Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024
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My son Maxi has spent almost half a year in Kyoto from October 2023 to March 2024. Mainly to learn Japanese in a language school and to learn more about Japanese life and culture. I picked him up in March and we spent a week in Kyoto together. When we returned home I already knew I would love to come back to Japan as soon as possible. In November we went back for two weeks and did a round trip Tokyo - Nagoya - Kyoto - Kanazawa area - Tokyo.
We did a bit of Tokyo sightseeing, stayed some time in a Buddhist Temple, explored Kyoto by bike, visited many temples, went to tea cermonies, hiked in the mountains around Kyoto, stayed in an Onsen Ryokan near Kaga, hiked through rural Japan countryside and mountains there... and of course lots of Japanese food.I will add some pics of the trip the next couple of days.
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@Chap
sounds like a fantastic trip .
thx for sharing with us !! -
@Mister_Brue said in Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024:
@Chap The guy in middle’s denim game is on point!
We’d love to go back to Japan sometime soon too. Looking forward to your pictures and updates.
He is a Buddhist Monk from a Zen Temple we stayed, they wear indigo dyed clothes as their daily dress, some of them look amazing faded with years of wear.
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Looks awesome, can’t wait to see more. And what an awesome experience for your son.
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great pictures
hope to get there some day … -
Looks great @Chap and makes me excited for my wife and my trip there in April. How are you finding getting around? Must be good to be with your son and his knowledge of the language?
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@Nik said in Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024:
Looks great @Chap and makes me excited for my wife and my trip there in April. How are you finding getting around? Must be good to be with your son and his knowledge of the language?
Thanks @Nik getting around in Japan is quite easy. Public transport is fantastic you can get almost everywhere.
First thing you need is mobile Internet, you can get routers from provider at the arrival airport. Then you can use Google maps everywhere which also works perfect to plan your trip by trains and buses. Regarding payment for public transport, easiest thing is a payment app on your phone (Suica for example for Tokyo-Kantō, Kyoto and East Japan Railway) but doesn't work for the Shinkansen lines. Shinkansen tickets can be bought at the station. If you carry a lot of luggage with you and travel around, luggage transport can be very easily arranged (by hotels or agencies at airports and train stations, Yamato for example ).
What plans do have? Where are you going to? -
Dinner in a Sushi restaurant in Tokyo. Those small (Omakase) restaurants can be found everywhere in Japan although they are sometimes quite hard to find (no signs, no menu) and difficult to book. They are very small, often only a couple of counter seats. You need to book them in advance often months before and also have to pay in advance. You can't just call them and ask for a reservation (at least as a non local). If you are in a hotel you can ask the concierge to book or use a booking platform. We had some very good experiences with booking via Pocket Concierge and Omakase.in. No disappointment so far. I love to sit at the counter and watch the awesome skills and precision of the sushi masters.
God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson
