Back to Japan!

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Konnichiwa!

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, there was an adventure undertaken by two curious, enthusiastic dudes in a land far to the east... a mighty land called Japan...

And this is the retelling of that quest for discovery, passed down through the ages, becoming legend among the earth-folk. Although embelishments are sure to result from tales past down over time, let us allow ourselves to be enthralled and enraptured in this departure from everyday life!

So we're playing catch up here and I'm going to be posting some stories about my life in 2012 so far, starting with the post graduation trip that I went on with my good, ultra-buzzy Kiwi-buddy, Chris. We finished up our final drama presentations for our respective classes at Playola English School in Seoul, passed on our apartments to the next teachers, had some awesome farewells and set off for a month with a backpack each to explore some incredible places in Korea and Japan. With an ambitious goal of living each day to the fullest, seeking and embracing new adventures and challenges that came into our path, we aimed to rock most of the trip on foot and local train. We started off strong with an incredible visit to Jeju, the island in Korea to the south of the main peninsula, outfitted with solid hiking gear and crampons to conquer the second highest mountain in the country, Bukhansan. The weather didn't go our way on our one chance to climb it, but being the keeners that young travellers can be at the start of a trip, we battled through the snowy-rain and pushed through to get a foggy view of the 10 meters around the summit. We realized you really can't have a bad time when you're on a mission on the side of a mountain anywhere in Asia... and the fact that we could slide toboggan-style on the way down may have contributed a whole bunch to us getting some enhileration out of the hike!

We spent the next few weeks roaming across Japan, loving every second and making memories that will last a lifetime. So let's let the pictures do the talking and let you see what we got into!

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Photos

Sloan and Chris experiments begin!
Purikura bro's editing our photo booth glam shots

Kyoto sightseeing
Beauty all around at Kyoto Castle

Izu roadtrip ocean walk
Hiking the ocean cliff path with the crew on our roadtrip

Sashimiiiiiii!
Phenomenal sashimi in Roppongi, Tokyo

Korea temple hopping!
Templestay bus captured / saved me and cruised us around to a few temples around Korea. Met some really genuine people along the way!

Korea Hiking Crew!
Making our own paths up this mountain near Seoul with ropes and guts. This group was ambitious!

Hippo Class Final Drama!
Valerie's amazing Hippo Class cutifying their pig costumes at Playola graduation in February. They freaking rocked it!

The show is about to begin!
Ladies and gentlemen, these are the most talented little rabbits, hippos, dolphins, giraffe's and koalas in the world!

The stage is set!
Where the magic happened

The adventure begins!
Here's the second peak on top of the mountain on Jeju that chris and I powered through in some unfavourable weather. We could imagine the view, ok!

Crazy loud!
this is Pachinko....
what?
"THIS IS PACHINKO!!!"
.... WHAT?
...
ESCAPE!

See ya Korea!
Cruising from Degu, Korea to Fukuoka, Japan

Hello, Japan!
Mari Welcoming us to Fukuoka with a monkey show

Monkey Super Launch!
ya he landed in a handstand

Raging Dad game
smash the table and then flip it when you build up enough rage. Healthy family fun

Nyaaaaaaaaaa!!!
rage complete.
Is it weird that Chris broke the all-time record first try?

Nasu Mentai Cheezu
don't worry what it is, just drool appropriately

Yakitori
sticks of glorious flavour

Street Stall Chefs
Incredible couple who produced the previous feast in a tiny cozy riverside stall. melted our hearts and tastebuds!