Just a due update about my trip in December because my lazy ass has been leaving this space to die, again.

After a few weeks into school, one my of LASALLE friend (Yau) and I decided that we deserve a break from all the stress our curriculum has been giving us. And so, we spontaneously booked tickets to Tokyo to spend the New Year's!
Yes, I went to Japan again (I swear I don't mean to be this boring with my travel destinations but Tokyo seemed like the most apt choice), but spending New Year's there was a different experience. Also, I shopped a ton more than I usually would since it's supposed to be a therapy trip of sorts. Anything for mental health, right?

We ate a lot, had pretty stays and visited quite a number of cafes. I bought my camera and was already thinking about the "5 hipster cafes in Tokyo" or "aesthetic and affordable stays in tokyo" posts that I was going to write until... I felt exhausted.
For the first time in a long while, I felt like photography and writing was a chore. Constantly doing these for school just took the fun out of what were once my hobbies. I think part of it has got to do with how I've been so burnt out with my FYP, and... It's just been a hell.

Anyway, I digress. Point is, I ditched my camera and decided to just enjoy myself. So no note-taking, no keeping of receipts or doing the extra legwork to find out more about the places I visited etc. Basically, all the stuff I usually do prior to composing a post on this blog. All I got are photos I took with ig story filters :')



The best souffle pancakes we've ever had, which we literally had to wait hours for because there's a waiting list and the chef makes every order fresh. Definitely worth the wait, but probably make a reservation! We didn't so we strolled around omotaesando while waiting for our turn. From Micasadeco & Cafe.



Would recommend this to people who are fans of beef. They're known for their beef sushi assortments but the beef is raw. If you love sashimi, this will probably be up your alley too! From Pallet46.




Of course, Japan is not complete without a high-tea buffet!! Yau told me about this and I was so excited about the conveyor belt mini desserts and savoury treats. For 2100yen (for females), you get a bottled drink and 40 minutes in the cafe. From Cafe RonRon.



Our milk and strawberry dango from a store at an alleyway after a visit to the Asakusa temple during the New Year week! It was sooo delightful.

We actually had far more places shortlisted for our trip, but since we went over the New Year week (27th Dec to 3rd Jan), many of the places were closed for the Japanese New Year. Also, hotel prices increased by threefold for the last day of 2019.
But still, no regrets! I've been to Taiwan and Bali with Yau before, but this is the first trip where it was just the both of us so I'm glad for times we got lost together, met weird people, gushed over pretty things and what not. I also realised we didn't actually took photos together... Other than crappy selfies or terrible snaps of each other haha. Thank you friend for the trip <3


On an entirely different note, I dyed my hair pink for CNY. Previously, it was an ash-blue-grey that has since faded into bleached blonde (no photographic recollection of that on this blog cause of my lack of updates, apparently) so I thought to give it an update.



I love the new shade and I hope that it lasts!! It's been 1-2 weeks and it's already starting to turn copper...

So this post is a more personal life update. Thought I'd take a break from the work content I usually post, and also because I don't have other travel posts at the moment.

I do have other upcoming travel plans after my graduation. By then, I do hope to continue with travel writing once I get school off my back. It's always been fulfilling, knowing that others found my posts helpful while they're planning their itineraries. To better content!!

"I'm not trying to romanticise solo traveling because it's not just rainbow and butterflies. It's taking your first flight alone, it's feeling the anxiety and excitement when you land on unfamiliar territory, it's getting lost while lugging heavy baggage, it's meeting people who live lives so different from your own and struggling to manage your finances as you contemplate between having a good dinner out or eating bread from the convenience store for the 4th time in a row. That, to me, is what entices me so much about traveling. The beauty is found in the moments that are uncertain, but overcome. And in your own terms too, which makes you feel empowered in some ways."

I wrote that back in 2016 when I went on my first solo trip and I still find it relatable in many ways. You can read the full post here.
Fast forward a couple of years later, here I am, to another solo venture. What a timely intervention, because I was already starting to feel a little cooped up with work, school and everything else that was going on in my personal life.



