2015 is here and nothing changed. I’m still tired of learning and just want to hang out and explore my hobbies and interests. But like everything in life nothing good comes without some serious work. So I’ll try to hang in there and give my best for the upcoming learning season. But I noticed one big flaw in my motivational logic. A goal. A longterm goal. And I don’t mean anything along the lines as finishing your studies, get a good job or more immediate stuff like treating yourself to a nice Bape Hoody. I needed something epic I could work towards to and found it today.
I was always under the impression that I wouldn’t have enough time this summer for an extended holiday (let’s not talk about the money aspect here) but much to my surprise it’s possible. Like every other 28 year old kid I decided to plan a four-week vacation in August in Japan. Not the best month to visit, I know, but there are more important things in life then worrying about sweating your ass off in Japan.
Haven’t booked anything yet. There is still enough time to do so and plan all the details but I decided, I’ll be in Japan coming August. This is what I call I nice goal to work towards to and will even motivate me to save up as much as I possibly can. Not my biggest strength usually. I hope this helps to give me all the strength and stamina (great word) I need to power through Anatomy and my upcoming Biochemics tests. Go strong Jakob. (I really need all the motivation and power I can get).
Back to my trip to Japan. If you guys have any marvelous recommendations. Share them. Will definitely visit Tokyo but nothing else is on the list yet. Maybe Kyoto as well. And if we’re already talking about this. I don’t really like to visit too many places. Much rather really delve into a city, walk around aimlessly and enjoy local areas. After all you want to discover the hidden gems, the spots where locals like to eat and hang out. Or at least that’s what it’s all about for me. I don’t need to visit the main tourist attractions and I rarely do so. Discovering small stores eating good, hang out in a parc and have nice coffee afterwards. That’s all I wanna do.
There is still a re-match to be played
Sometimes I stumble upon great places in Japan and always say to myself “damn boy, you should’ve went there. Make a list next time”. And I will now start to do exactly that in this post here. Collect all the things and places I want to visit in Japan. Once again, recommendations more then welcome.
1. Go to the Medicom Toy store in Tokyo.
And buy one of these bigg as Bearbrick figures.
2. Visit every Bape store in the area
Already went to the one in Shibuya and Aoyama (where I even took a lot of pictures) but neglected all the other ones in Tokyo. No matter which city I plan on staying at, definitlely will say Hi at the local Bape store. Will hold off all purchases until then. Just remembered that I can even shop tax free when I’m over there.
3. Get some tickets in advance for the Ghibli museum
One of my biggest regrets was not visiting the Ghibli parc last time in went to Tokyo. Reminder to myself: Get tickets in advance.
4. Eat Curry at Curry Up
hey there bumped into your site while trying info about textfugu.
then stumbeling into this article, i myself am going to visit japan also during august this year, what are the chances :D
Hello there! I was just in Tokyo in December and it was amazing. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your trip!
I have similar traveling interests, so I think you might enjoy taking a trip to Yanesen for a stroll on a nice day. I was particularly fond of the Yanaka neighborhood. There are mostly independent shops here, lots of temples, wooden houses, many cats lounging around, and it’s just generally a peaceful area to visit.
Oh, and, if it interests you, I would recommend going to NenNeko House. I’ve never been to a cat cafe quite like this one!
The Japan Times has a nice little write-up of Yanaka:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/01/23/travel/yanaka-neighborhood-offers-a-slower-pace/#.VLwYm4VQHpQ
Thanks a lot for your suggestions Tylur. Yanesen sounds awesome will definitely visit especially because it’ll be completely new for me. There is still so much to discover in Tokyo alone. You could probably spend months there and still find new fun things to do.
NenNeko House will also be added to the list. Thank you!
Hi! I visited Japan in the summer of 2013, so I do have some places to recommend :) I visited around 8 cities in two weeks, but since you mentioned that you would prefer to not visit so many places, here are some of my suggestions:
1) Hike Mt. Fuji at dawn. I believe I took the “easy” route since I was a beginner. It’s a really unique experience (loved the fresh air and scenery), and Mt. Fuji is not very far from Tokyo. Also, I stayed at an onsen ryokan in Hakone, and it was seriously 最高！A regular bathhouse is pretty cool, too, unless you aren’t comfortable with being naked around other people. Highly recommend both.
