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aoibaratraveler · 4 years

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A Look Back At My Time in Japan! Chapter 6: The End

Sixth and Final Month in Japan: August

First 10 days:

It was a good thing that I did that hike with B up Inasayama because it was great preparation for the 16km trek I did on the first of August with some of my university exchange pals. There wasn’t really any incline but it was just a long walk to a waterfall in the middle of nowhere in Isahaya called Todoroki falls that didn’t seem to be accessible by bus and we would have otherwise needed a car to get there - ‘so why not walk?’ is what we all thought. It was a good thing we started bright and early because it took us all day to get to the waterfall and back; 8km each way. It was only 45 minutes to the train station nearest the waterfall from the centre of Nagasaki but the trains were pretty infrequent so we had to plan it right. We packed a load of snacks for the trip but still decided to go to a small mom and pop restaurant close to the station for brunch in Isahaya and it was super quaint and the food was delicious so we didn’t regret it. It was a very quiet walk with not many people or cars around since it was in the countryside. We went along rice fields, up small hills, and along the road. When we finally got to the waterfalls, it was beautiful but a tad underwhelming from how small it was. The part that really made it worthwhile was the vast and lush with nature valley that it was situated in. We soaked our feet for a bit in the pool and just relaxed. We also ran into one of my Japanese university friends who happened to be there and was showing around one of his American friends and his girlfriend. My Japanese friend, we’ll call him H, is just a super friendly and down to earth guy and literally bought a big van type car for the purpose of driving his friends around. He was super sweet and when he saw me and my friends there he felt really bad that he wasn’t able to take us there in his car or drive us back. He’s just an overall gem. I reassured him though that we liked the exercise because he truly started to feel guilty at not being able to drive us back. We began our journey back an hour or so before sunset and managed to get back to the station when it was properly dark. I think we had just missed a train at that point so we waited an hour for the next one and just collapsed on a bench near the station with some ice cream refreshments from the stationside convenience store.

The next four days consisted of mainly getting myself ready for my backpacking trip and wrapping up my life in Nagasaki. On the 2nd, I spent most of it packing and organising my stuff and deciding when exactly I would leave Nagasaki. My contract with my home stay was done on the 5th and thereafter I would be obliged to pay about $30 or so a night which I didn’t want to do so I decided the 5th would be my last day and I would leave on the 6th. In truth, I was so conflicted because I wanted to spend more time with my friends but I also wanted to see more of Japan before I was due to leave on the 31st. I made sure to tell my home stay mother when exactly I was planning to leave both by text and in person because I didn’t want there to be any miscommunication and even though I didn’t enjoy my time with them I did want to properly say goodbye. For the next two days, I spent one last time thoroughly going through all of Nagasaki from the centre of the city, to the peace park, the university and back and just trying to savour everything. I also went up to Inasa observatory again but this time with R. I remember trying to unsuccessfully catch a farfetch’d (Pokemon GO) before the battery on my phone died. Good times. Oh, I also had dinner at my favourite Indian place called Taj with the most delicious spinach curry and either cheese or peanut butter naan. Yum. On the 5th, I got some more administrative things done and this was the day that I sent my suitcase to Osaka to chill for 10 days. Finally, it was time for my departure on the 6th. I spent the morning with all of my university buds who hadn’t gone back to their countries yet and then the rest of the day with B. I decided to travel with just a 30L rucksack and was lugging that around all day since I knew I wouldn’t have any time to go back to my home stay. I messaged my home stay mother and asked when she would be able to meet me at the bus station with the rest of the family to say goodbye before I caught my bus to Kumamoto but she claimed that I never told her what day I was planning to leave and that she and the rest of the family were busy that evening. Just for context, it was a Friday evening so the father would have been done work and the kids would have been done school. This honestly made me really sad. B tried to communicate with my home stay mother on my behalf through text since her Japanese was better than mine but it didn’t matter. They weren’t planning to come. I mostly wanted to say goodbye to my home stay brother because I think he was the only one sad to see me go. Anyway, after a lot of hugs and a bit of tears I said goodbye and boarded the bus to Kumamoto.

I remember being filled with a whole renewed sense of excitement. I had a window seat on my bus and looked up at the beautiful sky slowly becoming filled with darkness with the waxing crescent and stars peaking out and some tinges of orange still visible from the sunset. My plan for the next month was very rough and I thought I would just choose each place to go as I went. The only thing I knew that I would be doing would be to use the couch surfing website to meet locals in each place and find accommodation. This is a great way to save money and I highly advise using it if you want a free place to stay while also meeting and befriending locals along the way. I had been communicating with my first CS host in Kumamoto the day before leaving and he agreed to take me on because he was originally from Nagasaki and was in Kumamoto doing his master’s; he also offered to pick me up from the bus station. The bus stopped in Kumamoto just outside what seemed to be the red light district. My host was super nice though and after picking me up and taking me back to his place he insisted on letting me have the bed and basically free reign (within reason) on his apartment because he was busy writing his thesis and wouldn’t have time to talk to me anyway and was doing all nighters at his university to get it done. He literally dropped me off and then left. I think throughout my whole stay with him we only managed to have a heart to heart once, it was nice and I wasn’t complaining. I was just happy to receive such kindness.

