Back from Japan…
… and already ready to go there again! =)
I’ll post a detailed diary with pictures of my tour soon – here is a very short summary in advance: Japan was just as beautiful, unfamiliar and fascinating as I had hoped and expected.
Only a few of many noticeable differences: People standing in neat lines everywhere, even during rush hours in the metro; automats not just for buying soft drinks but also for ordering a meal in a restaurant; the contrast of mulitcolored noisy Shibuya and our quiet hotel in Asakusa or the peaceful atmosphere of temples and shrines; salespersons bowing towards the street once more while the shop is closing – or bending over backwards to help us customers even outside business hours; the care and perfection in every detail, no matter how small; the unexpected food variety ranging from “Wow – yummy!” to “Ohmygod what’s THAT?!?”; my attempts at speaking Japanese, futile in the beginning but with a few small triumphs later on… =)
