Japan Ughy snapshots from a disposable camera.

Published on May 12th, 2018

14

Dumb Travel Mistakes – Japan Edition

Yep, even we veteran wanderlusts can make spectacular mistakes in our travels.  Vietnam?  Mongolia?  Thailand?  Brunei?  You name it, I’ve flubbed it.

And though the mistake I made in Kyoto, Japan arguably wasn’t as ughy as some of my previous dumb travel moves (e.g. that night I feverishly hugged a porcelain throne in Mongolia because I stupidly agreed to a tiny sip of FERMENTED MARE’S MILK in the Gobi – what-on-earth-was-I-thinking???).  Nonetheless, in the spirit of full disclosure, my skip around the Land of the Rising Sun wasn’t without a bit of blunder.

Towit:

Not only do I always pack extra batteries for my Sony RX100 camera (a total of 3 for good measure), but also my trusty “Just Mobile” external battery pack for my Galaxy S4 phone (which otherwise seems to hold a charge for all of 3 hours – #sigh), still…

Nishiki Market, Kyoto, Japan

Nishiki Market © Kiwi He: https://bit.ly/2jQaceL

Suffice after my dawn trip to the (most amazing) Fushimi-Inari shrine, I headed straight to my 2nd most “gottado” Kyoto attraction:  The Nishiki Market.  Said to be (and proven by a bazillion YouTube videos that I lapped up like chocolate milk in my Japan research) chock full of all manner of scrumptious (and oddball) street eats.

And oh my, there certainly were plenty of those.

But alas – upon arrival at the market, not only was my phone battery dead, but I’d um, neglected to tuck the mobile charger in my rucksack for the day’s outing.  And worse – my Sony camera battery was also dying (after the many pics I snapped at Fushimi Inari) and… I likewise failed to tuck an extra camera batt into my rucksack.

Did I mention – Dumb, Dumber, DUMBEST???

Needless to say, I waxed into quite the little PANIC there in front of the market, as the only thing better than tossing exotic new travel eats down my throat – is first taking a photo to document the experience for all eternity.

Now I ask you – what’s a foodie TravelnLass to do?

The TravelnLass contemplates the splendor of Fushim Inari, Kyoto, Japan.I could have headed back to my hostal for the precious batts of course, but… that would require two additional hops through the convoluted Japanese train system (which at that point I’d only advanced to a “C-” rating at best in mastering).  Besides, I’d already gotten up at dawn to traipse a mile or three (you know, with a post-surgery iffy  knee) through those countless red Fushimi tori gates… I honestly wasn’t sure I’d have the energy to make it back to the market (and traipse another couple of miles sampling eats there).

Thus, I opted for the only other solution I could think of:  find a nearby Japanese electronics store and try to A. buy a new battery for my camera, else B…

No dice on a battery for my Sony camera (I mean – it’s S-O-N-Y for heaven’s sake – you MAKE them here in Japan, no?), but…

For a mere 10 bucks I was able to buy a cheapo plastic (disposable) f.i.l.m. camera.

[insert another “What-on-EARTH-was-I-thinking!” here]

lol, I haven’t shot film in *years* ( (I mean, who does these days?)  And a cheapo, *disposable* plastic camera that only produces PRINTS?  I mean – who are we kidding here?  No way was it going to produce even moderately good pics.

MORE TravelnLass:  7 Tips for (successfully) Moving to a Foreign Country

Furthermore, in my desperation to leastwise hold some semblance of a c-a-m-e-r-a in my hand to take pics of all those yummy street eats – it never even occurred to me – how was I going to get the pics from a Japanese disposable camera developed… in ECUADOR?

Suffice, it wasn’t easy.  But nonetheless, just yesterday I did manage to find a tiny hole-in-the-wall film developing kiosk here in El Centro, and…

Yessireee, the handful of pics turned out, um – about as abysmal as expected.  All of them pretty much useless, save for illustrating the breathtaking height of stupidity that I’m able to so poignantly display here now – even with 50 countries under my gossamer travel belt.

Disposable camera print - thank goodness for smartphones and digital cameras!

So sorry, nary a single pic of Nishiki to share.  You’ll just have to believe me when I say – Nishiki was utterly a foodie’s PARADISE!  A half-dozen takoyaki (croquets of batter-fried octopus bits), a chunk of fatty salmon that verily melted in my mouth, deep-fried, breaded chocolate balls, a cupful of feathery dried bonito flakes, oh and lest we forget, that legendary (leastwise on YouTube) “Takotomago” (Quail Egg Inside an Octopus Head – yes, you heard that right):


 

But seriously, I did manage to otherwise keep my photographic wits about me whilst I skipped around Japan.  And I DO have plenty of other pics to prove it (initially 1,400 – now edited down to 500 and counting…).  So do stay tuned for more Japan tales and pics.

Dyanne
 
 
 


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About the Author

Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!



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Fourletternerd

I’ve managed never to head out with either at least one charged battery (knock on wood). Can’t say the same for SD card. Or resetting ISO. Given declining memory I’m going to make a reminder ribbon. Because of a previous almost unfortunate incident, I always keep my camera case zipped shut if I’m not moving something in or out. It should be easy to remember to verify battery, SD, and ISO with a ribbon with those 3 written on it attached to the case’s zipper pull.

Safari Travel Plus

Those replaceable batteries are soon going to be obsolete yeah even in japan where they make the sony camera. lol

Safari Travel Plus

why would they do an upgrade on your old iphone in those western high end iphone shops when they can sell you a new iphone? (just saying lol)

Leslie in Oregon

Maybe that day you were meant to relish what was going on around you, even engage in it (as we know you do so well), rather than spend any precious time recording it for posterity! Taking photographs and videos, and then curating and posting them, can become addictive. After wasting many rolls of film and a lot of time taking photographs during my first fifteen years of travelling the world, I went to the opposite extreme: I now rarely take a photograph or video with my telephone and record, instead, with my eyes. (Maybe if I had produced better photographs, I would feel differently….)

Leslie in Oregon

Your “lost in a Japanese train station” hit a nerve, as that was a major problem for me when I spent time in Japan before there were smart phones, apps or signage in English in Japanese train stations. And yes, I agree about moderation..in most instances. But even walking my dog on the same forest trail every day, I miss so much that is around me if I do what is necessary to take a photograph (or get immersed in conversation with a walking partner). You, obviously, are a much more adept multi-tasker than I! I do wish that I had decipherable photographs (the many, many photographs I took while on the Serengeti Plain show nothing but dark little dots on a vast brown space) of, or at least a written diary (beyond expense records and crew flight logs) chronicling, my travels. Maybe I will take the long-ignored I-Phone passed down to me by my adult children on my next trip….But I draw the line at checking social media! 😁

Lovely chatting with you, Leslie

P.S. For future reference: A British gentleman once instructed
me that it is “Here! Here!”

Oh, are we spoiled now with digital cameras! I remember the days of disposable cameras and waiting to get the prints back from countless vacations which always were soooo disappointing! I do love reading about travel fails and flubs if only because they make be feel better when I’m going through one of my own. 🙂 Murphy’s Law always sneaks in somewhere, no matter how experienced and well-prepared you (think!) you are. All I can say is … you won’t do that again!

James Pham

I also carry 3 batteries with me, but sometimes even when the charger shows a green light, the battery isn’t fully charged. I’ve learned to take an extra 15 seconds to pop the battery into my camera after charging to make sure it’s fully at 100% before I head out…

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    Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:

    This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!

    And in that spirit, after years of running my own adventure travel company, and flitting off to far-away places every chance I got… Read more about me…

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