Fare-well Japan

Our journey across Japan lasted for 175 days and took us from Abashiri in northern Hokkaido to the very south of Okinawa. We visited each of the four main islands – Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu and included a few additional islands (Amakusa, Yakushima and Okinawa) in our journey.
The first four months we marched or took trains and busses for longer distances. Afterwards we suddenly cought the cycling bug and bought two bikes in Hiroshima which we rode for the last two months. All over Japan we experienced an incredible hospitality and were amazed by the many open and straight encounters.
We will miss and remember Japan and its people for a long time to come. We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone whom we met, who walked with us or accompanied us any way and wish them all the best for their future endevours. A very special thanks goes to Aki, Eiji, Yasuko & Yoshi and Kaoru & Fumiko and we hope to see you all again, whether in Europe or in Japan!

どぅもありがとうございます!

Tokyo (E)

We finally left the summer-temperatures in Okinawa and flew back north to the Tokyo autumn, the last destination of our 6-month journey. Against our concerns, we found Tokyo surprisingly serene. Beeing so vast we were only able to visit a mere fraction of all interesting places. Besides shopping in Shibuya, Shinjuku and Akihabara we were wandering around and enjoying the city’s offerings.  From the top of the Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Sky Tree we enjoyed the stunning skyline. Noticably the view wasn’t “blocked” by mountains since 6 months! The highlight of the week was the visit of the Tsukiji Fish market. Altough we didn’t get out at 3 o’clock to see the Tuna auction at 5, the visit of the market was awesome and the Maguro Sashimi very tasty.