back where my education industry journey started - travel advice about beautiful Japan

So I was having a chat with an education agent earlier in the week was asked "hey, you know what would be cool with your blogs - incorporate some travel tips into them". I was a bit reluctant at first. not being sure how I could possibly incorporate the recent education theme into the travel. It did however get me thinking a bit about my journey into the education sector, which genuinely started as an accident IN BRISBANE!!

So back in 2003, I moved up to Brisbane from where I grew up in Western Sydney because my best friend moved up with his family. I put in a transfer with my job at the time in retail management and went along for the ride. Things didn't quite work out with the job transfer and I started thinking about life outside of retail. Looking back I was probably a bit immature at the time for the move but it did lead to a life changing moment.

Flicking through the newspaper on a Sunday morning, I noticed an advertisement to "Teach English in Japan" and I was immediately attracted to it. I applied for it and consequently got offered a role for twelve months in what has turned out to be my second home, Nagoya in the Aichi Prefecture in Japan. I jumped on the plane, After around 20 years of not leaving Australia, with whatever Japanese I could learn from a CD which I played in the car. Turns out the way "my Sensei" spoke on the radio and the reality of being on the ground were totally different. I ended up enrolling into formal Japanese lessons after not being able to successfully buy a train ticket, but that is part of a different story.

During my twelve month commitment, which ended up being two and half years, I travelled extensively in this amazingly beautiful country. The best way I could describe Japan is a country of contrasts. Japan is:

• really cheap and mega expensive at the same time - this really depends on where you hang out and what lifestyleyou want to have. I decked out my apartment with items from the 100 yen shop - for most of the basics it was around 5000 yen (maybe $60) to buy everything you would want. On the other hand my apartment was around the corner from Noritake factory - it could easily cost 20000 yen for a fine China cup (below: going over the top with 100 yen sushi)

• modern but traditional at the same time - you will regularly see mega modern buildings, next to 400 year old shrines or if you go at the right time of the year (odd months) you can go to a sumo tournament steeped with tradition during the day and then go to Japan's new love, baseball, in the evening
• incredibly efficient- during my two and half years in Japa n my train was late once due to circumstances way beyond the control of the train company by not more than fifteen minutes. Needless to say, I went out of my way to ask for one of the apology notes that they give out upon request because I knew I wouldn't get one again. You can easily set your clock to the way that the trains run (there was a national scandal about six months ago when a train left around fourteen seconds early)
• quite conservative but the people who aren't are usually very out there - Japanese society is quite conservative and very high pressure. There is a general expectation for people to fit the mould of societal expectations. Fitting in is highly regarded. A trip to Harajuku in Tokyo will give you a pretty good idea of what the opposite is - there is quite a bit of dressing up like your favourite manga character here
• the home of the ultimate convenience stores - convenience stores essentially do not exist in Australia in comparison to what is on offer in Japan. Want to pay your electricity or phone bill - go to the konbini, want tickets to a concert or football - go to the conbini, forgot your lunch - go to the konbini for a good quality bento box, hanging out for a nice coffee - go to the konbini, need beer, wine or something stronger - yes, you guessed it. Go to the Konbini. If you happen to be lost and have managed to find a location that doesn't have a convenience store (this is rare), you probably won't be too far from a vending machine
• very regional as far as food goes - Japan is essentially a foodies paradise. The food will vary from region to region, town to town. A big part of the local marketing strategy for domestic tourism is having famous food. Some of the highlights for me:
• Nagoya - Miso Katsu - this is basically a pork cutlet drowned in Miso sauce
• Osaka - Takoyaki - basically a donut ball with spring onion and a small piece of Octopus
• Hiroshima - Hiroshima-yaki - this is a savoury cabbage pancake with either squid or pork on top of some fried noodles
• Tokyo - chanko nabe - this is a sumo hot pot. Best served in the town of Ryogoku where the sumo arena is in Tokyo

Japan is very diverse country. Geographically it spreads from Hokkaido in the north, near Russia down to Okinawa in the south down near Taiwan. Some of the highlights for me in Japan include:

