japan-stories

Now I'm back in Germany for almost two weeks and only now writing the very last blog entry. Naughty Sandra :) The flight back was actually quite pleasant. And the first German...

The last stop on my Kyushu trip: Kagoshima, November 2nd and 24 degrees. I wonder why I wore the long jeans :) Kagoshima is located in the southern part of Kyushu and is also...

Next stop: Kumamoto. Famous for its castle and Suizenji Park. Too bad I forgot that the castle was heavily damaged by an earthquake in April 2016. But no worries. It was...

So the next day we went to the place where Nagasaki became famous: the Peace Park, the Atomic Bomb Museum and the Hypocenter. Just like in Hiroshima, you walk around here with a...

So now I am in Nagasaki. Not far from my hostel, there is the small artificial island of Dejima. Okay, island is a lie. It used to be an island and now it is just enclosed by...

Just two more weeks until I return to Germany. So I packed my bags and booked a flight to Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. As I was waiting at the...

One day before Jens' and Laura's departure, we went to Kamakura, 1 hour south of Tokyo. In Kamakura, like in Kyoto, there are many temples and shrines. And the second largest...

Heute Nacht ist ein Taifun über Japan gefegt. In Tokyo lagen jediglich nur ein paar kleine Äste auf dem Boden. das gute an einem Taifun ist, dass danach immer schönes Wetter...

Sightseeing in Tokyo with a lot of rain. We started in Shinjuku, where the Japanese government buildings are located. You can ride up to the 45th floor of both towers for free....

Yokohama is located southeast of Tokyo. The most famous thing in Yokohama is probably the Ferris wheel in Minatomirai 21 (a seaside district) and Chinatown. Unfortunately, the...

So we continue to Tokyo after Nagano! Tall buildings and crowds of people. And to make it clear from the start: Tokyo itself does not have 30 million inhabitants. The city...

Since October 5th, Laura and Jens have been visiting. We spent the first 5 days in Kanazawa and then went to Nagano, where the 1998 Winter Olympics took place. But there's not...

Takayama is located west of the Japanese Alps. About a 90-minute bus ride away is Kamikochi, a valley in the middle of the northern Alps. This area is part of the Chubu Sangaku...

Yes, September is already over and so is my work at the hostel in Kanazawa. On the last evening, the entire hostel staff went to an Izakaya (Japanese bar): 2 hours...

A cute 'teahouse'

Der Kenroku-en in Kanazawa ist offiziell einer der drei schönsten Landschaftsgärten Japans ("nihon sanmeien"). Berühmt sind die Pinienbäume, die ab November mit Seilen vor den...

For 5 days, Melanie and Anja are visiting me in Kanazawa. So off to Shirakawa-go :) Shirakawa-go - actually three villages - is located between Kanazawa and the Japanese Alps....

Nach langer Pause mal wieder ein Eintrag :) Wenn ich frei hatte mal kein Regentag war, habe ich nur kleine Sachen gemacht. Ich bekomme gleich zweimal Besuch hier in Kanazawa. Da...

... and welcome to Kanazawa. I'm now on the other side of Japan heading towards Korea. Kanazawa is located right by the sea with the Japanese Alps behind it. I am also working...

Weather looks good, two days off in a row. So I bought another Hakone Free Pass and off we go! On the first day, I went to Lake Ashi and from there I could already see Mount...

Tokaido - translated as 'Eastern Sea Road' - was one of the 5 major routes of the Edo period (17th to 19th century) between Tokyo and Kyoto. Today, not much of it remains. A 3...

The causeway to Enoshima

My luck with the free day has been rather unsuccessful so far: rain, rain, and fog. Yesterday was no exception. Except that this time the rain was part of a typhoon :) But it...

Ich habe leider mein Whatsapp geschrottet und kein meine Nummer hier in Japan natürlich nicht verifizieren lassen :) Wenn ihr mir also schreiben wollt, nur noch über Telegram,...

Summer is the time for fireworks in Japan: Hanabi ('fire flowers'). So Ali and I went to Lake Ashinoko in Hakone, where a festival is taking place for 5 days. Lanterns were...

Three consecutive days off, so let's go to Fuji. I'm actually not far from Fuji. However, there is a small mountain range between the hostel and the mountain. So, to Fuji, a...

Back to the lake again, to see nothing again. And then on to the brewery tour. Chiyo (you'll never guess her age :D) was looking forward to the beer the whole time, 'Free...

The national park

Odawara is the next major city next to Hakone. Actually nothing special, except that it is located by the sea. The beach was - as expected - gray/black, but not very beautiful....

And of course, first stop at the town hall: register. Then relax. Allegedly it's only 25° today, but it's so humid that you start sweating like a little pig after just 2 meters...