πŸŒ… Clara in Japan πŸŒ„

Initially, this blog was updated every night of the trip, having the latest post at the top. Since the trip is over, I reversed the order of the posts, so you can follow from top to bottom chronologically.

πŸ’Ί Monday -> Tuesday
πŸͺ‚ 7th and 8th of April
🧭 Osaka -> Bangkok πŸ—Ί Bangkok -> Brussels

This is my last post on the blog πŸ₯² My flight was in the afternoon so I went for a morning stroll πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Checking magazines/books at the convenience store: spot the differences game ⬇ The most adorable children book πŸ‘ πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ ⬇ The Korean district in Osaka ⬇ Muuuuch Kimchi ⬇ A beautiful facade made of tiles ⬇ Crocks you can eat πŸ‘ž ⬇ Another extraordinary facade ⬇ Pretty hand-drawn calendar ⬇ A shrine in honor of Amabie, an ancient beast helping ward off pandemics πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Then headed to the airport with my last of lasts snacks And here I am in Thailand 🀯 this is still insane to me Had to eat Thai food at the airport πŸ˜› was so excited to be in Thailand for three hours And just like that I am back in Europe and it's Tuesday πŸ€ Unpacked my bags, tried hard not to nap so I stayed busy. Went to the studio and met with ⬇ Maisa and Sophie afterwards πŸ’• And cooked some fresh food I will need a moment to process all that happened in the last weeks πŸ’­πŸ’­πŸ’­ πŸ’šπŸ’šπŸ’š What a trip! πŸ’šπŸ’šπŸ’š

πŸ’Ί Sunday
πŸͺ‚ 6th of April
🧭 Osaka -> Nara πŸ—Ί Nara -> Osaka

Today I'm going for a hike near the Nara Park, outside of Osaka πŸ‘ž Freshly baked sweet potato on the way 🌑 The Nara Park is known for having wild deers walking there freely and it became a big touristic attraction 🦌 You hear a lot of scared kids crying πŸ’§ Apparently there are flying squirrels in the park but I didn't see any 😿 Well brushed πŸ’… ⬇ Aikat vibes 🐈 πŸ™…β€β™€οΈ Choose your favorite defense mode πŸ™…β€β™€οΈ (I choose Knock down) The park was very crowded but as soon as I entered the hike path it was quieter πŸ€ Hiking = trying out new snacks All approved ⬆ My beloved cars ⬇ LOL LOL LOL LOL ⬇ So as soon as I saw the snake sign I asked the hikers in front of me if I could walk close to them because I was scared, and πŸ’– they welcomed me during their hike πŸ’– They were both studying here and coming from China and Malaysia, it was sweet to get to know them We took a picture together at the highest peak of the hike yay Back to Osaka On my way to try the last vegan place of the trip, here on the phone with Claire πŸ’“ The owner had a world map with everyone signing next to their home city πŸͺ™ On my way back to the hostel Just a girl who did late night shopping at the convenience store 😴 Last night in a bed πŸ› good night πŸ’š