• Disneyland and Disneysea in Tokyo- this is place where you see grandparents appear like five year old's. There are two parks so you would need to set aside at least two days, one day for each park. The food prices on the inside of the park is surprisingly reasonable but it is the usual kid of stuff that you would expect a theme park, with a Disney twist. Make sure you avoid the weekend or national holidays here otherwise you will be waiting in line forever. (Mickey Mouse speaking Japanese will be one of the most hilarious things you will ever hear) (below: Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disney)

• Hiroshima - without a doubt the saddest place in the world that I have ever visited (yes I cried in the peace park) but you will, without a doubt, have a different perspective on life and humanity after leaving the Peace Park. An added bonus is Miyajima Island is close by
• Sapporo Snow Festival - as an Australian this one was pretty tough given the temperature involved in visiting Hokkaido in winter. At the festival you will see some snow sculptures. The beer factor in Sapporo is also worth a visit for the buffet which includes meat, seafood and beer.
• Okinawa - although officially part of Japan, it is a very different sub-culture. It is extremely laid back and a beach location. We went "out of season" which in Japan is determined by the calendar rather than the temperature. This was awesome as we were able swim at what essentially became our own private beaches
• Himeji - do you know the castle in "the Last Samurai"? Yes, that is Himeji-jo. It isn't the oldest original castle in Japan but it is certainly the most elaborate original one going around. There's nothing much else in the town so it is essentially a couple of hours on and off the bullet train
• Kyoto - this is the old capital of Japan and has the highest concentration of iconic temples anywhere in Japan. No trip to Japan would be complete without visiting Kyoto. It is a place that can get awfully busy, particularly if you travel either in Cherry blossom or red leave season (below is a photo of the golden temple)

• the lakes around Mt Fuji - no need to write anything here, just enjoy the photo (and yes this is original)

A few tips of what to do and what not to do

Do's

• enjoy the street food - for me this is one of the highlights of Japan. Go to the hole in the wall places or the local sake brewery. Food is safe in Japan - they have limited to no tolerance for poor quality or failure. Basically shops that have poor quality or give a customer food poisoning will go out of business very quickly.
• get a JR rail pass - domestic travel can be pretty pricey in Japan. The most efficient way to travel in most cases will be by bullet train. If you are on a tourist visa you can get a JR pass to travel on most trains on the JR train network. Please note that this pass needs to be arranged prior to departure. Make sure you have an eki-ben when you get on the bullet train (below: the Nagoya version of an eki-ben, Miso katsu)

• wander the backstreets - yes, you will go on the regular tourist trail but I always find that no matter the destination in the world you can experience at lot of interesting things one or two streets back from the designated tourist zones

Don'ts

• use your phone on the train - Very poor form, every carriage is a quiet carriage in Japan. The only place where it is O.K to talk on your phone is between carriages
• Leave tips - tipping is practically offensive in Japan. Good service is standard in Japan and people don't expect to get paid extra for doing their job. I remember accidentally leaving a five yen coin (five cents) in the change bowl and the girl at McDonalds left the counter and the staff member left the counter and came around to give it in person
• impose yourself on others - Japanese people are really polite and considerate of others. It is best not be loud or obnoxious in public. It may be acceptable to be like this in other countries in Asia, but definitely not Japan

So what are the career and life lessons that I learned in Japan:

• punctuality - the "punishment" from the company which I worked for made sure I was never late
• being resourceful - there were some minor changes (which essentially zero cost) which I made to one "hard to sell" programs on in the college which ended up getting written about in their student publication due to the increase in student numbers.
• immerse yourself in the culture - a big part of that in Japan is the food and festivals. Just enjoy and go a little bit "Anthony Bourdain" with your experience, have no reservations
• adjusting language to suit the target audience - teaching English to students with practically zero language ability means that you have to adjust and do so quickly.

All photos taken in this blog post are originals. I believe in providing accurate first hand information, something that cannot be achieve by "borrowing" photos from Google.