Yin and Yang, and Yen

It is now official, the world is in a recession and it is deeper than expected. It also claimed the first leader to step down in Iceland. However, the Japanese Yen has hit a record high against almost all the currencies in years. The global economic turndown has brought Yen to be appreciated. Our purchasing power has appreciated by about 30% since last summer. It helps Japanese travellers take trips abroad.

My trip to Russia was not an exception. I had expected high prices in Moscow, but it was not all it's cracked up to be. It was almost the same as Tokyo. I found lots of Europeans who were suffering from such high prices in Moscow. The reason why I did not suffer from the prices is definitely the appreciation of Yen. Yen has appreciated by about 30% against Russian Ruble, which means that everything seemed to me 30% off. The total amount of my 17 days trip was ¥215,000. More than half of the expense was a flight ticket between Tokyo and Moscow. I bought it at the zenith in the last October. If Yen had not appreciated, I would have felt expensive. I enjoyed the benefit of strong Yen.

Japanese tend to consider the appreciation of Yen drawbacks because our economy has been shored up by exports for decades. Indeed, the Japanese automobile industry such as Toyota or Honda are suffering from the appreciation of Yen and lots of temporary workers are losing their jobs. That's a big problem. However, I think it is an opportunity to reconsider a hatred for the appreciation of Yen. Japanese exporters enjoyed the benefits too much under undervalued Yen. I think everything has to get balanced in the end. The benefits of strong Yen will outweigh the drawbacks. It is time to change our perception.

Leckeres Essen in Russland

In meiner Reise habe ich wunderbares russisches Essen genossen. Suppen und Pumpernickel haben mir sehr gut geschmeckt und ich habe sie jeden Tag gegessen. Besonders eine Suppe, die "Soljanka" heißt, war ganz lecker. Man isst Soljanka mit saurer Sahne, Zitrone und Oliven. Ich mag den sauren Geschmack der Soljanka mit Pumpernickel.
Russisches Essen ist gesünder als ich glaubte. Es gibt viele verschiedene Salate in Russland. Salate mit roten Beten sind sehr gut und lecker! Man kauft Salate im Supermarkt oder im Stolovaya(Canteen). Ich habe im Stolovaya viele Leute, die mehr Salate als Fleisch essen, gesehen und sie essen in riesiger Menge Salate... Über was ich überrascht war, ist Wareniki(ein Teiggericht wie japanische Gyosa). Die Teige sind nicht gesalzen, sondern süß! Erdbeere im Teig! Es war eine neue Entdeckung für mich. Kavier geschmeckt Suhariki(Zwieback) hat mir auch geschmeckt. Ich habe erkennt, dass russiches Essen lecker und kultiviert ist. Russland braucht kein Fastfood wie McDonald's. Es hat mir in meiner Reise sehr gut geschmeckt. Zusätzlich können Russen sehr gut Stäbchen benutzen. Es gibt viele japanische Restaurant in Moskau.

S Novim 2009 Godom

I took a 17 days holiday from Christmas to New Year. I travelled around Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and saw the year off at the Red Square, Moscow. I expected that my trip to Russia would be the most difficult and challenging trip I had ever experienced. However it was not all it's cracked up to be. There are several elements that made my trip comfortable without any problem. In this post I would like to review my trip what makes my entire trip comfortable.



Firstly, my Russian friends helped me a lot. They gave me live information about Moscow in advance and helped me buy tickets and a mobile phone. They invited me for a wonderful silvester dinner in their new flat. I am so grateful of them for their great hospitality. If they had not advised me that I should go to the Red Square more early than I had planned because there were several security controls to enter the Red Square for new year celebration, I could not have celebrated new year and seen fireworks at the square. It was 5 min to the new year when I arrived at the square.

Secondly, I had prepared to study survival Russian in the run-up to the departure. I decided to take a trip to Russia in last October and then started studying Russian. I took private Russian lessons in Tokyo. It was just survival Russian such as greeting, counting numbers, typical phrases for travel use. As a result, few people understand English as I had expected. I managed to communicate with them in my poor Russian during my entire journey. At least I have got used to the Cyrillic alphabet. Thank my Russian teachers for helping my Russian. It worked really well.

Finally, there were lots of nice, friendly and supportive local people who helped me in every situation. They smiled not so often, but once I asked them for something, they tried to explain to me with patience although most of the people did not understand English. I realised in my trip that we have an inbuilt assumption that Russian people are not friendly. It is not a ture, I think that little smile and little English would inflate our Russian stereotype. Unfriendly people might used to be true, but Russian people in 21st century have changed.

To conclude, the countries I have been to this time are worth visiting. There are lots of amazing places round the region. Nice people, delicious food and beautiful lit up buildings especially in winter are waiting for your visit. The countries have been changing over the last ten years. Gloomy Soviet atmosphere has almost been cleaned up. With getting used to the Cyrillic alphabet, we can enjoy the modern Moscow and other former Soviet cities.