I usually don’t get post-travel depression, that dreaded feeling where you’re sad and melancholic after returning from a wonderful vacation. The everyday grind and sameness of “regular” life becomes difficult to bear; the escape of travel is only momentary, and like a boomerang it always returns to the point of origin.
I don’t suppose that’s a mentally healthy way to be; if I were inclined towards depression every time I come home from vacation, I’d rather not travel at all – it’s not worth the anguish and existential stress. If your everyday life is so miserable in contrast to the otherworldly escapism you get from traveling, then I think you’re better off fixing that first, rather than spending money on airplane rides. Perhaps it’s time to move or find a different job, to improve the reality you have to deal with the other 48 or so weeks out of the year.
I’m incredibly blessed and lucky to not be in such a situation. Whenever I come back to normalcy after traveling, I always feel refreshed, and with a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm. I’ve had coworkers tell me they’ve noticed these positive changes after I go back to work. Obviously, like any other living human, I’d still rather be on vacation than work, but I try really hard to not be the type of person who returns to work after a hiatus feeling worse than before.
What do you mean you’re tired!? But you’ve just had a two weeks’ off!
This trip to Japan, however, things did not go according to past patterns. After coming back to America, I experienced post-travel depression for the first time. It wasn’t serious enough to cause friction at work, but whenever I had moments to sit with my thoughts, all I could think about was how much I miss being in Japan. There’s a new layer of awkwardness to life here in the States, as if all the pieces aren’t quite fitting together correctly.
As I’ve written in part four, the culture and customs of Japan fit my personality damn near perfectly. In another lifetime or an alternate timeline (hello, Avengers), I’d be living somewhere in Tokyo already, enjoying life as an introvert with passion for cars and many other specific things. I greatly admire the country’s obsessiveness, an inclination towards great attention to detail, with a Zen-like passion and dedication for even the most menial of tasks or niches.
Where else in the first world can you drive real go-karts on public city streets, in amongst normal traffic, with no helmet or seatbelts? Try that in San Francisco and you’d be pulled over within blocks. To an outsider looking in, Japan can seem quite magical.
Of course, I am not naïve to or ignorant of the other side of the coin. When traveling to foreign lands it’s super easy to fall in love with a country, but what we’re exposed to in those mere weeks is only a facade, a sample of the greatest hits. It’s not nearly enough time to witness and learn of the many facets that constitutes actual life in that particular country. As the saying goes: all that glitter is definitely not gold.
I’m very aware of the negatives to living in Japan: the hyper competitive, capitalistic culture where people work intensely long hours for not a lot of money; the enormous gender social imbalance and sexism towards women; that underneath the public-facing kind manners can lie hugely xenophobic attitudes (Japan has one of the most restrictive immigration policies this side of North Korea.) I’m under no illusions that living in Japan (on that alternate timeline) would only be positives and happiness; the grass may be greener, but it still requires many mowing and hard work.
This understanding is how I eventually recovered from my post-travel depression. Japan is a supremely awesome country, but so is America. For sure, in direct comparison there are things that Japan is superior at (like the always on-time and reliable public transport), though the reverse is also true, and I just have to remember and rediscover those positives of living in the States. Japan may be extremely obsessive about automobiles, but it’s right here in North America where overall car prices are least expensive. My 911 GT3 would’ve costs over $50,000 more in Japan.
With all that said, I need (way) more time with the country, and I’m super eager to travel to Japan again. Remember in part one when I said that this trip was a once-in-a-lifetime deal? Well, towards the end of my week in Tokyo, my mind was already completely changed, much to the told-you-so mocking from my friend.
After four days of non-stop galavanting in and around Tokyo, it was time for some real relaxation: two days of chill at a hot spring hotel near the base of Mount Fuji. We purposely chose to take it a bit easier towards the latter portion of the trip, so that we’d be refreshed for the trip home and back to real life.
First we needed a spot to store our bigger luggage; thankfully, major subway stations are full of lockers of varying sizes. The ones big enough to fit my 29-inch roller suitcase costs the equivalent of $7 dollars for every 24 hours. As is the norm in Japan, the lockers are computerized, automated, and highly efficient.
After storing our stuff, we fought our way through rush-hour pedestrian traffic to get to our train towards Lake Kawaguchi. Called the Fuji Excursion, it’s a limited express train that takes passengers from Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko Station. For some odd reason, our JR Pass only covered about 2/3rds of the journey, necessitating an addition ticket that covers the portion from Otsuki Station to Kawaguchiko. No worries, you are able to purchase pay for this leg right onboard the train.
Kawaguchiko Station and the surrounding area is a sort of basecamp for all activities that revolves around Mount Fuji. As we alighted from our train we encountered many tourists, a significant amount of which were hikers preparing for the trek to the summit. It sounds fun and challenging: I just might have do this in the future when I return.
