Wrapping up Japan

It’s time to wrap up my trip to Japan. Thanks for joining me on this adventure to the Land of the Rising Sun. I really enjoyed the time I spent in this diverse and unique country!

If you want to read up on the whole trip you can do so here.

Here are some of my thoughts after reflecting on the trip.

My top 3 highlights:

Highlight #1: Unexpected Lantern festival in Takanabe

One of the things I love about travelling are the awesome surprises that happen while on the road. These are things that no amount of planning would ever have prepared you for. The Takanabe Lantern festival was one such surprise! It was only through the invitation of our AirBNB host that we even learned of the festival and when we arrived we were amazed at how beautiful it is to be surrounded by thousands of lanterns set in a field. The beauty of the lanterns coupled with food stalls, live entertainment and a “local” vibe made it an experience that we visited not once, but twice during our time in Miyazaki

Highlight #2: Takachiho Gorge & Kurokawa

I lumped both Takachiho Gorge and Kurokawa together because in my mind the few days we spent at these places was a beautiful glimpse into a part of Japan I hadn’t quite anticipated. Normally I wouldn’t choose something that included a twelve kilometer hike as one of my highlights. But in this case, hiking around the Gorge was an amazing opportunity to explore the natural beauty of the area and also explore a bit of rural Japan in the process. My admiration for this area was further reinforced when we spent the next morning rowing in the gorge itself. I think with the way the sun was, we were treated to an awesome view of sun rays poking through the trees and into the gorge. That imagery is something I’m going to keep with me for a very long time!

These few days were also the first time I got to experience an onsen! While the first two attempts produced mixed results, I am thankful that we got to visit Kurokawa and that I got to try again, this time in the luxurious Yamamizuki ryokan. The ryokan itself is also part of this highlight! We intended for the night we stayed  here to be our “splurge” stay and it did not disappoint! From the amazing service and accommodations to the ten course Japanese dinner, the entire experience is one that warrants it being a highlight.

Highlight #3: Okinawa

I know this is cheating a little, but it’s hard to pick out just one highlight from everything in Okinawa. From the full day we spent in and around Churaumi Aquarium to the day snorkelling around an uninhabited Island, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire Okinawa experience! Okinawa is very different from the rest of Japan and it was almost like visiting another country when we arrived. It’s a beautiful part of the country and is very much a destination in and of itself.

Favorite meal:

I think the first thing that needs to be mentioned here is that you simply can’t go wrong with food in Japan. It’s just not possible. Every single eatery that we visited took a great deal of pride in the food they produced. How can you go to Japan and choose just one favorite meal? You can’t! Everything tastes so good even the convenience store food! However, forced to make a decision I narrowed it down to two:

Tsuta Ramen

This is by far the most amazing bowl of ramen I’ve ever eaten. The broth was incredibly flavorful, but light at the same time. It even had a truffle flavor to it which further set it apart from its  ramen brethren. The addition of the wonton was amazing. I devoured it to the point that there wasn’t even soup left! At first I was worried that the hype would lead to disappointment, however the opposite happened and now I will be the first to recommend this to others!

Unnamed Okinawa Eatery

I debated including this as one of my favorite meals, but in the end it had to be done! I chose to include this meal, not because of its unique flavors or from recommendations or anything else. But rather, because it was simply the most satisfying meal I had on this trip. By the time we had returned to Naha and had spent some time exploring kokusaidori street, we were STARVING. We had been eyeing different restaurants as we walked but nothing really jumped out at us. It wasn’t until we saw this hole in the wall cafeteria looking place that we knew we’d found our dinner for the night. What we got truly “hit the spot” It had everything that I wanted and it tasted amazing.

What’s funny is that I still don’t know what this place is called, but I know that if I find myself in Naha again, its going to be the first place I go for food!

If I could change the itinerary, how would I change it?

For THIS specific itinerary, I probably would have bypassed Tokyo. I know it’s weird to say given that Tokyo is likely THE primary destination for a majority of Japanese visitors. But given that most of our time was spent in the south, I feel like we didn’t do Tokyo justice, and also limited our time in the other areas. When we were planning this trip, I had already resolved that I wouldn’t be fully experiencing some of the major Japanese destinations. Having done the trip now, I think bypassing Tokyo altogether would have afforded me more time to enjoy places in Kyushu and Okinawa.

What surprised on this trip?

