A Furry trip in Japan

Par , le 7 octobre 2023 - Commentaires fermés sur A Furry trip in Japan

I don’t usually write articles about my trips, only some parts when I do. But now I’m back home, I wanted to share with you the experience I lived during this almost three weeks journey.

Last time I went to Japan was in 2017. We came at nine people, which is a lot, but we managed to make everything working. The country was preparing for the Olympics 2020 and we had no idea about Covid.

Six years later, I came back there. The country did not change a lot, but its interest for tourism grew, making it a bit more difficult to find quiet spots in touristic areas. The time needed to go by plane also increased a bit, due to the impossibility to fly above Russia and Ukraine. Good thing for us, we had a better currency conversion from euros to yens than last time!

This journey was a six people project. Five of us were furries, the last one wasn’t (yet ?). We planned to leave France on September, 11th and come back on 29th. The dates on the pictures are matching the dates on the Japan ground. As the flight is really long, there is a full day off on each direction.

Basically, the visiting plan was the same as last time: landing in Osaka, moving to Kyoto and then Tokyo. The classic starter pack to visit Japan the first time. As half of the group never went there, it was the most logical plan.

Note: this blog post is not intended to give all details, names and stuff. This is a personal entry were I tell you about my trip and share my photos, as in an evening moment with friends. For more details, ask Google, check guides, there are way more infos on the Internet. Also I’m not a native English speaker, and I’m not speaking English daily, so my grammar might not be the best.

The D day

On Monday the 11th, we were so excited. After months and months of preparation, almost three weeks of vacation in a country we dreamed of. The cheapest flight was offered by Cathay Pacific, a Hong-Kong company I never tried before. We had a short stopover at Hong-Kong before taking another flight to Osaka. It was frustrating to land in a country I wanted to visit again, without time to do so!

We arrived in Osaka both tired and excited, having almost not slept. We reached our Airbnb, a small flat well located and resisted to sleep until the end of the day. We went in the touristic part of the city, named Dotonbori. There are a lot of shops, restaurants, and of course, tourists. We ate our first meal, which was as delicious as all the future meals!

After having well eaten, we went to sleep. I slept for 15 hours, which did not happen in years. I was that tired!

Visiting Osaka

If you plan to go to Osaka, I can only advise you not to stay for too long. The city does not have a lot of touristic interest.

The must to visit is the Osaka Castle. We might think of an ancient castle left as is, but it is not. The outside seems old, but the reality is that the castle has been destroyed, reconstructed in the last century and transformed into a museum. Inside you can see old artifacts, but the structure of the building is new. Only few stones in the exterior wall originate from the old castle. But the view at the top is nice!

After this cultural visit, we met DevTheFox who was also visiting Osaka. We went playing arcade games, which is still a big thing in Japan, followed by a nice meal.

When you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep back due to jet lag, what’s best than getting outside and enjoying the calm of the streets. And buy a bottle of japanese drink.

The aquarium

For the second day in Osaka, we visited the aquarium, which happens to be the world’s largest aquarium. Wow!

Inside we saw tons of species, including whale sharks, dolphins, otters and a lot more.

Second part of the day

The rest of the day was a bit chiller. We continued visiting the center of Osaka, finding a calm park to see a bit of nature.

We then found.. an Oktoberfest festival! I had seen a similar thing last time in April 2017, but I was still surprised. There they sell expensive common german beers and food, and broadcast non-stop awful music. It was a funny nightmare. We did not try the food because of the price, and as it was the beginning of our journey we were not missing Europe yet. I still don’t understand the fact that Oktoberfest festivals are a thing in Japan, moreover being in September or April.

Moving to Kyoto

Kyoto, known for its numerous temples, is relatively close to Osaka. In fact, the two cities are touching. It’s relatively cheap to get from one to another by train.

First thing first, we moved into our new Airbnb, a four floors house which was way comfier than the flat in Osaka. Bonus, we had a bar at the ground floor! Convenient for convivial evenings around a drink.

For this first day, we had planned few visits due to lack of time. We went to Sanjusangen-do temple, a 120 meters long building entirely made out of wood. Inside are stored 1000 gold statues (prohibited from photography). It was very impressive as the statues are human-like sized. The temple, as most others, has a magnificent zen-style garden.