πŸ’Ί Saturday
πŸͺ‚ 5th of April
🧭 Kyoto -> Osaka πŸ—Ί

Today, travelling to Osaka, my last stop πŸ’” I don't bother packing neatly anymore 🀘 Bye room πŸ‘‹πŸ‘‹ Wow πŸ’₯ main train stations in Japan were really intense and stressful, full of people and of information πŸ•΄ Compared to them the station Bruxelles Midi or Paris Gare du Nord are peaceful temples β›© Robot at the train station First Osaka impression πŸ‘€ I'm staying in a residential area a bit outside of the city center which is quiet πŸ₯° Walked through the city, from my neighborhood to the 😈 city center 😈 πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Found THE BEST tofu shop ever πŸ’‹ was so delicious πŸ’‹ perfectly soft inside but nicely fried outside omg πŸ₯² came with a splash of soy sauce πŸ₯² just perfect πŸ₯° Themed vending machine 🐱 Manga sold at a vegan place where I had lunch 🐷 The Organic Building by architect Gaetano Pesce πŸ‘©β€πŸ« making a vertical garden 🟑 Metro poster πŸ”΅ πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Drawings alongside a park 🌻 In a shop showing me how to make properly a cup of my new green tea 🍡 Stonemade door holders πŸͺ¨ Went back to get more tofu πŸ₯° I'm not here everyday πŸ’… On the vitrine of a hairsalon, poetic 🌬 Entering 😈 Dotonbori 😈 an intense area full of excentric shops, streetfood, shows, lights Tried the viral snack, strawberries sugar coated #sugarqueen Spent an hour in this shop ⬇ (the high one with the big attraction) to get funky souvenirs and went back home with a headache and a cervical tensed nerve πŸ˜‚ Aaaaah my new beloved room 😍 Discovered a new sento in my neighborhood ♨ I was alone in it for the first half an hour. Thankfully I now know all the rules, here everything was in Japanese only. The medicinal bath was purple and some 80's J-Pop was playing in the sauna 😎 Then walked home πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Good night πŸ• (Tomorrow is my last full day πŸ’”)

πŸ’Ί Friday
πŸͺ‚ 4th of April
🧭 Kyoto πŸ—Ί Shugakuin, Hachiman-Mae

Today again a lot of walking, and mostly landscapes seeing 🏡 Started with a convenience store smoothie, smoothed at the counter πŸ§ƒ Walking through the wired streets of Kyoto πŸ”Œ Took the train to go more far out of the city β›° I had booked a guided tour to visit the Shugakuin Imperial Villa, apparently one of the most beautiful japanese garden 🏑 When hearing Shugakuin I hear sugar queen πŸ§πŸ‘‘ ⬇ Stone placement to prevent from passing through πŸͺ¨ ⬇ One of the best view, the gardening technique here is called Shakkei (meaning borrowed landscape) : having the mountains in the background of the garden, to give a three-dimensional view on the garden 🏞 ⬇ Here the stones in the ground are placed specifically to create a harmonious pattern, yet not completely reptitive ⬇ Again a tree supporting a tree πŸ«‚ ⬇ Inside one of the pavillons, where the emperor used to write poetry facing the garden and its Shakkei (not bad, maybe they do residencies??) ✍ After the tour, I walked in the neighborhood, and visited the Sekizan-zen Temple, it was empty and quiet πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Walked and walked through the more residential neighborhood, so pretty with the closeness to the mountains πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Stopped for a break There was a random fancy shop in the middle of nowhere Then back again in Kyoto city center 🚍 πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Decided to try a new sento. Was cute and small πŸ’… Some jazzy music in the sauna and an electrical bath ♨ That's the sento public baths logo Had my first japanese curry πŸŽ‡ And Manon on the phone on my walk back to my bed πŸ’™ ⬇ Kyoto tower + moon πŸ’Œ Gute Nacht yall πŸ’Œ

πŸ’Ί Thursday
πŸͺ‚ 3rd of April
🧭 Kyoto πŸ—Ί Higashiyama-Ku, Maruyama Park, Chemin de la philosophie

