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I wanted to like Japan
I wanted to like Japan. Really, I wanted to… In this blog post, I’m going to be honest about MY experiences and MY true feelings on Japan. In caps because I feel it’s necessary to emphasize the fact that my experience isn’t going to be the same as another foreigner’s experience yet it should be validated nonetheless.
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Takeshita Street
I’m sorry but I don’t understand the thrill of Takeshita Street. It’s just a walkway with bubble gum pink shops and bubble gum pink eateries. Nothing extraordinary here but at the same time, I can see how it can appeal to people, especially young people.
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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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That country. Again?
I bought a plane ticket. Immediately after purchasing the ticket, I asked myself a bunch of questions. Questions like, “What was I thinking?” and “Was once not enough?” came pounding at me.It was almost as if I was experiencing buyer’s remorse except worse.
Worse in that this ticket will lead to a place heavy with xenophobia, racism, discrimination and a bunch of other things.
Knowing this, WHY did I buy the ticket?
Was it because I didn’t get to see all that I wanted to see the first time around?
Was it because the ticket was too good of a deal to pass up on?
I really don’t know.
What I do know is that a part of me wanted to give this country another try.
Although I intend on keeping my expectations relatively low, I do hope my experiences this time around will be a much better one.
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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.)