visit because it is limited and people. It’s also a beautiful place. You have to practice writing a sutra before you enter. Don’t worry, it’s fun!

  

Photos of Saihōji (Kokedera) Temple in Kyoto - they say there are 120 types of moss there.

 
Saihōji (Kokedera) Temple in Kyoto.

Q&A

Question: Did we buy the JR Pass?

We did not. In our situation, we could have used a 2 week pass at ¥80,000 (Green class ¥110,000) to cover us. We spent about ¥58,000 per person for our bullet trains (green class) and Hida express (to Takayama). The rest was on our Suica cards and was less than ¥10,000. In our case, we spent well under the 2-week pass price. If we had traveled more often and greater distances, the calculation probably would have favored getting the green pass.

To figure out fares, try out the JR Fare Calculator.


Question: What transit card did we use?


Immediately after landing in Narita, we purchased the normal Suica card, not the Suica Welcome card. The Suica card is rechargeable and we could keep them past 28 days anticipating a return to Japan.

To purchase our Suica cards, we went to a machine that took a credit card and got the cards. We used the cards a lot moving around Tokyo. Also, we used our Suica cards on the buses and trains of Kyoto and Kamakura, we bought drinks from vending machines, and we paid for some taxi rides.

We came home with our Suica cards with about 10 USD on each left over. We are hoping to use them again in the future.

We did not connect the cards with our phones. One of us had an iPhone (possible to do) and one an Android (trickier to do). It was easier to just use the physical card in the end.


Question: How did we make train reservations?

As with all things Japan, there are a lot of ways to do this. You could wait until you get there and go up to a ticket counter or machine and make reservations, and you’ll probably be fine and get the routing, class, and seating you want.

Or you could use an app like Japan Travel by NAVITIME, or even Klook.

What we did is reserve the main transfers (Tokyo to Takayama and Takayama to Kyoto) before we arrived using the JR West site. This reservation process givens you reservation numbers that you use when you are on the ground in Japan, either at an appropriate ticket desk or ticket machine (what we did). Important: bring the same credit card you made the reservations with!!


Then, partway through our 21 days, after seeing that our method worked, we booked the rest of the legs of our trip in the same way.

Question: Is Japan really all about cash?


Yes and no. There were enough places that took credit card that we were pleasantly surprised after all we heard. It seemed all shops we hit took credit cards. That said, there are restaurants that only take cash and at one lunch in Kamakura toward the end of our trip we ran out of cash and had to change our order to match what cash we did have. Always check before sitting down if credit card is accepted. Also, bring your credit and debit cards with you and make sure you have contacted your banks to allow charges from Japan.

Question: Is 7-Eleven as important as they say it is?

Yes. We went there exclusively to withdraw cash. There was no fee on ATM withdrawals at 7-Eleven. We didn’t verify if this is the case for other convenience stores like Family Mart and Lawson. And, we even had a light dinner purchased out of a 7-Eleven that wasn’t too bad.

Question: Was it hard to plan it yourselves?


No. We started with the cities we wanted to visit, worked out the transportation connections between them and then we were good to go. There is no special knowledge to do this. It’s much harder to figure out what cities and areas will make sense for you. Our advice: don't try to cram everything in. Less is more.

We did spend a fair amount of time researching what kind of accommodations we wanted, type and location.  


Question: Did we use the luggage transport service, takuhaibin?


We didn't use it from Tokyo to Takayama, because in Takayama we were staying in a B&B, and the coordination didn’t work out. Nor did we use the service from Takayama to Kyoto. 

However, we did use it from Kyoto to Kamakura and were happy we did. The gotcha was that for the luggage to be there when we arrived in Kamakura, it had to be picked up the day before we left Kyoto, typically by 3pm. So, you have figure out what to carry with you for the time you’ll be without your luggage. Now that we’ve seen the service in action, we would use it more next time.


Question: Was it crowded?

It was, but we could always find our own space. We’ll take one example: Fushimi Inari, the iconic mountain shrine area in Kyoto with 1000s of torii. It’s an Instagram staple, a place with many tourists looking for the perfect photo. However, just off the trail, you can find yourself alone in a shrine. For example, we took the train to the Fushimi-Inari station and walked up with the masses. Crowds thinned the higher we went. On our way back we found a different path down to the Tofukiji station (one stop north) where few tourists go. The point is: find a different way and explore the edges.

