If you are reading this, you love to travel. Travel is about experiencing new places, foods, and cultures. Because of COVID 19, traveling to Japan may have to be delayed for some of us. But that does not mean we have to stop exploring. Here are a few ways I love to get my Japan fix while in the safety and comfort of my own home.
Learn about Japan. This blog is a great way to start. You can also brush up on your Japanese a little each day to keep you excited about traveling to Japan going. I personally have been using duo-lingo to expand my Japanese vocabulary.
Set the mood with some Japanese music. While there are many types of Japanese music I would start with the Yoshida Brothers and go from there.
Enjoy a relaxing drink. There are many great Japanese drinks to explore. Green tea, either matcha powder or loose leaf. And you can’t forget about sake or plum wine if you like something a little sweeter!
The thing that I miss about Japan the most is the food. There is no reason you need to miss out. You can of course order in but my favorite is making it at home. Youtube is a great resource. I would suggest Japanese Curry (easiest), Tonkatsu, Gyoza (aka potstickers or dumplings), or Okonomiyaki. My wife and I even took an at-home cooking class to make Dumplings that was put on by a friend of Samurai Tours and a famous chef, Brother Luck, owner of the Lucky Dumpling restaurant.
And nothing finishes up and evening like a Japanese movie. There are so many genres and subjects to choose from. My kids love anything by Miyazaki (“My Neighbor Totoro” is their favorite)
And if you still can’t get enough of Japan or need to get someone excited about visiting, there are countless blogs, youtube videos of locations you can visit, and even Google street views and live cameras can help you explore from home. You can even find some great VR videos if you have some form of VR headset.
I would suggest being intentional and selecting a few things to do at once to make it more of an event. Make it a surprise date night or invite a friend you may want to convince to travel to Japan with you. No matter what, do it your way and enjoy yourself.
