I just got home after traveling for the past 48 hours and you'd think i would be tired... but no, i'm not, i'm still on japan time. So in the late hours of the night i will reflect on my trip.
I already miss it. I already miss everything about the trip. The people were so nice, everyone. Even complete strangers on the street. Everything was so clean and beautiful. The history, the culture, so many things that you simply can't find here in america. I miss it all. To be able to put in one word, two words, even a thousand words what this trip has meant to me, what it taught me, how it made me feel, what it was like... would simply be impossible. I could never describe how truly incredible it was, but i'll try my best.
Tokyo was so much fun. I was a bit tired when i arrived but i still managed. While i was still somewhat in shock that i was in japan, everything was still amazingly beautiful. The city was incredible, the streets were so clean and there was just so much to see and do. We visited some temples and parks, we went shopping and simply took in all the tokyo had to offer in the short 2 days we were there.
I think Kyoto was my favorite. There were just soo many temples to see and each one of them were truly unique and different and held their own beauty all alone. I took so many pictures so you'll have to check them out. The pictures are only from the outsides though, because sorry but no pictures were allowed inside. I must say though that they were absolutely amazing and you'll have to travel to japan one day to see how beautiful everything really was. I think my favorite place was the shrine where you had to walk through over thousands of torii in the woods. It was so much fun to see and experience I was simply in love with it! We also went to a place in the morning called tokao. There were three temples there and to get to each one we pretty much had to hike up soo many stairs and go through so many trails. It took about three hours in all, but i love nature and i love pretty scenery and i have to say this place was so pretty i fell in love! even though i hated climbing all those stairs, it was definitely worth the hike!!
Nara was amazing as well, since our last day in Kyoto we got lost so many times and missed a lot of the places that we originally planned on seeing we decided to go with a guided tour. That was the best decision we made all trip. Our tour guide was so nice and friendly she told us so many things about all the temples that we probably wouldn't have been able to know about if it weren't for her! There were deer all around and they just come up to you like its nothing. I thought that was very entertaining. We went to see the great budda. I took pictures, but believe me the pictures just don't do it justice!! this thing was soo big it took up the entire building. I just wish i could describe how big it was, but once again you'll just have to go to japan and find out for yourself!!!!!!
I think I had the most fun when we went back to sara's house. Traveling the country was fun and I loved seeing all of the major attractions. They were simply beautiful, but actually seeing japan made the trip worth while. I got to experience living in japan and what its actually like. I got to see the culture and customs first hand and it was amazing. I ate dinner with japanese families and spent time in houses that were older than the united states, who else can say they've done that??? I went to the schools and hung out at karaoke (not like here in the us, very different but a japanese favorite). We went hiking and it was beautiful.
I wish i could say more, i just don't know how to. How can you possibly describe something so beautiful it makes you speechless? How can you possibly tell about experiences that were so much fun and incredible? How can i put into words how much I learned, how much i saw, how much of an amazing experience this entire trip was? I could list all the many differences between japan and america, things like the fact that you can't smoke on the street but inside of restaurants and schools its perfectly okay. The fact that recycling is huge and everyone does it. The fact that there are vending machines every 3 feet. The fact that you can drink on the streets. That in schools the children clean the school not janitors. That the sidewalks are lined with markers for the blind. That despite the fact that it impossible to find garbage/recycling bins the streets are so much more cleaner than here in america. The fact that every foreigner is a celebrity. The fact that everyone is just so nice and willing to help no matter what. The fact that you are not offered, but served coffee or tea and a snack wherever you go. The simple fact that japan is rich in culture and customs that simply don't exist in america. That america is such a mixture of culture and traditions there is no way to describe american culture.
The trip taught me a lot. And while i may have complained about constantly being on the go and being exhausted. THe truth is i'm glad that sara kept the trip jammed pack full of activities. I'm home now and i can rest now. The entire trip was so surreal, i'm still trying to grasp what i've just done and where i've just been. I'm envious of the life that sara has and the constant experiences she gets to endure. I love my life and i'm so happy where i am, but the trip only made me think more about the things i want to do with my life. I'm not stuck right now, I know that, but sometimes i wish i can just drop everything and do what she did and take the chances and challenges to live in another country. To experience something so different from the familiar life that i know. Once day i will, I'm sure of that, but for now I have my life and i love it. I'm trying to slowly get back into it right now. So, before i end i'd just like to say that I truly hope everyone can experience the joys of traveling. That it isn't just the seeing of sights but the experience of other cultures and different lands. THanks to sara for giving me and experience i will never forget. For keeping me busy even when i didn't want to move. For showing me a completely different world that exists everyday while i'm living mine. Thanks to sara for opening my eyes to such a wonderful different world that I miss entirely too much! I was truly sad to leave, I still am. I'm sad that i'm not in Japan anymore and I'm sad that I won't be able to see sara probably for more than a year. I wish I could have stayed. I wish I could have moved onto her futon. At least now I know that I think i could do it. I truly believe that I would be able to live in another country since I was just about ready to live in japan.
