Happened so far [Part II: Thailand - Japan - Indonesia]

Arriving in Osaka, Japan, we were in for a shock. There was no English. Not a goddamn word anywhere :) But, then again, it's our fault that we skipped on Kanji lessons before leaving, so no more complaining. We started with staying a week in Osaka, after which Jussi left back to Finland and we continued our travels to Okinawa, the magical home island of Mr. Miyagi, Karate and Awamori (a very strong rice liquor that can contain up to 60% alcohol).

Osaka at night

Our humble guesthouse at Osaka

We spent about two weeks in Okinawa. I'd really recommend the island to anyone who wants to enjoy both culture and relaxed beach life at the same time; and also for one more reason: it's very cheap. Our cheapest guesthouse in Okinawa cost only 1000 yen per night, where most guesthouses in Osaka and Tokyo range from 2000 to 3000 yen.

A local residence at Okinawa

 A touch of Finland in Japan :)

There was something very magical about Okinawa. Unfortunately it was time to move on, so we took the plane back to Osaka and jumped into the Tokyo night bus, and next day, we found ourselves in the middle of the most populated urban area in the world, Greater Tokyo (35 million people). After chilled Okinawa, Tokyo was hectic, maybe too hectic :) Nevertheless, we spent the next 5 days in various hostels (because none of the hostels seemed to have two consecutive free nights available :D), meeting lots of great people including Matt, in who's place I am staying at the moment in Australia :) Our Tokyo experience included karaoke (which is slightly different than the karaoke we're used to ;)), the usual sights, temples and doing a 10 hour walk one day, seeing most of the major districts.

Going for some Karaoke in Tokyo

Some gaming action, apparently getting my ass whooped :P


After Tokyo, we took the night bus back to Osaka, where it was time to pack the backpack again and jump to the plane for our next destination: Denpasar, Bali (Indonesia).

Travel Days: 44