It's my forth time to Japan, but my first time backpacking, couchsurfing and travelling alone in the land of the rising sun. Japan just isn't the same when you're there alone. It could be a boon or a bane, depending on your personality and travelling preferences. For someone like me who appreciates my own solitude in moderate amounts, it was just what I needed.

By covering what couchsurfing is about and what is to be expected in this post, I hope that my personal experiences with the platform is helpful to other like-minded travellers in some way or another!
The doubts and questions I came across while planning my couchsurfs and itinerary, I tried to address them in this post.

What is Couchsurfing?

It's a platform that supports and connects the travel community. Through this platform, you can either host people from other countries in your home, or stay with a local during your overseas venture. It primarily serves budget backpackers and travellers who are looking to save on accommodation costs and meet people while they travel. You don't pay for your stay, and neither do you charge your guest if you're hosting. It's a travel community that's helping one another out while providing hospitality and exchanging cultures.
Now, the app can also be used by travellers who are only looking to attend or organise gatherings, meetups and events.

Couchsurfing is not as big of a thing in Singapore as it is in Europe. But it slowly gaining more popularity, seeing that there are more Singaporeans on the platform now than 4 years ago.

Why Couchsurfing?

I knew about couchsurfing since 2015 when a friend introduced it to me for my solo trip to New Zealand. But back then, I wasn't able to find any hosts since the places I visited were sparsely populated.
I did, however, couchsurf while I was in Seoul and Taiwan last year. It was a month-long trip, and I wanted to cut costs on accommodation in any way that I could so CS (a.k.a couchsurfing, I will use both terms interchangeably) came into the picture. That being said, I have always enjoyed interacting with locals/travellers. Back when I stayed at Airbnbs or in dormitories, I found the exchanges with my host and those in my dorm gratifying.

Now I can do that, but without having to fork out a cent? Since I'm *usually* a budget traveller, CS practically solves all my accommodation spending woes.

I found my first host in Nara, near the deer park

Occasionally, I also use CS to see other fellow travellers who are in the same area as I am that would like to hang out.

The Pros and Cons of Couchsurfing

So let's just get to it. In the most brief and blunt way possible, there are some plus and minuses to couchsurfing. Just some pointers to consider if you plan to do so.

Pros:
1. Interactions and experiences that only a local/someone who has been living there can provide.
2. Culture exchanges and storytelling with other like-minded individuals.
3. You save money on accommodation. You're staying at someone's home at no extra fee. 

Cons:
1. You don't really get to be picky about your accommodation situation, or its facilities.
2. It's a shared living space with someone you just met.
3. You follow your host's house rules (e.g. clean up after yourself, don't mess up their home or meet curfews)

Yes, it's great that you get to stay at someone's home - without paying at that. But hosts allow you to stay in their homes because they want to get to know a traveller like you or about the country you're from. They hope that by offering their homes, your time in their country (or wherever it is that you're at) will be a pleasant one. It's really just hospitality at its purest, since they're not taking money from you.

If you love culture exchanges or meeting a local, I feel like you should have a go at couchsurfing. But if you're someone who's looking for something luxurious or is particularly picky about where you're staying, then probably not.

The way I see it, if the idea of staying in a dormitory with shared common spaces is okay with you, then couchsurfing will probably be something up your alley too.



Say you're not comfortable with staying in someone else's home because of reasons like how it might be awkward or restrictive, you can still use CS to attend gatherings, events and meet other travellers. In fact, I think a lot of the users on CS are doing that.
I attended a bar crawl organised on CS during one of the Fridays with my host, and I met quite a few travellers who were staying in their own hostels and such. I also met foreign students who were having internships in Tokyo, and locals who just wanted to hang after work.

So you can use the app just to meet people. But for the rest of this post, I'm just going to focus on the "surfing" aspect.

Host Interactions

Of course, it differs from person to person since no two hosts are the same. Typically, you can find everything you need to know about your host from their profile - from the places they have traveled to their interests and references by other hosts/surfers. Usually, their profiles will state the maximum number of surfers they are willing to accept, as well as their preferred gender and day to host. Most of them are working/schooling, so not all hosts will be free to explore or guide you around.

From my personal experience, all of the hosts that I stayed with generally left me up to my own devices. If they were available, they would let me know and we would then make plans to visit places or have a meal together.

