Make Japan your next travel bucket list
Make Japan your next travel bucket list
Ever thought about making a trip to Japan? Trust me guys, it is worthwhile and one of the best places to ever exist on this planet.
We often think of Europe or the US, when we dream about travelling to foreign locations. Definitely, these places seem inviting, with the amount of exposures in movies. Also, thanks to all those travel sites which offer stunning European tourism packages for honeymoon, anniversary, birthday and the list goes on.
Of course, I won’t blame others since I am myself a product of such thoughts. I often used to annoy my parents in taking one of these “Europe trips”, as if it’s some sort of an achievement or something.
But looking back, it made me realize that how narrow minded I am. It was only in 2016, I discovered my inner fangirl moment for Asian movies, dramas and most importantly Kpop. This led to a whole 360% change in my outlook. There was something about their culture, language and the places which made me forget my obsession for the “West”.
After years of dreaming and admiring, it was finally in 2019, that I organized a trip to Japan. But the biggest disappointment was, there were no travel sites that offered tourism packages to East Asian countries. It was frustrating to see, how most of these Indian tourist sites was only about Europe and the US.
After days of searching, I finally discovered a Gurgaon based site called Untravel which offered beautiful travel plans for locations and that also included Japan and South Korea. The best thing about them is that, they would customize the tour according to your desire.
Unlike all those travel sites which literally had no freedom and you would be clustered together with some strange and boring fellow Indians; this site offers you a total freedom. We can travel independently to our hearts content.
I could still recall the day when our trip got finalized and everything was arranged. The next challenging part was arranging for the visa and getting ready for all the necessary documents.
It was literally a nerve wrecking moment, to have all the documents and the photographs ready. Standing inside the photo studio, with your awkward facial expression, literally stiff like a robot, for a visa photograph was something every foreign traveler might have experienced.
The day we landed in Tokyo, it was surely a blissful moment, with the beautiful weather and the best part was the immigration process which is usually a hassle for every travelers.
My mom was tensed because of her first foreign travel and hearing stories of immigration horrors; it was quite a pleasant surprise in Japan. The airports assigned elderly people on every immigration counter to help the confused and first time travelers.
I instantly heaved a sigh of relief to see the smiling people helping you out on your immigration process.
Apart from being known as the land of the rising sun, Japan is literally a living embodiment of courtesy and hospitality with people helping you out on every stage.
As the first rule of a traveler, it is important to learn a few basic words in a non- English speaking country.
Arigatou Gozaimas (Thank you) and Konnichiwa (Hello) was our daily dosage in Japan. Bowing with a smile on your face is something that you need to imprint on your mind and body whenever you travel to Japan. They understand, you are a tourist and won’t expect you knowing the language but saying Hello and Thank you with a simple bow is just the right step to strike a chord with the Japanese.
Despite our travel plan being completely independent, we never faced an ounce of difficulty. The help that we received from the locals, right from asking directions, to understanding train rules and timings, this trip was a huge learning process for me. Travelling in Japan gave me a new found confidence that I had never experienced before.
Another interesting moment was about discovering the amazing Japanese high- tech bathrooms.
Bathing and relieving yourself in style and comfort was the first thing that I encountered in Japan. Every toilet in Japan is well maintained and made with advanced technological skills. Relieving yourself is indeed a comforting experience when you have excellent bidet facilities with temperature control, water levels, music. Interestingly, you can even drown or lower the flushing sound, if you don’t want to let the world know of your bathroom adventures.
The cutest sight in Japan was seeing the amount of elderly people, happily enjoying themselves, cycling as well as even driving cabs or being a tour operator. The sheer level of independent and a healthy living among the Japanese elderly population makes me want to work harder in life and view the world from a positive light, and not complain every 10 seconds about how depressing our life is.
Japan is truly a haven for a nature lover like me. Those magnificent gardens felt like a paradise splash for me. Strolling around and taking pictures, frolicking with the cute deers, was such an endearing moment.
The current pandemic era has made all of us longing for a trip. The traveler in me suddenly took over and made me share with you all my little Japanese adventure. Hope you guys find this piece comforting enough.
Perfect description of the Japan trip. Looking to forward to visiting it once again! 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks !
DeleteAnd this is awesome. Keep your good work up girl. N ya, surely gonna visit japan if got a chance to.
DeleteThanks for your kind words..
DeleteQuite interesting..... Without any exaggeration and with much simplicity you make us much comfort and enthusiastic to travel to Japan...Even to travel to new destinations as a first time traveller.. Longing to read more from you...
ReplyDeleteYes, I tried to make it short and interesting as much as possible. Thank you so much for reading and appreciating my blog. More to come soon.
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