Japan
I have been blessed with the fact that my family loves to travel and has the means to do so. I am also blessed with the fact that my parents actually want my brother and I to travel with them. While I have been to a good amount of places, Japan has probably been my favorite.
“Dreamland”
No, this is not photoshopped or made in a design program. On our first night my family and I were walking around trying to find a place to eat and I quickly brought my camera up to take a snapshot of the alley way. I did not expect anything good to come from it because it was so quick (and honestly taken in a very lazy matter) but it has become one of my all time favorite shots. I have gone as far as used this image for my debit card.
Night 1: Super jet-lagged, hangry and wet from the rain, we finally stumbled into a restaurant nearby who would take us. Not speaking much (or any) of the native language it was tough for us to decipher what we were getting into. As we followed the waitress to our table it became more and more apparent we were eating at a bar with cubicles. The menu, laminated in plastic and crowded with bright colors was the last thing any of us wanted to see. We were in Japan, a country with renown cuisine and here we were sitting in a dingy bar occupied by local businessmen looking to get drunk with their colleagues after work. Talk about immersing yourself into local culture. We ordered what seemed safe and as we took bites of each small platter our moods lifted and slowly we began to love and appreciate the place we were in.
“Hungry and Waiting”
Day 1: We decided to take it easy the first day since the jet-lag hit us all pretty hard. Our day consisted of visiting a temple that was near our hotel, walking around Japan and visiting the Shibuya Crossing. Coincidentally at the temple they had a bonsai showcase that only happened every-so-often which was a nice experience.
DAY 2: We took a trip outside of Tokyo to watch the Sumo wrestlers train. The city we went had a striking difference to that of Tokyo. Although we hadn’t been in Tokyo for long, the quiet streets were a nice escape from the seemingly never ending city. Exploring the streets of suburbia was an experience that I would like to continue in future trips. After our visit to the Sumo center, we hopped on a train to explore a modern art museum filled with incredible light exhibits.