I stayed with 4 different hosts over the span of 14 days. Despite their work/academic schedules, most of them took some time off so we could hang out. I went on a short hike with my first host, visited a museum and then bar crawling with the second, and sang at a Japanese karaoke with my last host in Tokyo. I also had a few meals in between with them. I didn't get to spend much time with my third host because she worked till late, but we always had a good chat over snacks/bentos at night in her home. :)



If you're someone who loves culture exchanges and talking about travel, you'd enjoy interactions with your hosts! I am hardly a talkative person. In fact, I consider myself to be (quite) introverted and awkward in social settings. But I found the interactions with my hosts to be the highlight of my trip. Were there awkward moments? Yes of course, but neither of us harped on it. You do get more comfortable with your host overtime.

My hosts were close to my age, so there were so many things in common we could talk about aside from travel.
I learnt a bit of Japanese, taught Chinese, shared travel stories, talked about photography, fangirled over anime, exchanged shopping sites, discussed the differences in education system and even dating culture. One even asked me about the merger/separation of Singapore and Malaysia LOL. Thank god I paid *enough* attention in social studies class!!



In summary, out of the 14 days, I spent most afternoons myself and nights with my host's company. If you're planning a solo trip, I'm sure you'd want some time to be alone for a bit. I felt like CS was quite a good balance of both.

Rooming Situations

It's always a good idea to read through your host's profile thoroughly to familiarise yourself with their house rules and what they can and cannot offer you. With my 4 hosts, 2 of them offered me a room of my own, while I shared a room with the other two since they were living in a studio apartment.

I appreciate having a room to myself, but in the cases where I shared a room with my host was fine too. I'm not a picky person when it comes to my sleeping spaces, especially when I'm travelling on a budget or couchsurfing in this case. The only time I would kick up a fuss on accommodation is if I paid an undeserving price for it, or if it's really dirty.

Technically, as the name "couchsurfing" suggests, you're crashing on people's couch while you travel. In Japan, most hosts would have at least a futon for you. All hosts will put up the rooming situation on their profiles, some would even provide pictures so you can know what to expect.



Because I am a lone female travelling, I felt more comfortable staying with female hosts, especially in same-room situations. Although personally, I would be okay with male hosts as long as they have a detailed profile and credible references (or reviews). References are everything.

So know your preferences, and find one that suits you. It makes everything easier for your host too. I'd say that most hosts have been where you are, travelling and such, so they are quite easygoing.

Since you're living in someone else's home, there might also be some house rules to follow. My hosts were pretty chill, and didn't restrict me to a curfew or anything like that. That being said, I didn't stay out late past the last train (except for one night with my host). If you're a surfer that likes party, then it would be ideal to find a host that could accommodate that.

One of my hosts didn't have spare keys to offer so she required me to leave whenever she did, and I could only return to her home after she had. So yeah, just some house rules depending on your host!

In your couch requests, you could also check with your hosts if you're allowed to do your laundry if you're planning to do so.

All in all, I had very comfortable stays at all of my hosts homes!!

Couch Rejections

Although I managed to find 4 hosts without too much difficulty (I think it has to do with the fact that I was there off season), I also had hosts who rejected my requests.

If you're totally new to the platform with no references, then the percentage of rejections will be higher. But everyone starts somewhere.
Ideally, you should have a detailed profile, upload more profile pictures and have friends leave references for you (not a must). Your host would want to know who they are inviting into their own homes after all.

Out of the 10 requests I sent, 4 were rejected and 2 received no response. That's pretty common.



But most who rejected me were nice about it. One who was unable to host me knew that I was a photographer, so he invited me to his company's photo studio. In his profile, he mentioned that he's a photographer who has been in the advertising business for 40 over years, hence why I wanted to meet him. I wasn't going to say no to the photo studio!!

When I went to his company's office building (he works at one of the big departmental stores in Tokyo), I had the privilege to go through stacks of film archives that go way back to 1970s. I really have so much respect for his work and how he shared with me that nothing in those archives were photoshopped. And you know, despite the language barrier (we are not fluent in each other's languages) and the age gap of 40 years, we found common ground in our profession and had a great time just talking about photography.
Well, definitely not the kind of experience I could have gotten even if I paid for it. This was definitely one of my trip's highlights.

