well, here i am. back in japan a year later. things are different this time around with new challenges and hurdles, but it feels much less scary and daunting than before.
if you don't know me, let me re-introduce myself.
hi! it's been a while since i last posted anything.
i'm juju. i used to be known as @speakingyourtruth here on stacker news. long story short: i lived in japan for a short time in 2024 with the goal of being here for a year, but sadly didn't work out in the way i hoped. but it didn't stop me from coming here again as you can see! you'll see i've shifted my nym to better reflect who i am and my purpose for being here. i hope my unfiltered and unapologetic advice will help you live the life you've always wanted to, even if you have to be utterly delusional when working towards it in whatever ways that might be. you'll also get small glimpses into what i'm doing here and there with some lifestyle posts, just like this one!
now that i've been out here for three weeks, i thought it would be alot of fun to start documenting my daily doings of travel. but to catch you all up, i will be putting summaries of what we, and i've been doing below!
week 1: tokyo and okinawa
ah yes, all the anticipation of waiting for almost 10 months of going back to japan has finally made it our way. for the first two weeks, i wasn't on my own, but spent some wonderful quality time with my love! our first stop was tokyo for the next three days. to have a red eye flight for ten hours only to arrive two days later in the early bird morning is a time trip on your mind and your body. but it's nothing that some sun, fresh air at the park, and a small trip to 7/11 can't fix.
the main highlight was tokyo disneyland, but meeting up with friends from both home and japan was a really nice treat too. and the way i felt my pants almost unbutton from the amount of food we were eating: it's like the walking 20k steps couldn't have burned it all off. (fun fact: kanzashi are my new favorite hair accessory and no one can change my mind).
then, we caught our flight to okinawa! five days of island paradise, amazing vibes, and atmosphere. highlights consisted of:
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okinawan food: chanpuru being my favorite food out here hands down. it reminds me so much of one of my favorite filipino dishes, just stir fried. taco rice is also up there as a favorite and so is okinawan style onigiri.
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the beach still being my favorite place ever. the water is all sorts of blues which was really beautiful to see.
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american village: the name speaks for itself. a blend of american and japanese culture with many shops pertaining to american style clothes, accessories, food, and trends. mostly a highlight because we got to actually swim at the beach this day, and the water felt amazing along with the great weather we had. extra windy, but still warm enough!
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senaga island: hermit crabs were hiding everywhere and spent about forty five minutes looking around for them in the sand.
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the laidbackness: despite us running around each day (which pretty much can't be helped at all in japan since you pretty much want to see and do every single thing) the laidback vibes in comparison to the main part of japan was very liberating. locals seemed to be living on their own time versus everyone else, and didn't seem miserable or lifeless for a change.
other notes:
- everyone buys Orion shirts (the beer in Okinawa) which is cute.
- and wears flowers in their hair, which is also very cute.
- cats are everywhere.
- i want shisa statues in my house.
those five days flew so very fast, and i can't wait to be back here again very soon one day.
week 2: osaka, kobe, kyoto, and moving onto nagoya
onto my favorite region of japan where half and full day trips are taken, the best food ever (in my humble and honest opinion) is located at, and the plethors of things to do never ends.
this was also more or less a resting time for both of us, and more went with the flow of things. one of the big highlights was making a matching ringset together. it was awesome seeing the fruits of our labor come to life, and to have a memorable keepsake of our time out here with us all the time.
some time was spent in kobe, where i ate like the best mazesoba ever. and another day was spent roaming around kyoto with the cherry blossoms blooming. nishiki market and maruyama park are also great and wonderful places to stroll in, along with gion.
shortly after kyoto, we packed our things, and took the bullet train to nagoya.
the last two days together were spent going around nagoya castle taking in the cherry blossom bloom, osu shopping street, and kitsune kishimen at this very small noodle shop in sakae. oden is also great when its freezing af outside.
week 3: nagoya - first week working in a guesthouse
april 1st: a bad joke of a day if you get what i mean. i cried a whole lot while eating some yummy bakery items at nagoya station with my love until he had to take the next train back to tokyo for his flight home.
ever since then, i have been left to fend for myself for the next 60 days (now 53 the day i'm writing this). i took on some volunteer guesthouse work, and so far, it's been a whole learning experience of what it's like to run one alongside the attached cafe on the bottom floor. it's been really great, and everyone is very kind and welcoming. the free lunch and dinner goes a longggg way too, and its nice that nagoya is city on the bigger side with more than enough things to do, but not toursity where it feels suffocating.
the results so far:
- i have found myself slightly broke. so attempting to stay frugal, but stay fun and upbeat at the same time.
- the emotions are up and down just like last time, but at least there isn't severe mental breakdowns or impending senses of doom.
- realizing love, support, guidance, and abundance is everywhere and accessible when i need it.
- my hiragana reading is pretty great, and my katakana is sort of getting better thankfully. comprehending is pretty easy, but my speaking japanese is like a 3 out of 10 which is honestly higher than i would've expected for myself.
- writing, grounding barefoot, and talking to my love keeps me sane. without them, i have no idea what i would.
i hope you'll stay along with me as i document my time out here.
who knows? maybe btc will continue to go up, and i can hop over to other countries if i can.
we shall see what happens next.