Author: felix

TL;DR

Japan is amazing! Scrumptious food, friendly people & dreamlike sceneries. However it isn’t perfect…

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Food

I may be a bit biased but to me Japan has one of the best cuisines out there! 

I’m honestly surprised that I didn’t gain any weight. With all the food I ate I figured I’d at least have gained a couple of kgs. However, quite surprisingly, I actually lost some if I’m not mistaken. 

The thing about Japanese cuisine is that it’s actually quite healthy and balanced. Most of the meals have some sort of carbs, protein and veggies or fruit. And somehow everything just tastes incredible. Additionally the price to quality ratio is second to none!

Now I could go on and on about how good the meals are and that Switzerland has some serious catching up to do (in some regards). But instead I’ll list the foods that I enjoyed the most or left a lasting impression.

set meals:

These were definitely one of the meals I hold closest to my heart. The amount of ingenuity and variety put into set meals were just amazing. A bunch of small dishes coming together to create this incredibly delicious meal.

ramen:

It really is as good as they say. Yum yum yum. A rich broth with perfectly cooked noodles. Add some toppings and that’s the meal. What more do you want?

This might be an unpopular opinion but to me Kamukura had the best ramen when it came to chain stores (even better than Ichiran)

karaage:

I didn’t know fried chicken could be that good! Especially with some salt & pepper to dip it into

red bean:

Anything with red bean paste was just a delight! The faint sweetness paired with a unique mouthfeel really made for a treat. My personal favourite were Dorayakis (the one’s from Lawson)

kobe beef:

While I was in Kobe I met some awesome German guys with whom I went on a culinary journey with. What else to try than the beef which has grown world famous for its marbling and tenderness.

-> My honest review:

Really tender and juicy as you’d expect. However to me it had kind of a weird after taste (apparently that’s what good meat is supposed to taste like). It was good for the experience but I definitely won’t be spending that much money on beef again… probably

omu rice:

I only had this once unfortunately, but it definitely didn’t disappoint. Perfectly cooked omelet on rice, can’t go wrong with that!

fried burdock root:

This isn’t exactly the first thing I’d think of when it comes to Japanese food. But to me this unassuming root was a great snack. Especially deep fried. 

yakitori:

These skewers of meat or vegetables always hit the spot! The chicken skin ones were definitely one of my favourite

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Although most of their food was really good there are some things that can be improved upon in my opinion.

bread:

Most of the bread was fluffy and white. Now I love myself some yummy light bread every now and then. But being used to European wholegrain bread it definitely felt a bit underwhelming after a while. 

cheese:

I really did miss my Swiss cheese after a while. The cheese selection is quite disappointing. However I understand that it isn’t really a staple in their cuisine.

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Konbini

If need be I could easily survive off of the Japanese convenient stores. The quality, the selection, the price, the convenience. All of them make for an unforgettable experience.

My konbini tier list, don’t @ me:

FamilyMart

7-eleven

Lawson

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Culture

Japan is definitely one of the most polite countries out there. You rarely come across a country where everyone is so harmoniously polite. You can really see when it comes to customer interactions. The attention to detail is almost second to none.

A thing I was really impressed by is the orderliness and cleanliness that Japanese people go about their daily lives. So much so that some things are taken to a bit of an extreme in my opinion. Nevertheless it’s quite inspiring to see how so many individual people can function as such a considerate collective. 

Almost every action is done in consideration to the whole.

I think that every country can learn a thing or two from the Japanese when it comes to functioning as a society. 

This mindset however can also have a negative impact on the individualism of a person. Especially when it comes to appeasing the expectations of the whole. A lot of people struggle to fit in and thus either rebel or try and disappear. 

Wanting to have a functioning collectivist society definitely is something we should all strive for. But we shouldn’t forget that we still are our own people with our own needs after all. 

work:

I wasn’t really a fan of the work culture from what I’ve seen and heard. It’s quite hierarchical and based on the seniority of a person rather than their merit. The working conditions seem to be quite toxic as well. This doesn’t mean it’s like that everywhere. I’m definitely leaning on the extreme side of things. But I guess I can be pretty happy with my 42 hour week.

perfection:

Their fixation on perfection is quite mesmerizing and concerning at the same time. I’m not sure if I could spend my whole life perfecting one craft, but that’s just me.

plastic:

A thing that might seem quite minutiae but to me was quite shocking was the consumption of plastic. 

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To emphasize: this is me “complaining” on quite a high level. Overall I think they’ve got a really beautiful culture with lots of history and great traditions.

The better something gets, the more jarring its issues become. Oder e so…

language:

A thing I intend to do differently next time I come to Japan is to study some more Japanese beforehand. Although you can get by pretty easily with today’s technology, I found it hard to approach Japanese people at a more personal level at times. 

I’m not sure if it’s a cultural thing but the language barrier definitely didn’t make it easier.

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Country

This is definitely one of the most beautiful if not the most beautiful countries I’ve ever been to. And I don’t say this lightly.