So yes, while rejections are all the norm, you could still always ask to meet if you're really interested in your host! Not every rejection is a wasted effort on your part.

Returning The Favour

The active users on CS are often both hosts and surfers. They would offer up their homes to travellers while they're in their hometown, and go surfing while they travel. It's quite a common practice for a host to surf at the home of someone they've hosted before and vice versa. It's like an exchange of hospitality.

That being said, not everyone who surfs, hosts. Though I have already surfed a few times, I still have not hosted anyone in my home. That's mainly because I'm still living together with my parents, and the lack of room space just makes it a little restrictive.
If you're in a similar situation like mine, that's fine. Not all hosts are expecting you to host them in return, though it may affect your couch requests a little. My hosts are generally aware of my circumstances, and yet don't mind it.

However, I do make it a point to bring my hosts around for a good time if they ever come to Singapore. While I cannot offer a space, I would definitely treat them to some local cuisine! It's really about what you can offer to make your host/another traveller feel more welcome in your country.

Couchsurfing is more than a platform to find a roof over your head while you're abroad. It is a travel community, and you'll be surprised at the hospitality and friendship you encounter while in a foreign country.
I'm still keeping in contact with some of the travellers/hosts over social media platforms and Whatsapp, and I'm looking forward to the day they do visit Singapore.

Is It Safe?

Yes, of course. The question that makes or breaks travel plans.

The truth is yes and no.

There have been a few reported couchsurfing nightmares, sadly. Cases where hosts are using the platform as means for hookups, or surfers staying there for weeks without any intention to leave. Like every other online platform, there are bound to be individuals who misuse the services with no good intentions.

So play it safe. Make sure your host's profile is detailed with pictures and references. I always read the references before making my decisions. I had offers where the host had no references, a brief profile and only one photo. I tend to ignore those.



And there you have it. Whatever I can think to cover about couchsurfing. With random pictures from my mobile haha. I'll probably share the ones from my camera later cause I haven't got around to editing them yet. :')

If you have any other questions related to couchsurfing or travelling Japan alone, you could drop me an email at mirabelle.koh@gmail.com.
If it's your first time travelling alone, you can also read an old post where I covered my first solo travel experience here. Hopefully, it helps!

I always say that travelling has helped me gain new eyes. It's like: what I know about Singapore is not what foreigners know or think about Singapore, and it is interesting to hear different perspectives.

So just a little fun fact I discovered during my trip: the top two Singaporean delicacies that most foreigners want to try are... Laksa and Chili Crab. Lolol.
I mean I know chili crab is good but I just didn't expect it to top two? During conversations with the locals or other travellers, the local fare in Singapore always comes up and both of those dishes will be mentioned without fail. There is also the assumption that Singaporeans have chili crab frequently.
I guess that's just like the old me, assuming that all Japanese eat sushi/sashimi.

Okay that's just a little tidbit I thought to share cause I found it amusing haha.


This post actually took me six hours to come up with, so I hope that it at least helped a soul. Sometimes I wonder why I'm putting in sooo much effort into all these travel writing...

Passion I guess. That's the only reason that justifies spending half my day on this post when I can be working on freelance works that actually pays. Sigh.

You know what they say — once you've been to Japan, you'll always go back. So far, this statement holds true for me and many of my friends/acquaintances. There's just something about the land of the rising sun that people can't get enough of. I believe many Singaporeans like myself would agree. Japan is just... Unforgettable.

My last trips to Japan were in 2015 and 2016. So it's been about two years since I've last been there. This time, I spent 23 days in different parts of Japan!

The itinerary is as follows:
Osaka (4 days) - Nara (day trip) - Hiroshima (2 days) - Kinosaki Onsen (1 day) - Kyoto (3 days) - Shirakawa-go (1 day) - Takayama (1 day) - Azumino (2 days) - Tokyo (6 days) - Odaiba (day trip) - Hakone (1 day)



It was relatively easy to cover different places in Japan because there are many tourist passes available — like the JR Rail Pass, which is like a concession pass that allows travellers to use the bullet train, Shinkansen, to cover different prefectures in Japan. The passes are more value-for-money when you plan to cover multiple prefectures, and that explains why we went to so many places whilst in Japan.

