Licking the Caspian Sea in Baku: A Senior's Thrilling Overseas Trip

We are on a trip around the world from mid-May to mid-July 2026.
We are a couple in our 60s.

We came to Azerbaijan from Turkey.
It takes 3 hours and 10 minutes to arrive by plane from Istanbul.
This is our first time in this country.

The temperature is around 15°C to 25°C, which is as warm as spring.
The time difference from Japan is -5 hours.

We will stay in Azerbaijan for17 nightsfrom May 25th to June 11th.
We will stay at a hotel in the regional city of Sheki for only 2 nights, and for the remaining15 nights, we will stay in an Airbnb apartment in the capital, Baku.

First, I will introduce the Airbnb apartment we stayed at in Baku and the surrounding area.

Entering Azerbaijan

A visa is required to enter Azerbaijan.
As mentioned in the note post, Japanese citizens can obtain one for free.
Moreover, you can obtain it upon arrival at the airport.

There is no need to obtain it in advance.

When you walk along the corridor upon entry, there are about 10 arrival visa issuance machines lined up.

You cannot select Japanese, but you can select English.
There are several staff members, so you don't need to worry about operating these machines at all.

Even if you don't understand English well, these staff members will do almost all the operations for you.
The process finishes in a few minutes, and the visa paper is printed out.

Arrival visas can only be obtained at international airports.
You should be aware that they cannot be obtained via land routes.

Note that if you are staying for 15 days or more like us, you must separately submit a residence permit to the immigration office.
Our residence permit was handled on our behalf by the Airbnb owner.

Passport control also finished quickly.

Perhaps the officer in charge of me found Japanese people rare; they repeated simple Japanese words and my name, and stamped my entry with a smile.

There was no baggage inspection, and entry was smooth.

Regarding the exchange of Azerbaijani currency, based on information that airport ATMs are safe, I withdrew the local currency, Manat, using my Wise card.

The Wise card is a debit card specialized for cash usage abroad.
One manat is about 94 yen. It's easy to remember if you think of it as 100 yen.

From the airport to the Airbnb apartment

I intended to use the ride-hailing app Bolt from the airport to the Airbnb apartment.
However, when I reached the final confirmation screen, a communication error appeared for some reason.

No matter how many times I tried, it didn't work, so I had no choice but to go bytaxi.

*I used Bolt in other locations and it worked without any issues. It seemed that only the area right by the airport was unavailable.

This taxi was quite troublesome.
At the taxi stand, there was someone like a manager who spoke English.
I was relieved when they said credit cards could be used.

However, the taxi driver did not speak English.

After driving for a while, he stopped in front of an ATM at a gas station.
It seemed he was telling me to withdraw cash.

He insisted that payment had to be in cash.

We argued a little, but it was getting nowhere.
When I said 'forget it' and tried to get out, he gave up, pointed to the card reader, and said that credit cards could be used.

Airbnb apartment

It is a condo-style unit on the top floor of a 16-story building.
It is located right next to the American Embassy.
There is a supermarket a 3-minute walk away, which is convenient for shopping.

There seems to be a caretaker stationed on the first floor.
It is an old building, but it has two bedrooms.

We try to choose Airbnb apartments with two bedrooms whenever possible.
It's not that we don't get along as a couple, but since our bedtimes and wake-up times are different, we do this so we don't have to worry about each other.

I thought it would be quiet on the top floor, but this is an Islamic country after all.
I was woken up at 3:30 in the morning by the loud sound of the Adhan, the call to prayer.

Licking the water of the Caspian Sea

If you walk 2.5 km, about 30 minutes, from the Airbnb apartment where we are staying, you will reach theCaspian Sea.

The circular building catches the eye.
This building is still under construction, and you cannot go inside.

The seaside street is a promenade.
From here, I could see several uniquely shaped buildings.

Whenever I go abroad, I always taste the seawater of the sea that the country faces.

This time, I tasted the water of the landlocked Caspian Sea.

Since it is landlocked, I had assumed it would be quite salty, but it was the opposite.
It felt much thinner than regular seawater.
It was so thin that one might mistake it for a freshwater lake.

When I looked it up online, my tongue proved to be correct.
The salinity is only 1.2%.
It is said to have a salinity level similar to brackish water, where seawater and freshwater mix.
For reference, seawater is around 3.3%.

I learned in school that the Caspian Sea is a salt lake, but I was able to confirm the difference from the ocean with my own tongue.

If you have the chance, why not try tasting the seawater at your own risk?
It is one way to experience a foreign country.