That’s it then. Goodbye, Japan!

Yesterday meant saying farewell. Farewell to our host, to the convenience stores, to the good food – and to Japan overall. It was the day of departure.

So, we packed our backpacks, slung them on and headed towards the airport. Good thing we set off with a decent buffer, because the journey took longer than expected. There are several lines, different connections, some even change names along the way – and of course, there is a more expensive and a cheaper option. In short: it wasn’t exactly trivial to catch the right train.

At the airport, we first queued for a while to check in our luggage. Eventually, we managed to get through security, and treated ourselves to a little something to eat before heading to the gate.

The first flight lasted about 11.5 hours but was calm and uneventful. Thus, we reached Doha. The airport there is always a visual treat – even if you have seen it a few times before.

After a quick coffee (exceptionally without a photo) and eavesdropping on a very amusing conversation between two middle-aged German-speaking women, who loudly complained about the “outrageous” price of their cappuccinos (“This can’t be true!”), we continued to the gate, where we then spent the remaining time.

Boarding went on time, but the takeoff was slightly delayed. It felt like we rolled for another quarter of an hour to the runway; in the end, we were about 45 minutes late. Luckily, we were not under time pressure.

The second flight was a bit bumpier; we were shaken quite a bit, but after about 6.5 hours we finally stood in Zurich – again with European soil under our feet.

After a slightly longer wait for our luggage, we headed to the train without further delays. And just about an hour and a half later, it was finally time: I was home again. The trip was officially over.

A few numbers to conclude

• I: approx. 374,390 steps
• The coffee nerd: approx. 434,290 steps
• Together: over 800,000 steps just in Japan
• Total throughout the entire holiday: approx. 1,139,500 steps
• Together ate 24 bowls of ramen
• Ate 6 onigiri (actually fewer than in South Korea)
• Tested 29 different coffee varieties in Japan. Together with South Korea, that sums up to a total of 52.

My conclusion about Japan

Japan was incredibly exciting and very impressive – especially because the culture, people, and architecture often differ greatly from what we know. The people were consistently friendly, helpful, and incredibly accommodating. It was particularly delightful to see how happy they were when one used a few words in Japanese – whether it was an “oishii” (delicious) or a “gochisō-sama deshita” (thank you for the meal).

At the same time, it wasn’t entirely as one often hears. Yes, people do queue – but not always and not by all. The directional arrows at subway stations are more of a rough recommendation, and even at red, some people cross the street. Little things that didn’t bother me at all but were interesting to observe. In some respects, we are more similar than one might think.

All in all, it was a truly wonderful trip that was absolutely worth it, even though I’m glad to be home again.