The amount of places that took my breath away by its sheer beauty, just wow! I’ve probably seen like 5 percent (if even that) of what the country has to offer, and I’ve already fallen in love with it. 

From stunning tropical beaches to snowy mountain peaks to serene nature to amazing architecture to the most intricate little details. They were so numerous and diverse. It’s quite hard to quantify.

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One of my favourite aspects of Japan definitely has to be their shrines and temples. All of them just seem so harmonious with their surroundings. Whether it be on top of a mountain or in the middle of the city, they just belong. Along with that they seemed to exude a sense of peace. 

Every visit truly was a delight. A great way to get a quick break from a busy daily life. 

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Another fond memory was their picturesque gardens. So serene and well-maintained. The best ones in my opinion looked the most unassuming from the outside. Usually tucked into the court of a traditional Japanese house.

This definitely turned into more of a book than I thought. I’ll probably report about my highlights and favourite places in a follow up post.

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Hontoni arigatou Nihon! I couldn’t have wished for a better first destination on my backpacking journey! 💓

Yeah I’ve been lacking quite a lot when it comes to the blog. Part of the reason being that the keyboard on my laptop is broken. But the main reason is that I was too lazy…

But well I figured I’d rather write when I feel like it rather than forcing myself to do so.

In light of this my next post will be a review of Japan. I honestly can’t be asked to create multiple posts for the 1 and a half months I missed in Japan. So it’ll probably be a pretty long one instead

The way back to Kumamoto definitely went smoother. Got on the right train and arrived on time. 

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Since it wasn’t time for check in yet I decided to do some click clacking. Jo had told me that accommodations would be booked out fairly quickly for the Melbourne GP. So I finalized the flight from Christchurch and booked myself a hostel.

Btw a VPN really helps when trying to get the best price.

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Day 1:

On my day back kuya had prepared another great itinerary! 🤗

I did some more click clacking in the morning and then met up with him around mid day. 

Our destination for the day was the Suizenji jojuen garden. 

Wow wow wow! The Japanese really know their stuff. It was like a living piece of art!

Paraphrased by tita Laura: The rocks are all in random places and yet it still makes sense!

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After walking through the garden, enjoying the scenery and getting attacked by pigeons we decided to visit the tea house. 

There, a matcha tea paired with a sweet awaited us. It was really fun chatting and catching up with kuya. He had a lot of funny pictures to share from the times when me and my Robin were still little twerps. 

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As we were starting to get hungry, kuya showed me one of his favourite places: Sushiro. It used to be a sushi merry go round. But because of some spoiled brats they had to slightly alter the concept unfortunately.

Nevertheless it was still an enjoyable experience (the price might have helped). I never thought I’d say this, but the Mozzarella-Pesto-Salmon-Sashimi was fuckin delicious! I’ll definitely have to get some more before I leave Japan.

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Day 2:

I had spotted this store when I was in Osaka. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go at that time. 

So I figured I might as well use my free morning to create my own perfume at the Kumamoto branch. 

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I grabbed myself some breakfast and made my way to the store along the Shirakawa river.

Having arrived a bit early I decided to go to the park around the corner. 

There I was approached by two latter day saints missionaries. We did a bit of small talk and talked about my experiences in Japan so far. Turns out one of them was pinay (I had figured as much :))

They invited me to join them for lunch. I figured why not. If anything it’d be an interesting story to tell

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The perfume making process was supposed to be streamlined. You were supposed to pick between 2-3 scents. But I couldn’t decide on the ones I wanted to use. I think I ended up smelling each one at least 3 times. But yeah. In the end I eventually got it. I named it RAVErence

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We met up in Sakura Machi which was a new fancy mall in Kumamoto. At the food court I decided to go for some Korean food which was really tasty. 

It was really interesting getting to know Sister Peatross, Sister Maroket, Sister Smith and Sister Robbins.

All of them were lovely people and they had a great world view. They didn’t shy away from answering my challenging questions either. It was really interesting to hear about their daily lives and learn about the beliefs of the latter day saints.

Thank you for inviting me to lunch and the great conversation! 🙂

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After lunch I met up with Kuya where we explored downtown Kumamoto. We went to an action figure, anime store and checked out an arcade which seemed to be full of photo booths.

As we were getting kinda hungry we went to Saizeriya. It’s a great affordable Italian restaurant chain here in Japan. Can only recommend!

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As it so happened they had a light festival at Kumamoto castle. It was a show with interactive lighting and great music (edm). We were even able to walk around with our own lanterns, albeit powered by LED. A beautiful ending to my way too short of a stint in Kumamoto. I’ll definitely be back when I come to Japan again!

Day 3:

Off to Hiroshima!

My first Shinkansen experience went really smoothly. I even managed to get on the correct train! The seats were really comfortable and the leg space unmatched, all while almost  travelling at the speed of light.

Aso:

On my first morning in Aso I was surprised by a delicious breakfast! Definitely one of the best one’s I’d had in Japan so far.

After that I was shuttled to the train station where I then took the bus up the mountain. Yeah ik I could’ve walked from the bnb but I decided to conserve my energy for the top.

