My Japan trip

Before I spent my year in China, I spent 1 month I Japan I Fukuoka, on Kyushu island. I was there on July 09 and I must say it was great not only because I met nice people but also but because Japan is such a beautiful country. It's obviously totally different from China, which, somehow reminds me of my home country!!

Fukuoka it's a nice town, not as big as Tokyo and has not the past of Kyoto, but has some valuable temple to visit and some nice traditions to know about. The Hakata dolls are one of them and ramen on the streets in the evening is something likeable ^^. With the Shinkansen (High-speed train) almost the cities I have named are 2 hours away from Hakata (the other name of Fukuoka).

I can't describe Japan, you have to experience it. The Japanese and I are probably not going to be the best buddies but who knows. That is some resentment talking: I have come across 2 really not nice people but for the others, I met there, they were sweet as candies. I think my stay was too short for a definitive opinion ^^. What I liked the most in Japan was how the colours were so bright, sometimes even aggressive. The distinctive contrast of each colour is just candy for my trying to be a (lazy amateur) photographer.

I went to Nagasaki, Kyoto others small towns around plus some small islands around Fukuoka. I really like visiting the islands: it was so peaceful and like entering in another time. I could have a glimpse of what would it be to leave there. No tourists, no "ultra modernity" just life in a big city that's what made me love Fukuoka. I wish I could go for a much longer trip, in order to really feel Japan as I felt china.          

By the way, the weather when I was there was hot and humid because it was raining season. It was nothing to compare to the heat and humidity I had to deal with when I was in Guanzhou or Shanghai, where it was much worse.   And that time of the year is matsuri season: Japanese traditional festivals. That is fun to assist and if you have the opportunity to participate that's something to try: street food, yukatas, firework, parades...

I have a few regrets: not enough time spent in Kyoto: that town is so rich but bad weather and shortage of yen (sic) had made me reduce my initial plan there. My next time in Japan, I will spend more time travelling around the country instead of staying in 1 town and going back and forth from it.