The next day was pretty great. I spent the whole day walking around Kumamoto city and trying to explore every little area either by bus or tram. I should mention that before I began my trip I didn’t know how long I would be spending in Kyushu and bought a 3 day Kyushu “free pass” called the SunQ pass that is applicable on all local or highway buses throughout the prefecture. Highly recommended for touring Kyushu for a short time since it’s available for everyone regardless of visa status and nationality. I purchased it because I didn’t know how long I would be spending in Kyushu. I ended up using it only in Kumamoto, but don’t regret it. After exploring the whole city, I found a beautiful garden called Suizenji Jojuen that you have to pay to enter but it’s only 200 yen and was worth it. Outside of the garden was a small festival that was being held by the shops and I was able to get some freshly made mochi and free green tea. I then ventured to Kumamoto castle which had unfortunately been partially destroyed owing to the big earthquake that happened just a month prior. The after shock also resonated in Nagasaki and I remember my home stay mother getting the warning message on her phone about 20 seconds before it happened. Even though it was just an aftershock and I’m from Vancouver which often gets earthquakes, that was probably the strongest earthquake I’ve ever felt and when I felt it in my home stay apartment I was a bit scared, not gonna lie, because the whole apartment shook and a lot of things fell down. Anyway, it was a somber scene to see such a beautiful castle have part of it destroyed. Although, amazingly most of it was still intact. The park next to the castle was lively and there were several people practising things or performing. I stayed there and enjoyed the atmosphere and then the sunset before heading back.

On the 8th, I looked at what else there was to do in Kumamoto and decided to journey off to the nearby countryside to Uganji-Reigando Cave which is a Buddhist temple in a mountain cave. I think it was about an hour from the city but well worth the journey for the mysterious and peaceful atmosphere that you experience on the hike there after getting off the bus. I got lunch at this cute little nearby cafe that looked like its only patronage were the locals because I honestly did not see that many tourists at all in Kumamoto except for this friendly Singaporean guy that spotted me chilling in a clean and serene ditch nearby the bus stop. We chatted for a bit on the bus ride back to the city before going our separate ways. I ended the day by checking out the castle again and eating at the various spots in Josaien which was a touristy place nearby the castle with lots of delicious food stalls.

The following day I got up early because I decided that I would be hitchhiking from Kumamoto to Kagoshima. I had done some research on other travel blogs and it seemed like the fastest, cheapest and most efficient way to get around Kyushu. My host also offered to drive me close to the highway but neither him nor I knew how to go about hitchhiking. He dropped me off at a convenience store nearby the highway and I bought some breakfast and a little erasable whiteboard that I could use to write the names of places that I wanted to go to. Now, I had never hitchhiked before and all I knew was that I should probably stand by the road and so decided to just stand alongside the road adjacent to the convenience store and wait. I was soon approached by some construction workers who told me that hitchhiking there wasn’t going to work and that I needed to be on the highway. I took this advice and began walking, not really knowing what I was doing. After a few minutes, it seemed like one of the construction workers felt sorry for me, picked me up in his truck and then dropped me off as far along into the highway as possible where I could stand. It was basically just a small layby. I stood there for about half an hour before a car pulled up to me and the driver, who was a Polish immigrant began to scold me for what I was doing and said that I was causing trouble and bothering Japanese people and that I should give up and go back to the city but then ended his lecture by wishing me good luck and driving off...I did begin to feel disheartened and after another 30 minutes I wondered whether this was really the right thing to be doing. I felt anxious because I had a sort of timeline to be arriving in Kagoshima and I had already organised a host there for two nights and was meant to be meeting her in the afternoon. I was just about to give up and find a bus back to the city when a couple pulled up next to me and said they could take me as far as the Sakurajima service area which was one of the closest service area stops to Kagoshima. I immediately agreed and was so happy that I did. This couple’s kindness was overwhelming. The woman was a nurse and the man was a construction worker and apparently they were out for the day on a drive. They immediately gave me some iced green tea and some jelly when I got into the car and we drove to the nearest service stop where they bought me a map and then asked me all sorts of questions and just seemed so interested in my life. They were so kind and funny and after only 30 minutes of driving they said that they would like to take me to lunch and go sightseeing with me around the area. Crazy, right? I thought to myself that I wish they were my home stay parents when I was in Nagasaki. After quickly notifying my host in Kagoshima that I would be arriving later than expected we set off to a seafood restaurant. I didn’t mean for them to but they paid for my meal while I was using the restroom. They then took me to a couple of sightseeing spots, a few lovely view points of the nearby islands and bought me an omiyage (a souvenir which consisted of locally made rice crackers). I think I spent about six hours with them before they dropped me off at Sakurajima. It was so lovely and surreal. I made two new friends that I wished I could have spent more time with. I hope I can see them again one day, by far my most favourite hitchhiking experience. I stood at the Sakurajima service area for about five minutes before the next couple picked me up. This couple was also very friendly and interesting and the husband who seemed younger than his wife was very talkative and seemed very interested in conspiracy theories which is what filled the time for the next couple of hours before arriving in Kagoshima and being picked up by my host. So much happened in one day it was insane. I left Kumamoto at around 7 or 8 am and arrived in Kagoshima at around 6:30/7 pm.

