My farest travel

by Aarón Corbacho Vieites (Spain)

I didn't expect to find Japan

Traveling is a fascinating experience moreover if the destination is one like mine. It has been a long time since I wanted to travel to an oriental country, specially to Japan. Recently I made my wish come true and the experiences I lived are worth to talk about. For the start, the memories I have of my first step in Japan was the rainy day in Osaka, the city I landed. The start was not the best but I was so excited to be in my spiritual country. I remember the reception in the airport, that was unusual, there was a woman and a man dressed with traditional clothes greeting all the passengers coming. It wasn't that much but means a difference compared to the occidental airports. Lately, in the hotel, I experienced the japanese hospitality again, greetings at the entrance, lots of souvenirs in our bedroom. We booked a triple bed bedroom for us in one of the best hotels in Osaka whose name is The Intercontinental. It wasn't very cheap but we wanted to have the best experience so we did not skimp on expenses. The first day we didn't have much time because we arrived to the hotel at 8 PM so we decided to go for a walk to one of the most popular streets of Osaka named Dotonbori. Dotonbori is popular because of his traditional restaurants and theatres. It was night and the three of us were so hungry so we decided to enter in one of those restaurants. I felt very comfortable in that site, It was so peaceful and the cook was very gentle. When we sat down I ordered some gyozas (a type of bread filled with meat), takoyaki (croquette filled with octopus covered with takoyaki sauce) and a ramune (a japanese soda). While we was waiting I looked the cook was serving some sake to an old man until the drink spilled out of the glass. Later I knew that was a good luck tradition. The second day we visited the Osaka Castle a very impressive castle from the XVI century. We spend several hours exploring it. Thanks to a guided visit, we knew that castle played a big importance to the unification of the actual Japan. Luckily there are a lot of guides and normal people that speak in english, that saved us a lot. Also there was a lot of stalls out of the castle merchandising food and photography stalls where we could take some photos disguised as and ancient samurai, it was a spectacular day. The third day we explored the city of Shinsaibashi where we saw the biggest occidental brands. Also there was an aquarium and we decided to go visit it. It was thrilling as seeing an aquarium was always my dream since childhood. When we got in, it surpassed my expectations, that aquarium was huge. We even saw big sharks and whales. The entire aquarium was a unique enormous pool that surrounded us so the immersive experience was guaranteed. When we left the aquarium, we wanted to buy some souvenirs because the next day we were leaving. In my case I bought some posters, pens and food and lots of original instant noodles from japan. The next day we had to go. We woke up very early at 8 AM in order to prepare everything to take the plane. I remember I was nostalgic that day. Those three day passed so fast and I thought that maybe a longer travel booking on a cheaper hotel could be a better option, I don't know... Nevertheless it was the best trip of my life and a worth remembering experience.