JAPYEAR

As a country I had been longing to visit for such a long time, the Philippines did not disappoint. I could have spent months and months there exploring all of the beautiful islands but unfortunately, I only had a week. Therefore, with that week, I intended to pack it full whilst still allowing myself time to relax and do, quite frankly, nothing other than sun myself on the white sandy beaches. We had decided that we would fly to Cebu since it was the cheapest place to fly to from Fukuoka and due to its close proximity to other islands such as Bohol where we spent the second half of our week. As our flight got in late (after a loooong 8 hour wait in Seoul airport) we spent one night in Cebu city in a ... read more

Golden Week in Japan is a lovely time at the beginning of May were there are a cluster of national holidays which give people a few days break (and sometimes even a whole week) from school or work. I spent my golden week in Tokyo since a friend I met travelling was visiting Japan. Despite visiting Tokyo for the weekend for my 21st, I felt that I hadn't spent long enough there to truly get a feel for it. I had not experienced the proper nightlife of Tokyo and I hadn't been to many of the big attractions. So this time, I made sure that I saw as much of Tokyo as I could and I really loved it! However saying that, I don't think I could live there. We spent so much time walking around ... read more

As I arrived back at my flat after my travels I was greeted by trees with branches bursting with pale pink flowers. At last it was cherry blossom season! Or sakura season as its known in Japan. I was so glad I hadn't missed it. Since arriving in Japan, I'd heard so much about so much about the sakura, it is loved by every one here. There is a real build up to it and sakura products begin popping up everywhere; special coffees in Starbucks, beauty products and every poster begins featuring the pretty flowers. Every year Japanese people all over the country wait for the few weeks when the trees are at their full glory so that they can go out and hanami in parks and local sakura viewing spots. The word 'hanami' translates literally ... read more

My first impressions when driving through Cambodia from Ho Chi Minh was 'my god this place is poor' and this view was only further supported with the more of the country that I saw and the more Cambodian people I spoke to. To me, it seemed to be the poorest country in South East Asia that I visited but nevertheless, it was still incredibly beautiful. I had been really worried about crime and getting things stolen in Cambodia after hearing numerous horror stories about handbags and phones being literally pulled out of peoples hands on the streets by people on bikes. I suppose this is a direct result of how poor the people are there; whilst most Cambodians I met were really really nice people, it is kind of understandable why some of them become opportunistic ... read more

I don't even know where to begin with blog post... Laos was the most beautiful country I've been to yet. Every time I catch myself looking through my Laos pictures (which is more often than I care to admit), I get this warm fuzzy feeling inside and an urge to jump on the next flight there! It's funny because before starting my year abroad, Laos was the one country in South East Asia I wasn't too bothered about seeing. It's landlocked so as a sun, sea and sand worshipper I thought it wouldn't be the place for me. However my mind was changed randomly in Bangkok airport as I was waiting to board my flight home to Fukuoka in January after I got talking to some guy who had been travelling for 23 months and told ... read more