My hosts in Kagoshima were this lovely family who lived in the countryside just outside the city. The mother had found out about couch surfing through a TV program and thought she would give it a go and had already hosted a few people before I arrived. She was an English teacher who worked for the Kagoshima board of education and had worked alongside many ALTs from the JET programme so we had a lot to talk about. She very graciously gave me my own room to stay in, cooked me breakfast and later on dinner and drove me into the city to spend the day in Kagoshima and let me know that I could just message her when I was done. So kind and motherly. She was only able to host me for two nights which meant that I only had one day to enjoy in Kagoshima but I didn’t mind; beggars can’t be choosers. I began the day by exploring the expansive and gorgeous Sengan-en garden which had a 400 metre hill that you could hike to get a spectacular view of Sakurajima island and its volcano. Honestly, I feel incredibly grateful for how this backpacking trip turned out. I’m only at the beginning, but everything just went so smoothly and I was successfully able to plan out my next destination one place at a time with each place being so beautiful and being devoid of the crazy crowds of tourists that you usually find in big cities in Japan. I suppose at that point, not many foreign tourists had realised how beautiful Kyushu is and usually just stayed in the big three cities of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. I reached the top of the 400m viewing point and just stayed there for an hour taking in the view of the volcano. Afterwards, I checked out the museum adjacent to the garden, got some iced coffee and then walked along the nearby beach until I made my way back to the city centre. If I had had more time then I would have certainly loved to take the ferry from Kagoshima to Yakushima (the island which inspired the scenery of Princess Mononoke) but the ferries were too infrequent and I would have needed to sort accommodation on the island and I just didn’t have the time unfortunately. I ended the day by meeting up with my host and her son and joining her son’s karate dojo’s Summer party.

Next 10 days:

On the 11th, I woke up early to hitchhike to Miyazaki! My hosts very kindly said that they would drive me to the nearest service area from where they live. It wasn’t even five minutes after I had said my goodbyes to my hosts and readied myself for a wait in the car park of the service area before a small family saw that I wanted to go to Miyazaki and said they’d give me a ride. I was really on a roll with getting drivers it seemed. The drive was about four hours and there wasn’t a dull moment. This family sure was interesting. I sat in the back seat with their five year old daughter while her young mother chatted away. She wasn’t as much interested in me and my story so much as telling me all about her marriage...and sex life with her 50 something husband (she was 30). It was definitely a lively car ride. I was taken aback at just how open she was talking about everything in front of her husband and daughter but oh well, the time went by so fast. We arrived in Miyazaki around lunch time and they offered to treat me to a conveyor belt sushi lunch. Honestly, Japanese people are just so hospitable. I told them they didn’t need to worry about me but they insisted. It seemed to be a trend that if I got a ride around a meal time my drivers seemed to feel obliged to provide me with a meal before sending me on my merry way. We finished up lunch and then they dropped me off in the city centre. I actually hadn’t set up a host yet for Miyazaki; there didn’t seem to be many CS hosts who lived there. I was a bit nervous but generally laid back about it. I figured things would sort themselves out - and they did. Since I didn’t have any place that I really needed to be I decided to check out a nearby island off the coast of Miyazaki city called Aoshima. I left my rucksack in a coin locker at the train station and set off. The beach area nearby Aoshima made me feel like I was in a sleepy resort town. It was very quiet but also had such a mellow atmosphere. It was very cool, I remember walking through it and just feeling so relaxed. One of the things that Miyazaki is known for is mango and there were a few shops selling mango snacks or souvenirs and of course I tried everything I could. Aoshima is connected to the beach by just a small bridge. I think I wandered the island as well as the beach for five or six hours, I honestly just felt so comfortable and at home. At around 6pm, I made my way back to the city, was able to connect to wifi again and noticed that I finally got a reply from one of the only two hosts I was able to message in Miyazaki. She was a university student just a year or two younger than me and said I could stay with her if I still didn’t have anywhere to go. Her friend from out of town was also visiting her and her apartment was a tad small but we made it work. They were both super friendly and nice and we quickly became friends.