First, breakfast 🍏 Then new haircut 🍍 The hairdresser was the best (@ place called Tuna). She showed me how to use the Japanese keyboard Big poser energy πŸ’… Had lunch and met a musician and she showed me her music instrument πŸ‘ Little message on my dessert πŸ’  Visited the Kawai Kanjiro House, the beautiful home of a Japanese famous potter and wood sculptor 🐈 Love the stone placement I thought they were door handles but those are smokingpipes 🚬 Subtle ass shaped chair Together πŸ™Œ Really loved his sculptures. It's hard to imagine on pictures but they were almost the size of an arm (sometimes more of a forearm). Cute poster on the way 🍌 Neatly folded crΓͺpes πŸ§‡ Ryōzen Kannon Temple a war memorial, a testament of peace and remembrance πŸƒ πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Then visited another temple called Kōdai-ji We were manyyyyy tourists 🌏 A praying robot πŸ™ƒ At the Maruyama Park, still very packed 🫠 πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Walked towards the Chemin de la philosophie, a path used by Japanese philosophers of the XXth to meditate, alongside a little stream of water πŸ’­ Showed some street elements to Juju on the phone, but mostly the cherry blosssssommmms on the way πŸͺ΅ πŸ’œ Had a reservation at a fancy vegan restaurant, another family gift for my past birthday πŸ˜‹ Mixed the tofu first and it cooked for 10 minutes to become silken ☁ Could heat up my feet 🧦 First sushis of the trip πŸ™ Nice figurative plates 🐻 one can create narratives while eating Best ramen of my life And perfectly sized dessert after the feast 🟒 πŸ’ Good nighty and encore joyeux anniversaire papa hihi πŸ’

πŸ’Ί Wednesday
πŸͺ‚ 2nd of April
🧭 Kyoto πŸ—Ί Kurama Mountain

What a day! 🌠 Decided to go on a hike on the Kurama Mountain, recommended by my friend Klara who lived in Kyoto some years ago πŸ’Œ The train to the mountain had seats facing the windows, and indeed it was beautiful to leave the city and enter slowly the more quiet mountain 🚞 Arriving at the station Kibuneguchi, some signs to alert about 🐻 I can't hide I got a bit worried about meeting a bear, so I looked up online how to react if I saw one πŸ—’ Apparently bears in Japan are shy, then I hoped to see a cute and shy one, why not 🀝 First I was walking on a road, so with lots of infrastrcutures, shops and restaurant (so no bear) Visited the Kifune shrine, a shrine dedicated to the god of water 🌊 bought for 30€ of lucky charms πŸ˜‚ High-tech Omikuji, place the sheet in water to see text appear and scan with the QR code to have explanations πŸ”Š Those vending machines are really everywhere 🫨🫨 The only bear I saw πŸ’š Then I entered the real hiking path, more deep in the nature Beautiful trees, sounds and SMELLLLLLS 🦌 I saw a deer super closely, it wasn't afraid of me at all (I was more) Roots and stairs merging 🀎 Toilets with a view πŸ’… After the 2 hours hike I treated myself with a visit to the Kurama Onsen, a beautiful outdoor natural hotspring. I love the communal bathing culture here. To differentiate with sentos, those are more for everyday wash and indoors, and onsens more for relaxation. That's how it looked πŸ₯° This was the borrowed look to wear crossing common mixed areas πŸ˜Άβ€πŸŒ«οΈ Had this big glass of sakΓ© afterwards and some tofu udon πŸ˜› Found this little guy SakΓ© drunk woman with proud purchase Started to walk back in the night to the train station and a woman in car nicely dropped me there Cute poster for mental health prevention πŸ«‚ Then walked back from Kyoto city center to my hostel πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ What a life! This day was so magical 🩷

πŸ’Ί Tuesday
πŸͺ‚ 1st of April
🧭 Tokyo -> Kyoto πŸ—Ί

I was leaving Tokyo today and said bye to my little room 🀍 I took the train at Tokyo station which was huge and very crowded. Saw some capsules where one can work πŸ’₯ Then arrived the famous Shinkansen, the fast train looking like a 🐍 I took a seat on the right side to see the Mont Fuji but the weather was really bad, I think this is supposed to be it πŸ˜‚ Arrived in my very simple hostel room, just a foldable matress 🫴 πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Just walked around the whole day β›Έ I will miss the round cars so much, imagine just a world where all the cars were bubbly like that πŸ”΅πŸŸ’βšͺ Had a cute dinner at this place called Pelgag And tried a new sento called Ume Yu πŸ€“ Walked home flyyyyyy and relaxed 😴 hello Kyoto tower πŸ’‹πŸ’‹πŸ’‹πŸ’‹πŸ’‹πŸ’‹