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I was really surprised by the beauty of Mt. Aso. Having grown up in Switzerland I’ve seen my fair share of mountains and hills. But this somehow felt different. Lush greens, intricate rock faces, clear springs, great views and in the middle of it all an active volcano. 

A thing I noticed pretty quickly was the difference of attire between tourists and the locals. Tourists including me were wearing t-shirts and shorts whereas the locals were usually clad in professional looking hiking gear with all sorts of pockets and nifty little details (some even had helmets).

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It was one of my first hikes in a while and thus a bit challenging. Other than that, it was awesome! I’ll definitely come back if I have the chance. 

Takachiho:

On my second day I had planned a trip to Takachiho. This has been one of my dream destinations! Initially I wasn’t even sure if I’d make it there since it was a bit of a challenge to get there. Luckily there seemed to be a direct bus from the Aso station.

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Yeah I could really start getting used to this breakfast!

On that morning I joined Jo, a badass Australian woman for breakfast. After a quick chat we realized that we had similar plans for the day.

She most graciously invited me to join her on the trip to Takachiho since she had rented a car. This made things a lot easier!

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The trip to Takachiho was spent chatting about all sorts of things including taxes, crypto and immigration. It was really interesting to compare Straya to Switzerland. 

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What made Takachiho interesting was the gorge that snaked through town. And it was even better than I had imagined. The pictures online really don’t do it justice. It was kind of surreal how beautiful the place was. Nature really is magical sometimes! 

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After chatting over some coffee, it was time for Jo to continue her trip. I’ll try to visit her when im in Australia since she’s got a beautiful little bnb on the gold coast. It really was a pleasure! 🙂

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I almost didn’t wanna leave tbh but I was starting to get hungry. Coincidentally it was national sports day in Japan. Next to the entrance of the Takachiho shrine (which is absolutely stunning as well) they had set up a few food stalls and games. There I got myself some grub and slowly made my way to the bus. 

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Interestingly enough I was greeted by a police car on the way there. Turns out they had planned a parade of sorts (not sure if it had to do anything with national sports day though. It was a mix of dancing, music, chants and fancy costumes. They even had some sword and spear fighting towards the end

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All in all I’m really grateful for the 2 (full) days I got to spend in the Aso region. But I must say my Airbnb hosts were the real stars of the show! I had arrived in Aso with  no plan at all. However with the help of them I was able to plan one of the best weekends I’ve had so far! Of course you can’t forget Bread (Cat) and Oreo (Puppy).

Hontoni arigato! ♥️

To emphasize, I’d like to share my bnb review I left for them:

Wow! Thank you so much for this amazing stay! From the first moment on I was embraced with a warmth and care that you seldomly come by. The owners are really sweet! So forthcoming and yet still full of surprises. Transportation to and from the train station was great as well. They really thought about everything! I’ll definitely be missing the breakfast. The best one I’ve had in Japan! To top it off they have a cute puppy and a cuddly cat! What more could you want? I’ll definitely come back on my next Japan trip! 🤗 Hontoni arigato! ♥️ PS: They’ve got a great taste in beer as well 😉

I didn’t really have much planned for Aso tbh. The only thing I knew was that it had amazing nature.

So I checked out, got myself some breakfast and hiked up to Hanaokayama Park. It offered a breathtaking view of Kumamoto. This wasn’t the only reason for me going though. According to kuya they had a Philippine Veterans Memorial as well. The buddhist stupa only added to it!

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At the train station I patiently waited for the train. I had it all planned out. And somehow I still managed to board the wrong train… (my excuse is the distracting awesomeness of the “Seven Stars in Kyushu” train)

Yeah, I realized about a station in, that the train wasn’t going in the direction that I had expected. So I got off at the next station. After a panicky wait I then made my way back to Kumamoto.

Of course I had to now inform my Airbnb host that I had foolishly taken the wrong train and would be therefor arriving later as well.

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After having boarded the correct train this time, I was in for another surprise about halfway up the mountain. The train suddenly drove backwards the way we came from. Turns out instead of snaking up the mountain it would kind of zig zag up instead.

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Having finally arrived in Aso I was greeted by a very sweet and lovely Japanese couple. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a warm and inviting welcome! They even had a sign with my name! 🤗

But first thing first. Take a picture with the Usopp statue, which was right next to the train station.

The next stop was the tourist information office. As I mentioned I hadn’t really a clue of what I was gonna do for the next two full days in the Aso region. So the suggestions by my host and the officer were really welcome.

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Despite the language barrier one could really see the care and effort they put into making their guests feel welcome and comfortable. They had already printed out bus time tables, piece of paper with all the important phrases such as: “What are your plans for dinner?” and so much more.

So on the way to the bnb we stopped by at a local bento shop where I was able to snag an amazing dinner!

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At the house I was greeted by an elderly cat and cute puppy.

As an additional surprise I was gifted an early Halloween present (sweets and German beer).

Overall a great first evening in Aso! ☺️

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!