I wanted to be able to capture what I felt while in Japan and yet the words are I am putting together don’t seem to really express the essence. Japan was amazing. Japan was definitely on our list of places to visit during this trip and what I consider the first vacation part of this trip. Hong Kong has become more familiar and we are able to settle into a routine there. Japan was a new place to discover and I was surprised to see the depth of culture and how well conserved it is all over Japan.

It was easy to get mesmerized with the customs in Japan. There was a simplicity to the details, the beauty of the presentations of the food and polite delicate bowing; it was so gracious. I really loved Japan more than I thought I would. A few of the most breath-taking and memorable moments that stood out to me and whether I write about them here or not, I am sure I will remember, but I also wanted to share.

While we were in Japan, we landed in Tokyo for 4 days, then met up with our friends in Osaka for a night, before heading to Mt. Koya to stay in a temple for a night, to Kyoto and then back to Osaka before flying to Beijing.

I was going to try and jam little tidbits about each place into this one blog, but have decided instead to take even more time to slowly write about each place and be able to slightly relive and capture the experience. This trip within a trip has lingered with me and has me thinking about the next time I would visit Japan when I would go. We are thinking next time in the Spring for the Cherry Blossoms and not so chilly weather.

It has been just over one month since we started our excursion, yet it feels much longer. When we started this, my plan was to blog every time we were on a plane, but that plan didn’t pan out and then as I reflect on what has happened in the last 30ish days the small details are starting to slip away and I regret not writing more. Once a week seems too little and every day seems like too much, so I am going to try and stick to a 3 day plan.

In a short time we have already been to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Koyasan, Beijing and Harbin and our adventure is just ramping up. Now, since I can’t go back in time, I am going to do my best to remember what we have done over the last month and try to write more about what we did. I have a feeling that all the shrines, palaces and temples are starting to blur together and I don’t want that to happen to the rest of this adventure. So somehow, I am going to try and write a new blog every 3 days as well as work backwards to remember the tidbits that make this trip last forever.

Inspire Yourself!

Jenn

We spent just under a week in Hong Kong, it is completely different that the last two times we came. The last two times were for vacation and this time it has taken on a different flavour. We are staying at my grandmother’s apartment in North Point. I feel like we are caught in limbo between a vacation and trying to find a routine. We are having breakfasts and dinners at home and going out to explore during the day. We spend more time wandering streets rather than with a deliberate sightseeing agenda.

Here are a few of my favourite things so far:

One of our main activities (and my favourite) is working out each morning. Usually on vacation, we take a break from our real lives in every way. This time, we made a commitment to try and make this as much like our real life as possible, exercise being a part of it. So each day, we have woken up and went out to exercise. I really like going to Victoria Park and seeing what the locals are doing. As space is limited in apartments, the park is laid out with so many amenities and many people use it to meet up for tai chi classes, individual workouts and running around the jogging track.

We won’t be in Hong Kong for Lunar New Year. We are going to be in Japan with our friends. I wanted to get some pre-New Year action in and see what it is like. I am pretty big on superstitions and learning about fortunes in different cultures. If I get a fortune or get to make a wish, I put a lot of thought into it, I don’t take this lightly. So, we made a trip to the Wong Tai Sin temple to see people preparing for Lunar New Years. There were people lighting incense and people praying for good fortunes for the new year. I watched many people take wooden sticks to small stools and place offerings of roast chicken, fruits and other treats as they shook the container of wooden sticks waiting for their fortune to come out. I really wanted to partake in this activity and get a fortune, but without knowing exactly how to do it, I would rather not get a bad fortune.

And then there is riding the Ding, the Ding is what they call the streetcar in Hong Kong, my guess is cause it makes a ding sound. The streetcar runs right outside our apartment and goes in the general direction of a lot of things we are doing. The Ding is a double decker streetcar and it costs $2.30 HK which is about 30 cents! You pretty much can’t beat that for a way to get to see the city, the local hustle and bustle and on the cheap.

As the limbo subsides we head out for a long haul trip to Tokyo and back into vacation mode.

Jenn