Just returned from Japan's nothernmost island - Hokkaido. It was a bit chilly, but beautiful, with one of the most charming towns I've seen, Otaru. Host fam planned this one so as usual, we did lots of running around, hitting 3 different cities in a span of four days. Plans included a beer factory, a crazy resort, a zoo, lavender farm, and then Otaru. Before getting into the details, the event was Golden Week, a long weekend, and in Waseda's case, a week long vacation created by some random national holidays thrown together. Maybe, at some point, the holidays had meaning, but now I really think that the only reason they are around is so Japanese can travel and spend money on souvenirs, hence stimulating the economy. The travel weekends of the Japanese must do the
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