patsylabrador Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Well I did say I'd bore you with my holiday slides! I'm loathe to call it a holiday because it felt more like an adventure. ES and his lovely girlfriend who I met for the first time took us to places we wouldn't have gone to on our own. I even think I might have eaten chicken gizzards at one point which does not make me feel good! I received a present and a welcoming letter from ES's girlfriend's mother which I will treasure. Everywhere we went people were kind and friendly although because they didn't know that ES can speak Japanese we were aware of reference to our large faces! That's a thing apparently. I became quite good at using chopsticks, I didn't want to be embarrassing so it was cope or be hungry. I did not get the hang of eating soup with chopsticks - we all have our limits. ES took us to his workplace which was reached after a long trek through beautiful, mountainous woodland and was a series of waterfalls amongst moss and ferns. Maybe I'm biased but that has to be one of the nicest workplaces on the planet. I've had to say my goodbyes to ES under much more difficult circumstances but I really miss him this time although it's nice to know his girlfriend and her mum are very caring people. I hope my link works. The pictures aren't in order but I think they give a feeling of how special this adventure was. It sounds dramatic but it was very life enhancing and I'm so glad we went to Japan. Japan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Lovely pics - especially the paddling ones! I like the misty atmospherics! Glad you had a great time - and you weren't eaten by a dragon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Lovely pictures it is a wonderful country. If you put together a longer slideshow please post. Your sons workplace sounds amazing It's been 20 years since I've been but I think I might plan to go next year now The first time I visited there you didn't encounter many foreigners on public transport and I didn't have any UK colleagues with me so as I travelled around Tokyo and the office I saw almost no one who wasn't Japanese, I looked in the mirror after about a week and was momentarily struck by how large and crude my features were. I never saw my face like that again but it was a good insight into how I appeared to my colleagues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Your slideshow is amazing, brought back lots of memories. We went last year and called it traveling rather than holiday but like your idea of an adventure better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Great slideshow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Lovely, my YD has a friend who is half Japanese, she travelled there with her mother last summer and had trouble getting through customs because there was some misunderstanding with her having a British passport and her mum a Japanese one. She speaks Japanese but not as fast as they were speaking to her, she thinks that they decided she looked enough like her mum to be allowed though in the end, she had a great time after that shakey start, she hadn't visited since she was quite young and couldn't remember much of precious visits. So glad that you had a good time, and that your son is settled happily there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Love the photos, brings back memories of our visit last summer. Not sure if I've posted it before but here's the link to our video Japan 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Lovely pics PL,reminded me of our trip to China. Which is really strange as I hadn't thought how alike the two countries would be. I think I had a more delicate vision in my mind for some reason.( paper walls and cherry trees perhaps) Your pics have been really helpful as I was thinking of Japan next Spring and I think I might change now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 Lewis - your video is great as brash and crazy as Tokyo! Grandmashazzie - before you change your mind completely check out Kyoto which I believe is more the traditional Japan. It was part of our plan but we ran out of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Oh yes just had a peek, looks stunning esp the cherry blossom pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
