Fukuoka - Japan 🇯🇵

The unplanned 2 1/2 weeks in Japan are now coming to an end. My last destination was Fukuoka in the south of Japan. Getting there by Shinkansen was pretty easy and only took me a good 3 hours. If I had done the same route by car, the whole route would have taken more than 7 hours. So the train system with the Shinkansen but also all other trains in Japan is really well developed and a real dream to travel. After I arrived in Fukuoka, I walked to the hostel and then I had the feeling that I might like it here. The best thing here is that the cherry blossoms, which are quite late this year, have already started and so I can also experience the cherry blossoms in Japan. In the evening I went back into town and watched the sunset with an ice cream by the river. In the background I had typical Japanese music from a girl band, which took some getting used to, I would say. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this evening. The next day I went in search of cherry trees so I could see the splendor of the cherry blossoms. I knew that the parks would be pretty full at this time, but I didn't expect them to be so full, even with locals. I then went to a few parks in the city and took way too many photos of cherry blossoms 🌸. Then I sat down for a bit in one or two parks and just watched the hustle and bustle of the locals under the cherry blossoms. But even just walking through the city you can see the blossoming cherry trees everywhere and it's actually quite a pleasure just walking through the city. This is definitely one of the reasons why I liked the city so much. I then went to the harbor, which wasn't too spectacular, before I strolled back into the city center. I ended the day there. The next morning I made myself comfortable again in a park under cherry trees for breakfast before heading to the fish market. In the afternoon we went to the largest copper statue in the world, a reclining Buddha. About 30 minutes by train east of Fukuoka but definitely worth a visit. There were also almost no tourists or people in general, which was pretty pleasant. This statue was pretty impressive. Afterwards I lay in the sun for a bit next to a stream until two locals politely asked me to leave because it wasn't allowed to lie here. Unfortunately I didn't understand why exactly because of course they didn't speak English either. So I continued my power nap in the sun somewhere else. I then watched and enjoyed the last sunset of my time in Japan with sushi from a rooftop. The next morning we went to the airport in Fukuoka first thing in the morning. 🌸

Japan in general really surprised me in quite a few different ways. First of all, I never expected that I could like it here so much. The cold also surprised me quite a bit, as did the whole nature in Japan. When I thought of Japan, my image in my head was always just big cities and not a bit of nature. But the nature here is definitely worth a visit. From mountains with ski resorts and breathtaking hiking areas to beaches where you could even surf. The next surprising thing was that almost no one speaks English here, not even in a city as international as Tokyo. Even at the airport it was rather difficult. That sometimes made traveling here a little more difficult. What wasn't very surprising to me, however, was that it can sometimes be quite lonely as a solo traveler. It is definitely not a country where there are many travelers and the atmosphere in hostels is different than anywhere else. For me, 2 weeks of just time for myself came in handy after 5 months of almost never being alone. However, if I were to travel to Japan again, which I would definitely like to do, I would no longer want to do it alone. Because you can't talk to the locals, or at least I didn't, I also missed a bit of interaction with locals and getting to know the country with all its facets. I don't think I've ever been to a country as photogenic as Japan. I would have loved to take a photo of the corner. It often has so many different facets to offer at the same moment. Japan will definitely see me again in the future! 🫶🏼