Sumo!
For much of month eleven we explored Japan. I loved it. It’s orderly, the food is delicious, the people are amazingly polite, things are on time (the trains are on time to the minute… everywhere, always), things are clean and, while we were there, it was gloriously cool. Enough with my obsession with Japan, here are the numbers for the month:
- Counties visited: 2
- Beds slept in: 13
- Ferry rides: 4
- Long distance bus rides: 0 (lots of local buses in Japan but no long distance rides)
- Long distance train rides: 21. This number deserves an explanation.
- The number is so high because Japan allows foreigners to buy a rail pass similar to the Europass (but better because Japanese trains are better). You can only buy the rail pass outside of Japan and it’s valid for a maximum of three weeks. The pass allows the owner to travel on just about any JR line at any time (most lines in Japan are JR lines). The trains are super fun and efficient. If you’re going to Japan, it’s the best way to get around.
- Sometimes the difference between a metro and a local line wasn’t clear to me so the number may be a little off, but I rest easy knowing that it’s pretty close.
- Scooters rented: 1 (I drove a scooter in India and we survived!)
- Flights: 3
- Favorite splurge hotel: Mikiya, Kinosaki Onsen, Japan
- Favorite normal hotel: AirBnB apartment in Tokyo
- Favorite all around place we stayed in month 11: In Ryan, Pepper, Jordan and Jacob’s house in Chennai, India
- Miles traveled: 7,684