In your life, you travel to many places. Some stick to you, some simply evaporate out of your memory. However, there are some places that cling to you more than the rest. For me, this place is none other than Japan.
Commonly entitled “The Land of the Rising Sun”, this mesmerising place is so much more than that. From dreamy cherry blossoms, the snowy peak of Mt.Fuji to rapid fast Shinkansen (bullet trains) and new technology, Japan, the country I visited in 2019, is my most memorable and relished trip!
Let me share with you my adventure and experience of my trip.
A lively Port City- Ōsaka
On arriving at Kansai airport in Ōsaka prefecture, the very first thing that amazed me was the high technology seen everywhere. My family and I had reached our hotel late at night, however, there was no one there to hand over the keys! Instead of a hotel receptionist leading us to our room, there were machine-operated number locks and little monitors which instructed what to do!
In the city of Osaka, we visited the famous Osaka Castle which the cherry leaves had decorated making the castle even more splendid!
The Cultural Capital Of Japan- Kyoto
Next, we visited the city of Kyoto. Here, we visited countless temples, shrines, and gardens but my personal favourite was Togetsu Bridge- A wide wooden bridge constructed on a scenic valley with Cherry Blossom trees on either side. Doesn’t it sound dreamy?
Another place that I like is the shrine, Fushimi Inari Taisha. One of the few things that come to mind when you say “Japan” would be the Torii gates. Housing roughly a thousand torii gates which were donated by a Japanese business, we even brought home a miniature torii as a souvenir! Dotted with tourists from every corner of the world, I also saw many Japanese women dressed in the traditional wear, Kimono.
Though I have already mentioned a few significant places in the city of Kyoto, there are countless more such as the Imperial Palace, Nijō Castle, Kiyomizu-dera, and much more, each with its own unique feature!
The City Of Deers – Nara
That’s right! This city does have deers, you can find them roaming freely in the “Nara Deer Park”. As animal enthusiasts, my sister and I found this lovely park the most entertaining! We got to feed, pet, and even play with the deer. They are also known for bowing as a sign of gratitude. We also visited Tōdai-ji temple which holds a very large Buddha.
Yokohama – A Busy Port City
In this crowded seaside city, the most interesting place that we visited was the cup noodles museum. I love eating and slurping a hot cup of ramen but getting to know how it actually originated was even exciting! The below picture shows some of the hundred flavours of cup noodles from all over the world
Tokyo- one of the busiest cities in the world!
Being one of the busiest, cleanest and safest cities in the world, there are a lot of places to see in Tokyo. One of them is the Shibuya Crossing. Here, when the traffic lights turn red, a huge wave of pedestrians flood into the intersection for a few moments.
Have you watched the movie “Hachikō”? Well, the movie was about a true incident of an Akita dog that lived with a family in Tokyo and would come to the train station daily to meet its owner after he finished work. This dog continued to do so even after the unfortunate death of its owner. In memory of this well-behaved friendly dog, the locals constructed a statue which can be found in front of the Hachikō train station.
Hakone- a town with a beautiful view of Mt.Fuji
In order to get a nice, up-close view of Mt.Fuji, we visited the small town of Hakone. The best part about going near Mt.Fuji was that not only was it very scenic but also was very informative. This was because of the Sulphur springs located at the base of the active volcano, Mt.Fuji in the Owakudani valley. Did you know that the local people sell eggs boiled from the Sulphur Springs and these eggs turn black??
Riding the Shinkansen for the First time!
While travelling from Osaka to Yokohama, we had to use the Bullet train or the Shinkansen. Moving at around 320 km/h, as it speeds up, the power of magnets allows the train to almost float four inches above the ground!!
The trip came to an end just like how any other travel does.
However, I will certainly visit Japan once again in the future because this is my “perfect travel destination”- probably due to the beauty of the place, courtesy of the people, the taste of food, technological marvels, or perhaps just a combination of all of these. Sometimes, you may not be able to point out exactly what it is. Whatever it may be, ultimately I can never forget even a single moment of the 14 days spent on my favorite trip!
Disha G.N., Grade 9A, Ekya School – JP Nagar