Helsinki a Great Segue to Japan

Sunday morning market set up in Helsinki

Uspenski Cathedral

As important as it is to experience a little hardship on the journey before you know you are really travelling, the rewards waiting at the end need to be significant to make enduring the discomfort worthwhile. In Helsinki's case, the city more than delivers on its promise. Regardless of the length of your layover, you are bound to find something to do or see in this pretty little city. In our case, 48 hours was enough to do some shopping and to hit most of the "must see" sights, even if we didn't make it inside any of the Finnish capital's famous churches. Along the way, we discovered that Helsinki is making a solid effort to accommodate Japanese speaking tourists, so don't let a lack of Finnish or English ability stop you from attempting a visit.

Cranes & Cathedrals

In 3 days and 2 nights we managed to see a lot of the city without unduly pushing our children while including plenty of rest breaks to cope with jet lag. Preparation was the key, and we found that Rick Steve's Snapshot Helsinki was the most practical on the ground, with an assist from Wallpaper* City Guide Helsinki in pre-departure planning. Japanese tourist guides tend to be loaded with helpful photos and well mapped walking tours, so that would be a good way to go if your trip originates in Japan.

Imposing Icebreakers in Summer Dockage

If you can start your trip at the T1 Tourist office downtown or in the train station, you will find that they are loaded with useful pamphlets, transportation maps, and a city guide in a number of languages, including English and Japanese. A public transit pass can be purchased here as well. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that children's passes were half price and that they were good for a full 24 hours from first use. This feature allowed us to tour the city, make a run to the Sibelius Monument, ride the Suomenlinna ferry, and take the tram from our hotel to the train station for the airport shuttle over two calendar days. Not that the 48 hour pass costs that much extra, but Helsinki is such an expensive city that every little extra savings helps.

Esplanade Park

There are plenty of opportunities to shop along the Esplanade, which is still worth a stroll for the park and people watching alone. At least one staff member at the flagship stores of Iittala and Marimekko spoke Japanese. Prices looked about the same as those at the airport shops, but there were also discounted items that were exclusive to the downtown locations. Iittala's crystal glasses make excellent sake receptacles, not to mention easily transportable omiyage. The prices were at least 25% less than what I pay (including exchange rates) when shopping at Finnport in Thunder Bay, so there are some advantages to spending thousands of dollars for international travel.

If your father-in-law likes sake on the rocks, go for a larger glass size!

Stockmann's Clone Trooper

The trivets smell nice too

If looking for children's omiyage, you can't go wrong with Moomin. Angry Birds products were everywhere as well, but I don't know if it's the same phenomenon in Japan that it is in North America based on the total absence of Angry Birds merchandise in Japanese toy stores.

A trip down to the market will lead to more practical yet transportable omiyage such as handcrafted wooden trivets and carpet beaters that would also work wonders on futons. The lady we bought the trivets from only spoke a few words of English but we still managed to get a small discount when we came up .50€ short, so perhaps she would have been open to negotiation as well if you are buying multiple trivets.

Wild strawberries taste even better than they look

If you can time your visit to Helsinki in mid-July you are in for a real treat as it is wild strawberry season in Finland. Based on the news reports I read leading up to our trip, the arrival of strawberries throughout the country is followed with the same anticipation as cherry blossoms are in Japan. One taste of these sweet, delicious berries will evoke childhood memories of a Finnish youth you never had and help you understand why neighbouring Swede Ingmar Bergman named a film after them. Sold by the litre, prices fluctuate throughout the day and from stall to stall, so it is worth a look around to compare. Near the end of the day on Friday, they were selling for 3.50€/L, but on the weekend, prices ranged from 4-4.50€/L. At least one produce seller had a Japanese employee, so you can tell the influx of tourists has been noticed.

While enjoying the berries, take a moment to thank Thai berry pickers who fly to Finland every year to perform this thankless task. According to the yle uutiset, "Finns are no longer enthusiastic berry pickers," but they are still enthusiastic eaters.

Seen on the Katajanokka stroll

Finally, if your hotel offers it, make sure you experience the Finnish sauna, which is the non-immersive equivalent of the Japanese sento or onsen. If you don't feel inhibited bathing with members of your gender you will feel right at home. And if you do have inhibitions, this might be the perfect way to lose them, because no one else in the sauna gives a fig leaf what you look like naked, they just want to enjoy the steam. Growing up in Thunder Bay with its large Finnish influence, I thought I knew everything about sauna, but having only bathed with friends and family I wasn't aware that I was supposed to sit on my towel or a disposable sheet available just outside the door. I quickly rectified the situation, but hopefully I can spare you from making the same mistake. 

Even though Finland is a Western country, it does share some cultural and design principles with Japan that make them feel like long lost cousins. Whether you can only stop over for a day or a week, Helsinki makes for a memorable transition stop on the journey between Japan and Canada.