Travel
Visitors #2: Riemer
In my previous post, I shared how my family came to Japan and how I flew from Osaka to Narita to pick up Riemer — because he was coming too! We had deliberately planned it so Riemer would overlap with my family for a few days, allowing us to go to Disneyland together.
Visitors #1: The fam
But by now, everything seems back to normal. The number of tourists in Tokyo is larger than ever (which is actually pretty advantageous for someone who sells a book about her move to Japan, haha), and so, besides Charlotte, my father, stepmother, brother, sister-in-law, and niece also came to Japan. And Riemer. And Maan again, this time for an Artist-In-Residence.
Narita, more than just an airport
When I was still living in Zaandam, I once saw a poster of the famous Inntel Hotel in Zaandam (which looks like a stack of traditional Zaanse houses), with the I amsterdam logo underneath. Look, I get the idea: tourists only know Amsterdam, so let’s just call everything that. The famous Muiderslot castle became Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, an outlet in Halfweg was branded as Amsterdam The Style Outlets, and of course, our airport is called Amsterdam International Airport Schiphol – even though it’s located in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer.
Snap visit
“You know what I’ve been missing?” I thought the other day. “Just running around Tokyo with Charlotte, taking photos, reels, or whatever other content I can use for my socials.”
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Just over a year and a half ago, when I had traveled to Korea while waiting for the Japanese reopening, I visited coastal city (and second city of Korea) Busan. I wrote about it in this blog, and later in my new book.
How to really get tickets for the Sunrise Seto or Sunrise Izumo
“I would love to take that night train someday,” François said, as we were making nerdy travel plans. “Oh, I’ve traveled on that one before,” I said, “but that was in corona times, so that was a little easier.”
The future was here
“Yukarigaoka, city where you can see the future,” read the inscription on the 40-year-old people mover (often called monorail, but it’s not the same) making its rounds through the town. Yukarigaoka, or Eucalyptus Heights, was built as a feat of urban development that Walt Disney dreamed about in his EPCOT days. High-rise buildings with lots of greenery, large malls with facilities and, to keep it all car-free, a largely elevated people mover that runs circles to and from the main train station.
Steam trains and the former glory of Kinugawa Onsen
Last Monday was Sea Day. A national holiday in Japan, and therefore a perfect excuse to go out. To the sea, or elsewhere. Jean-Jacques and I chose elsewhere; in fact, we had bought tickets for a steam train ride in Tochigi prefecture!
A new book, friends, The Netherlands and a social life
In four days I will fly back to the Netherlands for a month. My last visit was in January, so it was about time. I have to, because my little brother is getting married, and of course I have to be there. The wedding is not in the Netherlands, by the way, but in the south of France. Good, we’ll fly there too.
Super Sensory Overload
Jean-Jacques had tickets to a concert in Osaka, and asked if I wanted to come along. Not to the concert, no, punk bands are not for me. But while he was there, he wanted to go to Universal Studios to see the new Super Mario-themed area, and I thought that would be pretty fun. Besides, I don’t turn down a trip on the shinkansen and two nights of unlimited seggs either, so I went along.
We went to an abandoned island near Nagasaki. No, another one.
If they’re good at anything in Japan, it’s…. Anime? High-speed trains? Bustling metropolises with illuminated billboards everywhere you look? Sushi that took ten years to study for? Finding your ikigai? Well, yes, also maybe, but today I wanted to talk about that other talent of Japan: leaving places and buildings behind and then letting them decay.
Come rain or shine
It’s quite the distance, from Sapporo to Hakodate. The train ride, not on a shinkansen but on an express train, took about four hours – and cost me almost 70 euros! After such a long ride, I figured I probably wouldn’t feel like exploring the city, so I decided that I would stay two nights in Hakodate. I had booked a room at the JR Inn hotel, which turned out to be an excellent choice: the hotel was literally right above the train station.
Sapporo and Pokémon and stuff
Hello, from a hotel room overlooking the train station of a rainy Hakodate. Hakodate is the southernmost tip of northern Japan, the island of Hokkaido. On Friday I flew to Sapporo, the capital of this prefecture. This is where the Pokémon GO Fest was held last weekend: a live event organized by Niantic, the makers of Pokémon GO. I saw the announcement in the app and thought, “Hey, I can just go to this!”
Japan then
I like to be well prepared. And well informed. For months I’ve been following the Facebook group “Seeking entry in Japan” closely, because I can tell you, sometimes the best info has actually been on Facebook.
Korea for the gram
I owe you an update. “How is Korea?” you keep asking me. I couldn’t answer it because that wouldn’t be fair. Korea cannot do well, and that is not because of Korea, but only because it is not Japan.