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Japan - after a 12 hour flight, i finally landed at Narita International Airport for a one day stopover in Japan.
After a long debate, i decided to change my itinerary from a 2 weeks stay in Japan to a 1 day so i could increase my stay in the Philippines to 3 weeks! Close familly will surely know why... LOL... Japan will be back on my travel in November... such a good thing to have flexibility in my travel ticket!
as i was only in the area for a day and half, i decided to base myself close to the aiport in a town called Narita - 15 min from the airport and what a good choice that was! even manage to find a great deal on line for a 4 star hotel at $50 per night!
despite leaving on the Tuesday lunch, i arrived on the wednesday afternoon - as some of you may know, i had to cross the day line for the first time! so i lost one day on that occasion. After such a long journey, i decided to spend the rest of that day recovering and went to bed early so i could enjoy the next day.
first new experience was the japanese breakfast at the hotel - it was very interesting, shall i say! I tried everything i could with the guidance of the waitress (from cold poached eggs / fermented beans with mustard to seaweed stuff)!
after such a full breakfast, i was ready to make my way to Narita town centre not expecting too much. But i was pleasantly surprised by my day that would follow..
Walking through the narrow street, i fist noticed that despite being 5"8, I was taller than most of the people - it made such a nice difference! LOL but felt weired to be the one that get noticed easily because of being caucasian and taller...
i made my way to the temple which was amazing - Naritasan Shinshoji Temple - one of the major temple in Japan, which is visited by more than 10 millions people each year. during that visit, i manage to assist the most important of the services - the Goma rite (mysterious temple service in which people pray to Fudomyoo, the main deity of Naritasan Temple, for the fulfilment of our wishes) - before strolling in the amazing park with Japanese gardens and going to the museum of calligraphy,
after such a morning, I made my way to a local Sushi bar, recommended by the Japanese air hostess, which was away from the main town centre - well, what a surprise!!! that was the best sushi i ever had and so cheap too. that s also where i experience the friendliness of some Japanese people.
while the chefs were really looking after me, one of the customers started chatting to me. After few sake, him and his wife offered me a lift back to the hotel but made a detour via a Japanese Bakery to show me typical local pastries. that was so yummy and so nice of them! LOL
that night is also when i experienced my first japanese spa - i even had to check with reception of the spa the "dress code" policy as it stated i had to be naked! LOL so after a dip in a very hot shallow pool, you jump to the very cold one before going into a sauna - nothing exceptional apart from the fact that you then have to shower in the same room as the pool, seating on a small stall with mirrors everywhere and everybody watching! that was something!
so even, after a short stay in Japan, i did have a great experience and look forward to come back soon! hopefully in November to see John again.
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