The Land of the Rising Sun (Japan)

This year 2017, I wanted to go back to the USA to discover Boston and Washington. However, my friends asked me if I wanted to go to Japan.

As a matter of fact, I wasn’t so excited about it because Asia wasn’t my cup of tea.

I still accepted because I really wanted to travel abroad with my two close friends Elise and Vanessa.

We organized the trip months ahead and we were supposed to be 13.

Nevertheless, some of us booked their flight early without checking if everybody was able to leave at the same time. As a result, we made two groups : the group 1 would leave at the end of July and the group 2 would join them in August.

In my group (the group 1), we were 5 : me, Vanessa, Elise, Albert and Dorian. We would leave Paris on Saturday, July 22nd. Elise, Dorian and I would go back to Paris on August, 10th ; Albert and Vanessa on August, 16th because Albert wanted to stay longer with his brothers Gérard and Gilbert.

In the group 2, there were 8 people : Céline, Laurent, Jérôme, Gérard, Romain, Riana, Gilbert and Kévin. They would leave on August, 5th and go back to Paris on August, 19th.

From August, 6th to August, 10th, we would share the same apartment.

Day 1

I woke up early (4am) to catch the first train.

I left home very early to take the train at 5.25am in order to be at Charles de Gaulle airport at 6.12am.

Then, I took the free shuttle to go from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 and I waited for Vanessa, Albert and Dorian on the platform. 5 or 6 shuttles later, my three compagnons arrived.

We went inside the airport for check-in. We didn’t wait too long because there weren’t a lot of people.

Then, Elise joined us with Maxime and she also checked-in.

Vanessa, Albert, Dorian and Elise didn’t buy their plane ticket with me so they would be together in the plane during the two flights (the first one from Paris to Frankfurt and the second one from Frankfurt to Osaka).

We all had lunch and went to scan our luggage. Maxime left us there because he only came to accompany Elise to the airport.

While scanning our luggage, Dorian noticed that there was Elodie Frégé, an ex-candidate from the Star Academy show. I didn’t recognize her.

There was a problem. Indeed, a cleaning lady jammed her broom inside the scanner so the employees working there couldn’t scan the luggage. We had to use another scanner.

In the plane going to Frankfurt, Elodie Frégé was sitted two rows before me (I was at the head of the plane). The others were at the tail-end of the plane.

The flight lasted 1h and I time flew by without me noticing.

At Frankfurt airport, there were stalls offering sausages, hot-dogs, bretzels and many other German specialities.

Clocks at Frankfurt airport

During the stopover, we played Sushi Go, just to be in the loop.

Once in the plane to go to Japan, Albert kindly asked the passager next to him to switch places so I could be seated next to Albert. The passenger, a Japanese guy, didn't look so pleased about it but concede to give me his seat. I was supposed to be further away next to the window. There, I was in the aisle next to Albert and Vanessa. Elise and Dorian were just behind us.

During the flight, I watched "Hidden Figures", "Split", a few episodes of "2 Broke Girls" and the French movie "Demain tout commence".

We ate Japanese food which was so cool just to be in the loop.

Once arrived at Osaka, a cute poster welcome us. There were characters from the game Mario Kart. By the way, we decided to take a picture with them.

Warm welcome at Osaka

To go through customs, the officers took our fingerprints thanks to a machine which looked like a cardiac monitor.

To go to Kyōto, where was our first Air BnB, we exchanged our Japan Rail Pass vouchers for a Japan Rail Pass usable for 2 weeks and we took the Shinkansen, kind of Japanese TGV (TGV is a French train: high-speed train).

Once in Kyōto, we dropped our luggage off at a left-luggage office (700 yens for a big one).

Railway station and et Kyōto Tower

Then, we went for a walk and took the underground. We bought and recharged a tube card for 3000 yens.

We saw many temples such as Sanjusangen-do.

Sanjusangen-do

Those broomsticks are like the Cleansweep from Harry Potter :-)

Other temples

We went to a shop selling traditional outfit and the boys were unable to resist and bought yukatas, obis (belt that you put over the yukata) and getas (sandal that you wear with the yukata or the kimono).

For lunch, we ate sobas not very far from the yukata shop.

We bought food for dinner: noodles, salad, eggs, beer (it was a mixture of beer and whiskey), dough to make pancakes, orange juice and milk.