πŸ’Ί Monday
πŸͺ‚ 31st of March
🧭 Tokyo πŸ—Ί Yanaka, Kappabashi Dori, Asakusa

Last full day in Tokyo Had a beautiful vegan lunch close to my hostel at a place called Nezunoya 🫦🫦 πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Spent hours in this area called Kappabashi Dori where you can find tons of shops selling cutlery, cookware, chopsticks (best shop : Ha-shitou Honten), ceramics etc. πŸ’™ A shop selling puppies and kitties, half insanely cute half cruel 🫠 Walked towards Nakamise shopping street and the Senso-Ji Temple πŸͺ· Front Back A lot of people praying β›© Instructions on how to use the Omikuji, fortunes next to temples and shrines: You give 100yens, shake the box and a stick will come out. Make a wish while ssshhhaking. On the stick is a number. This is the "shelf" with the drawers ⬇ Find the associated number to the drawer and pick the first sheet, it's either a good fortune or a bad one. If it's a bad one you can attach it to the rack (see picture below) 🌿 I got a good fortune yay πŸ€ The bad πŸ«₯ fortune rack: Went to a new sento again called Haginoyu, a bit bigger than the one yesterday. The "tea" water was orange here. The TV in the sauna was huge and more central. The women were very friendly ❀️‍πŸ”₯ Some internet pics of the place ⬇ Night night πŸ’‹πŸ’‹

πŸ’Ί Sunday
πŸͺ‚ 30th of March
🧭 Tokyo πŸ—Ί Ueno, Hatogoya

Morning breakie πŸ„β€πŸŸ« Seeing the Tokyo Skytree β›… β›© Walking towards a shrine (sanctuaire) πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ It's called Ono Terusaki shrine πŸ’« This water fountain was turning on when approaching it πŸ’¦ This behind the gate is a miniature of the Mont Fuji called Fujizuka. Apparently many japanese people believed Mont Fuji was god or that god lived in it πŸŒ„ πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Someone made water drawings in Ueno park πŸ₯Ή πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Entrance of a small restaurant where I ate ramen ✨ πŸš‡ Took the train to go a bit far out of the city to visit a very special museum πŸš‡ I visited The Gay Art Museum, a private collection by Masahiro Ogisako πŸ‘“ It's at his house, so very intimate and special 🀲 Ropes around the shelves to prevent falling books when there is an earthquakes πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Back to the city to go for the first time to a sento, a public bath β›² Entrance of the sento called Kotobuki Yu This was such a wonderful experience. It was not possible to take pictures so I will try to describe it as best as possible. Below is a picture found online of the main area (women and men are seperated). An old lady talked to me in the changing rooms, asking if it was my first time, she said she had never seen me before and she comes everyday here. (she also said I had a nice body when I was changing loool πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜°πŸ˜°πŸ˜°) Another older lady saw my confusion when entering, and guided me through all the steps, she was so cute 😍 So, the main room consists of alleys lined with mirrors and taps 🚰 You sit on a plastic stool, filling a plastic bucket of cold or hot water to clean yourself. You all sit next to each other while washing. You can use provided cleaning products, but everyone seemed to have brought their own, so there were lots of different smells of beauty products πŸŽ€ Then you can go in the hot baths, sort of jaccuzis πŸ˜Άβ€πŸŒ«οΈ The old lady said I was lucky today, because the outdoor bath was using sake (!!!) and not regular water. So we took a bath together in sake. It smelled in the whole room πŸ’Ÿ I also went in the sauna where you could watch TV 😎 There was another yellow colored bath: it was colored because a gigantic sort of tea bag was floating in it, the size of a pillow. It had probably some herbs inside. It also gave a nice smell to the room. The old lady told me it was very healthy 🌱🌱 It was cheap, 7 euros for entrance + towels + sauna access 😲 If you are reading this blog you probably know me well and know how much I love saunas and public baths places, so this was pure delight πŸ’… Had gyozas afetrwards 🀀 Writing this post in the morning this time while waiting for my clothes to wash, have a good day yall πŸ’˜

