Konichiwa Japan🇯🇵

Hello dear ones❤️

Our journey took us to the next country. Japan, the land of the rising sun.

From Taipei our flight went directly to the capital Tokyo. This time the flight went smoothly without any incidents and we reached our destination in less than three hours. After landing, we made our way to the hostel. Narita Airport is quite far outside the city, so we needed about 2 hours by bus and train to get to the hostel. Japan is expensive, we already knew that, so we had to lower our expectations a bit. Instead of the usual double room, we stayed in a multi-bed room. But we had a stroke of luck with our hostel in Tokyo. It was brand new and we had a kind of sleeping cabin with a curtain, so we still had a bit of privacy. The owner Ash was also a great guy and helped us wherever he could. Exhausted from the long journey, we fell into bed. The next morning we started early to visit the mega metropolis. Our first destination was an observation deck in one of the skyscrapers. Then we wanted to go to the National Garden to see the famous cherry blossoms. Many tourists come especially during the Sakura season (spring) to see the blossoms. Unfortunately, this year the blossoms were almost over, as it got warmer earlier than usual. We were lucky, a few trees were still blooming beautifully. Finally, we went to the crazy district of Shibuya. The buildings are full of giant advertisements and thousands of people make their way to the numerous shops and restaurants. In Shibuya, I really felt like I was in a metropolis of 38 million people for the first time. In many other districts it is very quiet and even on the subway it is very quiet. Maybe it's also because of the very polite Japanese people, who behave extra quietly when you have to live in such a small space with so many people. My expectations were totally different, I thought it would be noisy and hectic everywhere, but in most neighborhoods it was the complete opposite. We also went to a ramen restaurant where you don't order from the waitress but from a vending machine. Japan fascinated me from the first day, it's just so much more modern than in Europe. My absolute highlight are the toilets with built-in seat heating, butt shower and music😃

On the second day, we used our time for a walk through the city. We didn't want to see too much because our friend Cholen would arrive the next day from faraway Switzerland.
The next day, we had to leave early because we also had to change hostels, as Ash didn't have space for three people. With all our stuff, we went to the next accommodation. After months, we saw Cholen again and were very happy about it. With him, we planned to travel through the country for almost two weeks. Since we couldn't check into our rooms until the afternoon, we first went to the city. The two men were very interested in going to the Akihabara district, the so-called electric district. There are numerous 'game halls' with 7-story buildings full of game boxes and machines of all kinds. Then we went to a maid cafe for coffee and dessert. In these cafes, the cute waitresses are dressed up and the dishes are sweetly decorated and often look like animal faces. I also found it really funny that you always had to sing a kind of slogan with them as soon as they served something. The interior and atmosphere of the cafe are also totally crazy. After a short break, we went to Golden Gai in the evening. A very winding bar district with tiny pubs that can usually accommodate a maximum of 10 people. After a few attempts, we found a place in one of the bars. We started trying the different sake drinks (rice wine). After a few drinks, the men started the karaoke machine and we had a fun evening with some singing together with the other guests.
The next day, we first cured our hangover and then went back to sightseeing in the afternoon. After a little shopping tour, we continued to the traditional district of Asakusa. There we strolled through the old streets and visited a temple and its associated park.
The next day, we went one station further to Fujikawaguchiko at the foot of Mount Fuji. We took a bus to the small town where we were already expected by the hostel owner who kindly picked us up with his bus. We slept in a traditional room with a futon on the floor. We rented bicycles and first explored the surroundings. We rode to the nearby lake to see the mountain. Unfortunately, the mountain didn't show itself, it was too cloudy. Well, shit happens, but I still found the landscape very beautiful, especially after spending the last few days in the big city. We stocked up on all kinds of Japanese delicacies at the next supermarket and tried many of them. I have to say that the food here is very delicious, there's little that I don't like.
Since our time was limited, we continued the next day. The next destination was the city of Kyoto. For the first time, we took the bullet train, the so-called Shinkansen, which whizzes through the country at about 300 km/h. In no time, we were in Kyoto, where we first checked into our hostel. The hostel was amazing, very modern and equipped with everything you can imagine. In the evening, we went to enjoy some running sushi and ended the evening in a cozy way. Kyoto is known as a traditional temple city. The next day, we took a bike and cruised through the city. After visiting some temples, we reached our actual destination, the Fushimi Inari Temple, the most famous temple in the area. You can climb the mountain through thousands of red torii gates and enjoy a beautiful view.

The next day, we went to the city of Nara, which is about 1 hour away. There stands the largest wooden building in the world, a truly beautiful temple. But my personal highlight was Nara Park. It is a beautifully landscaped park with thousands of tame deer. You could even pet and feed many of the deer. I have to say, some of the deer are really cheeky and greedy. So I bought food for the deer, wanted to feed them in peace, when a horde came running towards me and crowded me, one of them even bit me. So I dropped the food on the ground and ran away in shock 😂 After a short ride home, we ended the evening in a relaxed way.
On our last day in Kyoto, we used the time for sightseeing. First, we went to the Bamboo Forest, where we strolled through the beautifully landscaped bamboo forest. Next, we visited the Golden Pavilion, which provided a beautiful photo motif as it reflected in the well-designed lake.

The journey continued to the city of Kobe. The actual goal of this stop was to eat meat, but not just any meat, but the best in the world - Kobe beef. In the evening, we made our way to visit the beautiful harbor of the city. Then we went to one of the many beef restaurants. We were placed in front of one of the hot plates and could watch the chef prepare the food live. We ordered a menu that included an appetizer, 200g of meat, rice, vegetables, and a coffee. Excited, we tried the meat and oh my god, I have to say that the meat literally melted on the tongue. I expected the meat to be good, but it was heavenly. I have never eaten such good meat in my life. After this meal, we were truly on cloud nine 😃
The next morning, we continued to our next destination, Hiroshima. The Shinkansen brought us quickly to our destination. Hiroshima is known to everyone. On 08.06.45, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on the city. The consequences were devastating, which is also well represented in the Peace Museum that we visited. Our hostel was very centrally located in the Peace Park. The park is beautiful and with many monuments it reminds us of this catastrophe. Since the attack, a flame has been burning there, which is not to be extinguished until the last atomic bomb in the world is destroyed. I think the city is super beautiful and you can no longer imagine that something so terrible happened here. On our last day together with Cholen, we visited Miyajima Island. The island is known for its red gate in the sea and a beautiful temple. In the evening, we went around the town to say goodbye to our friend and ended up in the hostel with a few bottles of sake.

So we continued as a duo. After a day of rest, our journey continued to Matsuyama. I found a great hotel deal online and immediately booked it. So we went to the so-called Love Hotel to relax. The room was great and huge by Japanese standards. Massage chairs, whirlpool, and a projector were part of the basic equipment. There we relaxed for two days and could process all the new impressions of Japan. However, we had to change hostels for the next two days because otherwise it would have been too expensive. There, we visited the city, including a castle and the oldest onsen in Japan. By the way, an onsen is something like a hot spring, they can be found everywhere in Japan. The city didn't have much more to offer and we enjoyed our free time before the 'workaway' started. We took the ferry to Yamaguchi, our new home for a whole month. More about that in the next post.

Anita