We got back our luggage to go to the Ninja House (our Air BnB) belatedly.

Our first Air BnB in Japan

Day 2

In the morning, we took the train to go to Fushimi Inari-Taisha, a shinto sanctuary very well known because it has thousands of red torii.

Inari

For lunch, we ate noodles at Kyōto shopping center.

In the afternoon, we saw Nanzen-ji temple, one of the five biggest buddhist temples of Kyōto.

Nanzen-ji

We also travelled along Tetsugaku-no-michi, the Philosopher's Walk.

Philosopher's Walk

For dinner, we ate fried pork at a gourmet restaurant.

Day 3

In the morning, we visited Kiyomizu-dera temple. The view from there is so beautiful. The temple is well known and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kiyomizu-dera

At lunchtime, we went to Nishiki market where we tasted their fried specialities. The fragrance of each food stalls accompanied us all along our walk.

Nishiki

In the afternoon, we walked through Gion traditional district and Pontocho, the Geishas district

Gion et Pontocho

At night, we went to see the Bamboo Forest (Arashiyama) where the rain started falling and where we saw French tourists we saw 2 days earlier while the boys did some shopping.

Bamboo Forest

Once at home, Albert cooked a yummy omelet.

Day 4

This day, we went to Osaka.

This day, I think Albert was really tired because he put soya sauce on his pancakes instead of maple syrup!

Pancakes et thé au matcha

We took the Shinkansen and leaved our luggage at Shin-Osaka railway station, then we went to Himeji castle.

Once arrived at Himeji, we had lunch at a caff from the railway station (rice with beef, green onions and raw egg).

Himeji

The mascot

We went to Himeji Castle and took a combined ticket (castle + park).

There were 2 groups: Elise and I and the others.

They were slower than us so we continued the visit without them. At the 6th and last floor, we saw them by the window. They were taking a selfie.

Himeji castle

And here they are: Dorian, Albert and Vanessa!

After the visit, we went to the Japanese garden.

Japanese garden

Then, we went back to the castle entry to wait for the others. After a while, as nobody came out from the castle, we went to the railway station and saw them. They were off shopping for dinner.

We took our luggage at Shin-Osaka and Albert almost forgot his suitcase. Fortunately, I was there to tell him! He was having a bad day. First the pancakes, then the suitcase!

At Shin-Osaka, we had difficulties to find the right way at the railway station to go to our Air BnB. A young man helped us and showed us the way to our house. While he was trying to know if we were in front of the right building, a neighbor tried to make us leave!

At night, we cooked noodles and watched the episode 2 of Game of Thrones (season 7) while enjoying a good fresh beer.

Day 5

This day, we went to Hiroshima, sadly notorious for the atomic bombings (August, 6th 1945).

Hiroshima

We visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in which is detailed this macabre day. You can learn a lot of things about the disasters caused by those bombings: effects on survivors health, damage caused to buildings, the type of bombs used, etc. It is also possible to see clothes all ragged and children' toys who were victims of the bombings. As for all memorials, video testimonials got shown on screens.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

After visiting the mémorial, do not hesitate to see En sortant du musée, ne pas hésiter à aller voir le Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Bombs have hit this monument. It has not being rebuild since the events and can attests to the damage caused to it.

Genbaku Dome

We went for a lunch on the run: onigiri for me.

We bought food and sen to Miyajima.

We took the train until Miyajimaguchi then the ferry.

Miyajima is my favorite town. It is possible to troll among wild deers. They come to be stroked or to be fed. They are not timid and they often enter in shops!

Miyajima

At Miyajima, we visited Itsukushima-jinja sanctuary then Daisho-in temple well-known for its 500 Buddhist statuettes.

Itsukushima-jinja

Daisho-in

At night, we went back to Hiroshima to have diner at a small restaurant, Nagata Ya, that we spotted at noon. We ate okonomiyaki, a culinary specialty looking like a big omelet cooked on a hot-plate.

After dinner, we strolled in Hiroshima to see Hiroshima Castle. On the Way, with the girls, we sang and took the train to go home.

Hiroshima Castle

Unfortunately, we took the wrong train. The last stop was Okayama and we were over than 86 miles from Osaka. As it was very late, we could not take another train because our train was the last one.

First, we tried to know if it was possible to take another train to Osaka but the employee at the railway station told us the next train was the day after at 6am.

Impossible to take a taxi to drive for 86 miles, too expensive!

