Author: felix

Sorry… didn’t have much energy the last week or so. I’m trying to catch up now.

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The main reason for me visiting Kumamoto was to see Kuya Carlo again after a long 10 years. 

Similarly to Osaka I’m condensing this down a bit:

Day 1:

I was slowly but surely feeling the effects of bad and too little sleep. Physically and mentally. 

So the first morning was pretty slow. I slept in and tried to do some planning throughout the day. In the evening I was picked up by Carlo 🙂 We went for some Izakaya with a couple of colleagues of his.

The food was really good, but the Karaage was the one that blew me away!

Day 2:

On the 2nd day Kuya had put together a great sightseeing plan. Salamat!

In the morning we went to visit Kumamoto castle which was spectacular. It offered great views over the city and was an architectural masterpiece.

For lunch we went to one of his favourite spots. It was a restaurant famous for its Aburasoba (basically ramen without the broth). I took the spicy one. Kuya recommended adding some cheese (parmigiano). And let me tell you. It was fockin delicious!

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In the afternoon we made our way into the mountains. 

First stop was a really enchanting spot. It was a shrine built around a cave. As legends have it a famous sword man spent about 5 years there meditating and writing books.

The main attraction imo was 500 statues of buddha disciples. Dotted along the way to the cave it was definitely a sight to behold!

The cave gave off a very serene vibe. I felt at peace.

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After the cave we headed to a bamboo forest. It wasn’t as extensive as Kyoto’s, but definitely a lot less touristic, which made it feel a lot more special.

There we met a really sweet elderly farmer’s couple. Another one of those moments that showed me that the world ain’t all bad after all.

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On the way back to the hotel Carlo showed me what a second hand super store looks like in Japan. It’s on a whole other level. From Cameras, to guitars, to clothing, to golfclubs. They even had a raclette grill!!!

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To finish the night off we went to Kuya’s favourite music bar. A great little nifty spot with an awesome sound system. 

There Kuya showed off his shredding skills with the electric guitar. Sugoi!!!

Hontoni arigato kuya!!! ♥️

Day 3:

To do something for myself I did my first jogging on my trip. It felt really good, but of course I haven’t done any since…

I had to do some planning for Mt. Aso which was my next stop.

Other than that I had a rather slow day to recharge some energy.

To finish the day off I had an amazing local dinner set. 

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My first time in Kumamoto was amazing! Thank you!

TL;DR
It was awesome! Do the same if you ever get the chance to!!!

Japan Bucket list; ✅ number 1!

The Expo experience definitely depended on the expectations you set for it. There were quite a lot of negative reviews and opinions from what I’d seen and heard.

But for me it was an event that I was looking forward to regardless. Despite the long waiting times there was still so much to see.

Prior to this I had been lucky enough to visit the 2015 Expo in Milano and had a lot of pleasant memories from then.

To me expo’s are just such a rare and profound experience. To be able to see so many different countries and cultures in one place really is special.

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Now to preface this; I booked my tickets wayyy too late. So I only managed to snag a slot from 5pm onwards. This definitely has been my biggest learning. On the other hand it pushed me to be more “efficient”.

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The public transport was as I’d expect from Japan. Jump onto a Metro and get off directly in front of the Expo.

I arrived at around 3:30pm-ish since I figured I might as well take pictures from the outside while I’m there.

Unfortunately there wasn’t much to see other than the Expo from the outside and the participant’s national flags fluttering in the wind.

Since there were quite a lot of people I figured I might as well join the queue. Thanks to Japanese manners and great organization the wait time wasn’t all too long. I was even allowed to enter half an hour earlier, which was a pleasant surprise.

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Now my main goals for the Expo was to visit the Swiss, German & Filipino pavillon and to have a great time of course.

So after taking a couple of pics from the wooden ring, I made my way to the Swiss pavillon. And as expected; there was quite a line. So much so that they didn’t allow more people to queue.

After one failed attempt of joining the queue I really couldn’t be asked. So I figured I’d ask the staff to give me a quick rundown of what was happening inside. After establishing that the staff was Swiss and conversing in some Swiss German, I asked him what you’d be able to see inside.

Most surprisingly and graciously I, as a Swiss citizen, was considered a “VIP-Guest”. So I was able to skip the queue and enter the pavillon.

I won’t really spoil what it looked like since they’ve probably got a virtual walk-through.

