Why Japan is Awesome (with Pictures!)

If you can’t tell by my previous few posts, I think that Japan is one truly fantastic country, and I’ve just barely scraped the tip of the iceberg. There is so much to do there, and once you end up doing one thing you find a totally different crazy other thing within that thing you were doing! Maybe it’s just that I was there a week and I’m still in the “honeymoon” phase of exploring the country, but that week has been a privilege and I’m already planning what I’m going to do upon my return! Okay, I’m beginning to ramble, but to get a sense of how the country is without having to go there yourself, I’ve compiled what I guess you could call a photo album to allow you to see what I saw, and hopefully feel an iota of what I felt whilst vacationing in Japan.

So why is Japan awesome?

IMG_20151006_104950 — Because you can see the ancient and modern collide

IMG_20151005_194243 — Because Tokyo Tower looks like a giant candle lighting up the night sky

IMG_20151002_153810 — Because Japan abounds with awesome temples

IMG_20151006_154824 — Because there are also tranquil gardens to calm your inner demons

IMG_20151002_153223 — Because Japan looks incredible during the day…

IMG_20151003_234831 — …and looks even better at night

IMG_20151004_154824 — Because giant freaking robots

IMG_20151006_113944 — Because convenience stores there are sooooo much better than the ones in North America

IMG_20151005_205004 — Because you can buy ramen noodles from a vending machine that has adorable little alien things on the bottom

IMG_20151002_130142 — …aaannnndd you can also buy lung cancer

IMG_20151006_172528 — Because holy sh*t that’s a lot of people

IMG_20151004_173922 — Because sometimes you forget you’re even in Japan

And best of all…

…an endless stream of FOOOOOODDDD!!!

IMG_20151004_195133 — Ordering my meal through a ticket machine

IMG_20151006_114726 — Fried noodles in a ham sandwich? Why not?

IMG_20151006_191746 — Man was this good. Ramen noodles with an extremely rich broth on the side for dipping (tsukemen)

IMG_20151006_194950 — They don’t give you much warning when they plop a piping hot stone into your broth to reheat it

IMG_20151006_174146 — Because sometimes you feel like eating Frankenstein’s face in Krispy Kreme form

If you finish reading (skimming?) this final blog post on my Japan trip and you have even the tiniest inkling of desire to travel to Japan, then my duty as a proud backpack soldier has been done. If not, then I apologize for not working hard enough to convince you, because you’d be truly missing out on a fascinating adventure and enough extraordinary food to put you into a coma you don’t want to wake up from.

But hey, I don’t need to tell you how awesome Japan is. You can see for yourself.

Just go!