We also took time to visit the surroundings and discover this part of the city. As we were very close from the center, it was convenient to find restaurants, shops and kombinis

For the evening, we went to the central Kyoto Station, which has more to offer than trains! In the center of the building resides a giant stair, illuminated with thousands of LEDs, creating a live pattern. At the top, inside a gallery, we found a corridor decorated with LEDs, also forming live patterns but in a different style. From there, we had a nice view on the Kyoto Tour.

We could not resist to inaugurate our private bar. We bought various type of drinks and spend part of the night chatting. Japanese alcohol is not only beer and sake. They have the demoniac « Shochu », a cheap alcohol made from rice or sweet potato. You can also find tons of cans made of mixed alcohol and soft, from 3 to 9 degrees. In the end, Japanese and Germans have a common sense of trying to get drunk with beer and strange mixes. Someone also brought some Pineau des Charentes from France.

Meeting furries in Nagoya

One thing I wanted to do during this trip was meeting Japanese people. Furries if possible. I was lucky enough to have a friend knowing Japanese furries willing to meet me.

This is why, after a short night and an unexpected hangover, I took the Shinkansen to Nagoya. The trip took way more time than expected: I lost myself in Nagoya Station, I could not determine which bus to take and so I decided that walking 40mn under the heat was a great idea. No time to lose visiting the city! At least the walking went through some nature and non-touristy places, the kind of experience I was looking for.

I was welcomed at Nim’s place, for whom I prepared a present in the Japanese code of conduct. I wanted to fit as much as possible, being a respectful guest. Rules and rules as Neko told me!

In the flat were several furries, some of them working on a fursuit, another learning Unity, another one working on foam mold. I introduced myself, told them a bit about where I lived, but few of them were speaking English, basic English, unfortunately. But with the great power of Google Translate, we could manage to exchange. We spoke about fursuits, furry, jobs, Snow Leopards, and.. sauna culture! This was unexpected, but I discovered there is a fascinating form of art/dance related to saunas. The person making me discover this culture was a competitor and showed me several videos of the competition.

On the next days we visited several temples, including the impressive and imposing Kiyomizu-dera. This temple is very famous, standing on stilts, it seems to float above the trees. We then went to what I call « the Disneyland of temples », but officially named Daitoku-ji. This large space is filled with several temples, not all of them can be visited. You have to pay few hundreds of yens to enter each one. Rules are strict, do not walk outside the allowed areas, sometimes you can’t wear shoes and some parts are photos prohibited. But the Zen gardens are worth it!

By the way, we enjoyed restaurants and tried a sushi chain. Since the sushi incident, some restaurants do not let sushi scroll next to tables, you have a tablet to order on demand food. Some other put sushi under plastic domes, protecting them from food terrorists.

More temples

Next morning we woke up early. Our goal was to climb the Fushimi Inari Taisha trail. This shrine is famous by its characteristic: the trail is topped by more than 10.000 torii , making the journey very photogenic. Every torii wears kanji inscriptions, what we suspected to be prayers or something spiritual. The reality came when we used the translator: the inscriptions are the name of the company who paid for the torii, accompanied with a date. Suddenly less magical!

I also could spot a different type of spider. Yes I enjoy this type of detail, as long as it does not touch me.

Back in town we spent the rest of the day shopping. Vanilor wanted artisanal decorative katanas. We found the right place, the Kyoto Handicraft Center, grouping a lot of Japanese artisanal skills. There you can find kimonos, katanas, porcelain, xylography and much more. 

Speaking of shopping, we visited our first sex-shop. If you don’t know Japanese sex-shops, you miss something. Half of the shop is dedicated to males, packaging includes anime girls, a lot of kinks are presents, it’s colored, it’s sometime technological. It’s crazy!

Nara

Nara being very close to Kyoto, it was an inevitable stop. This city is famous for its tamed deers, greeting visitors to get cereal patties. You can pet the deers, if they agree, but take care of them. Some of them bite, and you can get surrounded by several if they know you have food! After all, they remain animals.

By the way you know what we do best: we visited temples. A big temple with big statues, and a temple filled with lanterns. Inside the big temple, were a special pillar, containing a hole. It is said that if you pass through, you get good fortune. Just have fun getting through!

Food point. For the lunch we decided to stop delicious Japanese food to try McDonald. It was sure very different from home, cheaper, interesting to try but definitely still not a good option. At least they got melon-flavored Fanta.

