Hello my fellow travellers! I landed early this morning at 2 a.m after an overlay in Istanbul which was the cheapest flight to get to Dubai. I must admit that when I booked the flight I was a bit hesitant to book a flight that would have me landing in the middle of the night but things was nice and calm and it felt very safe here. Nothing was open at this time of course so I just browsed the area for a while, checking out a couple of the mosques around the airport, before I made my way into the city. My first goal was the massive Dubai Mall so I took the bus to the newly constructed metro to it, the bus was interesting as it had a separate area that was only allowed ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! This morning started off very calmly, cuddling a bit with Vivian while looking after Anzu who was playing in the playground next to the house. Meanwhile Junko and Takae made breakfast, I can get used to this kind of life. After a while a neighbours child that Junko know also came up and chatted with us for a bit, it was a nice and relaxed morning, although in fairness, most my mornings here in Shizuoka has been quite calm and relaxed which is a nice change of pace from my regular travelling. Once we all felt properly awake and ready to go we loaded up in the car and set our sights on Fujinomiya, it's located at the foot of the iconic mountain Fujisan and our goal here was the waterfall Shiraito ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! After a truly spectacular day yesterday in Atami it was now time to take another small trip, this time to Kakegawa where we stayed with Junko's husband Shōkichi in his beautiful traditional home. I was a bit tired on the drive up since I was woken up quite early by the neighbourhood morning exercise routine, which was quite fun to watch from the window even though I didn't participate. The Japanese surely are a healthy people and the exercise was quite well attended. Once we had all woken up and had some breakfast me, Junko, Takae and Anzu got in the car and drove to Kakegawa, or rather (I think), a small village outside of the city of Kakegawa. This is as rural as you get in Japan with only the occasional ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! I had an early start today, getting up and leaving together with Christian, ready to embrace whatever my last day in Tokyo would have to offer. I had a pretty full day planned for today as well, with a visit to Minato in Tokyo, then Kawasaki and then finally meeting up with Juno in Shizuoka. I said my goodbyes to Christian and thanked him for his kind hospitality before we split up, him going to work and me heading for San'enzan Zōjō-ji, commonly just known as Zōjō-ji. It's a large and breathtaking temple complex that officially originates from 1393 but can trace it's origins even further back to the 9th century. Like many other temples in Japan it's been moved around by orders of the various rulers of the region. Unfortunately, again ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! I slept like dead during the night, though before falling asleep my feet did indeed get licked by one of the dogs, but I didn't mind, it reminded me of one of my parents' dogs who used to do that and whom I was very fond of. This day started easy with me and Ryosuke taking a walk together with the dogs, it's something that I promised I would help him with as a thanks for letting me stay with him and I'm enjoying every second of it as his dogs are very nice. On the walk I also visited the small local shrine Mukōjima Akiba Jinja. After the walk me and Ryosuke split up and I headed to the metro to go to Chiyoda. From Tōkyō Eki, the main station, it's ... read more