But to me it was a bit lackluster if I’m being fully honest. It lacked cohesion and soul. The individual expositions were quite creative and beautifully designed. But there would’ve been so much more potential to represent our beautiful country. It just had a rather Swiss bureaucratic aftertaste.

Of course I didn’t dare to mention that to the personnel when circling back to say thank you. But yeah…

I got into a conversation with one of the “employees” in the pavillon though where I enquired into how one can work / volunteer at a pavillon. Seems like every Swiss person can do so with some language skills. “Presence Switzerland” is the main driving force behind the representation of Switzerland at international events. If I get the chance I’d love to work at the pavillon at the Expo 2030 in Saudi Arabia.

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At the German pavillon I wasn’t as lucky unfortunately. My German citizen privileges didn’t work as well as they did for Switzerland. I still got a great summary of the exhibits at the pavillon though.

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After that it was nearly time for the fireworks. So I went onto the ring to watch them from there. It was pretty full but the view was great nonetheless. The hard part was getting back down again. When I finally managed it was konbini and water show time.

To end, I was treated to an amazing drone show! Wow!

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On the way to dinner I stumbled upon the Alphorn show. It really brought a tear to my eye. I felt right back at home!

My dinner was quite disappointing. I had planned to get some African food, but they were already closed by the time I got there (an hour early :/). So I decided to visit the Kebab lab. Sadly the food was cold and not all too tasty. At least I was mostly full after.

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As the pavillons were starting to close I slowly but surely made my way over to the Filipino pavillon. On the way there I stopped by the Spanish and another that showed the night lights of famous cities. Regrettably I was too slow and the Filipino pavillon was closed by the time I got there. Welp, lesson learned. Hopefully…

Luckily there was an exhibition hall close by which housed a number of different (smaller) countries. So in the end I got to see about 20 different countries in total.

Not too shabby for 4 hours at the Expo.

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On the way back I couldn’t help myself but join the queue for the “Official Expo Store”. It was a lot longer than I had anticipated but at least it moved rather quickly. I got myself a t-shirt, sticker and a towel.

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After exiting the grounds I had to discover with dismay that I wasn’t the only one who wanted to get home. Huh, who would’ve thought. So it was off to queuing again. After about 45 minutes I finally made it onto the metro. I must say considering the amount of people, it went quite quickly. Japan really has mastered the art of crowd control!

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Down below I’ve curated a list of pros and cons of the Expo experience:

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My final thoughts:

It’s an event that I can wholeheartedly recommend to everyone. To see so many different countries and cultures in one place is simply breathtaking. Sometimes it seemed as though this would be the closest we’d achieve to being at world peace (in this day and age).

Arigato, Osaka Expo! ♥️

I’m condensing multiple days into this entry since it was round 1 for Osaka (and I couldn’t be asked to make multiple):

Day 1:

The flight from Okinawa went smoothly. I landed in Kobe, where I took the train to Osaka main station. There I finally managed to activate and load my Suica card, which made life a lot easier. From there I took the metro to my hotel. It was my first proper capsule hotel experience. 

After checking in I went to Dotonbori where I got my first Ramen in Japan. And wow! I’m honestly not sure what could’ve made it better. I’m definitely looking forward to having a lot more 🙂

Day 2:

Having barely slept, I was forced to vacate my capsule by 10 am.

Although I was really tired, I forced myself to touch some grass. After a coffee, a sandwich and a red bean paste bun from family mart I felt more or less alive.

Not having much of a plan, I decided to check for the best view in Osaka. There I stumbled upon Abeno Harukas, the tallest building. 

So I made my way to it on foot. Through bustling shopping alleys, enormous electronics stores, past maid cafe lined streets and retro gaming arcades. 

I finally ended up at the Osaka Zoo which was adjacent to the tower. Walking through the park I came across a very pleasant surprise. Osaka had their own little Oktoberfest!!!

As it was a little early for a beer I decided to stop by again later on.

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The view from Abeno Harukas was breathtaking! Despite the slight drizzle I was still able to spot Universal Studios and even Yumeshima, the site of the 2025 world expo.

Since I was starting to get hungry I made my way back to the Oktoberfest. There I got myself some Weisswürstl paired with a Bretzen and a Paulaner Oktoberfestbier to top it off. 

My rating of the meal was as follows (out of 10): 

Bier: 9.12

Bretzel: 7.8 (no salt unfortunately)

Sauerkraut: 6.9

Weisswurst: meh

Mustard: 2 (at least sweet)

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The atmosphere was fantastic. I made friends with a Japanese couple over a “prosit”. The wife excitedly told me about her travels to Germany and her love for the culture (and beer). Who knew that I’d have my first proper Japanese encounter at an Oktoberfest.

