I usually pour my post-Japan-trip thoughts into a blog post shortly after I leave the beloved country, but this time it took me a much longer time. I kept digging into my short term memories for the parts of this Japan trip that I wasn’t a fan of, the bad and the ugly before I continue with round-the-year posts professing my love for Japan and the Japanese culture, to no avail. Then it dawned on me: What if there wasn’t anything that I truly dislike during my Japan trip this time?
Instead of sharing the bad and the ugly as usual, here are some things I wish I have done during my trip.
Japan Trip
I wish I had visited more museums in Tokyo and gone on walking tours based on Haruki Murakami books. I wish I had enrolled in one or two classes and gained a deeper insight into Japanese culture.
I wish we had spent a couple more nights in Takayama, taken the famous-on-Instagram boat ride, and visited Shirakawa-go.
I wish I had spent more time at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Universal Studio Japan in Osaka. I wish I hadn’t tried butterbeer though, that way it would have stayed magical in my head.
I kept seeing Indian restaurants everywhere in Japan, in big cities, and even in Kanazawa and Takayama. I have been wondering how would it differ from the ones I am familiar with and whether it would have a touch of Japanese in it. I wish we had tried it. I also wish we had eaten the delicious Hida beef one more time.
I wish I had stayed in a capsule hotel, and I wish I had booked a hotel with an Onsen facility in Kyoto. Speaking of which, I wish I was brave enough to visit the public bath more often. This is the first time I travel to Japan without my girlfriends and being naked alone in a sea of strangers is definitely not as easy as doing it with your best friends.
I came back with a suitcase filled with edible Sakura stuff, such as tea, popcorn, and whatnot, but I wish we had bought more spicy rice crackers from Nishiki Market and Katsuobushi from Tsukiji Market. I also wish we had spent more time exploring the Omicho Ichiban market in Kanazawa.
I wish I had reached out to some of the Japanese bloggers whom I have been following. I imagine it would have been great meeting them in person.
I wish I had packed better-looking clothes and supported a better haircut. I looked like an over-aged schoolboy in half of the pictures.
Now that I have ticked off Autumn, Summer, and Spring there, my soul is yearning for a Japanese winter. I wonder whether it would snow in Tokyo? Whether ramen noodles taste better during the cold season? Oh well, there is only one way to find out I guess.
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