November 18: Tips and Tricks for Visiting Japan

 

Seven Eleven in Japan

They have tasty food, microwaves to warm it in and even a seating area. And trash cans. 

    There are numerous very good YOUTUBE videos giving tips on visiting Japan and I do recommend watching them if you are considering this journey. 

Seven Eleven

    There are approximately 60,000 Seven Eleven convenience stores in Japan. While I would rarely darken the door of a convenience store in the USA, this place can be a lifeline in Japan. Because it is a US company, you can use your ATM card here---and most Japanese banks don't honor them. When restaurants (usually only a few seats throughout the country) are full to overflowing (11:30am to 2pm and after 5pm), you can stop in and eat very tasty food that you can microwave and even sit down at a table.  They also have a variety of sundries and for me, they sell Diet Coke. Until I ever actualize my New Year's resolution to stop drinking it, I will be stopping at 7-Eleven while in Japan. And they have trashcans--more on that later.

Language Barrier

I very rarely make a trip without learning at least enough of a country's native tongue to "get by," but I did not do that for Japan. I did some "on the go." We didn't find the language barrier a major issue. Most Japanese people have at least a minor familiarity with common English phrases. Signs in major cities are typically in both Japanese and English and the same in the subway. Even a bigger factor is that Japanese people are unendingly polite and helpful and will go out of their way to help, even if they don't understand you. Google translate was a big help on occasion as well.  And there's charades which works pretty well when all else fails. That said, it is a good idea to carry the card of your hotel in Japanese in case you get inextricably lost and to have someone write down destinations in Japanese just in case. 

Toilets

The Japanese have taken the potty out of the closet and elevated it to an art form. Seriously, this thing has a heated seat (hence nearly every bathroom will be unseasonably warm) and do all sorts of below the waste washing at various widths, lengths, pressures and temperatures. Then it'll blow dry the netherlands. It will even make a noise if you want to hide your farts or hide indiscrete production of #2 in a public place, if you want. If you get in more remote locations, you will find Asian traditional toilets (I call them squatty potties), but most of the time there is at least one Western toilet. Toilet paper is nearly always available. If all the instructions on your throne are in Japanese and you can't figure out which one means "flush," my advice is stand up and wait a minute. Many flush automatically. If that fails, look for the handle. Even if there is a special button, most of them still have a manual flush. If that doesn't work, CLOSE THE LID and push every single button. You could do it while sitting on the toilet, but you'll end up with a wet bum and who wants that, especially after the blow-dry feature?

RESTAURANTS

Although quite quaint and cheerful and FULL of great food, most restaurants even in major cities are TINY establishments, many only seating 6-12 people. Same with bars. And Japanese cities have some of the largest populations on the planet. If you eat during regular eating hours, you need to be a patient person who is disturbed by queueing.  Some lunch restaurants close at 2pm and open back up in the afternoon.  Japanese are NOT related to Spanish, French and Portuguese people and aren't really a late night dining crowd, although you can usually find something open. Osaka might be the exception to this as it is a big street food town.  Here are some hints for dining: 1. Don't eat during peak hours. If you can stagger a bit off the usual times when crowds have thinned, your wait may be shorter or non-existent. 2. The majority of Japanese restaurants do NOT take reservations, but some do. Expect hotels everywhere and finer dining establishments in major cities to allow for reservations, but generally at a more expensive rate. Reservations are different in that you don't always get an English translation, you have to specify the gender of guests, you specify what the occasion is (there are usually no less than 20 choices for occasions from wedding, anniversary, birthday, friends dinner, date night, business meeting, hen party, etc etc.) and also date and time. You may have to pre-order how many courses you want to some extent if the restaurant doesn't have a la carte. Two restaurants we dined in had us specify what courses we wanted and then when we arrived, there was only one course---what the chef wanted to serve. And it was great! So please don't let me discourage you from making a reservation. 3. 7-11. Yep. The food is very decent, convenient and cheap. And they have seating. 