Back to Kyoto, after dining, we wanted to try a bar. There were plenty of choices, the most difficult part was finding the right one. The majority of the bars ask you to pay fees for what they call « cover charge ». Charge is usually between 500 and 1000 yen, so you don’t stop for just one drink and hop to another bar.

The bar we chose was named « Bar Owl », which opposite to what indicates its name, does not use owls. The bar is rhum specialized, the bartenders were elegantly dressed and their cocktails were excellent. I felt like I was in VRChat, as you enter using the elevator, the place is narrow and the ambiance is chic. Keep in mind that bars in Japan are smoking place, you will smell cigarettes after that!

Hiroshima

Using our Japan Rail Pass, we went to Hiroshima. I never went to this part of Japan, but I knew that this city had a huge historical weight. But at first, we visited Miyajima. This isle is located near Hiroshima and is famous for its sea-planted torii. On the land, we found again deers, as fearless as in Nara. The main attraction is the temple on stilts, but this time over the sea. From there we had a nice view on the massive torii, its red feet in the sea.

The second visit was a bit less fun. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is dedicated to the horrific effects of the « Little Boy » atomic bomb. I knew it was bad, but not that much. I took conscious that atomic bombs are not only incredibly destructive, but also cause massive damages to survivors, rescue workers and newborns. It has long-term effects, killing and handicapping people years after bombing.

Last day in Kyoto

We already visited a lot of temples, but the source is endless in Kyoto! We were missing two photogenic temples: the Golden and the Silver temple. The first one is easily recognizable by its golden walls, sitting behind a small body of water. Last time I came, there were a lot of tourists, making it almost difficult to take a photo. This time was better, and we could visit the whole place in calm. The garden is not really big, but very nice.

The Silver temple was.. less impressive. I don’t remember I came visiting it, but I’m sure I did. The temple is smaller than the Golden one, wood is aged and the ground floor walls are white. Not silver, white. It’s a bit deceptive after visiting the Golden temple, and expecting something visually similar. But at least the garden is bigger and still super nice. It’s good to take some time just appreciating the zen-shaped nature. 

Tokyo

It was time to move to our last part of the trip: the capital, Tokyo! We have settled in our Airbnb, a comfy flat with two bedrooms and all the necessary. Our goal for the evening was to get to a bar, but one we’ve been waiting for: the Wolf Bar. This bar is held by a furry, wearing a fursuit head all the duration of the bar. It happens every Friday and one Saturday over two. We were lucky enough to be in Tokyo at the right moment.

The bar itself has nothing special: it’s small, not decorated, I could even compare it to a squat. But the interest is having furry cocktails (even custom ones) and meeting furries. Most of the Japanese furries did sit along the counter and do not speak English. But we still found a lot of tourists from the USA, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan and much more. It’s an interesting melting pot of Japan enjoyer furries glad to meet other furries during their trip.

Of course we all ordered the custom cocktail, colored according to our fursona. They take time to prepare as they are unique, and the bartender needs to find the right combination of ingredients to make the right color, still tasting good. Mine was very good (and blue).

Also, some people do bring fursuits, partial or full. I wondered if it was worth taking my head and hand paws for this three weeks long trip, but it was too much of inconvenience and risks for few photos. But still some people do bring theirs, making great souvenirs!

We were in Japan for a week and a half and yet we didn’t have any rain despite previsions. But it seems it was time to pay the addition. It started to rain a lot, like thunderstorm rain. We had to buy emergency umbrella if we wanted to get back home not too soaked. Now I have a Japanese umbrella at home, ready for the heaviest rains!

If you come by the bar, you can find our French notes in the golden booklet. Hi!

First day visiting Tokyo

On the first day we went near the Tokyo Dome and then in Akihabara, the famous place for electronics and anime stuff. In the Dome area I discovered there was a crazy rollercoaster I really wanted to try. The waiting time was too long, I planned to come another day, but in the end I forgot. Next time!

In Akihabara we did shopping, our main activity in Tokyo. There are a lot of shops, big and small, and visiting them can take a lot of time. Thanks to Riukko, the anime hunter, I could manage to find Made in Abyss stuff. It was the only anime I wanted to get stuff for, and I did! I was expecting the manga to be more famous there, and thus easy to find stuff, but it seems I was wrong. Or maybe the hype is down, now replaced by Demon Slayer (there is Demon Slayer stuff everywhere!).