The next day, the girls invited me for a day of sightseeing. We began the day by getting breakfast at a bakery and then cycling to the city centre so they could rent a car for our trip. We first drove to Sun Messe Nichinan which was a strange little theme park that was host to seven replicas of the famous Moai of Easter Island. Apparently, Miyazaki is the only place in the world that is allowed to have replicas. It was surreal and yet so cool. We spent about an hour or two walking around the huge park that was very Haiwaiianesque. We then got lunch at a seaside restaurant serving fresh and delicious seafood bowls; so good. Our day ended with a quick purikura session and some onsen relaxation. My plan for the following day was to head to the famous Takachiho gorge located in Northern Miyazaki after receiving a recommendation from my host. I awoke to both of them making me a rice ball to take with me on my bus journey to the gorge. They were just so sweet. They also had helped me book my ticket for the special bus that goes directly to the gorge from the city. They walked me to my stop, we said our goodbyes and I was off. The gorge was certainly busy and seemed to be popular with local tourists because this was the first crowded place that I had seen on my travels. I explored the area for a bit and then took a local bus to the also popular Takachiho shrine. Both of these places were enriched with history and mythological lore and I was able to still get a sense of that no matter how busy it was. My next destination from Takachiho was Oita and I was already sorted for a place to stay because I made plans to stay with a Japanese friend that I had met in Vancouver. I just needed to get there. I was far from any stations and the highway buses to the area were as infrequent as the local buses so it was risky but I settled on standing across the street from the Takachiho car park, writing “大分” (Oita) on my mini whiteboard and hoping for the best. It wasn’t easy and I was slightly worried when it was starting to become dark and I still wasn’t picked up by anyone. However, I remained resolute and after about an hour two guys approached me and said they were going to Oita. Now, I normally hop in the car with couples or families so I was a bit apprehensive about this but I clearly didn’t have many options so I went for it. They were actually pretty cool, a tad awkward but overall friendly and warm. It was more of a quiet car ride than what was becoming the norm for me but I didn’t mind and...I fell asleep. Not the smartest decision ever I’ll admit but I really didn’t get any bad vibes from these guys and I trusted they would get me to Oita safely which they did. It only took about an hour or so to get to Oita train station from the shrine so we got dinner together at a restaurant in the station and I bid them farewell. I felt bad for arriving so late and my friend wasn’t actually living in the city centre but in the countryside outside of Oita about an hour’s drive away so I wasn’t going to make him drive all the way out to pick me up so late. I decided to just walk around the city and find somewhere that was open for 24 hours and as luck would have it there was a McDonald's not too far away and settled on spending the night there with my laptop. At some point in the night though they had to close up for a couple of hours and so I sat outside and waited for them to finish. A group of people who were out on the town for drinks and stopped by McDonald's for some snacks saw that it was closed and were displeased but then saw me and had their moods lifted. They asked me all the usual questions like what on earth I was doing there and after telling them they offered to take me to another McDonald's that was definitely open and about as far from the station as this one; of course their designated driver drove us. After keeping me company for awhile at the second McDonald's they left and I was alone to reflect on everything before packing up and heading back to the station for 7am.

My friend, K, met up with me soon after and told me he had a whole itinerary set out for us of things to do and I was happy to let him take the lead. First stop was Yama Jigoku which was a hot springs tourist attraction with deep blue and red springs and steam everywhere. Definitely made the hot day even hotter but it was awesome. Next on the list was Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden which was essentially another monkey park but still pretty cool, and had a different atmosphere to the Arashiyama monkey park. Then, we went across the street to the Umitamago aquarium, had lunch at a Korean BBQ place and ended off with a hot spring visit in Beppu before heading to his house. When we arrived at his home, I greeted his lovely parents, had some tea and chatted for a bit before it was time for bed.

We started off my second proper day in Oita with a walk around his countryside house and then journeyed off to the trendy hot spring resort town of Yufuin. We walked around for ages and explored while trying all sorts of food. For example, Chicken nanban, which is cooked similar to karage but served with shredded cabbage and tartar sauce; delicious. After finishing off in Yufuin, we drove through what felt like the entire area and saw a bunch. We found a tiny village and explored that and then found an abandoned hot springs near the highway which we of course had to see. Upon returning to his house, I saw that his mother had cooked me a gorgeous feast and just went all out. I ate so much that I felt like I was gonna pop but it was all just so good. We sat around the dinner table, watched some variety programs and chatted for the rest of the night.

On the 16th, I had a full day of transit! I told K my plan of backpacking around Japan and how I was trying to narrow down where I wanted to go next while still making it to Osaka in time to sort my suitcase out and what could be a more direct route so that I wouldn’t have trouble arriving in Tokyo in time for my flight back to Canada. There were so many places that I wanted to go but ultimately he helped me make the difficult decision of cutting out both the Shikoku and Chugoku regions because it would take me too long to explore those areas and not leave enough time for other areas plus hitchhiking might prove to be a bit difficult because of my time constraint. I’ll just have to save those regions for another trip. I decided to travel by train to help save on time and buy another seishun 18 kippu/youth 18 ticket for my travels. K also kindly offered to drive me from Oita to Kitakyushu to help make my trip easier. My decision in the end was to use the ticket to get me from Kitakyushu station to Kyoto station and to spend the next few days travelling through Kansai. This was more of a safe choice because of my suitcase and the region is in the centre of Japan so I wouldn’t have much trouble getting from there to most places. We arrived in Kitakyushu just before noon and I was able to promptly purchase my ticket as well as be given the free little paper thing with all the exact times and stops I would be going through, throughout the day. I bid K farewell and thanked him for all that he’s helped me with and boarded the local JR train at exactly noon. I was in for quite a long day; an exactly 12 hour journey in fact. My final train was to get me to Kyoto station at exactly midnight and that it did. Gotta love Japanese trains and punctuality. The journey itself wasn’t too bad actually. I mean, after a while of sitting down my legs did start to get a bit swollen but I endured. I slept for a lot of it or listened to music and on one of my trains that was going through Hiroshima I had a lovely chat with a high school student. My stops also weren’t too long either, lasting about 20-30 mins each with only one hour long stop in which I took the opportunity to really stretch my legs and get some baked goods at a nearby bakery. It was a good day to be travelling as well since I remember it was raining pretty heavily for most of it. Finally, I arrived in Kyoto but since the station was closing just as I arrived and I had come on one of the final trains of the day I couldn’t take the train I needed to get to the apartment of my Kyoto CS host. Everything around the station seemed to be closed as well and I made sure to circle it entirely (it was huge). As I was walking I seemed to catch the eye of an older Australian man as well as his Spanish friend who had been drinking and having a merry old time, I imagine, at one of the foreign bars. They seemed really interested in what I was doing and apparently worried because I was a solo female traveller walking around the streets of Kyoto past midnight. Japan is super safe though and even though some things do occasionally happen, and you should never let your guard down, it is generally fine to be walking around at night and alone as a girl and I was more comfortable doing it here than in Canada. If you just maintain common sense about everything you do, no matter what country you’re in, you shouldn’t be worried at all. The two men asked me if I had a place to stay that night and then said that they might be able to let me sleep on the floor of their hotel room but I declined. The first train was only four hours later so I really didn’t need to find a place to sleep, just a place to sit with some WiFi for a bit. I found a convenience store that didn’t have any seating but did have some WiFi and I was able to see that there was a McDonald's just a 30 minute walk away so I went there and waited until just after 6 or 7 am before heading back to Kyoto station. I told my host everything and he was fine with the fact that I would arrive so early in the morning since he was going to work around that time and said he would leave me a key to his apartment in a utility closet next to his apartment. The train to his place was only 10 minutes and I collapsed into the futon he set aside for me pretty much the moment I got in.

