Tokyo Part 1. What I found most fascinating about the Japanese culture.

Ever since I was little, the far east has been a big mystery to me. I have not really been interested in it, and it has just been something far away, that I never thought I would really discover. Japan was just one of those countries, that from the outside looks like a big industry country, which is super technological, and has very delicious food. At least, those were my super ignorant thoughts.
Until the autumn of 2017, when Knut started working in Sticks'n'sushi, the leading Sushi restaurant in Copenhagen, I had no idea about how rich the Japanese culture is. Sticks'n'sushi blends the Danish and Japanese culture very elegantly, and serves the best sushi that I know of (in the west, of course), but it also teaches you a lot about the Japanese culture. When you enter, they all scream "Irasshaimase!", meaning "Welcome", and you get a "Oshibori" (hot towel to clean your hands) once you get seated. They have a great selection of sushi and other Japanese foods, for example miso soup, and of course a lot of Sake. Therefore, after Knut started working there, I have gotten more and more interested in the Japanese culture.

Judging by my travel journal, that I wrote during the flight to Tokyo, about my expectations for this trip, I had absolutely no idea what I was about to see. And of course a week in a whole new country and culture is not nearly enough to learn it all (can an "outsider" even learn everything about a culture that is not one's own?), but I am back in Copenhagen with a lot of impressions, and inspiration. The Japanese culture really inspired me, and here are some of the observations from the Japanese culture that fascinates me the most:

- The Japanese are always well dressed. On our last evening, Knut and I discussed what was our favourite part about our journey. He of course answered the food, but I actually had to think about it for a while. And my final conclusion was actually that my favourite part was the people-watching, and how incredibly inspiring it was for me to see how well-dressed the Japanese were. People had very nice clothes, made from quality fabrics, hardly anyone wore sneakers, and everyone had their hair and makeup very neatly.

Somewhere near Shibuya station. But look at the women in the background,
with their beautiful coats! I look so touristy and dumb with my winter jacket and beanie. 

Women wearing the traditional Kimono. In the Asakusa area, a lot of people
were wearing traditional costumes, and it was so beautiful to look at.

- The Japanese never talk loudly in public. As a pretty loud speaking woman, I really had to adjust to this one. Everywhere we went; restaurants, cafés, stores, the metro, even walking in the streets, it was always really quiet, and after a day or two, we discovered why: the people don't talk to each other in public! And for a very technical reason, that more and more cars are hybrids or electric, the traffic is also very quiet, so at one point when we were out walking the only sound we could actually hear (this was in a very crowded street), were the heels clicking on the pavement.

- All the menus in restaurants have pictures on them. This one was pretty much a life-saver for us. We had expected people to be speaking English, but actually, very few people could communicate in a reasonable level of English. So when ordering food, we ended up just pointing at whatever looked good on the menu, and hoping that it tasted as good as it looked. But actually, we had nothing to worry about, because everything tasted delicious.

- The food. Oh, the food. 

Knut buying wagyu and squid at Tsukiji fish market

Knut having takoyaki (something with squid) at the famous Cat Street in Shibuya

- Arigato Gozaimasu! (Meaning thank you very much) The Japanese were incredibly polite and helpful to us, and wherever we went, people were always there to help, even though we could not understand each other (google translate is your friend). Even though they had helped us, they always ended up saying Arigato Gozaimasu while bowing, and after just a couple of days, we did the same.

- People at work, everywhere. During our week in Tokyo, we had to google the unemployment rate of Japan, because people were at work everywhere. Along the streets, people in uniforms were showing the way, as construction workers were fixing the roads. In the museums, there were (at least) twice as many museum guides as museum guests, and in the train stations, a lot of people were at work, even though we were not really sure what their job was. And our assumption was right. The unemployment rate of Japan is 2,4%, amongst the lowest in the world! And it really impressed me, how well-organized the society is when everyone is at work, and keeping the streets clean and the trains running.

- Respectful to their cultural heritage, while also leading within technology. How do I even explain this one... Tokyo had a lot of parks, and in a lot of these parks, there were old temples, and a lot of old history to be reminded of. Outside of these parks, the Japanese busy society was living its busy, technological life, but inside the park, there was enough space for nature and old history to keep on living their lives. This beautiful contrast inspired me so much. On our second day in Tokyo, we went to one of the many parks, and visited a little tea house. Before we went in, we had to take off our shoes, and we were seated on mats on the floor. Even though we could hear some of the traffic of the roads outside of the park, the atmosphere and the quietness inside the teahouse was an amazing experience. And I have to admit, after finishing my 7th year at school, I have not really been sitting on the floor that much, and my body kind of hurt after just a short time. But it was also very nice to experience how much you are in contact with your body while sitting on the floor, compared to sitting on a chair.

