It was a 10 days honeymoon to Japan (10 Dec - 19 Dec), visiting Tokyo and Osaka.
As expected, the weather was cold, but bearable, registering a minima of zero degrees celsius and a high of 14 degrees celsius. I was armed with only a warm jacket in hand for this trip and 4 layers of clothing was my operating norm.
There was many "first" in this trip. A very obvious "first" would be me deviating from my usual travel methods; instead of "free & easy", i hopped onto a guided tour. The main consideration was not because of the language deficiency that i would be facing, but rather the lack of time to plan a trip. To my pleasant surprise, i was thankful that i was on a guided tour.
The tour guide, Miky, of vietnam origin was fabulous! Not only did he speak fluent mandarin, he also, at many occasions, explained to the group, the various culture and traditions of the Japanese. (do you know why the Japanese always uses a try whenever they are having a meal?why are their food always slightly saltish? and why they finish everything on their plates?) That certainly allowed us to better appreciate the little gestures by the Japanese. When we observed other tour guides and their working attitude, we were glad that we had Miky.
Some other "first" in this trip includes my first encounter with snow! you can call me a "mountain turtle", even tough I feel that I have travel much in my life.
Finally, another obvious "first" is that my traveling companion is my wife, instead of a frenz or a gf. =p Thank you dear for this wonderful experience.
One of my personal favorite: A view of Fuji on the bullet train to Tokyo.
