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Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
In Kyoto, there’s a shrine that’s super popular, open 24 hours and free. It’s popular thanks to its many tori. Chances are high you’ve come across photos of famous instagrammers in front of the famed red gates (tori) before.
Nothing wrong with that but it does make Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine rather crowded.
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Nanzoin Temple: Banned to Foreigners
Yes, you read that title correctly. The funny thing about it is that I had no flipping clue it was banned to foreigners until long after I had visited it but after learning about it, I now understand why some of the temple personnel looked so off (cold, uninviting, mean and judgmental). Fortunately, I encountered two staff members that weren’t like that but that’s just two out of their many staff members!
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Tokyo Disney Sea
If there’s anything that Disneyland visitors can agree on, it’s the fact that Disneyland is expensive. Do not even get me started on how pricey it is to go to Disneyland in California. A one day admission ticket is like more than $100! That is insanity, people and it explains why I haven’t set foot onto Anaheim’s Disneyland in a long, long time.
So, in Japan, I was able to justify visiting Tokyo Disney Sea. Justified because we don’t have a Disney Sea here in the states and justified because the admission fee is a bit lower than California’s admission fee. (I think it was approximately $80 and that to me is a big difference.)
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Bizarre Japan
The West has a bad habit of making Japan appear bizarre. And I get it. It’s because Japan is quite different from the West.
Different language(s). Different food(s). Different custom(s).
But when you really think about it, no one country is ever more bizarre than the other simply because every country is bizarre. It all comes down to one’s perspective. For example, Americans wouldn’t find Canada to be all that bizarre and vice versa, right?
So, what is bizarre about Japan? I don’t know for sure but allow me to share my bizarre encounters in Japan.
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Overrated Nikko
Of all the places I was looking forward to visit in Japan, it was Tochigi’s Nikko. I was drawn to Nikko due to my images of nature and its many world heritage sites.
Unfortunately, Nikko couldn’t meet my expectations (whatever they were) and left me with much bitter disappointment. A part of the negative experience could very well in part be due to my travel companion being a major pain since the morning of the trip. She was just bitchy AF and for the life of me, I could not comprehend why especially when she didn’t do any of the planning for this trip. (I kid you not unless you want to call a calendar showcasing our departure and arrival date as planning… Begin the eye rolling, folks.)