Hotels around were also expensive.

So we looked for a Love Hotel. There was one room left but for 2 people. The employee from the hotel could not let us come because we were 5.

In the end, we went to a karaoke opened all night long (until 5am) and we stayed there for 5 hours. We had fun all night long! The karaoke was not expensive (1300 yens per people for 5 hours) and there were a lot of choice among the playlist.

Day 6

After a spleepless night, we went back to Osaka at 7am.

We were exhausted and woke up at noon.

Vanessa and Dorian visited the Kyōto International Manga Museum and Nishiki market again because Dorian wanted to buy chopsticks he saw 1 or 2 days before.

Albert, Elise and I were too tire to move.

At night, we ate at a sushi restaurant next to our place and it was outstanding. Vanessa who does not eat fish, crustacean or seafood, took beef.

Day 7

This day was devoted to Kobe beef.

We went to Shin-Kobe to visit Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens. We took the cable car to go there faster.

Nunobiki

In the afternoon, we went to Naruto. We took a bus but we went down at the wrong bus stop. As this bus was not frequent, we took a taxi to go to Naruto. The driver kindly wait for us to drop us at the bus stop. It was 7€ per person.

At Naruto, we saw the famous Naruto whirlpools.

Naruto

At night, we ate Kobe beef. A lot of restaurants were full and we finally found one. We took a menu with many dishes for around 100 euros! However, we were treated like kings.

Day 8

This day, we should have spent the day at Amanohashidate beach. We left home late and the next train to go there was too late.

We decided to spent the afternoon at Nara, well-known for its deers as for Miyajima.

We saw Nara Park where there are many temples such as Todai-ji (you can see Daibutsuden where the biggest buddha of the world) and Kasuga Taisha.

Nara

We went for a walk the traditional district Naramachi with its old wood houses and entered in Nara Museum of Craft. We also saw Ganjo-ji temple.

Naramachi and Ganjo-ji

At night, we went to games to try winning cuddly toys.

Day 9

This morning, we went to Izushi where we visited a Kabuki theatre a a saké factory. We drank some saké for free and it was really good.

Izushi

Saké factory

Kabuki theatre

For lunch, we ate sobas at a small restaurant.

Sobas restaurant

Then, we went to Kinosaki where we booked a bedroom in ryokan (traditional auberge) to enjoy onsen (hot springs). At the ryokan, a woman brought us dinner at 6pm in the bedroom. There was so much food and everything seemed delicious. I could not finish it because it was copious.

Our bedroom was both a dining room and a bedroom.

Once we had our fill, I got some rest while the others went to hot springs. I did not want to go because I am very modest and you need to be naked to go to onsen. You can wear swimwear or clothes. I did not want to be naked in front of my friends or strangers, even if the onsen are not mixed.

My four friends went back later and we went to a walk wearing traditional costumes. We found a bar, the only one which was still opened, run by a very friendly old man. He told us he run this bar for 40 years and he offered us a drink.

At first, we wanted to drink just one cocktail but we drink so much we were drunk when we left the bar! I hugged Vanessa, Elise and even Dorian! At the ryokan, I was so drunk I crawled through the stars because I could not walk straight anymore. Once in the bedroom, I slumped on my bed. It was the first time for me! Elise made up a code for her to bring me a bowl to throw up. We are still laughing about it because it was so funny!

Kinosaki Onsen

The whiskey was very good but also very strong!

Day 10

After the night at the bar, we were really tired in the morning. The lady from the day before brought us breakfast but I could not eat. Smelling the food gave me nausea.

Elise and Vanessa went for a last bath but the boys and I stayed to sleep.

We left the ryokan aroung 10am.

We spent the day at Amanohashidate beach.

Amanohashidate

At night, we ate a second time at the sushi restaurant next to our place.

Day 11

In the morning, Elise and Vanessa sent to Kobe to Buy some goodies at Sakura pop-up shop. Albert, Dorian and I stayed at home to get some rest.

For lunch, Vanessa and Elise brought some Viennoiseries They bought at a "French" bakery and tokoyaki (a speciality from Osaka: ball-shaped snack filled with minced octopus).

In the afternoon, we visited Osaka Castle.