Day 3:

My sleep was still on a low. So I had a really slow morning. 

Since it was Jimmy’s birthday the plan was to watch the f1 race in Kyoto in the evening.

Until then I spent the morning / midday click-clacking (new word for planning, thank you to A & B) and catching up on the blog (yeah ik I’ve been slacking lately)

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In the early afternoon I took the train to Kyoto. After some sightseeing (mainly from Kyoto Tower) I made my way to Jimmy’s hostel where we met up with Chaïra. There I had a rather interesting beer to say the least. We watched some f1 academy and learned how to play “shithead”.

Then it was time for the birthday dinner at a steak house. Pretty good grub!

The main event of the evening was f1. We went to an English pub where we watched a rather uninspiring race. At least the beer was good. 

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On my way back to Osaka I witnessed my first substantial delay with the Japanese public transport. This unfortunately resulted in me missing the last metro.

So how to get back to the hotel?

I signed up for multiple bike & scooter sharing apps in the hopes of finding one in the closer vicinity. Unfortunately there weren’t any or they simply didn’t work.

In the end a taxi had to do…

Day 4:

This was the expo day. But I’ll go more into detail in the next post.

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Yeah I must say, I’m not sure if I’ll book another capsule hotel ever again. Especially for multiple nights…

Since I’m a very light sleeper, I don’t really profit from many people sleeping in one place. Especially when it comes to snoring, loud people at 2 am or early alarms in the morning. Bumping into the wall while sleeping sounds like a bomb going off as well. So yeah… can’t really recommend it.

After four full days it was time to say good bye. It was a really great first taste of Japan.

I’m really grateful to all the amazing people I met. All the delicious food I got to try. And all the amazing experiences and memories I’ll be carrying with me from here on out.

I’ll definitely come back one day!

Arigato gozaimasu! <3

The plan for my last full day in Okinawa was to explore Naha.

But before that we headed to the fish market for some breakfast / lunch. I tried some fresh sushi and grilled eal. It was delicious but not something that blew my socks away.

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While the others headed to the American Village, I went to visit Shuri Castle.

Unfortunately the castle was under restoration. The view however was very nice.

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After that I was getting quite hungry. So I decided to take the mono-rail to the main shopping street.

There I had my first McDonalds of Japan. I was kind of disappointed, but considering the price I can’t really complain.

After my nutritious meal I went and got myself an Orion Shirt and some Spam socks (I know, tourists…).

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Back at the hostel I did a quick nap since the lack of sleep was getting to me.

The last evening was really chill. A trip to family mart and great company we’re the perfect ending to an amazing first stop in Japan.

I’ve really come to enjoy the act of overly spontaneous planning! Somehow trips turn out so much better when you don’t really know what to expect.

Of course this won’t always be the case. But going with flow the usually better than going against it.

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On my third full day in Okinawa I was woken up by a phone call from James. He’d been able to get his car early. That meant we’d have a lot more freedom and flexibility to explore the island.

The plan for the day was set shortly after: Aquarium & Go-Karting.

At breakfast we we’re able to recruit another two Americanos which had arrived the day prior.

The crew for today consisted of: James, Jimmy, Bria & Aubrie.

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Before I continue…

A huge shoutout and arigato to James for his stellar driving. Although it had been his first time driving on the wrong side of the road he did so masterfully!

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The trip from Naha to the aquarium was about 1.5 hours. Coastal highways, japanese music & the occasional wind-shield wipers (instead of blinking) made the trip go by in a breeze.

After some struggling in the countless parking lots, we finally manged to make our way to the aquarium.

Although fully packed, we were still able to see some beautiful sea life. The whale shark being the most impressive of them all.

But the highlight definitely was the dolphin show. With a mix of humour, acrobatics, great music & some halloween, it definitely was a spectacle to behold.

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With a heavy heart we had come to the conclusion that there wouldn’t be enough time to squeeze in the go-karting.

So we went to grab some food instead. We ended up in a jungely kind of restaurent with an awesome view of the island. The food was really delicious as well.

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After a quick trip to the beach we made our way back to Naha.

There we started a music jam where everyone could put in there music.