I slept for about 5 hours and then ventured off to Osaka to deal with my suitcase. It all went very smoothly and I was able to communicate to the station staff that I wanted to immediately send it off to Tokyo. I wandered around Osaka for a bit and then met up with another one of my Japanese friends for a late lunch and a catch up before heading back to my host’s place in Kyoto. When I got back, I saw that my host was there and so we chatted for a bit and he told me that he worked for Nintendo as a mascot which I didn’t really understand but then told me all about his passion for circus-style performance and how much he especially loves juggling. He seemed delighted that I found this all interesting and said he would teach me to juggle so for the next hour he literally did not let me stop practising until I got the hang of at least juggling three balls, it was intense but I managed to get it. Unfortunately, I can no longer do it now because I didn’t really keep up with my practice. He gifted me his old practice juggling balls and then we called it a night.

The next day, I slept in and decided to just take it easy exploring the local area as well as a part of Kyoto that I had never been to before called Uji. It was very quaint and peaceful with not many people around. It is a very historical place and situated next to a river and just overall had a lovely atmosphere. I think it is one of my favourite places in Kyoto. Uji is also famous for it’s matcha and so I was able to get a lot of matcha flavoured snacks. All in all just a very chill day.

The following day I was strapped for ideas of what to do. I was using my pasmo card for local train travel and still had my youth 18 ticket if I wanted to venture off somewhere else a bit further but I didn’t know where to go. I spent the morning searching and deciding on going to Mie, more specifically Iga, because of the castle and historical ninja village that it is known for. Mie also has another place called Ise which is famous for it’s huge shrine overlooking a waterfall but for some reason I didn’t see that when I was searching for things to do and only found out about the place after leaving Japan. Iga was still pretty cool though. Very rural and away from everything but also took so long to get to and I didn’t end up getting there until about 5:30 pm so not a very well planned day by any means. The castle and ninja museum were quite a walk from the station and I got there at just around sunset so of course they were closed. It was a bit sad but it was my own fault and I still was able to walk around the castle and enjoy the sunset from there because it was perched up on a hill. As I was leaving the castle and beginning to head back I was attacked by a swarm of insects. I don’t think they were mosquitoes but they were small and were constantly flying around my head, buzzing, and wouldn’t leave me alone. I basically had to run away to be rid of them. I think they were attracted to my sweat and/or breath; it was, after all, a very hot and humid day.

On the 20th and final day for me in Kansai, I met up with my female friend, K again. I just realised that I have spoken about two K friends that I have...the bf told me that referring to people with letters would backfire on me, but anyway my friend K from Kansai is a girl and my friend K from Oita is a boy so that is how we will differentiate them. Anyway it was going to be a while before female K and I would see each other again so we met up and hiked up a bit of Fushimi Inari shrine. It was busy with people as it always is but not too bad. We hung around there for a while and then got some lunch before heading to Kamogawa river to watch the sunset and enjoy the overall ambience. We then got some really delicious okonomiyaki for dinner at a place nearby the river before saying our goodbyes. A satisfying way to end my time in Kyoto and Kansai in general.