πŸ’Ί Saturday
πŸͺ‚ 29th of March
🧭 Tokyo πŸ—Ί dic kawamura museum, Otemachi, Hostel room

Woke up at 6am to meet Yoshiko (a friend of Kim πŸ€) to visit a museum far out of the city. It was already super bright weather in the morning 🧚 Morning warm beverage πŸ₯± Metro sign to help pick up fallen items So we took trains to reach the DIC Kawamura Museum, which was VERY crowded: it was the museum's last day ever open πŸͺΆ It wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but basically Yoshiko wished to see Rothko's Seagram Murals here one last time. They are specially displayed in this museum, with very soft light, like Rothko's original vision (Yoshiko told me all this πŸ”…). And it gave a real feeling of diziness. We could stay only very shortly in the room, like 2 minutes because it was so packed with visitors queuing to enter γ€° I liked the flushing pictograms in the restroom ➰ 🌧 Yoshiko in the museum park πŸ’• Then back in the center of Tokyo, at HIGASHIYA having my first Japanese tea course πŸ’š I had this wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery) that accompagnies the tea, with this edible cherry trea leaf envelopping it, which was a bit salty and perfectly balancing the sweetness, sooooo good ⬇ More sweet discoveries πŸ₯² Today's convenience store's purchases 🫠 ❣❣ Yoshiko's dessert gift, so soft ❣❣ ❀️‍πŸ”₯ In bed very early tonight, good night yalllll ❀️‍πŸ”₯

πŸ’Ί Friday
πŸͺ‚ 28th of March
🧭 Tokyo πŸ—Ί Iidabashi, Shimo-Kitazawa, Meguro River, Ueno

Already Friday 😱 Now usual breakfast πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Started the day with a special gift 🀎 A spa treatment offered by my brothers for my bday ❇ Special look for the bath It was a fermented wood termal bath, basically like very hot sand, at 80Β° for 15 minutes. I was just as relaxed as this person: πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Green lunch to compensate all the daily rice consumption πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Medicines at the convenience store: Other metro posters: πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ I went to a recommended record shop called Pianola records and bought Japanese ambiant, so now I have to make my vinyl record player work at home 🧿 πŸ’  Today I'm 30 years and 3 months old πŸ’  3:30 in the afternoon is also usually the time I start getting messages from friends/family back in Europe πŸ’‹ That snack 🫨🫨🫨 So nice to get to taste it after I watched THIS video a while ago 🍰 Instagram: VS reality 😜 πŸ₯° Tonight I met with Atsuko, my aunts Suse's friend πŸ₯° We ate at an amazing 7 course vegetarian restaurant called 🟒 Minoya 🟒 I could pick my Sake cup: To steam the rice It was so delicious and lovely Atsuko also offered me a neatly wrapped sake bottle 😍 thank you 😍 Shopping of the day at the convenience store:
- I didn't have clean socks anymore
- Face mask (recommended on Youtube shorts lol)
- Sunscreen (recommended on Youtube shorts……)
- Cold tea of the day (bottle nΒ°3)
πŸ’• Night night πŸ’•