Of course I had to spice the queue with some“microwave music”. The specific song I played was Krach Fiesta – Noiseflow. Surprisingly I the reactions weren’t that negative. (Thanks James & Bria)

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The rest of the evening was spent with great company & multiple trips to Family Mart.

PS: I’ll most probably shorten the posts in the future since I’m not sure how much time I’ll have.

The evening prior 2 of the girls (Chaïra & Olivia) mentioned that they were going to visit one of the smaller islands the next day.

So I got up at 8:30 grabbed a coffe and off we went to the ferry terminal conveniently located 5 minutes away from the hostel.

Since I hadn’t been able to reserve a ticket I had to hope to get one on site. Luckily I somehow managed to grab one of the last ones.

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Before boarding the ferry, we did I speedy Lawson’s run to grab a few drinks and snacks. The ferry ride took about an hour which was spent with taking pictures and yapping.

The approach to island was already spectacular. Definitely not like anything you’ll see back home.

From the port we then took a bus to one of the beaches. And WOW! This definitely was one of if not the most beautiful beach I’ve been to so far. Blue waters, white sand & beatiful nature.

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At the beach we spent the first hour snorkeling in the clear blue waters. We spotted fish in vibrant colours, crabs, corals and even a dog faced pufferfish.

After that it was time for some well deserved sun bathing.

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Since it was Olivia’s last evening we decided to go out for some food. In the end we chose a Nepalese restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious!

WOW!!!

After having slept more or less until 12pm. I went to the living room to grab a quick coffee out of the vending machine. There I met a good ol English chap by the name of Jimmy.

His plan was to go to American Village and I figured I’d join since I wanted to go there eventually anyway.

We took the number 28 bus and arrived there after roughly an hour.

After walking through colourful, winding, multi-level passage ways for a couple of minutes, we ended up in front of a rather large building. And what did we see? An Irish pub on the 3rd floor. Obviously we had to go for a Guiness. Splitting the G was unsucessful unfortunately, but the view was awesome nonetheless.

Not what I thought I’d do on my first full day in Japan.

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On the bus drive back Jimmy and I debated on how many Strong Zeros we could drink in one sitting.

So on the way to our hostel we decided to stop by in the Family Mart where we grabbed two each – spoiler alert, they’re delicious and dangerous! But I was definitely good for at least one more.

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The rest of the evening was spent with great international company, swiss chocolate, tasty beers, horse racing and a midnight trip to Family Mart.

To end the evening we ended up jumping into the harbor right next door! 02:30 am.

It should go without saying… but staying out late on the evening before travelling, probably isn’t the best idea. Especially if you’ve got a flight at 7:30…

While preparing for the trip I definitely had my ups and downs. It got pretty exhausting after while so in the end I pretty much pushed most of the planning to the last week and a half before my flight.

Nevertheless I learned quite a lot especially when it came to packing:

• Always leave enough space for chocolate!!! – Seriously!
• Packing cubes are awesome! – they make organizing so much easier!
• Write down a packing list, it’s a lifesaver – and it gives you a great overview of what you need
• Don’t finish the packing on the morning of your flight! – you’re gonna save yourself a lot of headache…

But well, I eventually managed to get on the plane in time. Only to hear that we’d spend another hour on the tarmac. Paris was enshrouded in fog, making it difficult to land.

Thankfully I had a four hour layover in Paris which dampened the blow of my delay.

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My trip to Okinawa was: Zurich – Paris, Paris – Shanghai and then finally Shanghai – Okinawa.

The flight from Paris to Shanghai, was rather exhausting. So I was glad to finally get off the plane. Unfortunately I had quickly realized that I wouldn’t be able to use Whatsapp to send an update to my Mom. But well, that’d have to wait for Japan.

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After a long and tiring journey I then finally landed in Naha, Okinawa. Getting through immigration and customs was rather straightforward. But I’ve got to hand it to ChatGPT, which saved my ass (as much as I hate to admit it…)

The trip to the hostel was pretty smooth sailing after that. I somehow managed grab the correct bus and after some chatting with a German couple got off at the correct stop. The hostel wasn’t far after that.

I definitely chose the right place to stay at. Shoutout to my place. A great vibe, good location and awesome people. There even was some Swiss German conversation to ease my way into the Japanese culture.

Pretty much the perfect way to start my journey! 🙂

PS: The food really is as great as they say it is (I’ve only had a Family Mart microwave meal and onigiri so far)

I’ll try to add some images to the post later on. But WordPress is pretty annoying so let’s see :/