Of course, we were in for two days of completely the opposite of hiking: hanging out at a tiny resort. Our train arrived at a little past noon, and check-in time wasn’t until 3 PM, so we had some hours to burn off. An urgent order of business however is lunch.
I searched up a tempura place right around the corner, and it was expectedly delicious. For some reason, we were still not satisfied after eating this - perhaps it’s pent up hunger from the previous four days of non-stop sightseeing - so it was on for second round.
You can never go wrong with tonkotsu ramen.
After hearty lunches, we walked towards Lake Kawaguchi to kill off the rest of the hours - and the calories we consumed - before check-in time.
On the way to the lake I encountered a truly unicorn car: the brand-new Suzuki Jimny, in a charming shade of dark forest green. The international motoring press have fawned over this little SUV, and us Americans can only watch on with envy because of course this car is not for sale in our lands.
I’d buy one tomorrow if it were.
Here’s the section of Lake Kawaguchi (it’s the fifth largest lake in Japan) that we’ll be getting familiar with for the next few days. Notice the buildings in the background: those are all hot spring inns. Fortunately for our walking feet, the one we booked is on this side of the lake.
You can venture out into the lake via these rental paddle boats, if that’s your thing.
I prefer to sit and eat dessert whilst taking in the views and fresh air.
Japan takes bathing incredibly seriously, and the Japanese’s love for hot springs - onsen - is very well known. We could’ve simply taken in a public bath back in Tokyo, but we really wanted to splurge for the inn resort - ryokan - experience. For a little over $500 dollars a night - breakfast and dinner included - we stayed at Hotel Konansou, directly adjacent to Lake Kawaguchi.
We chose a traditional Japanese-style room, with floor seating and floor bedding on lovely tatami mats. Our particular room features a private onsen tub with outward views of Mount Fuji. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating on our first night of stay, and Fuji was completely hidden behind clouds and fog.
Relaxation truly doesn’t get any better than this.
Hotel Konasou does have full-feature public bath/onsen facilities, with the sexes separated by floor. It’s infinitely impolite to take pictures at public baths, so therefore I don’t have any to show you. I can say I got great use out of the sauna room, which is kept at a beyond toasty 90 degrees centigrade.
Accompanying our traditional Japanese-style room is kaiseki: traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. It was served right in the room, and it features many exquisitely done dishes. The individual portions may be small, but you’ll still be properly full by the end because there’s so many plates.
The best analog to kaiseki dinner I’ve experienced is Korean cuisine with its numerous side dishes.
For whatever reason, I woke up super early the next day at around 6 AM, so the appropriate thing to do is brew some of the complementary green tea, and enjoy it while soaking in the private onsen tub.
To my luck, the clouds and fog from the previous day parted just enough for the famous Mount Fuji to poke its head out, allowing me my first ever glimpse of its majesty. I could’ve stayed in that tub all day.
But we had a small activity on the agenda: there’s a famous spot for car guys nearby that I wanted to visit. Unfortunately it’s only accessible by car, so we rented one, a tidy little Honda Jazz. Renting a car in Japan for foreigners is very easy, as all you need is an international driver’s permit. There’s rental places absolutely everywhere, though be cautious of booking the correct dates because in Japan the week on the calendar starts on a Monday, unlike here in America where it starts on a Sunday.
Oh yeah, you’ll be driving on the “wrong side” of the road.
It’s honestly not so bad, driving from the right side of the car, on the other side of the road. The tricks is to fight the tendency to drift into the center from your perspective. Remember to hug the right-side lane line and you’ll be alright.
It was one of those surreal moments when I realized we were traveling right on the Tomei Expressway, a well-known stretch of highway that links Tokyo and Nagoya together. I’d never thought that one day I would be in a car on that bit of road, and I’m still amazed as I’m writing about it now.
Our destination was the famous Hakone Turnpike, a private toll-road that snakes through Mount Hakone. Costing only 700 yen to pass, the turnpike is a popular spot for car enthusiasts to exercise their machines, and the Japanese motoring press often do tests on these stretch of roads
From my perspective, Hakone Turnpike is forever enshrined by the Initial D anime, acting as the location for many pivotal car races in the fifth series. Soon as I found out we were going to be near the area during our two-day stay at the inn, we simply had to go there. Pictured above are the recognizable toll-booths on the southern entrance of the turnpike.
Here is the GoPro footage of me driving from the toll-booths up to the main vista point area
The visitor’s center looks exactly as I remembered it from Initial D. It was yet another surreal moment of many on this day.
Being that it was a Thursday, the amount of car enthusiasts roaming the grounds were few. After we parked our Honda rental, I saw this Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe parked by its lonesome.
A little further on was this Nissan R35 GT-R in classic ‘Bayside Blue’ paint.
As we climbed the steps towards the visitor’s center, I noticed this ND Mazda Roadster, slightly modified with aftermarket wheels and a suspension drop. It immediately reminded me of my own ND MX-5, a car I sometimes regret selling.
