There ain’t no sunshine without a little rain, huh? No matter how perfect a trip may be, there is always, yet ALWAYS something that rains on my parade. I’m not talking about forgetting stuff at home (my family got pretty used to having to buy me toothbrushes because for some reason that’s one thing I forget every time) nor literally about bad weather ruining my travels, because most things can be replaced or you can leave without them for a while and I actually like rain, snow, fog and the sorts while traveling. Bad weather makes the cities show their other side and I find it beautiful. What I hate from the bottom of my heart when going abroad is the last day you spend there. You already know your way around the hotel, you know how to get to the hotel, you don’t get lost in train stations anymore, you even know the best coffee shop that’s close to you and then you just pack and leave. I always feel so apathetic when I know it’s the last day I’m spending somewhere. I don’t even know where to go again, what to do, what to visit, where to eat, I just can’t decide! It usually ends up with me running around the city until my body really screams stop so I can take in as much foreign beauty as possible.

I’ve never felt as if I truly belonged here. Since I was little I felt a weird attraction to asian stuff and as I grew up I ended completely engrossed in the Japanese culture. In 2009 when I’ve first been to Japan, I felt it for the first time, oddly enough in a place worlds apart from the safety of my home, with different people who spoke a language unknown to me and had a different culture, that I belonged there. This sounds waaay cheesier that it did in my head, but I’ll let cheesy pass for once. I fell in love with the narrow streets, the short people, the amazing food, the way new mixed with old and traditional with modern. You could only imagine how bad I felt the last day I spent in Tokyo. All I could think of was how much I’ll miss it all. The city, the temples, the parks, the food, the people. But I survived (after crying half the plane ride back, I still wonder how come I didn’t die from dehydration). The only thing that sucks is that since I’ve been there I can’t help but compare every other city I’m going to to Tokyo and that’s a bummer because nothing compares to Tokyo. I’ll leave you with more photos of the things I miss, I hope you’ll enjoy

And then you’re off If you’re interested, you can read more about my trips to Japan here, here, here, here and here.