Osaka castle

Day 12

In the morning, we left Osaka to go to Tokyo. We dropped our luggage at a luggage lockers and visited the Osaka Museum of House and Living. It is a historical reconstruction of a Japanese village. There also are fake fireworks, météorologique showers and even the moon appeared! We could have tried traditional costumes and take picture with them but we had to follow time slot and we arrived late.

Osaka Museum of House and Living

For lunch, we ate a bentô in the Shinkansen.

At night, we dropped our luggage at our Air BnB etand we went to see Quentin and his friends (other friends who were also in Japan for holidays). We had dinner in Shinjuku and visited the old Golden Gai district.

Shinjuku

Golden Gai

Robot restaurant

Godzilla!

Spiderman, Spiderman!

Once back at home, Albert told us he saw a rat in a hole on the wall. Indeed, there were rat droppings and a mousetrap in the house.

We spent the night there and we booked another Air BnB for the day after and told the host about it.

Dorian, who had to sleep in the living room, splept with us in the bedroom because he did not want to get bitten by the rat.

Day 13

We left our luggage at the house and had lunch at a maid café, the Maidreamin, in Akihabara. We paid 4000 yens each for dish, dessert and drink, a gift and the right to take pictures with the waitresses.

Everybody got their dishes at the same time except Elise. So she asked one of the waitress about it but she ignored her ; not very professional!

She eventually got her food long after us.

When asking for the bill, the waitress not even said thank you or goodbye. It was such a scam!

Maidreamin

Akihabara

Then, we went to shops selling goodies from mangas and also a sex shop selling very big sextoys! There were also sextoys"special black"!

Love Merci sex shop

Look at the size of the sextoys!

After that, we went to Tokyo Tower. At night, we the view from there is gorgeous!

Tokyo Tower

Mario Kart in real life!

Once at home, we notice ou host covered the hole in the wall.

We left the house to go to the other one we booked. The view from the balcony was wonderful! We could see the Sky Tree.

The host did not want to pay the first night back because we spent one night there. Air BnB paid us back at the end of August.

Day 14

In the morning, we went to Asakusa to visit Sensō-ji temple. We passed under Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate), the entrante gate that leads to the temple. We walked along Nakamise-dōri shop mall where I bought a obi for my yukata. Vanessa bought a traditional costume with a tied obi and getas.

The path leads to the hōzōmon (Treasure-House Gate) behind which there is a 3-storey pagoda.

Asakusa

In the afternoon, we went to Kamakura to take advantage of the beach.

We ate at a small restaurant in which I ordures a delicious French toast.

Kamakura

When your friends cover you with sand and moulded a dick on you!

We could not have the opportunity to taste them because we arrived at closing time :'(

Day 15

We switched houses to go to the Air BnB we had to share with the second group which was supposed to arrive this day.

We left our luggage at home, a triplex with a patio and we had lunch at a restaurant looking like a canteen next to the house (Senkawa subway station). We took a menu with really good gyozas.

Then, we went back home to welcome the second Group with our traditional costumes.

We went to Odaiba mall where we did shopping and had diner. This mail looked like the one I visited when I was in Las Vegas. The fake sky, the fountains, there was the same thing at Forum Shops.

Odaiba

Inside the mall

At night, we went to Odaiba artificial island where we saw the Rainbow bridge.

Rainbow bridge

Day 16

We should have gone to Mount Fuji.

Unfortunately, Vanessa, Elise, Dorian, Jérôme, Albert and I could not do it because once arrived at the Railway station, the billboards showed there was no departure to Mount Fuji because of a typhoon.

With Elise, we bought bentō for lunch before going to Mount Fuji. The rest of the group ate outside.

Elise and I were the last one leaving the house. She put the key inside the letterbox so the others could go home taking back the key. We realized we should not have done that because we did not retrieved the key this way when we arrived the first day. Indeed, the key was inside a 4-digit padlock and the code was not the same for the padlock and the lettebox.

After joining Vanessa, Jérôme, Dorian and Albert, we left them for lunch and we had coffee.

We both went back to Senkawa because we wanted to retrouve the key inside the letterbox.

Elise bought iron wire and chewing-gum and she did DIY tool that she slided into the letterbox. I kept watch and prétendez being on the phone for the pedestrians not to think we were thieves. Elise got the key, phew! We were scared being arrested by the police.

We left our bags for Mount Fuji at home and went back to Shibuya where we did shopping.

Shibuya

Hichiko the dog

Then, we ate rice with curry and cheese at a small restaurant and joined the others.

