Dear all, I just came back from my fun trip to Japan ka. It was another great learning experiences in many ways ka.
First, funny expressions came from a few Japanese we met especially a Customs officer at Narita airport ka.
There, after this Customs officer knew we'd be going to Iwate (north of Japan), he sort of found it surprising and asked us why we wanted to go there. I only answered, it's peaceful!' We learned afterwards that not so many Japanese have been there so you can well guess that there were very few Thais and foreigners ka!
Second, it turned out that the Iwate Prefecture was indeed quiet, beautiful, and with fresh air. We met most who were friendly and helpful everywhere we went. One time we asked two young ones where our hotel was. They didn't just point to the place but walked us to the place. When we told them it should be fine for us, they led us to the spot we could cross the streets ka! So touched!
It was a long ride from one place to another but because we had some good time to spare, we didn't feel the urge to rush that much at all. It also gave us a chance to observe and learn more about the culture and people. Met quite a few senior people who seemed to be very kind and when our eyes met theirs, we got their smiles in return!
Third, we got together several times with our ship friends...Japanese (from the Ship for the Southeast Asian Youth Program I attended over 32 years ago!)
As one of us really wanted to go strawberry picking, our Japanese friend managed to talk the owner to open the place just for our group even when it was supposed to be closed for the season. The owner was really kind and allowed us to stay longer than 30 minutes to enjoy having more strawberries. There were a lot left for us and all of us enjoyed the 3 types of strawberries for the entrance fee of only 1,100 yen ka....best deal for fresh, big, and sweet strawberries! YUM!
And.....our ship friends are friends for life ka!
Lastly, this was my second time to go explore on our own and it was much easier than expected because there're more English signs than even 3 years ago when I visited the country. We now know how to travel lighter by using lockers that are all around at the stations, how to catch loop buses and plan on its schedules. The JR pass was excellent and our Japanese friends were impressed with the deal we got too.
As my friend was the lead, I didn't have to stay too alert as much but I believe my brain was reactivated and re-energized kaaa!
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