japan travel diaries pt.1
an everyday moment:
zebra crossings. artificial birds chirping. If you ever go to Japan, trust me - you'll start to associate the two together. I notice that travelling makes me accustomed to things that are a norm overseas but seem completely absurd beforehand. Like walking and eating, that's a no-no in Japan - but I would have never questioned it here. But then there's drinking tea with staple Japanese sweets which bears an uncanny parallel to the western tea and biscuits.
a screenshot of my trip:
over three weeks, we went from tokyo -> hakone -> sapporo -> osaka -> kyoto -> back to osaka!
The big three are tokyo, osaka and kyoto, all on the same island. To me, tokyo is the heart of urbanisation. fast-paced, efficient, clean, accompanied by a pulse of urgency that permeates the air. Sapporo has a more relaxed city-like feel with its lit-up shopping strips and quiet suburban areas. Osaka is the epitome of night-life in japan. smoke, noise, cramped streets while navigating the lively dotonburi market. Kyoto, only a train ride away - portrays japan's natural beauty - temples, bamboo forests, matcha motherland. And how could I forget? ✨Hakone✨ ~ home of the hot-springs. Hakone is like the Bali of Indonesia, very idyllic and romanticised - a true escape from the city hubbub.
a gallery of my trip:
It felt too superfluous to solely portray my trip through words. a picture speaks a thousand words and all that so...voilà - welcome to my art gallery (travel edition).
my time in TOKYO:
1. Touchdown in Tokyo! A summer-hued sky greeted us - a very welcome contrast to the Melbourne gloom. |
2. Good morning Tokyo :) We can see the Tokyo Skytree from Asakuza streets. Japan summer is no joke, but the tall buildings shield a lot of the sun so it wasn’t too hot. |
3. Breakfast in Asakusa - Misojyu. Served onigiri - which is rice packed in seaweed shaped like a triangle with a certain food/garnish on top or embedded in the rice. Most Japanese restaurants open at 11am so it was a struggle to find breakfast at first, but this place opened at 8am. Here I witnessed 2 people hit their heads on the door frame - ceilings are pretty low in Japan, not that that was much of an issue for me :) |
4. Next up → Sensō-ji Temple. A Buddhist temple buzzing with tourists and known as the oldest temple in Tokyo. There are also really cute marketplaces around the temple - a hotspot for souvenirs. |
5. Lunchtime at Syura Ku Ra Seran! Cutlets of all kinds as well as tempura. The staff helped us make our own sesame-teriyaki sauce. A travelling tip for Japan - Tablelog is useful for finding restaurants near you, and anything above a 3.2 rating is considered a high rating. |
6. Time to thrift! Tampopo House Ueno-Hirokouji had 3 floors of items. Most of the items were 105 Yen = $1.05 and they had some nice items, so I’d recommend. |
7. TeamLabs Planets - this is the one that is infamous for walking around in water. I honestly found this one way more fun than the other TeamLabs Borderless because it’s much more interactive. |
8. Me trying to figure out my favourite colour in real time. I didn’t know this many colours existed. Visited a pigment shop → PIGMENT TOKYO
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9. Brewed matcha + a japanese treat. Officially converted to a matcha lover in Japan. |
10. Buh-bye tokyo → hello hakone !! |
still dreaming about HAKONE:
1. hakone had the prettiest flowers → the whole stay here was so picturesque |
2. first onsen experience! forgot to acclimate to the water and felt like I was being boiled alive. But if you get used to the heat slowly, you feel super relaxed after getting out. |
3. set dinner at the hotel - we got treated very well! highlights of the dinner was wagyu beef + the poor waiter who accidentally spilt water all over the table. |
4. the view outside; chefs kiss |
5. set breakfast! tried natto for the first time - sticky fermented soybean → personally did not enjoy it, but it’s usually eaten with rice. Without a doubt, best set meal experience was in Hakone |
6. goodbye hakone <3 |
summer in SAPPORO >>
1. driving in sapporo>>> |
2. thrift store spotted! |
3. first sightseeing spot → Otaru - it’s an old town in Hokkaido and has a ton of galleries, museums and is probably the best place for souvenirs - secured a cap here :) Also a fish market nearby known for delicious donburi (rice with sashimi on top). |
4. it was raining so much when we went -> indoors stained glass museum in Otaru :) |
5. the cutest canal in Otaru - this town seemed euro-inspired
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6. Onto the next sapporo road trip → first stop - this cherry stall - and then we’re off to Biei [countryside Sapporo] |
7. Felt like I stepped into a fairy forest 🧚 🧚. Ningle Terrace is a craft village near Biei |
8. Now we’re off to the fields! Lots and lots of lavendar flowers here. Bluest pond I’ve seen at Shirogane Blue Pond. A less touristy waterfall, Shirahige Waterfall
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9. As the sun sets → Patchwork road and a glimpse of the tree that appears on tobacco packs - Seven Stars Tree. |
10. the sun in sapporo deserves a raise for setting like this (peep the sun and moon) |
11. And to finish sapporo off → a cable car ride to Mount Moiwa for a fine dining moment |
hope you enjoyed part 1!! I did not realise how much we actually travelled in japan and didn't want this post to be too long so stay tuned 🪭🪭
from,
the heart <3
fromtheheart mantras
what's been on my heart lately !! ask yourself what two things you think cannot be associated together? -> e.g. the messaging that you can't be rich AND do what you love (but then ppl always say their dream job is to do something they love lol), or maybe it's you can't do [x,y,z] and consider yourself healthy etc.
- excellence can be achieved without perfectionism
- change from a place of awareness rather than from guilt or shame
- I'm allowed to want to improve and also not feel guilty about what I want to improve in
- clean-plate club ethos -> the whole idea of cleaning your plate as to not waste food stemmed from a generation where the main issue was famine. Now, what's the main issue? overconsumption. so what's more impressive? cleaning your plate or being able to respect internal bodily cues?
- where am I making things complex for the sake of it? AKA making it feel like it has 10000 steps makes me feel smart, reasonable for not taking action, makes procrastination more justified, makes me feel hardworking for thinking of doing it
sending love, love and love to all fromtheheart readers !!