We had a drink at Starbucks. Elise, Vanessa and I ordered an iced matcha tea.

We sat down at a table upstairs. Unfortunately, the table was wobbly. My tea fell. With Elise, we soaked up the floor with napkins then I went downstairs to warn the staff about it. They cleaned the mess and offered me another tea.

When I went upstairs, my tea fell again while I leant my elbow on the table.
I went down the escalators but in the meantime, the employee who cleaned the floor came back.
Laurent told me about it so I took the escalators in reverse direction. What a mistake! i fell! As if I had not had my level of shame for the day!

Elise shared her tea with me and the employée gave me another tea. What a night!

Day 17

With Vanessa, Céline, Laurent, Gérard, Albert, Romain, Dorian and Jérôme, we went to Odaiba where we had lunch and then we spent the day at Sega Joypolis amusement park.

Day 18

At non, with Vanessa, Albert, Elise and Kevin, we joined Céline, Laurent, Jérôme, Dorian and Romain to eat at Ueno in a restaurant specialized in okonomiyaki, monjaki style.

In the afternoon, Vanessa, Kévin, Albert, Elise and I did shopping and walked in Ueno zoo and park

Ueno zoo

At night, we went back home and went outside with the others, except for Gilbert and Riana, to eat manger yakitori at Senkawa. They are the best meat kebab in the world! One thing is certain, I think I could not eat meat kebab at a restaurant in France!

Day 19

Last day for Elise, Dorian and I.

At the airport, we felt a tremor. It was a minor earthquake.

Additional information and my feelings:

~ Japanese people ~ :

Japanese people are very kind. Every time we were lost or felt overwhelmed, a Japanese rescued us.

The most striking example was when we arrived at Osaka. That night, after picking up our luggage in the lockers from the railway station, we tried to find the right exit to go to our new home. We had difficulties to find it and after a while, a young Japanese passing by asked us if we needed some help. We said we were looking for the North exit. He asked about the address we were looking for and typed it on his smartphone. Then, he took his bike not far from the railway station and accompanied us to our home. In credible, right?

This story affected me the most. We always met kind people ready to help us.

~ Public transportation ~ :

Japanese public transportation would turn green with envy the one we have in Paris. They are so clean!

For example, the Shinkansen, équivalent to our French high-speed train, is cleaned up at each last stop. You cannot go inside if the cleaning staff has not finished yet. I do not make a fuss about nothing. Everything is clean inside, the seats are turned over (yeah, they can spin) so you can face the direction of travel.

Shinkansen

The platforms are safe. If you walk near the ledge, officers will call you to order.

We do not go inside the train as you wish. You need to wait for the people inside to go down and you queue. First-come-first-served basis. There is no way you go past people! Footsteps are on the floor so people can know where to go to be in front of the railway door. Footsteps are different depending on the train you want to take.

It is not possible to cheat before there are checkpoints in front of each barrier by which you go trhough to join the platforms. As for the underground, you need to validate your ticket or show your pass when you enter and when you go down.

Travel tickets are: the Japan Rail Pass, the Suica card, the subway tickets and surely other tickets we did not used.

The Japan Rail Pass allows you to travel through numerus lines and to join a lot of far cities. We used it a lot (we took the 14-days formula) and we made it profitable.

The Suica card is a card that you can charge. It cannot be used to travel through all lines like Japan Rail Pass.

You can buy the subway ticket individually and its price depends on the ride. The farter you go, the more you pay. The ticket validation machine swallows it at the exit so you cannot throw it away like a lot of people do in France.

On the bus, you take a ticket, as for French public service, when you go inside the bus at the rear end. There is a number on the ticket corresponding to the station to which you went inside the bus. The price of the ride increases depending on the number of stops. You pay when you go down at the front.

In some trains, the Shinkansen for example, there are cars where you can reserve your seat or not.

In stairs, there are arrows on the floor. They show what way to go. Passengers who go upstairs or downstairs do not jostle each other.

Sometimes, there are no escalators or lifts, what a pity! Not really practical when you have heavy luggage or a wheelchair.

I do not recall seeing a single stroller in public transportation, women carried their children It feels so good not having your foot crushed by a stroller.

More importantly, Wi-Fi is free in railway stations and some trains or buses. It is very practical to communicate if you are a stranger and do not have a special contract for that.

