Japan.

Tokyo - where it all started.

Already arriving felt like coming home. Extremely clean environment and a smooth immigration procress made that fairly easy. Even more surprisingly, orientating at Shinjuku Station (Tokyo’s biggest railway station hub) was nearly intuitive. After having running sushi and a solid 12hrs sleep, the jetlag was dealt with.

During the days Tokyo got even homier and we got addicted to shopping in Uniqlo and Don Quijote instantaneously.

As you can see in the pictures below, the Tokyo Tower is a great piece of architecture to photograph. The fact that it is higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris blew my mind. While the Eiffel Tower is omnipresent all across the city, the Tokyo Tower almost gets lost next to all the skyscrapers. This really puts this Japanese mega city in perspective.

Mt. Fuji

One mountain to rule them all. And they follow, willingly.

Lake Kawaguchiko - The lake where everyone becomes a biker. The day we visited all bike rentals were out and we had to walk. Fortunately in the end, otherwise I'd have missed amazing shots while walking around the lake.

Last but not least, Chureito Pagoda certainly offers the cheesiest photo spot - at least under good conditions. We were lucky for 10-15 minutes for a sneak peak of Mt. Fuji. Spamming photos here to demonstrate how moody Mt. Fuji really is and how lucky you need to be to even see it.

Kyoto - Japan’s cultural capital.

So much less international, but so much more traditional than Tokyo.
Zero to none skyscrapers, mostly old and cozy Japanese homes.
Only 10th the size of Tokyo, which makes the sightseeing places so much more busier here.
However, the cultural activities here are breathtaking. You can literally feel ancient Japan here.
What demonstrates that feeling better than a traditional matcha tea ceremony in front of a japanese garden.
And the city has some nice’n’tiny, cozy alleys - I give it that.
It's not matching the mega city vibes I love, but maybe it doesn’t have to.