For the evening, I was invited by my French friend Atrianas, who lives now in Japan, to join him and his friends at the restaurant. But not any type of restaurant, the one we name « Izakaya » (which means.. restaurant in Japanese). This type of restaurant is dedicated to after work: shoes off, everyone sits on the ground and there is a gap under the long table for legs. There you order plates of food you share at your table, big glasses of beer (sometimes you can pay for unlimited beer) and you feast for two hours, drinking and eating happily.

But one funny thing is the Asian people have a weak alcohol resistance, making them drunk quickly (it’s a genetic thing). After one or two beers, the restaurant becomes very noisy, sometime even chaotic. It was this last impression I had when the elevator doors opened: noisy, crazy, wtf is going here?

Our neighbors at the back table were drunk and ended to sit with us, engaging conversation. It was an interesting opportunity for a cultural exchange, Japanese people being very reserved, after some drinks they become chatty! The craziest of the four guys was from Malaysia, and enjoyed the evening.

Teamlab Planets and Odaiba

I had been advised to visit the Teamlab Planets, a sort of futuristic experience where you visit thematic rooms, sometimes walking in the water, with a lot of changing colors and calm music. I was dubious about it, most of time photos are taken in the best conditions (without visitors) or ads are made by people paid for. In the past, I visited expositions that seemed awesome in the advertising, but were disappointing.

The Teamlab is located on Odaiba, the huge artificial island in the Tokyo bay. You are asked to store your shoes in racks and the visit begins. You have no time limit, no guide, you are free to discover at your own rhythm. The rooms are following each other, so you don’t get lost.

You start by climbing a slope from which water flows. Then, after drying your feet is a dark room filled with huge pillows. In fact the whole room is covered, making it a big pillow. You can fall, push your friends, feel the space you take. It was interesting.

Then came the magical rooms: the first one is a gigantic cube covered with mirrors (including the ground). Strips of LEDs descend from the ceiling and make patterns. The room seems alive, the music helping in the ambiance. You walk in, following the paths but.. multiple choices? This is a maze. A magical one. I had great time appreciating the beauty of the live 3D shapes created by the LEDs.

The second one is filled with cloudy water. Fishes are projected and move around you. The cloudiness of the water makes them look more real as there are no reflects on the surface. The fishes are real time processed to make them avoid you. If you touch them, they will transform into flowers. It was beautiful!

The remaining rooms are also interesting, but I won’t describe them all. I was really glad I went there. If you go, take your time to appreciate the room, do not rush. The concepts behind each room are superfluous intellectual wanking, but the magic works.

As we were on Odaiba, we took time to visit other interesting places. Those lands are differents from the center, there are plenty of space and few cars. The atmosphere is much more relaxed, and the sea is near every time.

A famous place is the Gundam statue. Gundam has a very special place in the Japanese modern culture, and to celebrate it, they built a gigantic Gundam statue outside of a mall. Several times a day, the statue gets animated but nothing crazy. It’s more like a light and sound spectacle.

We were joined by our Australian friends for the evening. We went to Harajuku, where we missed cosplayers and quickly changed to another part of Tokyo to eat a Coco Curry.

Last thing before ending the day, we went to the supermarket near our Airbnb, still opened until midnight. We were amazed by the diversity and the quantity of alcohol they offer!

Meeting more frenchies

New day, new opportunities to buy! We made another quick tour to Akihabara and stopped at Vie de France. Yes, a French restaurant, despite we were frenchies visiting Japan. But there we ate.. spaghettis. So French. They had a lot of interesting pastries, which most of them were unknown to us. I think some French baker edited his receipts to fit Japanese tastes and fantasy. But it was not expensive and pretty decent.

We then went to one of the four Pokemon Center of Tokyo. Pokemon is, probably like you, in my heart since I’m small. The first time I went to Japan, in early 2000s, I went to a Pokemon store and I was so happy. Now I think this store has moved to a bigger location, and a lot of new shops have been created.

We spent the evening with French friends living in Japan. They brought us to several arcade, which is fortunately, still a thing. There are a lot of arcade rooms, some specialized in retro gaming, rhythm games, card games, and so on.