December 28-January 5: Tavira Vibes

Rio Gilao, Tavira decorated for the Boa Festas

 The Algarve, Portugal's southernmost region, is a breathtaking mix of golden beaches, dramatic cliffs, and charming historic towns. With 100 miles of coastline, it's no surprise that the region is a paradise for beach lovers and outdoor adventurers alike. ----   Quest Travel Adventures. 

Whenever late December rolls around, Paul and I like to do something special to celebrate our anniversary (Number 14, in case you wondered.) This year we did---pretty much the same thing we did last year---travel to the Algarve. It is the off season here which means deserted beaches, weather that is generally way more tolerable than East Tennessee, great places to walk and view shorebirds, and plenty of places left in the region that we haven't explored yet. 

Nearly deserted streets of Tavira at night

Catch of the day

The walkway up through the older Moorish parts of the city

Boa Festas

Flamingos looking for lunch in the salt pans.

Someone found a spot to dry his wings. 

We have written a lot about Tavira in the past, so I will make this a brief refresher course. (Please feel free to go back to 2024 blogs for more in depth discussion.)   Tavira is situated on the banks of the River Gilao where it empties into the southeastern coast of Portugal. Like its neighboring towns and villages, it is protected from the wiles of the Atlantic Ocean by a series of barrier islands, making it a calm and cooperative environment to settle. Although it was probably active to some extent before, the Phoenicians were the first to settle the area, followed by Moorish, Spanish and Portuguese cultures. (Some of this was bloody.) The Romans passed through but their overall influence on the area is a subject of considerable dispute. For example, the main bridge of the town is called the Roman bridge but historians say there is no evidence that the Romans had anything to do with building it. It's not the original bridge, so those who want to emphasize the "romantic" influence (i.e., those in the tourist industry!) will hold tight to their theories. The village is known for its whitewashed buildings, terracotta roofs, cobbled streets, and peaceful atmosphere, often called the "Venice of the Algarve."  Tavira features a  blend of Moorish and traditional Portuguese architecture, featuring a hilltop castle and botanical garden and over 30 churches with intricate azulejo tiles. These are also often found on home throughout the residential areas. At the time I am writing this, the city museum is hosting an exhibit on azulejo tiles throughout the centuries that I highly recommend (and if you're really interested, go to the Tile Museum in Lisbon.)

Examples of azulejo . This church, however, reminds me of chicken. 

More azulejo which has had numerous different expressions and trends throughout history. 

Typical street in Tavira

The River Giloa just before it enters the city. We were there at an uncharacteristically rainy period, hence the muddy appearance. 

The food scene is also very palatable and diverse, but of course, nearly every restaurant features fresh local seafood. The price point is everywhere from bakery goods for one euro to Michelin-star pocketbook breakers. 

It cost 1 euro and was delicious

This is bread and butter. The carrot (and the cherry and the black lava)  are all infused butter. Not 1 euro though :) Try the restaurant A Mesa if this looks appealing to you. 

Local beer indulgence after hiking.

Local fish with rice

This is really amazing. The center of the tile is butter. This was the Michelin star restaurant, A Ver Tavira. 

We ate at A Ver Tavira New Year's Eve and were treated to a grand fireworks display. A band played on the river bank next to the Roman Bridge until way into the night. We were up late, but not as late as the band and other revellers. 

Welcome to Tavira 2026!

New Year's Day, we wandered through the salt pans to St. Luzia, a small fishing village that supplies most of the octopus to restaurants and tables here in the region.

January 1, 2026. Santa Luzia. This is a tradition with Paul. 

This reminds me of the Eagles Boys of Summer: "Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach," only it's winter here! Summer we hear is a totally different story.

A lone spoonbill. 

Boardwalks are not uncommon ways to maneuver over the sandy barrier islands. 

 We also thought we would try to visit a place we saw last year when passing through Vila Real de San Antonio---the Castle of Castro Marim. The Castle of Castro Marim has a strong connection to the Knights Templar and their successors, the Order of Christ, serving as a key defensive stronghold during the Portuguese Reconquista and becoming the first headquarters for the Order of Christ in 1319 after the Templars' suppression, guarding the crucial Algarve frontier before the Order's base moved to Tomar.  The castle was integral to the Templar/Order of Christ network, protecting the Guardiana River trade route, and was later restored under King Manuel I as a naval base.