2) Please please please visit Kyoto because you really get a sense of the historical part of Japan. I love Japan because it’s a perfect blend between modern technology and reserved beauty. The temples were beautiful.
3) If you do decide to venture out a little bit, there is a traditional theatre festival in the mountains of Hiroshima. My host family drove us there, but I believe you can take a bus there, too. I don’t remember the name of the location, but I’ll update it here once I remember.
For some reason though, I really want to go to a Japanese bookstore, which I never got the chance to. If you do go to one, please post about it on the blog, so I can live vicariously through you lol
Also are you a medical school student by chance? I’m a senior in high school, but I’m planning on going into medicine in the future!
Hope this helped!
Hey Emi, thanks a lot for your tips. Will make sure ti visit Kyoto :)
I’m actually studying dentistry but where I’m studying it’s more or less the same until you enter the clinic.
Da drücke ich dir die Daumen, dass du im August hinfliegen kannst! :) Bzgl. des Sparens, kann ich dir empfehlen, je nachdem wie viel du für den Flug+Verpflegung etc mind. brauchst, all das bis zur Buchung und darüber hinaus in eine Spardose zu tun. Bei dem Geld auf dem Konto neigt man leider immer dazu, die Karte zu ziehen oder dauernd das Geld aus dem Portemonnaie zu verwenden und “schwupp” ist es weg. :’D
Bzgl. des Ghibli Museums, könntest du auf der Seite hier Tickets vorbestellen, jedoch würde ich das erst so ein Monat vor Antritt der Reise tun: http://www.japanspecialist.de/wissenswert/informationen-ghibli-museum-japan/ :)
Leider, leider war ich noch nicht in Tokyo, geschweige denn Japan (aber das kommt hoffentlich bald :D), aber falls wenn, würde ich immer Tempel, Schreine, Museen oder gar Parks/Zoos in Augenschein nehmen, vor allem, wenn man einen Monat dort ist :) Das interessanteste ist ja meist der Weg zu den Orten, da man meist einige neue Dinge entdeckt. :)
Ach ja und ich kann nur immer wieder betonen: immer Ladekabel und dazugehörige Adapter mitnehmen, ggf. Medikamente, falls man sich etwas eingefangen hat, SONNENCREME (ist ja schließlich August :D), elektronische Geräte IMMER vor einem Ausflug aufladen (rettet schöne Aufnahmen) und auf die Sachen aufpassen und nicht verlegen und vergessen, wo man es hingetan hat (mir ist das passiert nur das ich wusste, wo es war, aber wahrscheinlich 5 min. zu spät war und der Dieb sie schon hatte -.-).
Ansonsten hoffe ich, dass du gut durch die Semester dieses Jahr kommst und dich beim Sparen beherrscht, sonst musst du deine bessere Hälfte aka deine Freundin, darum bitten, dass sie mal aufpasst! :D An genug BAPE Läden kommst du ja oft genug, wenn du dort bist. ^^
Gaaaanz viel Erfolg und Sparmotivation wünsch ich dir bis dahin!! :)
Vielen Dank für die Empfehlungen Rito. Habe mir jetzt sogar extra ein kleines Konto zum Sparen angelegt. So funktioniert das einfach besser. Die japanspecialist Seite kannte ich noch gar nicht. Super. Da werde ich mich dann rechtzeitig um Tickets kümmern, war letztes Mal in Tokyo leider alles ein bisschen kurzfristig.
Mit nLadekabeln etc. bin ich mittlerweile ganz gut ausgestattet. Das Schöne ist, dass die meisten EU Stecker (ohne den voluminösen Wulst unten rum) auch problemlos in Japan funktionieren. Das ganze Handy-Gedöns ist also abgehakt und mein 3DS hat sogar ein eigenes japanisches Netzteil bekommen.