Ironically, in Tokyo, we had a hotel in the Ochanomizu area / Kanda, which we later learned was one of the least populated districts in Tokyo. We have a sixth sense about these things.


Question: What was the weather like?


We were there for the last 3 weeks of May. We had one day of significant rain in Kyoto but beyond that nothing more than sprinkles. We were lucky.

Most of the time we were in short sleeves and shorts. In the evening, temperatures could be a little chilly, so longer pants and a pullover were helpful. BTW, if you pack clothes that are causal, not sloppy, and respectful, you should be fine. We did notice that if you want to blend in more, choose blues, grays, and muted colors over bright.


Question: What was the toiletries situation like?

Good. We usually don’t use the toiletries provided in hotels, but on this trip, we made extensive use of them. Product quality was high.


Question: Did we try a ryokan?


Yes. We saved our ryokan – traditional Japanese inn – and its immersive experience for our time Kyoto and only for two nights. After two nights, we changed to another hotel in Kyoto.


We liked the experience, and we would say to try it if you can but not for too long. Even one night might be enough for some. Ryokans typically serve you kaiseki - traditional multi-course Japanese meal – in your room so you get that experience as well. So, we had two kaiseki dinners and you could say our ryokan breakfast (we chose the Japanese style breakfast) were also multi-course and embraced the idea of kaiseki.


We stayed at the ryokan Seikoro.

Question: Where did we stay in Tokyo?


There is no shortage of choices and Tokyo is very large. If you stay in one place (say Shibuya), you can always reach other sections of the city with transit. We even put points on a map of things we wanted to see thinking then we would pick a hotel that minimized distance traveled but that didn’t really work out because Tokyo is so large.

In the end, we choose the Ochanomizu area, south of the Kanda River and west of Akihabara because to our eye it seemed more sedate and relaxed, with more trees on the streets. We found a decent hotel there so that clinched the deal. Next time, we might consider something near the Meguro River, just north of Meguro City. We walked this area, and it seemed nice as well.


Question: What did we feel like we missed?

A lot but we are not sorry for it. For example, in Kyoto, we never made it to Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple) or Kiyomizu-dera or Nara. In Tokyo, we had a similar story of missed sights like the Tokyo Sky Tree and one of the teamLab installations. We more than made up for what we didn't' see  with what we did see. We focused on less popular sights, side streets, and parks.

We learned that Japan was so rich you can't possibly list all popular sites and just tick them off. You can flag them all as something to possibly see, but once you there, let the magic of the day guide you and not the checklist.

Photos

Tokyo

  

Left: Tokyo Kanda Myoujin Shrine lion.
Center: Tokyo, Otemachi -  SUNDIAL by Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Right: Tokyo - Trees in Meiji Jingu.

  

Left: Tokyo night and Kanda River.
Center: Tokyo - Japan Folk Crafts Museum.
Right: Tokyo Imperial Palace walls and white umbrella (sun shield).

Takayama

  

Left: Takayama - Soyu Hondo Temple.
Center: Takayama Higashiyama Trail takes you from temple to temple.
Right: Takayama sake factory.

  

Left: Takayama - over the Miyagawa River.

Center: Takayama temple tree.
Right: Takayama - Hida Kokubun-ji.

Kyoto


  

Left: Kyoto - Fushimi Inari.

Center: Kyoto - Hōkan-ji Temple (Yasaka Pagoda).

Right: Kyoto - flower arrangement at Kawai Kanjiro's House.

  

Left: Kyoto - Toyotomi Hideyoshi Statue at Toyokuni Shrine.

Center: Kyoto - The House of Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845–1927)

Right: Kyoto - Bikouen Tea Ceremony


Kamakura

   

Left: Kamakura trail.
Center: Kamakura - Big Bronze Buddha.
Right: Kamakura - Rickshaw.

  

Left: Kamakura - Houkokuji Buddhist Temple Bamboo Grove.