And more pokemon

The following day we.. went to another Pokemon shop? Why not! This one was different. In fact, they all are differents, this is what makes their interest. You can find store dedicated plushies if you really want to collect them all. This store had a futuristic look and offered the possibility to print custom tee-shirts that you setup on a machine. It was a bit too expensive for me, as my money was very low at this time. 90.000 yen for a 16 days journey was very optimistic.

We then quickly went through the Yoyogi park which is advised as a to do. The park seemed abandoned and poorly maintained. I don’t recommend, but maybe it looks better earlier in the year?

Next to the park is the mayor hall building. It’s a 2-part very tall building which offers tourists to get to the top at the 45th floor FOR FREE. Yes, free admission! Up there, the view is beautiful, opened on 270°, you can see the whole Tokyo when the weather is clear. As usual, the atmosphere is very calm, there is even a piano where people can play nice music. You can also buy food and drinks, get postcards and write them in the calm 200m above the ground. I really recommend to go visit it.

Last visiting day

Here we come, every good thing comes to an end. I was missing some visits on my plan, so I took my backpack, my gourd, a companion and let’s go. Visiting Senso-Ji and its mass of tourists: done. Then Ueno Park, way less tourists and way more beautiful than Yoyogi. After this run, I took the whole afternoon resting. It was the first time of the journey I took time to rest, I really needed it.

For our last evening, we wanted to go for a last bar. We were advised to go to Golden Gai, a small district made of over 200 bars located in very small streets forming a compact group. The most difficult part is choosing the right place: some don’t accept tourists, some are too touristic, some are full, some are too expensive.. We ended up choosing on an online guide and ended up in the Kenzo’s Bar. And I need to relate the story, like every time we end up drinking.

The interior is decorated with leopard motifs. We were the only clients, as it was early. The bartender was very welcoming and joyful. I ordered a shochu (yes I know), but we declined to taste the bottle with a snake inside. Then we asked why the name of the bar, to which the bartender replied it’s the name of the owner, an artist. We asked more information, and he showed us a clip on the TV.

In the clip, an aged man sings a catchy song, goes to party with a lady in the Golden Gai and several people dance. Kenzo seems an eccentric person, in the good way! But then, after our first drink, Kenzo himself entered in the bar (or rather, climbed the stairs). He was there for business, but the bartender told him about how we found the bar and that we had seen the clip, he was interested.

We left shortly after a group of eight US persons filled the small remaining space of the bar. The bars in the Golden Gai are very concentrated, making them small (and more friendly). They complimented my accent (finally someone noticed my efforts!) and we left, with a great anecdote to tell.

At Kenzo's Bar

Back at home

The return trip was not as exciting as the outward journey. We were tired, not really motivated by our 17-hour flight, totaling over 30 hours’ travel time. For the first time, I was not missing my country, I could have stayed longer, making me reconsider my plans for the future.

But I was still happy to come back to a country where I can understand people, pay by card and most importantly, find my darling. Anyway, my employer was expecting me to be back on Monday!

I really appreciated this trip, despite we mostly visited things I already had seen. Japan is a country so different from France, the mentality and the culture are interesting to discover. The country is very safe and people respectful. The culture has an important place, and anime fans can find what they’re looking for.

Getting in touch with Japanese people might be difficult, as they mostly do not speak English and are not really open to meet new people. But when you find an opening, you can have a rich exchange, even if you have to make a heavy use of Google Translate. Some old ladies tried to speak with us, we could exchange a few words, but always with benevolence and smiles from their part. These are the small moments that put a little of magic and create nice memories.

I brought back Made in Abyss stuff, an airsoft replica, and presents for friends and family. My luggage was 100% full, I crossed fingers everything to make its way back without damage.

I want to thank people in my group for making this journey possible. I want to thank people that advised me on things to do, in particular Winged Neko who enabled me to meet Japanese furries and go to the onsen. I also want to thank Atrianas for welcoming me at his home. Next time I’ll stay longer! I want to thank people we met there, French, Australian and all the other nationalities. I like seeing landscapes and visiting temples, but meeting people has a very special place in my heart.

My last meal at airport, where I put all my money and I had to ask Agri for the last 4 missing Yen. Those 4 yen I did throw to Buddha. But it was worth it.

Thank you, and see you next time!

Proofreading: Yashn

Dans FurryTags: ,

Comments are closed.