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Dear Leanne,
It's always been a dream of mine to visit Japan at one time in my life, and I have,
quite unusually.
The idea of coming to the land of the rising sun, on a realistic level, started with
a coincidental sale on plane tickets at my local travel agency. I almost always go
to a travel agency specialising in Asian travel because of their incredibly fair fares,
and I'm not even being paid for this endorsement.
I went in and asked for my usual: tickets to Hong Kong. And the travel agent
happened to sniff out something special: there were no flights available straight
to Hong Kong under reasonable price range, and the next best thing happened to have a connection
to Tokyo. Taking this as an omen of a higher power, I took those tickets and organised
a five-day stopover (in Tokyo).
The Japanese experience so far in my life has been through the media. I've always had an
interest in Japanese culture, not as obsessive as others, but enough to say
"I want to visit".
Others have a Japanese connection. Even you do, having a bit of Japan in your bloodline,
and the cultural and physical connections can become so curiously strong for
this particular country, even if you haven't a direct tie.
I was lucky to see a lot. I was lucky to be stuck in a crowded subway train.
I got my chance to see Roppongi Hills as a capitalist paradise instead of through
photos. I saw Shinjuku, home of big bulletin boards and plenty to do. And before I realised
the time, it's almost time for me to go home. It's that interesting.
So pack your bags, borrow a thousand (dollars) or two and come here sometime.
Domo,
Phil
PS: The preceding was not sponsored by the Japanese Tourist Board.
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