Japan is awesome. Prepare to be amazed by culture, gastronomy and general weirdness. This is our list of top 10 to do in Japan.
- Buy a future advise from a fortune telling machine (located near Taoist temples). Even if they could fill the machine with only positive prophecies, you’re very likely to end up with a dark future of dying in a bad way. If you don’t like it though, you can attach it to a rope and try a new one 🙂
- Eat shaved rainbow ice. We had never seen this anywhere in Europe, so this was quite existing. As a general rule: if you see some street food you don’t know and it costs less than €2, don’t hesitate for a second.
- Conveyor belt sushi. Better than anywhere near home. Also cheaper and free hot tea ^^ In the middle of the conveyor belt is a sushi chef you can inspect closely so he doesn’t fuck with your next roll.
- Hike the smoking mountains in volcanic Hokkaido. Greatest adventure of this trip due to snow storm. I won’t wish it for you.
- Visit the Blue Pond. Quite unknown and a bit remote, but deeeep blue water. Some white dead trees in the middle top off the unnatural scenery.
- Buy bento box. You’ll be likely to travel by train so buy these pregifts at the railway. Always beautifully presented like Asian tapas.
- Crawl through the nostrills of Buddha. In Nara the Great Buddha is so big you could crawl through its nostril. So what those Japanese do? Create a hole of the exact size in a pillar in the temple. Crawl through it for good luck. Parents almost throw their babies in there. (Never nuke a country twice …)
- Walk the Bamboo Forest. A bit touristy, but still a surreal feeling.
- Hike Mount Fuji. Stay the night at a stinky cabin, spooning with some bearded German to watch the astounishing sunrise in the morning. Make sure to reserve your bunk.
- Couchsurf. Seriously. I try to do this in every country we go to. It provides such an extraordinary experience, close to reality and daily life. In Kyoto we stayed 4 days with an eggplant farmer whose house was filled to the gills with written messages from previous guests.
Adventures Like You 