Center: Kamakura - Hase-dera irises.
Right: Kamakura - Jōchi-ji Buddhist Temple Tea Room.

The Curse of the Blackened Eye

“Turn up the volume please.” I fumbled with my phone. “Turn it up!”. I finally figured out my technology and turned up the volume of the music. 

After asking me to turn up the volume, she got up from the table and walked a few steps away and began to sway and rock, a hand to her head. Then came the prophecy: we had to say we were sorry to someone. That was the cause of what was troubling us physically. She settled back down at the table, and we resumed eating. 

The song playing was “The Curse of the Blackened Eye” by Orville Peck. [video] I don’t think I’ll ever listen to that song without thinking of this day.

The song “The Curse of the Blackened Eye” is about a bad relationship or maybe addiction but the word “curse” is what sticks out for me. This friend swaying and rocking in our living room had a family gift – or you might say curse – of prophecy. She had been running from it all her life and now it caught up to her. The song was apropos for the moment.

I remember as a kid thinking about being a superhero or have some special power and realizing that the power would not be what I thought it would be. It would be a curse; it would haunt me and ostracize me from society. That thought came back to me thinking of this friend.

You could get space from your problems (curses) but eventually you have to face them. You carry them with you and sooner or later, you end up at a friend's house and then this song comes on.

Street Sign Language Lesson LII - Bergamo

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We are out on the streets (a spasso) of Bergamo to bring you eight more signs of daily life and learning the Italian language along with personal anecdotes, whether you want them or not.


 
E’ VIETATO SOSTARE, SPORCARE E MANGIARE IN QUESTE AREE
“It’s prohibited to loiter, litter and eat in these areas.”

What area is this you may ask that is sign graces? It’s the bleakest patch of asphalted and bricked cityscape to be found and that ironically is the entrance to ARPA Lombardia (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente). Well, they should start by taking care of their ambiente / bleak entrance. Not even a planter or something green to be found. All of this is watched over by a statue of a woman by the Bergamo sculptor Elia Ajolfi. She does have her hands on her hips as if to ask why this place is so bleak.



Cuccioli Bassotto nano. Non perderci, prenotaci!
Dwarf Dachshund puppies. Don’t miss out, book now!

Bassotto comes from basso or “little”. Cuccioli are pups.

We know who cares about our opinion, but here it goes: dachshunds are our least favorite dog, and they seem popular here in Bergamo. Figures.



L’ARROTONDAMENTO DEI CENTESIMI
The rounding up of cents

Damn. We still learn something studying signs and that is why we do it. In this case, we did not realize that by law, the minting of 1 and 2 cent coins (centesimi) in Italy was stopped in 2018. Woah! What?

Italy stopped minting its 1‑cent and 2‑cent coins primarily due to the high production costs relative to their face value and the inconvenience they caused in everyday cash transactions. The decision was implemented through parliamentary measures, and from January 1, 2019, these coins were no longer produced. However, they continue to be legal tender and will circulate until people spend them out or they naturally exit circulation.

For cash payments, Italy adopted a rounding system so that the final price is rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents. This is what the sign here seen in Carrefour says. Arrotondamento means in this case “rounding”.

In practice, when a transaction doesn’t neatly add up to a sum ending in 0 or 5 cents, the total amount is adjusted—typically, if the final digit is 1 or 2, it’s rounded down; if it’s 3 or 4, rounded up to the nearest 5-cent increment. It’s important to note that this rule applies only to cash transactions; digital payments (like those with a card or online) continue to be processed to the exact cent.

The 5-cent coin is still produced. Someone get a message to him to watch his back. He could be next.



IMPIANTO DI CREMAZIONE
Crematorium

Can you guess where we were? Why yes, in the Cimitero Monumentale Di Bergamo. We were there recently and a bit lost wandering around. Long story.

We once attended a mass in the church at the cemetery and then slowly walked behind the hearse (with body inside) from the chapel to the crematorium. So, yeah, we know what this sign points to.



TRÀFECH? ADÈS BASTA!
What are you doing? That’s enough!

This is the Bergamo dialect. At first, we thought TRÀFECH meant traffic and the sign read “Traffic, enough!” - and that sort of made sense, but it's not correct.

