Roving Wanderer

Japan was an amazing experience for me and I would love to go back there and visit for longer to really experience/eat more. For those that haven’t read the About Us section, I am in fact half-Japanese. I moved to the US when I was just a year old and 2010 was the first time I had been back since I moved. While I don’t necessarily feel like I was “coming home” it was an amazing experience. There is so much that the Japan has to offer from the deep cultural traditions and religions that are ingrained into the Japanese society to the crazy new technology. It’s really an almost perfect combination of old and new and a little weird. I didn’t take as many pictures as I wanted, namely because my camera batteries were running out and I forgot to bring my charger. Still, below are some of the best pictures of Japan.

If you are ever in Japan, it might be a little overwhelming deciding what to do. I was lucky enough to have some one guide me through the areas and also fortunate enough to stay with family. While some of my favorite memories of Japan are of the food that I ate, there’s a lot more to the country than just eating…I think.

6. Visit a Shrine

Ise Shrine

You don’t have to visit all the shrines in the area, but there are definitely some amazing ones out there. If you’re in Kyoto during the fall, the Kiyomizu-dera temple is a sight to behold. It’s a bit of a climb, but the view is definitely worth it. One of my other favorites was the Ise shrine in Honshu. Like most of the shrines, the Ise shrine is surrounded by nature, but there’s just something incredibly mystical about the area. Maybe it’s because the shrine was built to worship Amaterasu, the sun goddess, or maybe it’s the fact that we saw a very rare ceremony occurring that day. Either way, it was definitely worth the bus ride and wait.

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