This is the viilage gate  to Castelo do Castro Marim.  This is a Medieval enclosure dating back to 1279. During that time, the settlement of Castro Marim (reachable by train in about 20 minutes from Tavira) was known as Baesuris and, being located at the mouth of a river,  was an important commercial center for Phoenicians and through the Roman period. 

In the 13th century, after the Algarvian conquest of the Moors, King Alfonso III ordered the repopulation of Castro Marim and construction of a  castle on the hill. In 1279, the fortress was enclosed within a wall. This town sits on the border of Portugal and Castile and you can see directly to the surrounding areas, the ocean, and Spain from here. In the 16h century, the castle underwent reinforcements and improvements and in 1640 was fortified to withstand artillery. There was a church within the walls. Much damage was suffered in the earthquake of 1755 and thereafter the area was strictly military. 

As you can see, most of the area is in ruins now, but several structures are at least partially intact, including much of the walls and the castle and an area now dedicated to a Museum of Torture.

This figure "welcomes you" to the Museum of Torture. I didn't even want to walk past it. 

Let's just say this place is pretty gruesome and describes various torture tactics from medieval times in detail, including various mannequins, etc demonstrating the acts of torture. This is definitely not for everyone (including me, but too late now.) I refrained from taking photos of most of the contents. 

The city of Castro Marim has always been located OUTSIDE the castle and enclosure. It was a foggy day, so you can't see the Atlantic or Spain in my photo. 

The next day was pretty rainy and we decided to do something "indoor" which was a visit to the local olive factory. This place does not make olive oil. It processes olives. The process is more involved than you might think: harvesting olives, washing the olives (which are sprayed with a clay-like mist to naturally prevent insects from getting to them before the harvest), and soaking them in a heavy concentration of salt water for several months, then rinsing the salt off of them so that they meet the Portuguese government limit for salt content, then packaging and distribution. None of these olives are exported. They all get consumed locally or at least nearby. 

Andrea explains the process. Harvest is in October and November, so the factory was not active in winter months except for tours. 

They gave us a tasting of local products, of course featuring the olives. The portions were very generous and they had unlimited wine and lemonade. 

 I really enjoyed learning about the olive production. I came away knowing that the difference between green and black olives was the amount of time they are left to ripen on the tree. I think somewhere in distant memory, I had heard that, but this brought it back to mind. Anyway, I love olives, so....

We had a great time revisiting Tavira, finding adventures old and new and shooing out an old year and welcoming 2026. 

This place is for the birds...and that's okay.

Next stop: Olhao!

"But Portugal has a peaceful feel about it. I sit on the terrace overlooking the vineyard there and I feel cut off from the world. You need that sort of thing." ~ Cliff Richard

Paul's Ponderings:   We first went to Tavira a few years ago (and Olhao as well, but just for a day) on a hiking trip.   At the time, I'd never heard of it, but we quickly discovered it is a unique place historically and a magical place to spend some time in the present day, particularly at this time of year when it's pretty low key.    Thus, this is our third New Year's Eve in Tavira out of the last four (with the fourth being in Madeira).    This year it was a bit more wet and cool than in the past, but that did not really impact us all that much other than clothing choices.    Having never been here during the high season, I can only imagine how packed the beaches must be on the various barrier islands, which are accessible by ferry.   Let's just say that the beaches are huge and very deserted this time of year (not really suitable for swimming though) and very walkable.    Likewise, there's a lot of great dining.   We've been to A Ver Tavira three times now for a great meal and last year discovered A Mesa.   In a lower cost/key vein, there's plenty of local restaurants serving seafood, etc.   And the local grocery has good local wines for under five euros a bottle.    We did go to the olive factory as well, plus toured the ancient fort up at Castro Marim.   For the latter, let's just say that no matter how crazy the world is now, living in that era would be not very palatable to anyone!    Next up, we have a long stay coming up in Olhao, followed by a shorter one in Faro.