The phrase is typical of the Bergamasco dialect, where “adès” stands in for the standard Italian “adesso” (meaning “now”) and “basta” carries the common meaning of “enough” or “stop.” The opening word “TRÀFECH?” is used as a questioning exclamation that can be understood as asking “What are you doing?” or expressing incredulity at someone’s actions. [ref] An Italian verb that carries the same significance is affare – matter, concern. A clever play on words as we understand it.

In Italian, this sign would be something like Che stai facendo? Adesso basta! Moez is a bike shop in Bergamo. Get out of your car and on a bike.



AREA DESTINATA A CANI DI PICCOLA TAGLIA E MEDIA TAGLIA
Area for small and medium-sized dogs.

This sign is in front of an off-leash area in Parco di Loreto. Taglia is size or dimension. Not to be confused with taglia third person present tense of tagliare, to cut or slice. Or a taglio di capelli, haircut, and often shortened to just taglio when context is obvious.



OTTIENI 1 MESE GRATUITO – DI TAGLIO DI CAPELLI – TUTTE LE VOLTE CHE VUOI
Get one month free – Haircut – as often as you want.

Speaking of haircuts, here’s taglio di capelli in action. On the bus, we pass this barber shop and sign. (Can’t tell if the shop is coming or already came and went.) We like compact powerful phrases like tutte le volte che vuoi.

In this case, it’s one month of free haircuts (fine print: for the first 100 people who sign up). But how many haircuts can you get in one month. Maybe 2 or 3 max. Who has the time?



A spasso nel cosmo
"Out and about in the cosmos”

A friend’s 5-year-old had this book. Andare a spasso is to go for a walk, wander, meander. Essere a spasso is to be out and about.

We wanted to read this book so badly but had to pay attention to the adults. Bummer.

On Those Missing – 25 Tower Photo Salute

25 Photos Looking West Over Bergamo from a Tower from 2022 - 2025

There's nothing like a funeral, wake or entombment ceremony to mark time and leave one a bit wistful. After 10 years or so now in Italy, we’ve been to at least one of these events every year. We’ve spent more time at the Cimitero Monumentale di Bergamo (and the hospital for that matter) than we’ve ever would have guessed when we arrived here. Both are places that are surprisingly human and decidedly not scary.

Recently, we went to two wakes with the space of two weeks (same family) at the Casa del Commiato Bergamo - Centro Funerario Bergamasco, which you could translate as “House of Goodbye”, where commiato is farewell or goodbye. A wake is technically, called a veglia funebre, but it’s not something we hear often. 

Bergamo’s Cimitero Monumental is beautifully landscaped and has many interesting tombs to look at, not that we would specifically pick it out for a stroll but one can’t help but notice when there, paying respects. The other day, we went to attend an entombment (one of deceased from the commiato), the putting of the ashes in the columbarium of a family vault, and had a chance to do a few laps around the cemetery. We were looking for said family and couldn’t find them. They had turned off their phones. After a while, we gave up and returned to the front office to ask. Next thing you know, we are riding around with the director of the cemetery in a Panda. He didn’t trust we would find the spot based on his directions (Yes, we played the helpless American tourist card a bit.) We didn't find the family however as they had moved on to another relative’s tomb (the other deceased from the commiato). Tomb chasing is what we did that day.

The hospital (on other end of the city) is like a small self-contained city with restaurants, shops, and interesting artwork. It’s not the worse destination you could to visit. To give some structure to our visits we typically seek out some of the more interesting pieces of artwork displayed corridors and have a running catalog of favorites.

The people who have disappeared during our time in Italy that we would like to honor, in no particular order: Flamina, Blandina, Gino, Maria, Nunzia, Hotlips, Andrea, Luigi, Domenico, and Mario come to mind. Here’s a caro saluto from our torretta, where we see the sun track across the sky daily. The composite image is 25 images looking west over Bergamo's lower city and part of the upper city.


 

Left: A close-up of a work by Renzo Colombo, part of the Lascito Fumagalli in the ASST Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII.

Right: A close-up of the work "Robot" by Ivano Parolini, part of the TheTubeOne Exhibit  in the ASST Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII.

