I found unexpected friendships on a Wendy Wu tour of Japan
Over seven days our little group traded stories, opinions, laughs and share photos of our unique time together.
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On one side of the table sits a Scottish lobster fisherman and an English PE teacher and across from them, two young girls less than half their age. They shouldn’t have much in common but as the girls teach the men how to use Airdrop on their iPhones and the men impress them with their knowledge of The 1975 and Taylor Swift, a wonderful thing happens.
It’s the start of a week-long guided holiday through Japan and I had prepared my 20-year-old daughter, Ava, to be the youngest of the group by a few decades. After all, group tours tend to attract the traveller bookends – those setting off on their first overseas adventures in their early 20s, or those filling their retirement years with travel. And I anticipated this introduction of Japan through Wendy Wu Tours to be the latter.
As we arrive at the welcome dinner, Ava spots a young woman we later learn is a 21-year-old from Sydney travelling with her mum and grandmother, and at another table a 25-year-old from Canberra travelling with her mum. You can see the light turn on in all three young ladies and a silent “thank God” passes between them.
The plan is to explore Tokyo before setting off to Nara, Kyoto and Osaka, but by the time we leave the glittering Japanese capital, firm friendships have already formed between these three Gen Zs and throughout the group.
Among our 24 – which spans 20-somethings to 70-somethings – the abovementioned fisherman and teacher are joined by a former homicide detective from New Zealand, a retired surgeon, two nurses, a speech pathologist, potter, actor, London civil servant, club manager, construction project manager and even a mystic rune reader. Over the next six days our little group will trade stories, opinions, laughs and share photos of our unique time together.
Our guide is Nobuku – Nobu for short – who has been showing tourists around her country for 15 years. There is not a question Nobu cannot answer. Why are there no garbage bins in Tokyo? Is the lotus Chinese or Japanese? How small are the apartments in Tokyo? Why don’t they say arigato in Kyoto? Nobu knows all.
On our first morning we head to the ancient Senso-ji Buddhist temple and it’s so crowded we can only stay together by following a flag hoisted in the air.
Ava and I make a beeline for the fortune wall and each select a numbered stick from a metal canister. The number matches a drawer containing a sheet of paper with your fortune. I get number 21 which delivers: “Good Fortune – Washing off all bad things in the past, now everything is clear and clean.” It’s a bit vague, but I’ll take it.
Ava’s not as impressed with her “Regular Fortune” until Nobu tells her it could have been worse with “Bad Fortune” sheets also in the mix.
The afternoon is spent at Tokyo Skytree, which at 634m is the tallest structure in Japan. There are two observation decks, at 350m and at 450m, and despite the cloud haze, the views are spectacular.
The next day we drive a few hours to the 5th Station at Mount Fuji, nicknamed the shy mountain because it so often hides behind clouds. Temperatures can drop to 5C even during the hottest month of August but we get a mild, sunny day.
You can climb to the peak on foot from the 5th Station and there are small hotels or huts around the 8th Station allowing walkers to arrive in the afternoon, spend a night and set off for the summit pre-dawn to catch the mountain sunrise. You may, or may not, be surprised to hear there is a vending machine and Shinto shrine at the very top.
Our hotel in Mishima that night has a traditional onsen on the top floor and the chatter around dinner is who will and who won’t. Nobu tells us you must enter the bath completely naked without a towel. Ava shakes her head subtly at me, I guess 20-year-old me wouldn’t have done it either. But 51-year-old me figures why not?
I choose the 6am opening when I expect the pool to be empty and whatever nerves were present when I strip are quickly gone when I sink into the hot 40C water. It’s beautifully liberating and comforting, but I keep a keen eye on the door.
After breakfast, we board a bullet train for a one-hour trip to Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital. One of only three Japanese cities not bombed during World War II, Kyoto is a beautifully preserved metropolis full of shrines and temples, around 2000 of them. But first, we head to a calligraphy class and matcha tea ceremony.
Our calligraphy teacher, Sono, explains the art of writing Japanese characters is closely linked with meditation – it takes about 30 minutes to mix the ink and during that time, practitioners meditate.
Sitting straight-backed on the floor (the older ones among us shifting uncomfortably every few minutes) we practise up and down strokes and ones that look like big commas before writing the word “happiness”. The class is followed by a matcha tea ceremony led by tea master Emily, who tells us the famous green tea originated in China and was brought to Japan by a monk 800 years ago. She leads the ceremony in absolute silence, purposefully cleaning each utensil with ceremonial reverence before teaching us how to whip the tea to frothy peaks. Don’t expect the sweetened creamy concoctions you’ve likely tasted at Starbucks – pure matcha is very bitter.
Written on the wall in beautiful Japanese calligraphy is a phrase Emily tells us translates to “a once in a lifetime meeting” and as I look around the new faces I have come to know so quickly I consider how apt this is.
A few days later in Osaka, when our little group breaks up to head to our different home cities, the memories of the trip will live on. But more importantly, so will the friendships.
The writer was a guest of Wendy Wu Tours.
How to tour Japan
Wendy Wu Tours operates 28 guided holidays of Japan, from two- to 24-day fully inclusive packages. The nine-day A Week in Japan begins in Tokyo and ends in Osaka, travelling to Kyoto and Nara along the way with a stop at Mount Fuji. The package is priced from $8040 a person twin share and includes return flights from Australia, accommodation, transportation, meals and scheduled activities.
When is the best time to visit Japan?
The best time to visit Japan is during spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) when the weather is warm and dry with no extremes in temperature.
Originally published as I found unexpected friendships on a Wendy Wu tour of Japan
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