my turn!

So Nicole allready filled you all in on the fact and details of the Japan trip which was in fact "saaweeet!" I really enjoyed the people, sites, sounds, smells and overall experience we had in Japan but there was something equally excellent that you might not know about that I would like to share. As I am writing this, it is August 6th back in the states which is exactly 2 years to the day that I first contacted Nicole on Facebook to ask about her travels....one being Japan ;) I have proof, check it......


...and yes, my skills with the ladies are very apparent in that suave message but thats not the point here. For me, making it to Japan, a place I had thought of traveling too for so long, was made even more special by getting to share it with Nicole who I had basically met through my interest in the country.

So other than the mushy stuff, I thought i'd give a little of my own worthless banter on the Japan trip to enlighten all who are reading.

The experience we have had thus far in Korea actually made both of us better prepared for a trip to another Asian country which was nice. We felt very relaxed entering another place with a totally different language and sets of customs.

As in Korea everything was very fun and cartoony at times which i totally dig and can't imagine being without at this point. The people, especially in Osaka dress with a style that is all their own and something no westerner could ever pull off which i think is pretty awesome. Now, thats not to say that some of the girls that were wearing little bo' peep dresses at the restaurant seemed odd and drug induced but overall, I liked the artistic freedom they all seem to take when getting dressed. Oh yeah and the asian dudes with bon jovi hair circa 1988 were completely off the chain but the sheer fact that they probably look in the mirror and say "konnichiwa!!!!" is a-ok.

The food, not what I expected but i really think its just because I was comparing it to Korean food which i love now. It was quite a bit heavier and not spicey at all which was weird since i'm used to sweating my socks off everytime I eat in Gwangju. We did have some good sushi of course though.





Allright so i'll be brief about this since nobody cares but me but the cars were pretty cool i thought. First of all, in South Korea, everything is a hyundai or Kia so the variety really isn't there. Japan, however made me feel like i'd never seen cars before. What I mean is all the models that Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda have over there that we never get in the states. Not to mention the nissan skylines that showed up around every corner which to me is kinda like seeing Angelina Jolie covered in metal and carbon fiber.




The temples and shrines as you have already seen in Nicole's posts were magnificent to say the least and to think that at one point these were places that people lived their lives was really pretty amazing. One of my favorite spots was actually a small rock garden in Kyoto that had a shrine that looked onto it. To me, this was where I would chill if I were Japanese.



It was an excellent trip and as always, Nicole planned it out to perfection. It feels like everytime we go somewhere new that we get more and more excited to keep doing it. I have a feeling we'll make it back to Japan at some point to check out Tokyo but I think in our 5 days we stood in places that we'll remember for a lifetime.