Inside the visitor’s center I ate just about the best curry ever, though I’m sure the setting played some influence to my judgement. I couldn’t believe I was eating chicken katsu curry at the Hakone Turnpike, and it’s a special moment I’ll savor and think about for a long time.
Should curry be not to your flavor, there are other eateries at the visitor’s center as well; it’s a relatively huge building, with plenty of seating to take a breather from the intense Summer heat.
After lunch we drove around some more on the other parts of the mountain, at one point even getting lost because we missed a turn. Still, incredibly fun.
I hope this gives you an idea of the sheer scale of the Mount Hakone area.
Before long it was time to go back to Lake Kawaguchi and to the comforts of the inn. However, that’s when the skies darkened…
And it started pouring down. This was a shame because we had chosen a route that cuts through the base of Mount Fuji, and had the weather been nicer, we would’ve been able to see the legendary volcano up close.
As it is typical in Japan, by the time we got back to Kawaguchi, it was bright and sunny again. We purposely took the route coming from the opposite side of where we were staying, and we just about circumnavigated the whole lake to get back to the inn.
It was at a particular rest stop where I took some of my favorite photos from this trip. The lighting and atmosphere after the rainstorm was sublime.
As it is anywhere in the world, we have to fill the fuel tank back up before returning the rental car. Because this is Japan, however, at the gas station there’s a nice attendant who did everything for us - we didn’t even have to get out of the car. She even blocked traffic as we pulled back out into road. Amazing.
The Lancer Evolution I saw parked at the Kawaguchiko Station on the day we arrived was still there, not seemingly to have moved at all. I imagine the owner is the type of person who permanently parks it during the work-week, and only takes the car out on weekends to enjoy. I have a similar situation with my GT3.
Back at the hotel, I went up to rooftop to take in the gorgeous sunset. Pictures cannot fully convey how beautiful the scene was.
The next morning, we hung out at the hotel until it was time for our train back to Tokyo at around 1 PM:
An old-school Volvo wagon seemingly out of nowhere. I really miss strange and wonderful automotive encounters like this.
Fact: Japan does tow-trucks better than your country.
Back in Tokyo, my friend and I had one more activity together. As huge baseball fans, it’s only right we take in a game in Japan, which itself is hugely crazed about baseball. By coincidence, the Yomiuri Giants - arguably the most famous Japanese baseball club - was playing at home at the famous Tokyo Dome; we simply can’t miss it.
Another surreal moment: I’m actually here, standing at the Tokyo Dome. What a life.
Due to circumstances, we were only able to get standing room only seats, which is just as well because we didn’t plan to stay for the entire game. The standing room only areas in Japanese baseball stadiums have its own unique rules and flavor, so it was cool to get to experience some of that culture. I think my ears are still ringing from the endless chants and songs.
On the final full day in Japan, my friend departed for Hokkaido, so I had a day to do whatever the heck I wanted. Naturally then this involved things car-related:
A Pit Autobacs Shinonome is like a dream hangout spot for car enthusiasts. Not only does it sell parts and accessories for your vehicle, but there’s a library full of automotive books and periodicals, a Starbucks coffee, and an entire ground floor dedicated to service and maintenance.
Why can’t we have nice things like this in the States?
Before entering the grounds, I had a snoop around the outside. Here is the car-washing station, no doubt expertly done by a worker who actually cares.
Some of the numerous operating bays for vehicle upgrades or mechanical maintenance. I love that Suzuki Swift Sport in a searing yellow.
A clean R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R inside the parking structure.
Squeezed between two work-vans is a Subaru Levorg STI Sport, a fast wagon that we of course do not get in America. A great shame, as usual.
A mint-condition E46 BMW M3 Coupe in Laguna Seca Blue. This owner has superb taste.
How about a new Honda Civic Type R getting serviced?
Inside A Pit Autobacs you can actually watch the cars as they are being worked on. It looks like the Civic Type R was in for an alignment.
You can browse specialty magazines for any Japanese car model worth being enthusiastic about.
Or buy aftermarket parts for your car. High-quality stuff only here; there aren’t any cheap Chinese knock-off products to be found.
Want to buy your own Civic Type R? You can too right on the premises at A Pit Autobacs. In the name of Stefon, the place truly has everything.
I concluded my lone-traveler day by visiting the Tamiya Plamodel Factory:
And the massive Yodobashi-Akiba electronics mall in Akihabara. By some miracle, I managed to not spend a single yen at any of the three places I went to on this day.
The dark side is the correct side.
Departure day was simple: get on the Narita Express train (JR Pass eligible) and hang out at the nice airport until my flight back to Los Angeles.
And it is here I bid a final adieu to Japan and to this series of photo stories. I dearly miss the quietness, the onigiri, and the overall ambiance. Time to fire up the Duolingo app in preparation for next time. Thanks for reading, and praise be to Oda Nobunaga.