Final 10 days:

It was another day of transit for me on the 21st, but not quite as long as the one I had before. My host had already gone to work by the time I woke up so I sent him a little message thanking him, packed up my stuff and left. In the morning, I decided that I needed to see a place that was definitely out of the way for the next leg of my trip which was to first head to Fukui in the Chubu region, but I really wanted to see the famous and much spoken about Himeji Castle. It’s famous because it is very strongly built and survived the bombing from World War II, has beautiful architecture and is pure white. Himeji Castle was South of where I was in the Southern part of Kansai while I wanted to head North so it might seem a little silly to be backtracking and honestly why didn’t I go the other day, right? Because I forgot. Anyway, it didn’t take much time out of my day to head in that direction and didn’t ruin my plan at all. Japanese trains are super timely and efficient so it worked out quite well to go in the opposite direction for a bit. When I arrived in Himeji I wasn’t disappointed. Firstly, it was a beautiful and clear day and just perfect to be viewing a white castle on. The walk from the station to the castle was a little long but really worth it because the castle seemed to blend in perfectly with the sky as though it was a cloud. I didn’t really have time to go into the castle itself or the grounds but I was more than content to just be looking at it from the city centre. After about an hour or so of walking around and gazing upon the castle I decided to head to Fukui. I received my train timetable paper thing from the station and embarked on my next journey. To be honest, there’s an app that you can get for your phone called Hyperdia which has all the times and stops just like this paper they were giving me, but my phone was so unstable and useless at this point from the water damage and I didn’t have a consistent WiFi connection. I did have that impulse purchase phone that I got from eBay but I didn’t have any of my contacts or apps on it plus I don’t think it had as many features. I was mostly just using it as an emergency phone at that point.

I didn’t have much of a reason to be heading to Fukui other than because one of my friends who studied abroad there told me how much she loves the prefecture. It was also one of the entry points into Chubu from where I was and it was either that or Nagoya and I’m sure Nagoya is nice but I only had a day so I decided to choose Fukui. I’m glad I did, it was a great choice because Fukui’s main selling point is dinosaurs! I wish I had more time to spend there. Apparently Fukui is where most of the dinosaur bones in Japan were excavated years ago so it has become their thing and their central station is decked out in cool dinosaur designs as well as some dinosaur statues in front. I met up with my hosts who were actually two families living in one house; a little strange I thought for Japan but they were lovely people. I was planning to stay with them for two nights so they let me sleep in their storage room. This was my first couch surfing stay in Japan (apart from Busan) where I wasn’t given a futon or anything to sleep with and obviously I didn’t mind because it was a free place to stay nonetheless. I had come prepared for this scenario. I think people should always bring some kind of spare blanket or cover for this kind of situation if they choose to do couch surfing because not all hosts are alike. I was lucky that it was Summer too so I didn’t need much to cover me….would definitely be a different story in Winter. After setting up my room and having a shower, I called it a night. In the morning I headed out with my hosts around 7 am and headed back to the station where I found out that a little way out of the city was a huge museum dedicated to dinosaurs so of course I had to go! I took a really cool monorail from the station that went through a lush green countryside. I think I had to transfer to another train and then take a local bus from the station directly to the museum. The museum itself was pretty impressive and huge and a must for anyone who likes dinosaurs. I think I spent the next three or four hours exploring the whole place and going to every free exhibit. At around 5:30 pm I headed back to Fukui station and spent the rest of the evening exploring the town and searching for food.

The day after, my host drove me...somewhere. To be honest, for some reason, this is where my memory fails me. She may or may not have driven me to the closest service area so I could hitchhike to Gifu but I can’t remember. All I can recall is waking up early and leaving with her and a bit of the drive and then suddenly I’m at the service area waiting to be picked up...it’s a shame really. Hopefully, someday I'll regain access to the text messages that the bf and I shared that Summer where he was essentially my diary. Both our old phones are knackered though so I don’t know when that will be. My google timeline seems to have blacked out how I got from Fukui to Gifu as well. Weird. Anyway, I think I only waited for about 30 minutes at whatever service area I was in for someone to pick me up. I was first approached by a man who looked to be in his late 40s or 50s and I just got the strangest feeling from him. He offered me a lift to Gifu but he was just very awkward about it and I don’t know, I just felt the creeps. It isn’t really my hitchhiking policy to get driven by guys for safety reasons; as sad as that is. I was picked up before in Oita by two guys but they were different and seemed genuine and about my age whereas this guy was old and creepy. I declined his offer and he pretty much asked if I was sure several times before finally leaving...so yea don’t regret that. I only had to wait another five minutes though before this huge family in a big old van drove by and said they’d give me a ride. They were awesome, so lively, energetic and friendly so I felt very lucky to have been spotted by them. They drove me straight to Gifu which didn’t take long at all and, no, I didn’t get a meal this time since it was before lunch and after breakfast. I waited for a bit at Gifu station to receive a reply from my next CS host and then boarded a train that would take me to his house in the countryside. My Gifu host was amazing and just so friendly and warm and probably the host that I spent the most time with after my host in Nagano. Kyushu is probably one of my favourite prefectures for several reasons but Gifu will always hold a special place in my memory thanks to my host who just made the experience. I don’t want to sell any of my other hosts short, they were all great, but SH, my host in Gifu, who I’m still friends with today was spectacular. He picked me up from the station closest to his house and then we headed over to his parent’s house where I would be staying. His parents were also super easy going and I kind of felt like royalty being their guest, not gonna lie. They set up this huge tatami room for me to have myself with a very comfortable futon. I set down my stuff and proceeded to have a chat with them for the next hour before SH said he wanted to take me out and treat me to an omakase sushi experience at a local sushi restaurant that they all frequent. His parents came and it seemed like all of their friends and family were there; it was just so much fun. Omakase sushi is where the chef decides what he will serve you and you basically leave it up to him. I think you can ask for seconds of things though if you like something, that’s what I did anyway and the chef seemed delighted. It was some of the best sushi that I’ve ever had and was just so fresh and delicious and seemed endless. I was having a lovely chat with the chef and I guess he just gave me a lot extra. On the next day, I decided to journey off to the Shirakawa Go village which is the main reason I went to Gifu. “Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, the village is famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old.” (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5950.html)

