I was told by so many people how much I'd love Japan before we went there, but the truth is: I didn't.
Maybe if we'd got away to some of the remote southern islands, the Japanese alps or the wilder north I may have seen a side of Japan I loved, but in the crowded corridor we visited from Tokyo to Hiroshima, I didn't fall in love.
In many ways this isn't surprising. Often on my trips overseas I enjoy the cities and the iconic sites, I thrill at visiting those almost magical dots on a map that I've seen and read about my whole life, but my passion for travelling resides in the countryside, in exploring the small villages and remote cycle ways that link a country like veins in the body.
Japan, at least the Japan we saw, had little of that. It was an unending metropolis where the postcard perfect images I had in my head were only to be seen in the magazines in our hotels and amongst the masses of ordinary-ness (and crowded people) around it.
Like other parts of Asia, I found that the language barrier (both written and oral) meant that I was extremely restricted in interpreting what was happening around me. It was a frustrating experience - a bit like only being able to experience the world through a thick pane of glass, and not being able to really step out into it and experience it yourself.
But don't get me wrong - I did really enjoy our trip to Japan. I learnt, and saw, a lot and that's ultimately why I travel.
I now have a different image of the country, probably a more real one. I feel like I understand another little piece of our world just that little better, and without other's filters being put over it.
And that's always worth it.
The Real Mt Fuji |
But don't get me wrong - I did really enjoy our trip to Japan. I learnt, and saw, a lot and that's ultimately why I travel.
I now have a different image of the country, probably a more real one. I feel like I understand another little piece of our world just that little better, and without other's filters being put over it.
And that's always worth it.
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