On September 6, 2016, I, Kevin Henrique, embarked on a 27-day journey alone to 日本. I have been fighting for many years and finally realized my dream. After this long absence from the site, I am now returning with a long series of articles writing every detail and impression of my trip. This article will be the guide, the index, and the map of my entire journey.
In this base article, I will talk a little about my personal impressions of the trip, create an index of all the places I visited, and a list of all the topics I plan to address on the site that are related to my trip.
I hope my experience serves as inspiration for all of you. I want to show in this series of articles that it is possible to know Japan, and that different realities exist. Unfortunately, I come across many negative people on the internet, who complain and end up spreading these negative thoughts to others. If you are a person who dreams of knowing Japan, or have misguided ideas about Japan, or live there but do not feel happy, or find life difficult? My articles will help you have a different and unique perspective on Japan.
Table of Contents
First impressions
Unlike most people who go to Japan for the first time, I did not have problems or suffer culture shock because I had a lot of knowledge about Japan itself. I realized that I had more knowledge than the Japanese people I visited. Indeed, a tourist can get to know Japan more than a native throughout their entire life. But don't think this happens because a Japanese works a lot. I myself in my entire life only left Goiás 2 times, I have never worked 8 hours a day, and during my trip, none of the Japanese and Brazilians I met worked 12 hours a day as most people imagine.
The Japanese houses I stayed in were huge and there was nothing small about them, one of them belonged to a Brazilian. Food? For those who don't like fish, I only ate sushi twice; there are so many varieties of different and cheap foods that you'll be completely indecisive and lost. I feel sad for those people who think that Japanese people are thin because food is expensive and they eat little (笑). Japanese people eat a lot, some even more than us Brazilians... Breakfast is super complete and looks like lunch, the variety of foods in each meal is amazing, not to mention processed products, cheap restaurants, etc. The good thing is that I ate a lot and came back thinner.
The conclusion I came to on this trip is that Japan is identical to the anime and doramas. If you disagree with me, know that just because I'm saying something I am not claiming it is 100% like that. I have no complaints to make about this trip or Japan. The only complaints and regrets I have are:
- I couldn't see Mount Fuji;
- Not having tried all the foods;
- Not having known Hokkaido;
- Have to go back to Brazil;
During the trip, I spent 13 days in a hostel located near Akihabara in Tokyo. And for the rest of the trip, I went to the Kansai region in Osaka where a friend arranged accommodation for me at the home of some Japanese families who were learning the Portuguese language. I also stayed for one day at the homes of 3 Brazilian families in Gunma, Hamamatsu, and Shiga.
Places I visited
During these 27 days I visited the following sites: (List is not complete and is being updated).
- Tokyo Area
- Akihabara
- SkyTree
- Tokyo Tower
- Odaiba
- Ginza
- Ikebukuro
- Shinjuku
- Shibuya
- Yokohama
- Minato Mirai
- Shinagawa Aquarium
- Kyoto and vicinity
- Mount Inari (Torii)
- Shiga
- Mount Eizan and Sakamoto City
- Kinkakuji (golden pavilion)
- Arashiyama (bamboo forest, mountain of monkeys)
- Osaka and nearby
- Sakai
- Hyogo
- Nara
- Kobe
- Osaka Aquarium
- Osaka Castle
- Umeda Sky
- Shinsekai
- Many other neighborhoods and places;
- Other cities
- Gunma - Isesaki
- Hamamatsu
- Aviation Museum
- Cable car, Yakiniku, Onsen
- Nagoya
- Nagoya Castle
- Science museum and planetarium;
- Oasis 21 and downtown;
- Okunoshima - Rabbit Island
- Hiroshima
- Peace Park and Museum
- Hiroshima Castle
Photos and videos
Anyone who wants to follow details of my trip can access my Instagram or Facebook. I am also preparing a lot of content for our channel on YouTube, which is still being modified and unified.
Travel Articles
Below I will leave a list of articles that I have written or plan to write with knowledge and experience gained on this trip. The list will be continuously updated.
Culture and Thoughts
- Are Japanese cold and independent?
- Do Japanese eat little? Is the food expensive?
- Are Japanese houses really small?
- Different types of experiences in Japan.
Tourism and Places
Languages and others