 

Left: Cimitero Monumentale di Bergamo - entrance. Right: Inside with a statue.

Weller Vases and Chlorphytum

  

Left and center: Weller Claywood vases with spider plants. Right: The location of Zanesville, Ohio 300 million years ago.

These Weller Claywood vases always bring a smile to our faces. First, they are cute when grouped together. Second, they survived a transatlantic crossing. And third, they go well with Chlorophytum.

We are at that point in our lives where we’ve regressed to the plants of our childhood, simple plants that can be grown in water for indefinite periods of time – as these spider plants can. They don’t complain too badly if you forget to water them. These Chlorophytum comosum are in glass jars inside the Weller vases.

Weller Pottery was founded by Samuel Augustus Weller in the 1870s in Ohio. The company mass-produced art pottery until about 1920, and producing commercial lines until the pottery closed in 1948. The Claywood line was one of Weller Pottery's well-known decorative series, which appeared around 1910.

Side note: We always wondered why Ohio was a center of American pottery, and particularly Zanesville. The area has important deposits of clay and developed into an important transportation hub thanks to first the rivers and then the railroads passing through. In addition, the country was rapidly modernizing at the end of the 19th century and there was an increased demand for utilitarian and decorative ceramics.

A fourth point for a smile on our faces: the clay that went into these pots came from the deposits laid down during the Pensylvannian period (roughly 318 to 299 million years ago)! At that time, Ohio was part of a flat coast plain with extensive swamps and floodplains. Check out the location of Ohio in this map of the USA 300 million years ago.


Other posts on Weller: Weller Claywood and Skimmia foremanii, Weller Clinton Ivory, Peters and Reed Moss Aztec Vases and Dryopteris, Weller Pearl and Lavandula stoechas Dried Flower Spikes, and Weller Louwelsa Vase with Rudbeckia nitida.

  

Weller Claywood vases with spider plants.

On Writing and Shadows

 
"Austerlitz" by W.G. Sebald and "In Praise of Shadows" by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki.

I recently finished the novel Austerlitz, a 2001 novel by W.G. Sebald. About two thirds through the book, we find Austerlitz holed up in his very gray London flat – a flat stripped of color and containing only the bare necessities for furniture. He is at an existential impasse reconciling a past that refuses to be captured in words. The tension is between the desire to record memory and the failing of words to fully do so. These quotes about writing from that part of the book resonated with me:

“Now and then a train of thought did succeed in emerging with wonderful clarity inside my head, but I knew even as it formed that I was in no position to record it, for as soon as I so much as picked up my pencil the endless possibilities of language, to which I could once safely abandon myself, became a conglomeration of the most inane phrases.”

“All I could think was that such a sentence only appears to mean something, but in truth is at best a makeshift expedient, a kind of unhealthy growth issuing from our ignorance, something which we use, in the same way as many sea plants and animals use their tentacles, to grope blindly through the darkness enveloping us.”

“However much or little I had written, on a subsequent reading it always seemed so fundamentally flawed that I had to destroy it immediately and begin again. Soon I could not even venture on the first step.”

(Maybe I should heed the advice on that last quote?)

Austerlitz's home in London is described as on Alderney Road (near Mile End Junction), near the Alderney Road Cemetery, Mile End – Ashkanz. I went on Google Maps street view to try and at least imagine the flat from the outside.

The “out-of-time" nature of Austerlitz’s flat, as I imagined it, intrigued me. It reminded me of a quote from the 1933 essay In Praise of Shadows, by the Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki.

"Have you ever felt a sort of fear in the face of the ageless, a fear that in that room you might lose all consciousness of the passage of time, that untold years might pass and upon emerging you should find that you had grown old and gray?"

That quote appears in section 9, with the title “An uncanny silence”, sectioning as given by Wikipedia page. I imagine Austerlitz’s house would be like this.

The essay lays out Tanizaki’s (and by extension the Japanese) aesthetic and as you might guess from the title, it has to do with shadows. Friends gifted us the book to get ready for an upcoming trip to Japan. We will be searching for those shadows and a glimpse of Austerlitz.