My host drove me to the local station the next day where I boarded the three hour train to Takayama; the city closest to Shirakawa Go where I would then have to take an hour long bus so it was a long morning. The village didn’t disappoint. It was gorgeous and I imagine it would have an even more mysterious feel in the Winter when it would be covered in snow. I walked around for two hours exploring and trying a bunch of local snacks and some soft serve ice cream that I remember being just so creamy and delicious because it was made fresh with local milk. I couldn’t stay too long because the buses were a bit infrequent and very few and far between so I headed back to Takayama city and wandered around there for another hour or so. It was also very quaint with traditional buildings everywhere and made me feel like I was in old Japan. When I got back to my host’s house that night, his parents cooked okonomiyaki for me. I don't know what I did to be so spoiled like this but I just felt very lucky and grateful. My host asked me what plans I had for the next day and if I would like to join him, his dad and his cousin for a day of paddle-boarding down the Nagara River (the biggest and most famous river of Gifu). His dad owned a sports shop so of course we’d all get to use the paddle-boards for free is what he said and I would have been a fool to turn down that offer.

And with that, on my 25th day travelling around Japan, I went paddle-boarding for the first time! It was so much fun, I think I fell into the river twice though but I didn’t care. Even though I didn’t have a change of clothes or anything, it was so hot that my clothes quickly dried. We paddle-boarded along the whole river which took about two hours. This was definitely one of my most favourite memories in Japan, just an all round great day. I ended the day by being treated to a delicious home cooked yakiniku meal with a bunch of other side dishes. I could not have been more content.

On the 26th, unfortunately it was time to leave this lovely family in Gifu and head on over to Nagano! I was quite late in leaving their house because my host’s mother wanted to give me some breakfast and make sure I was ready for my travels. I think at around 10:30 my host drove me to the station and I was off for another day of train travels. I decided against hitchhiking that time because my host said that in between Gifu and Nagano are a bunch of mountains and it would take awhile for people to drive around them whereas trains can go through the mountains via tunnels. It was a five or six hour train journey with a couple of stops in between before I arrived at Nagano station in the evening. I met up with my host at the station who was a lovely office lady and she immediately said we should get some soba for dinner and then coffee at Starbucks. We chatted for around two hours; she just seemed so interested in my life and future goals but also just so supportive to whatever I said. She and I are still friends and I’m super glad we are, she’s definitely someone I would like to visit again when I go back to Nagano. By the way, Nagano is famous because of its ski resorts in the winter and having worked at a ski resort before I was interested in checking it out even though it was the height of Summer. It was certainly cooler, temperature wise, in Nagano compared to all the other places I had been to. I was fortunate enough to have my own room again at my host’s apartment and be able to do some laundry there.

The next day, I ventured from Nagano station to Matsumoto station to explore the second thing that Nagano prefecture is famous for which is Matsumoto castle; nicknamed the “crow castle” because of its black exterior. Matsumoto was definitely a very quiet city and apart from the castle area where all the tourists flocked to, there weren’t that many people around. I walked in and around the castle and had a great time. It had a spectacularly historical feel to it. I remember getting oden for the first time at a nearby convenience store because the weather was getting a bit colder and windy with some overcast so it was the perfect treat. It was so delicious and is now something I must have if I see it being sold somewhere. At about 5pm, I headed back to Nagano station and wandered around Zenko-ji temple before getting a message on LINE from my host asking if I wanted to meet up with her. She took me to a local fishery that her colleagues were drinking at because they knew the owner and everyone was able to enjoy some free sashimi. It was a very lively atmosphere and at some point some local performers showed up to entertain us with a traditional performance. I remember this older couple who were there and really took a liking to me and kept giving me things. One of their hobbies was to hand craft flowers from paper so they gave me a few and then took a bunch of photos of me and then rushed back home to develop them so I could have them. It was so cute and such a fun night.

I only had about four days left in Japan so I decided it was time to head back to Tokyo to prepare myself for my departure. I told my host that I would like to hitchhike to Tokyo from Nagano and not only did she drive me to the service area, she also insisted on helping me find a driver. I was very grateful for the thought but I didn’t want to have to make anyone feel like they had to pick me up. I tried to tell her that I was fine and that I could just stand there so I said my goodbyes to her and then began to wait for about 20 minutes during which she seemed to just be watching from afar until she couldn’t stand waiting anymore and basically started asking anyone who past us if they were going to Tokyo and could take me until finally one woman reluctantly said yes. It was a tad awkward to be honest, but I know my host meant well and was just trying to be motherly and caring so I appreciated it. I thanked her one more time and then got in the car with my driver. It was a very long three hours to the centre of Tokyo and a silent ride for most of it. Towards the end of the drive I think she finally eased up and decided to ask me the usual questions of who I was and where I’m from. She then told me that she runs a hostel, gave me her card and asked if I needed a place to stay and would give me a discount. I thanked her for the offer but fortunately I had already found my final CS host (couldn’t stay with my friend L because she was also leaving Japan). She dropped me off at Tokyo station at half past noon and I immediately went to find the central post office to pick up my suitcase.

