I’m sitting here on a camp site, it’s extremely hot and a wallaby – a few metres away – is nibbling grass while keeping a close eye on me. Meanwhile I’m trying to remember our trip to Japan a few weeks ago. So much has happened since and limited time and connection stopped us to keep you guys updated.

Anyway, no more looking at the wallaby. ☝🏻 Let’s talk about Japan, first. 🙂 The land of the rising sun was hanging around on our bucket list for years but somehow never made it as our next holiday destination. And so, to celebrate the end of our time in Asia, we treated ourselves with a trip to Japan and the Suzuka F1 Grand Prix!

One of the first we meet at Tokyo airport is a robot, who helps visitors to find directions. Welcome to Japan! We expected nothing less. Japan is a melting pot of both modern life and ancient culture. The one thing we loved the most are the modern toilets with all the buttons. Heating? No problem. Music? No problem. Cleaning? No problem. What a relief after the many dodgy toilets we had to deal with in Asia. 😷

In Tokyo we buy a subway day pass and hop between neighbourhoods. We explore the centuries old Sen-sō-ji temple, soak up the vibes in Roppongi with an ice cold Asahi beer, eat delicious sushi in a tiny restaurant near the fish market, get lost in Akihabara full of anime and manga, try not to bump into someone at the most busiest crossing in the world and enjoy the skyline on top of the metropolitan government building.

The city feels calm, clean and organized. We don’t know if that’s’ actually true, or if it feels that way because we came from Indonesia? To some extend the streets bore us a bit. No chaos like in so many other areas of Asia… Boring buildings, straight streets and lots of rolling shutters before the windows. Soon we figure out the excitement happens inside. Tiny Japanese restaurants look closed from the outside and are a true bustle on the inside. So enjoyable! Both the food and the inside vibes soon become part of our daily program.

In no time we are in Kyoto, thanks to the Shinkansen bullet train. 🚄 Amazing how fast these things move and how easy it is to get around Japan without travelling all the time! Kyoto’s tourist levels are a bit too much to our taste, however there are plenty of food options to make us smile from ear to ear. 😋 The popularity makes sense though, as there are numerous temples (over a thousand, I read!), shrines, castles and ancient specialty shops to explore and you may even meet a geisha.

Due to extreme expensive accommodations in Hiroshima we end up, unexpected, in Fukuyama, and we love it. A Japanese small town, cosy streets, cheerful Japanese people, a fair and delicious food! Whatelse? 😋 All-in all a perfect base to make a day trip to Hiroshima.

During our travels we’ve heard Hiroshima is not a big deal. Not much to see and it’s completely rebuilt after the human tragedy caused by the atomic bomb. The first atomic bomb in history, which killed 78.000 people in a split second, not to mention the thousands and thousands of people who died in the following months due to radiation and secondary effects.

A visit to the Peace Memorial Park is in fact a big deal. It is heart breaking and an important history lesson. The Atomic Bomb Dome gives you a slight idea of the destruction caused by the bomb. We stood there for a long time, silent in our own minds, while two cats hunted each other in the debris. Translations of old newspapers talk about the events that led to the tragedy. The memorial statues in remembrance and an impressive museum. This park truly makes you silent.

Shinkansen brings us to the Japanese Alps next. Even though the Alps in Europe win in terms of height and dramatic views, it’s nice to be surrounded by pine trees again. We stay overnight in Takayama. This cute little town breaths typical Japanese vibes. Tiny wooden houses and cute streets full of speciality shops. Wonderful to stroll around.

They say in Japan you should at least experience to sleep in a capsule and in a Ryokan. A capsule hostel features many small-bed-sized rooms, in which we slept well, despite the fact that Wouter’s feet sticked out. A Ryokan on the other hand is a typical Japanese inn and probably the best cultural experience you can get in Japan. 👘Sleeping on futons in a traditional-style room with tatami mats. Chilling in a Onsen (Japanese-style bath) and a typical Japanese breakfast. I guess the pictures show we had a good time!

After a week of travelling throughout Japan it was time to move to Nagoya, our base for the Japanese Grand Prix! 🏁🏎 Bit tricky was the fact that typhoon Hagibis was also travelling towards Japan, so one to keep an eye on. A typhoon can be pretty dangerous. Two sellers in a shop even panicked when we wanted to buy a raincoat. I think they thought we planned to walk straight into the eye of the typhoon with our brand new raincoats. “It’s dangerous, dangerous!!!”. they said. And sure it is, stay safely inside and be informed is the only thing one should do.

On Thursday the sky was still clear blue, and so we enjoyed a day at the Suzuka Circuit. Suzuka is a true race circuit and amazing to walk around. The Japanese fans are the high light. Despite that Japanese can come across rather private, during the Grand Prix weekend they show their creativity with all sorts of crazy hats and costumes. And for the good, the ones who stand out often get a chance to get behind the scenes, special autographs and of course the best selfies with the drivers.

It was so cool to walk on the pit lane and the straight. Watching the cars up close, the team practicing the pit stops, happy fans. Truly amazing. Suzuka gives this opportunity to all ticket holders and allow plenty of time. All is organized to the perfection. Japan. 👌🏻 Rob, a Dutchie we’ve met on track, made a vlog which gives a nice impression (pitlane walk and track walk – it’s in Dutch).

The next day, Hagibis was still far away, and hence we were able to watch the first two Friday practice sessions. Simply fantastic. The cars, the noise, everything. It’s hard to explain, but if you like F1, it’s something to experience.

Hagibis was hitting land on Saturday and so we were designated to our room eating cookies while F1 had to break down all tents, pit walls, flags and so on. Hagibis turned out to be the most devastating typhoon that hit the region, making millions to evacuate, destroying too many homes and left dozens of deaths… Too sad. Nagoya though had – luckily for us – no more than some rain fall. Also, Suzuka was not hit too badly and the F1 organization did a tremendous job to build up everything to perfection for an early start on Sunday.

Qualification and the Race on the same day! What an event, what a circus! We were treated with an exciting race, even though Max crashed in the first corner. Oh well. It means one day we need to visit another Grand Prix, and hopefully Max will win. 😁 #f1watchaddiction

During our last night, we’ve met a group of Japanese in Osaka. Their English was as good as our Japanese and we made our conversation going through Google Translate. A must-have in Japan, particularly to read the signs! They invited us to an Izakaya (a Japanese Bar and Restaurant) for sushi and sake. Yes, we couldn’t leave Japan without sake tasting. A wonderful Japanese evening!

And with that, it was time to fly back to Bali for a little bit of surf and more over to get us ready for Australia!