Travelmarx Spring 2025 Playlist – Unknownia

36 album covers for Travelmarx Spring 2025 Playlist – Unknownia

For the secondary title of this playlist, we selected “Unknownia”. The word comes from a track in this playlist by Domenique Dumont, a collaboration between Latvian multi-instrumentalist and producer Arturs Liepins and vocalist, ethnomusicologist Anete Stuce.

We are not sure of the intent of the song, but the title resonates with where we are heading in this world: to an unknown state or “unknownia”. This playlist is here on Spotify.

Teens of Style – album “Car Seat Headreat” (2015), song “Maud Gone”
Domenique Dumont – “To Unknownia” (2024)
The Saxophones, Maston – “Take My Fantasy – Maston Remix” (2022)
Dodie – “Old Devil Moon” (2024)
Michael Kiwanuka – “Beautiful Life” (2021)
Yard Nule – album “Yard Nule” (2021), song “Haunter”

Anika – album “No One's There” (2011), song “He Needs Me”
Ora Cogan – album “Shadowland” (2016), song “Too Long”
Arthur H – album “Adieu to Tristesse” (2005), song “La chanson de Satie”
William Z Villain – album “William Z Villain” (2017), song “Anybody Gonna Move”.
Death Machine – album “Cocoon” (2017), song “Disco Blues”
Malena Zavala – album “Aliso” (2018), song “If It Goes”

DJ Tennis – album “DJ-Kicks" (2017), song “Melody Day (Four Test Remix)”
TM Juke – album “Maps from the Wilderness” (2003), song “Just for a Day – Sunday"
You'll Never Get To Heaven – album “Images” (2017), song “Images”
Valerie June – “With You - A Sweet Little Love Song Demo” (2017)
Reptaliens – album “VALIS” (2019), song “Wake Up”
Clark – album “In Camera” (2024), song “Superstar”

Morbo y Mambo – album “Noches de Morbo Vol 1”, song “Nigerian”
Natalie Bergman, Beck – “You’ve Got a Woman” (2021)
DelicTrips – album “Motivated Abstract”, song “Sunset Hills”
Saya Gray – “Shell (of a man)” (2024)
Steve Stout – album “Sunday Stars (demos)” (2023), song “Save It For a Rainy Day – demo"
Westerman – album “Call and Response” (2017), song “Lie”

Nadine Shah – album “Ville Morose/The Devil (2014), song “Ville morose”
Bobby Lee and Mia Doi Todd – “Walking With Trees” (2021)
Slow Pilot – album “Falling Off the Earth” (2024), song “No Man Is An Island” with C Duncan
Anjalts – “Just Stay 4 Awhile” (2025)
WOOM – “Walk” (2020)
Suzanne Kraft – album “Talk from Home” (2015), song “Flatiron”

Annahstasia – album “Surface Tension” (2024), song “Sunday”
Family Time – album “The Golden Years”, song “Ropa Vieja”
Hether – album “Covered in Hether”, song “Smoke Rings”
Kristine Leschper – album “The Opening, or Closing of Door”, song “Blue”
Tunng – album “Love You All Over Again”, song “Didn’t Know Why”
Juniore – album “Ouh Là Là”, song “Le cannibale”

Street Sign Language Lesson LI – A Ski Trip to Pila, Aosta

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In our 51st edition of Street Sign Language Lesson, we are on the road, headed to Valle d'Aosta. We spent 3 days skiing in Pila (above Aosta). You may notice lots of menus because this trip was definitely about eating as well as skiing. 

First some photos of skiing...

  
Left: Photo of Pila Ski Area in Late Feb 2025 - Pista 1 Chamolé.

Center: Photo of Pila Ski Area - Staring out over Cogne.

Right: Photo of Pila Ski Area - Platta de Grevon with Travelmarx skiing down.

  

Left: Photo of Pila Ski Area - Couis 1 Red Slope with Gasex Pipe for avalanche control.

Center: Photo of Pila Ski Area - View of Pila from top of Chamolé.

Right: Photo of Pila Ski Area - near the bottom of Couis 1.

Now the signs...