Since the morning, I had been receiving a bunch of messages from my Tokyo host and she was insistent on me spending the day with her and her other foreign friends for a BBQ just outside Tokyo at around 1pm. She was overall friendly but made it out to seem that if I didn’t show up for this BBQ then she wouldn’t be able to host me and so I told her that I would try my best but that I would most likely be late because I was hitchhiking and needed to pick up my suitcase. She sent me the address of the BBQ spot which wasn’t accessible by train and only by a highway bus. I managed to get my suitcase and head back to Tokyo station but went around in circles before finally finding this bus that cost about $16 for an hour and a half ride so I didn’t get to the stop until just about 4pm. It was a bit stressful. I also didn’t have any WiFi to contact my host because I was in the middle of nowhere so I did the only thing I could think of since I knew Japan was safe and left my suitcase and bag at the stop and walked for about 20 mins before I found a 7-eleven to use the WiFi and contact my host. I told her what had happened so she and her friends picked up my stuff from the side of the road and then picked me up from the 7-eleven and informed me that their BBQ was over and that they were now planning to head back into Tokyo. I think anyone would be understandably frustrated to hear this turn of events if they had gone through all that as I just had. I tried not to show it though and just enjoy my time with them all while wondering why I couldn’t have just waited in Tokyo for them….Anyway, they all wanted to go to Tokyo tower and so we headed there. The view was really nice and it was my first time there so it was a nice way to end a tiring day.

The following day, I had no real plans and it was my last solo day wandering through Tokyo. I don’t remember much but I aimlessly strolled all around Harajuku and Shibuya and spotted a BIC camera where I decided that I would treat myself to a portable charger because my phone’s life was nonexistent. It was a chill day for the most part and I got a lot of steps in. I ended the day by checking out the supermarket closest to my host’s apartment because she mentioned that she wanted to try Lebanese food and asked if I could make her some so I tried to find all the related ingredients that I could to make a simple but very common dish.

On the 30th, I started early to make a Lebanese chicken and potato dish and a fattoush salad for my host before she had to go to work. She seemed to really like it so I was glad and it paired nicely with Japanese rice. I spent the rest of the morning and a little bit of the afternoon at her place just relaxing and making sure I was fully packed and ready to be leaving the next day. Some time in the late afternoon, I set off to meet up with L, her sister, and her friend and we went out to this cool noodle restaurant where the chef makes the noodles in front of you. We spent the rest of the night just catching up. I told her about my travels and she told me about hers. We were both leaving the next day (although on different flights) but not until the evening so we all decided that we would watch the film “Your Name” that had just come out.

Final day in Japan:

I woke up at 8 am and had accidentally slept in a bit because my host’s place was an hour from the cinema that we agreed to meet and the time of the movie was 9:30. So I quickly sent them a message letting them know I was on my way, got dressed and rushed out. I made it to the cinema just after the scheduled start time and considered giving up on seeing it because they had already gone in but I thought whatever, at least I’ll see most of it. Luckily, they were still playing the trailers and advertisements so I quietly went in, searched for my friends to no avail before finding a really good seat and enjoying the movie. It was such an awesome movie! Which is probably obvious because it was an international hit that Summer and went on to play in cinemas around the world. I was also pretty proud of myself for understanding about 95% of the film with no subtitles; it was a small feat but I felt good. After the film, I met up with L and co and we walked around for a bit before they had to leave. I spent the rest of the day wandering around Ginza and Shinjuku and just kind of in disbelief that this whole trip was coming to an end. I tried to savour and take in all the sights and eat some more delicious snacks at my favourite convenience store. I then checked out the Kinokuniya book store and decided to buy myself a JLPT N3 grammar book, an N2 vocabulary book and a master book of all Japanese grammar. I’ll be honest with you, though, four years later and I’ve only just gotten around to opening these books up and studying them in the past year. I made my way back to my host’s apartment at 4pm because it was time to get myself ready and pack up these books for my flight at 9:30 pm. I got the airport bus that luckily had a stop just outside my host’s place. I arrived at the airport around three hours before my flight and was filled with melancholy. I didn’t want to be leaving and I was quite sad. It’s always that way though when ending any kind of trip. But I had already decided that I would try to come back and live in Japan again some day so that cheered me up. I had so much more that I wanted to see and do. After walking around and exploring what seemed like the whole departure area and getting some udon for dinner I boarded my flight and bid Japan, not a farewell, but a see you later.

#long reads #longpost #japantravel #hitchhiking #couchsurfing #studyabroadmemories #nostalgia #Wanderlust #homestay #Japan #japantrip #Travelblog #islands #japaneseislands #japanesenature

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