How very different each region of Japan is from each other. Before visiting I always saw Japan as this small island nation with a very unique culture and cuisine but assumed it was uniform throughout. However, having visited a number of different regions, I now realize that every one is so unique. Each region does food a little bit differently than the other.  Some regions are more laid back others are busier.

It made the trip seem like we visited several individual destinations instead of a single country. I really liked this aspect and discovery because it now diversifies Japan as a destination for me.

One memorable story from this trip

For me, it’d be the search for the lonely vending machine. One thing we learned while driving around Okinawa and Miyazaki, was that Google directions isn’t always super accurate in Japan. This lead us down some very questionable routes. We’d find ourselves in sugarcane fields, farming lanes, dirt roads, toll roads and at one point I’m pretty sure a pedestrian only walkway. However, it was through these different detours that we ended up seeing a lone vending machine in the middle of a field. It was pretty cool and would have made for an awesome picture because it was the only thing that was lit up for miles!

I’m not going to put this as my regret for this trip, but I do regret not stopping right there and then to take that picture. We were in a bit of a rush to get to the Lantern festival and the constant detours added a bit of pressure for us to get there in time. We had all resolved to try and find this single vending on the way back. However, try as we might, no number of wrong turns ever took us back to that lonely vending machine. In fact, we made a second trip to the lantern festival, allotted time to “get lost” and still couldn’t find it. It would have made for a pretty awesome picture, but the giggles and laughs we had trying to drive into the wilderness is certainly something I’ll remember for a while.

Its also funny because soon after we returned home, a very relevant CNN article popped up in my feed that almost felt like a bit of a taunt to our failed expedition.

Did I pack adequately for this trip?

Yes and no. From a purely packing point of view, I feel I was successful in having everything I needed for the amount of time I was on the road. I like to pack relatively light and was able to anticipate my needs and pack to address all of it. However one thing I didn’t account for was the amount of shopping that I would do in Japan. Now I don’t normally shop very much when I’m travelling, but for some reason, in Japan I bought quite a few items. Near the end of the trip, it got to a point where I was starting to worry about how much space I had in my bags and whether or not I would need to buy another bag to carry my items home. Thankfully I was able to make everything work (barely).

I think future trips to asia is going to result in a lot more shopping so making sure I have the adequate luggage space will need to be a considering for future trips!

Regrets?

This is weird, but I regret not buying more things. By this, I don’t mean clothes, electronics, souvenirs or things of that nature. What I do mean, is I regret not buying more snacks. Japan has a LOT of different things you can eat. Obviously some of it you simply cannot bring home. However, there is a great deal that you can. From sweets to savory to bottled drinks. I find now that I’ve been home for a month, I’m running out of the Japanese snacks that I bought and am craving more. There are flavors and types of snacks you simply cannot get in North America, and much like some of the food you can only get in their home countries.

Advice for people considering similar trips/destinations?

Pick a region and focus on it. Like I mentioned above, Japan’s different regions are very unique from one another and you could spend an entire trip exploring a single region and not get bored. Each place has its own charm and has its own claims to fame. While most will probably end up in the major cities and their surrounding areas. It’s worthwhile to do a little reading on the different areas and perhaps find something that might appeal to you a little more, might be “off the beaten path” a little and still be uniquely Japanese.

Final thoughts?

This trip was very different than other trips I’ve taken recently. Normally, I’d take a larger role in deciding where we’d go and what we’d see. But because we were travelling with Salmonella this time, he had a lot of input into our itinerary. Because he lived in Osaka for 8 months, I believe he approached this trip differently than most visitors would. And therein, lies the conflict? He saw this trip through the lens of a local and less as a tourist. So on the one hand we didn’t focus much on the more “touristy” things on most lists. And because of this, I don’t think I can say that I fully explored Osaka, Tokyo or even Kyoto. But on the other hand, we went to some very unique places. Places that I don’t think many would go to on their first, second or even third trips to Japan. For that, I’m extremely grateful to Salmonella for steering us in this direction. I LOVED visiting Okinawa and I LOVED driving through Kyushu. It’s an amazing part of Japan. It really helped me to appreciate the diversity and variety that this country holds.

I can say with certainty that a return trip to Japan is bound to happen. Not only to better explore the cities that I only glanced at this time, but also a trip North to explore another area of Japan that I’ve heard a great deal about as well! As with all trips, I remain humbled by how beautiful and vast this world is. I’m thankful that I have the ability and means to travel and explore and continue to be eager for what the future holds!