There are no pickpockets in Japan. When you take the public transportation, no one will open your bag discreetly if the train is crowded or if you take the escalators. A lot of Japanese had their phones in their back pants pockets.

If you lose something in public transportation, you have 99.9% chance to find it. You just need to go to the police station then to the lost property office from the railway station. Passengers found their goods like luggage full of yens for example.

During summer, in trains the air con is on and you can often get free fans in railway stations.

Nobody begs in public transportation. By the way, do not dawdle too long on the platform because it may seems fishy.

Albert beard the cost of it in Kyōto when we got separated. We wanted to meet on a platform and he had to pay a fine because the officers surely thought he was cheating.

~ Restrooms ~ :

In all railway station, restrooms are clean and free. It is like toilets from the future. Sometimes, there is heated seat and it is possible to cleanse thanks to a cob functionality and to dry up. There is also a music functionality so you can do your thing without being heard. You can clean the seat with disinfectant always available in the restrooms. There are also Japanese-style toilets like Turkish-style toilets.

Japanese-style toilets

How to pee!

Toilets from the future!

~ Restaurants ~ :

Not all restaurants have English menu, so sometimes it is difficult to understand the meaning of this or that ideogram. Menus have pictures of course but not for each dish, especially for beverages.

About dish, some restaurants display replicas. There are plastic made but really realistic. Thanks to this, we can have an idea of the dish and the quantity.

The portions are generous and for some dish it is possible to order different sizes or ask for a free refill.

Everytime you sit down around a table, you get a free glass of fresh water. The waiter also give you wiping tissues so you can clean your hands before eating.

In some restaurants, it is not possible to pay separately. Sometimes, only one person paid for everybody and we got an arrangement for repayment.

Be careful, sometimes there are service fees with the bill! Do not be astonished if you have to pay more than what you had calculated.

When restaurants are in malls, often there are toilets inside. You have to go outside the restaurant and go to the toilets in the mall.

~ Cleanliness ~ :

Everything is clean overthere. Not a single poo, no rubbish on the floor.

We just saw dustbin on the floor in Tokyo.

However, there is dustbin in the streets. Not easy to get rid of rubbish.

~ Homeless people ~ :

We saw homeless people in the streets twice, which does not mean there are no homeless people in Japan.

~ Beverage dispensors ~ :

They are everywhere! Even in far off corners of the country. You can quench your thirst for nothing. There is also a dustbin inside to throw away your can or your plastic bottle depending on the dustbin.

~ Larceny ~ :

It does not exist in Japan. Bikes in the street do not have antitheft devices. In Osaka we even saw a group of skateboarders leaving unattended their bags and wallets. We walked next to their belongings and did not turn around to check if we had stolen something or not.

~ Traffic lights and crosswalks ~ :

No one crosses the street when the "little man" is red, even if there are no car. When the "little man" changes to green, a bell or a squawking rings. That way, blind people know when they can cross the street.

~ Salarymen ~ :

At the end of the day, it is not uncommon to see salarymen stumble in the street. After a tough day, they attend business diner and alcohol flows I guess. That's why they are in that state.

~ Calculator ~ :

Often used in restaurants, shops and markets to display sales prices.

~ French signs ~ :

Japanese people love French. We saw many shops, restaurants or clothing/accessories brands written in French. Sometimes, it is approximate French and it means nothing It does not matter because it warms your heart.

~ Food ~ :

It is delicious and not expensive.

The quality is very different from the quality in Japanese restaurants from France.

Sushis were so good I am not ready yet to eat sushis in France again except if I go to a real Japanese restaurant.

As for meat kebabs, I will not eat them again at a Japanese restaurant. Maybe I will make an exception for beef kebabs with cheese.

~ Friends ~ :

With the group from July, we were solid despite the quarrels.

We did everything together.

When the group from August arrived, I thought we would stick together but there were many groups. I thought that was a pity. The aim of the trip was to travel together, not disperse. It would have been better if everybody stayed together instead of doing his/her own thing. Better not travel in groups if you only want to eat at restaurants at night. Worst of all, some people stayed at home rather than having dinner with us.

In the end, I think it is better to travel in a small group. Maybe 13 people was too much.

We did not shared a lot with the second group.

However, this trip to Japan was my best trip until now.

I really loved it, being with my closest friends Vanessa and Elise was great. I would certainly travel with them, why not going to Japan again, in Spring to enjoy cherry blossoms ;-)