Honestly, I didn't think I will be going to Japan before I even step foot onto Korea. But yes, it happened!

At the beginning of the year, a few of us were talking about traveling together and just a while later, we spotted the cheap tickets to Japan. Although eventually we didn't take up the airline that we wish to take, and it wasn't a trip of five people but four.

So we finally booked our tickets in March or so, and slowly we booked our Airbnb as well! But at this point, it still didn't feel real at all!

Then it was May, the month we are traveling. We only plan out a really rough itinerary, thinking each day what do we want to achieve.

Time passes so fast, and it was time to fly to Japan! It was until I reached Osaka when I felt real about the whole thing. We met up with the couple who was already in Japan and started touring together.

The weather was good, although the forecast of it before we started our journey says its gonna rain. But I'm so thankful that it hardly rained during our days there!

At Osaka, we played at USJ, which was what I had anticipated a lot! Went to the Harry Potter land and had the legendary Butter Beer. Took the 4K ride which caused others to have motion-sickness. But all in all, I think it was really fun! As if I'm reliving childhood.

Meeting the Japanese, trying to understand what they are trying to convey is also an experience and challenge. We were taking a train from Osaka towards Kyoto, and we met this handicap uncle on the train, who was really nice and friendly to us. Seeing us with our luggage, he asked us where we were heading to. We don't understand him fully since he doesn't really speak English and it is hard to get by with the amount of Japanese we understand. But eventually, we managed to understand each other thanks to all the hand gesture. And probably the One-Piece Anime or some Japanese drama that I used to watch.

In Kyoto, the pace seems a little slower than how it was in Osaka. Shop closes really early. By the time we finish our dinner, we often don't have much time to shop around. Which was a sad thing but we didn't really allocate time for shopping. So, no complains. The slower pace is really comfortable. I mean, Singapore has always been so fast-paced, making us really tired of everything around. We repeat the things we do but seem to find no meaning in it. Although we try to reflect as much as we can, but I guess the surrounding does affect us a bit more than we think it does.

Higashiyama, Kyoto

This was in Kyoto, the place where my friends wore Kimono at. The place at 10am was really different as when it is at 6pm. The peace, it really is hard to attain in our country. That was really the one time I didn't think I was at a tourist attraction.

Old Street, Kyoto

All in all, it was a good experience in Japan. And I can't wait to return to this beautiful country.