japan

Osaka, Japan

Posted August 15, 2019

To conclude my stay in Japan, I visited Osaka! Since Kyoto and Osaka are quite close, it didn’t take me long to get into town and check into my first hostel, Nine Hours Namba Station. The hostel was well situated near Namba Station (duh), meaning I had no trouble getting around the city by subway. I took the opportunity on my first day to visit one of the shopping streets, Shinsekai. Right at the end of the street is an observation tower called Tsutenkaku. Read more…

Nara, Japan

Posted August 14, 2019

While I was in Kyoto, I decided that I wanted to take a day trip to Nara, as I had heard about their famous “Deer Park”. Knowing next to nothing about it before going, I hopped on a JR Line train that took me about an hour south of Kyoto.

Turns out that there aren’t just deer in one spot. There are deer absolutely everywhere. Read more…

Kyoto, Japan

Posted August 13, 2019

I really looked forward to my trip to Kyoto, especially because it started off with a ride on Japan’s Shinkansen, or bullet train. Expensive as hell, but totally worth the experience and the speed. The trip took about two hour, with the train reaching speeds of hundreds of kilometres per hour as we blasted through the Japanese countryside. Read more…

Hakone and Lake Ashi, Japan

Posted August 11, 2019

Totally rain-soaked, but still mildly pleased with myself, I left Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko for Hakone. Hakone is a small, somewhat mountainous area about two hours from Fuji by bus, known for its many hot springs (or onsen). I got dropped off at Gora Station, which happens to be the place where both the train and the local cable car begin. Just like with Lake Kawaguchiko, it felt very picturesque, what with the abundance of nature and the quaint train tracks running alongside the road. Read more…

Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko, Japan

Posted August 8, 2019

It was almost a relief to leave Tokyo for the quiet countryside of Lake Kawaguchiko, at the base of Mt. Fuji. As I walked from the bus stop to K’s House Mt. Fuji, it honestly felt like one of those picturesque towns out of a movie. It was so refreshing to see some countryside, with hills rising up around the village and small winding roads passing lazily between the houses. Read more…

Japan - Land of the Rising Sun

Posted August 7, 2019

I’d always wanted to visit Japan. It has a certain cultural appeal to me, one that is just so different from any other country in the world. Unfortunately, living in North America makes it difficult to even get to the other side of the world, a problem that is compounded as a student with expenses. But after getting extremely fortunate with my working opportunities (i.e. TripAdvisor), in combination with some lucky timing, I ended up with the means and the time to take a whole six weeks to travel the world! So naturally, Japan was first up on my list. Read more…

Tokyo, Japan

Posted August 7, 2019

I landed in Tokyo in the evening, after an excruciatingly long 22 hours of travel - plus the time change - and checked into my hostel for the next few days, Grids Nihombashi. Since it was already 10pm at that point, my first true experience with Japan was the following morning, when I did a free tour with Tokyo Localized. We began in the famous Akihabara district, some of which is known as “Electric Town” due to being Japan’s centre of anime, technology, video games, and entertainment. Almost immediately, I felt that many of the stereotypes I had heard about modern Japan were validated; flashing signs and posters plastered across skyscrapers, anime merchandise shops and manga shops at every corner, music and noise coming from all directions, and hundreds of people of milling about. Read more…