Yoshino - our last days in Japan

To further expand our cultural experiences, the next morning we headed to Yoshino, a small village east of Osaka. During cherry blossom season, this place attracts many tourists as the whole valley turns into a pink and white sea of blossoms. However, since we visited in summer, it was deserted as we had hoped. Upon arrival at the train station, the staff of our ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel, picked us up. We could enjoy the wonderful view of the landscape and were very excited about what awaited us.

Upon arriving at the ryokan, we were immediately taken to our room. Since we were almost the only guests and as a result, the communal bath known as onsen, which is similar to a pool with super hot water, was closed, we were given a larger room with a private bath. The room was divided into four areas. An entrance area that also led to the bathroom (sink and toilet), the onsen area (with indoor and outdoor bath), a large room with tatami mats and a low table with two chairs to make sitting on the floor easier, and a living area with a small sofa corner.

After our bath in the onsen, we put on our yukuta, a traditional robe for the ryokan (which we were not supposed to take off during our stay), and spent some time in the room reading our books about Japan and China. At seven, we were picked up by the owners of the house for dinner. It was served in another room and consisted of many small dishes called keiseki, which are considered a work of art. Many of the dishes tasted incredibly good, but some took a bit of courage to try, especially since we didn't always know what was being served. But overall, the dining experience was great! This continued in the morning when we got to enjoy a typical Japanese breakfast.

Since it was already August 25th and therefore Kati's birthday, we took a short tour of the city before heading back to Osaka. We had booked a slightly nicer hotel to celebrate the day, where we ate some cake and opened presents after a short walk to a bakery. We were very tired from the past few days, so we spent the day watching a movie in the hotel and only went out in the evening to one of the best sushi restaurants in the city. It was nothing like the good European restaurants. After waiting for about half an hour for our table, we were seated at a counter where the sushi was prepared right in front of us - a true experience! The dexterity with which the various specialties were prepared was particularly impressive. Unlike other sushi restaurants abroad, this place mainly served nigiri, where the quality of the fish was the focus. (Here we also crossed eel and starfish off our list - both very good!)

After a hearty breakfast the next morning, we headed to the airport to fly back to Seoul. So our wonderful trip to Japan ended much too quickly, but we still reminisce about the great and extraordinary experiences we were able to have.

すぐに会いましょう or see you soon, Japan!