Matcha and little cakes/cookies in a little tea house

In front of the Meiji Temple - not very old, but in accordance with old traditions (the original
Meiji-temple was built in the 1920's, but got destroyed during WW2, and this one was built in the 1950's), 

This picture explains some of my point here: while in the middle of a beautiful park, with a tea
house and a little lake, you also see the huge skyscrapers and industry of Tokyo.
This is in my opinion a perfect merge of old and new, tradition and technology.

Knut taking pictures of the many flashing signs in Shinjuku. Some of the streets could be
overwhelming, with blinking signs, and commercial songs played on the speakers out in the streets.

- Kids are incredibly quiet and polite. As I mentioned, the metro, the streets, and also the restaurants of Tokyo were very quiet, since the people did not talk, or talked very softly, to each other. This also counts for the children. In the weekdays, we saw Japanese kids in the cutest little school uniforms everywhere, sometimes in groups, especially during lunch-time and after school-time, and they never made any noise! Just politely lined up, talking quietly to each other, or of course, looking at their phones.

- "Where is the chocolate?!" Everyone who knows me, knows how much I love candy, and especially chocolate. Therefore, it was actually a huge disappointment to go to the candy shops in Japan, which had a very narrow selection of chocolate. And the weirdest thing, was that almost all Japanese candy contained red beans! I would have never thought that anyone would make candy of red beans, but they do, and they enjoy it. I was sceptic, and tasted a few different candies, but I have to say I really missed chocolate over there. But my absolute favorite candy was Mochi! Colorful, sweet, and very "kawaii" (meaning "cute"). I have not seen Mochi anywhere in Scandinavia yet, but hope it will make its way here some time. 

Buying some sweets in the Yoyogi park. They are made of rice,
and served grilled and dipped in a sweet sauce

These are some of my observations on Japanese culture. I am amazed by their culture, and how neat everything is, and ever since arriving home, I have considered changing my whole wardrobe to only Uniqlo-clothes. One day...♥

Stockholm!

In the first weekend of December, Knut and I went to visit our friends Hanne and Aigars in Stockholm. Knut had been there before, but for me, it was my first visit to Stockholm. I was really excited to explore the city, but of course also to see my friends.

Hanne and Aigars live on the little island Lilla Essingen, which was a really cute place, with some small cafés and stores,  and a lot of apartment buildings. Unfortunately, we did not explore the island, as much as we could have done, other than just walking to the grocery store and to the bus, but there was a lovely walking route along the water, where you see a lot of the Stockholm archipelago. If I come back in the summer, that is on my to do list!

On friday, we took the bus to Hötorget, in the city centre, to do some shopping. One of my favourite swedish stores that we don't have in Copenhagen is Lagerhaus, and we immediately went to that one. We also went to Knut and my favourite store, the Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo, and to some other stores, before we went back to the apartment and made som tacos in our PJ's.

Such a cute group of friends

On saturday, we went walking in the city, from Hötorget, over Sergels Torg, and over to Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm. Even though we tried to hurry out in the morning, it was almost getting dark as we got to Gamla Stan (also due to the heavy clouds and rainy weather). It was such a cosy walk through the city, and in Gamla Stan we saw some really cute little stores, and we stopped in the café Under Kastanjen to Fika.

Walking through the narrow streets of Gamla Stan

Fika at Under Kastanjen

On our way back to the apartment, we walked on the east side of Gamla Stan, where the royal castle is, and had a beautiful view of the water, and all the old buildings on the other side:

That evening, we went to Södermalm for some drinks, and ended up at a really cozy Greek restaurant, and later, at a really carried out Gaming-bar, with Nintendo on little TV-screens, gaming-themed drinks, and also boardgames.

On sunday, we went to the Vasa-museum on Skansen, which in my opinion was the absolute highlight of the trip. The Vasa ship was built in the 17th century, to be the biggest and best warship in Europe, but on its first day on the water, it sank right outside of Stockholm, and of course was a huge disaster. The museum not only tells the story about the ship itself, but also about the swedish society in the 17th century, and of the people involved in the planning and building of the ship. And last but not least, the exhibition had its own part about the women in this time, which I found really interesting and that taught me a lot.

Knut, Aigars and Hanne on the bridge in front of Skansen.

Group selfie in front of Vasa

I am a big fan of everything that has to do with maritime history.

After the museum, we went to Fika, and then we had to catch our flight home. Stockholm made a very good first impression on me, with its rich history, very cute pastel houses, and delicious bakery. And as always, it was really nice to be together with Hanne and Aigars!