πŸ’Ί Thursday
πŸͺ‚ 27th of March
🧭 Tokyo πŸ—Ί Yanaka, Nogizaka, Yoyogi, Nakano

Today was a long day and I took many pics πŸ’… Started the day with a walk towards Yanaka Ginza, an ancient commercial street πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Trash bags in the streets are often protected (I guess from hungry animals), here by a metallic box But mostly under a big net Morning snack πŸ«‚ Posters in the metro: Direction 21 21 DESIGN SIGHT Museum The exhibition was about ramens: the content but also about the container (traditional bowls) my 3 favorites: πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Another snack 🀰 Then the Nezu Museum and its beautiful garden ⬇ This is called Suikinkutsu, it's a water harp (the water drops echo in small pots placed underground to create relaxing sound) 🚰 such a majestic and soft tree and a tree holding a tree πŸ–‡ Lol hello πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Then to the Yoku Moku Museum, an exhibition about Picasso's ceramics at Vallauris πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Smoking is super limited in the public spaces. Here is a dedicated tent for smokers in Yoyogi park 🚬 Perfect days (movie) public toilets yay πŸŽ†πŸŽ†πŸŽ† So I went in the same park as him in the movie and also photographed the trees πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ πŸŽ€ Had Quentin on the phone here πŸŽ€ 😍 finally found a vegan place and had the best dinner at the counter 😍 with home made tofu omg 🀀 ⬇ French namings of the day πŸ₯– est-ce qu'elle a la 😜 This is where I post from: This was long
🫧 Good night 🫧

πŸ’Ί Wednesday
πŸͺ‚ 26th of March
🧭 Tokyo πŸ—Ί Yanaka, Kikuyabashi, Shibuya, Harajuku

Started the day with a walk in the Yanaka cemetery πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ For Relax and Refresh Time 😌 I'm in i-care for Aikat's side business 🐈 In Kikuyabashi - this was in a shop specifically selling all types of brushes, here a brush for in between the toes πŸ‘  Toothbrushes from pig and horse hair πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ A doorknob distributor πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Shibuya, 4:30pm πŸŒ‡ The streets are super clean, although there are no trash bins anywhere. Everyone carries their own trash πŸ‘œ Feeling like a giant when the sink stands just above my knee 🧌 A cafΓ© to hang out with pigs πŸ’ Woman only train car in the morning πŸ§˜β€β™€οΈ ↑ Self gifted that of course πŸ§–πŸΌβ€β™€οΈ Good night πŸ•΄πŸ’‹

πŸ’Ί Tuesday
πŸͺ‚ 25th of March
🧭 Tokyo πŸ—Ί Ueno Park area

Arrived in Tokyo! Had to post my first encounter with high tech toilets First real impression of Tokyo when coming out of the train πŸ₯Ή hiiii from my hotel room (love the lamp) Went for dinner to this ramen place Kim (<3) recommended called Ichiran Ramen. You are placed alone in a sort of box, facing a wooden curtain. The whole kitchen is hidden behind the curtain. You customize your ramen and hand it to the cooks behind the curtain. Those are wooden cards you can leave on your table to communicate with the cooks without speaking Treated myself to a Sake tasting afterwards in an outdoor market. A young man from Taiwan started to chat with me, and we happened to speak with a group of business women/men from Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. One person made me try dry squid, I thought it was mushrooms πŸ™ƒ

πŸ’Ί Monday
πŸͺ‚ 24th of March
🧭 Ulaanbaatar πŸ—Ί in Mongolia

This day was very short, I took off at 1pm in Germany, after 8 hours just landed in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and it's already Tuesday 5am πŸ’¨
Had a vegan meal watching Celine Dion documentary (since I booked for a special diet I was served first #tip)
Second meal watching part II 🎀
We were flying towards the night, when only 3pm πŸ¦‰

πŸ’Ί Friday, Saturday and Sunday
πŸͺ‚ 21st, 22nd, 23rd of March
🧭 Bensheim πŸ—Ί in Germany

Family weekend in Germany for my Grand father 90's birthday, just before my departure on Monday from Frankfurt to Tokyo. Last German impressions
A cherry tree in the garden, to compare with the ones in Japan "Green food box β€” Greens to take away for your pets"
in German supermarket πŸ‡
Last German supper before my departure
Writing now from the Frankfurt airport, waiting for my first flight to Ulaanbaatar :-)