Degustazione alla valdostano – Lardo d’Arnad
“A taste of Aosta Valley – Lard of Arnad.“

We saw this menu at Ristorante Al Maniero in Issogne AO. We were on our way to Aosta/Pila and stopped for lunch at this Slow Food recommended restaurant. We always thought degustazione referred to a tasting menu, and it does when the word menù is used with it. By itself, degustazione means a tasting experience. Together with the adjective valdostano, meaning from the Valle D’Aosta, the phrase means a sampling or taste of Valle D’Aosta.

The famous Lardo d’Arnad is a cured pork product produced exclusively within the municipal boundaries of the municipality of Arnad, in lower Aosta Valley, Italy. The lard is produced by curing pieces of fatback in a brine aromatized with herbs and spices such as juniper berry, bay leaf, nutmeg, sage, and rosemary. Perfect for giving you the energy you need to ski.


 

CONIGLIO ALLA CACCIATORA
“Hunter-style rabbit”

This is an Italian dish where the rabbit meat is slow cooked with vegetables and herbs. Alla cacciatora suggests a rustic preparation.

What’s also interesting about these two menus from Hotel Tivet is that it shows how half-board typically works. In the morning at breakfast, you get a list of dinner options, and you choose what you want. (Not on the list was a killer salad-appetizer that could have been dinner in itself.)

We chose Hotel Tivet because it was close to a mid-station of the gondola from Aosta (along the river) to Pila (ski area) and it was easy access for skiing.


   
VALPELLINENTZE (zuppa gratinata di cavolo verza, pane, fontina, brodo)
“Valpellinentze (gratinated soup of cabbage, bread, fontina, and broth)”

Gratinated (au gratin more commonly), in English, means to cook with a covering of buttered crumbs or grated cheese until a crust or crisp surface forms. The soup is from the Valpelline, just north of Aosta. This hearty soup appears on many menus in the Valle d’Aosta area.



AVVISO DELLA CASA DI TOLLERANZA. AI SIG.RI CLIENTI È VIETATO MOLESTARE LE SIGNORINE PRIMA DI AVERE PAGATO LA MARCHETTA. LA DIREZIONE.
“Notice of the house (brothel). Dear clients (men), it is forbidden to harass the young ladies before paying for their services. Management.”

We saw this sign at Rifugio Hermitage, which was our preferred place to grab a coffee, snack, or lunch during our time in Pila skiing. A casa di tollerenza “house of tolerance" is a euphemism for a brothel. The use of the euphemism and the use of la marchetta suggests a formal yet cheeky phrasing suggests it's drawing on older societal norms and attitudes for comedic effect - we hope.



RISCHIO VALANGHE. DEBOLE, MODERATO, MARCATO, FORTE, MOLTO FORTE
“Avalanche risk. Low, moderate, considerable, high, extreme”

Valanga (plural valanghe) is an avalanche. Speaking of avalanches, we often see what looks like a downward facing pipe on steep slopes (see image for one in Pila). These are Gazex pipes, expansion chambers that explosively direct hot gases into the zone at risk in order to set off controlled avalanches.



I percorsi di fuori pista non sono né segnalati né protetti dai pericoli dell’alta montagna dove l’insidia è occulta e nessuno può prevederla in anticipo.
“Off-piste routes are neither marked nor protected from high mountain perils where hazards are hidden and cannot be foreseen in advance.”

We know, we should be paying attention to skiing, but this sign caught our eye, especially the part l’insidia è occulta?

Insidia is hidden danger. Yet occulta means hidden as well. To us, the sentence in Italian seems repetitive. Maybe the sentence could be written as “I percorsi di fuori pista non sono né segnalati né protetti dai pericoli occulti dell’alta montagna che nessuno può prevedere in anticipo.” Don’t you want to come skiing with us to study signs?



Veicolo in panne
“Disabled vehicle”

We rented an MG SUV for the trip. We are not fans. The interfaces were horrible and the vehicle handled poorly.

While playing around with the controls, we came across this screen and wondered why is there would be vehicle in the cream (panna). Jeez.

panna – cream
in panna/in panne – breakdown, more common “panne”

It seems that the phrase in panne comes from French and is a sailing term where you position a sail boat to move forward or backward with the sails in slack position.