Travel diary in Japan, by @japon (translation from French)

This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @japon: Carnet de voyage au Japon.

I have always been passionate about Japan, without really knowing why. Is it the culture that is so fascinating or the Japanese themselves? It started with the discovery of bonsai, a devouring passion that I gave myself to for a few years. New professional orientations forced me to slow down a bit, but the attraction for Japan was still there.

Yet I was still putting off a trip to Japan. It was not necessarily procrastination but rather the fear that this country that attracted me so much would not match the dream I had.

And then early 2016, I decided to plan a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. But as on one hand I do not like to do things halfway and that on the other hand I would be traveling alone, I decided to learn Japanese. For me it was important to be able to get in touch with the local population, perhaps to try to understand them better.

I quickly realized that learning Japanese on the Internet would be impractical, so I decided to take classes. I found a Japanese teacher not far from my house, and we started seeing each other an hour every week. I hung on, with ups and downs. Over the weeks, we established a certain complicity. I started to make my first sentences, and we talked more and more about Japan. These moments were precious to me, especially to hear a Japanese talk about her country really made me think.

The date of departure was approaching, October 2017. I had chosen this period due to professional constraints and this period is also quite calm in Japan. Fewer tourists, a still mild climate. The last few weeks were passing at a crazy speed.

Japan has always held an important place in my life. And as I was devouring documentation and literature I thought it would be nice to share this with other people who would like to go on a trip. In life, I was creating websites. After designing a lot for customers, I wanted to create one for myself. And as you never do better than what you do with passion, I created the website https://japon-fr.com

This helped me to plan my trip to Japan. I have gradually embellished the website with many photos, although much work remains to be done.

October 9, 2017, here I was on the plane to Tokyo. A 3 weeks stay with a tour between Tokyo, [Kamakura(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura), Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka, Takayama then return to Tokyo. I had made my hotel reservations in advance in order not to waste time when I am there.

Once arrived, the first day was a bit difficult. The time difference, and especially the luggage that was stuck during the transfer to Amsterdam. I had waited so long for this moment, that once I was there, I was a little lost. I wanted to make the most of it without knowing where to start.

I spent an hour or so wandering around Ueno Park, watching, photographing. I was there. Gradually, I got in the mood. First meal, first exchange in Japanese, let's go. I took the subway and I went to Asakusa, immortalizing this moment with a selfie in front of the famous door. On this first day, it was hot (it will not last, I will have rain for most of the rest of the trip).

From the second day, the visits followed each other and never stopped. I had the odd feeling of being at home, in my element.

As for the continuation, it will be for a next post, in which I will make you share my impressions of Japan and of the Japanese culture.

Si tu comprends le français et que tu as lu jusque là, tu devrais suivre @japon et lire ses articles en français.