Given our itinerary, Han and I got ourselves the JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass that allowed us to cover 4 locations (Nara - Hiroshima - Kinosaki Onsen - Kyoto) in 5 days. You can read about how we maximised the our pass here.

If you're on a budget, I've wrote an article on some tips to save in Japan. Do give it a read!

Now onto the activities and attractions!!

Osaka

Ah, the food capital of Japan. Nothing brings a smile to my faces more than the street food stalls and comfort fare that Osaka is famous for. This is my third time here, and the takoyaki alone is enough reason for me to return to Osaka everytime.

I revisited the places that I have been to before — Dotonbori, Namba, Shinsaibashi, Shinseikai, Osaka Castle and USJ. You can read about my past experiences here and here. I didn't take pictures of any of the above attractions in Osaka this time round because I was too preoccupied with the food, theme park rides (USJ) and claw machines there. So, don't forsake any of the above six spots because they're the best Osaka has to offer.




Okay I guess I got a couple of pictures of the Osaka Castle and the park this time. The autumn foliages were stunning!! It's our first time catching the autumn foliages nearing the end of its peak! The last time I tried I was a month too early haha.

On another note!! I did visit the Mameshiba Cafe located in the heart of Dotonbori! Initially, I thought that they only had an outlet in Kyoto but we chanced upon them in Osaka too. So yeap. Cute doggos were all I took while in Osaka. Worth it.







The entry fee to the Mameshiba Cafe is ¥800 per person, and you're allowed a maximum of 30 minutes with the dogs.

Nara

While making use of our 5 Day JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass, we took a day trip to Nara! The pass covers the next few cities/towns we went. To avoid overlapping content, I separated our itinerary for the JR pass in another post. You can read how we maximised the pass and what we did in Nara, Hiroshima and Kinosaki Onsen here.

Hiroshima

On an abandoned island full of stray bunnies, we fed them some goodies we got from the supermarket and that turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. We also went the Miyajima island, one of the most beautiful locations in Japan. The islands we visited in Hiroshima are covered in this post.

Kinosaki Onsen

An onsen town retreat after the previous exhausting day of island hopping! Also in the JR Pass post.

Kyoto

On the fifth and last day of our JR Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass, we made our way to Kyoto. It's my second time at Kyoto, and just like I did in Osaka, I covered some of the locations that I did before since Han has not seen or been there before. Mainly the Nishiki Market, Gion and Arashiyama. You can read my previous extensive itinerary of Kyoto here and here.









Still can never get enough of the beauty of Arashiyama. For those who are fans of tranquil spots, this is it! It's so chill that this Japanese lady even brought her Koto (something like a Japanese Guzheng) out to play in the setting sun hahaha.

Another picturesque spot of Kyoto that I love is definitely Gion. The Nishiki Market is also located not too far away from the scenic parts of Gion so it's perfect for foodstops! The only downside is that the things are a bit pricier here. It seems like the prices for many food items have gone up since the last time (four years ago) I've been here.







Japan is also well-known for its quality knives, and for a chef like Han, it's also a dream come true for him to be able to get his hands on one of these treasures. After some research, Han decided to make a stop at Shigeharu to get himself one of those artisan knives. He also got his name engraved on it in Hatakana!

I'm clueless about knives and its features but this old man is definitely a passionate craftsman and blacksmith. Just look at his hands and all the knives handmade by him.





And playing with hedgehogs just because :')

Shirakawa-go

Our time at Shirakawa-go (joined in by Trisha and her boyfriend) was definitely one of the biggest highlights during our time in Japan. If you're planning your Japan itinerary and have been considering whether or not to visit Shirakawa-go, this is me telling you that you shouldn't miss this beautiful village. I mean, it's listed as one of the UNESCO heritage sites for a reason. It's rustic charm is unrivalled.



There's so much to write about the winter wonderland when we visited in mid December so I have done so in another post. You can read it here.

Takayama

From Shirakawa-go, we took an hour long bus to Takayama from the bus terminal. You can find out more about how we travelled to the Gifu Prefecture in the Shirakawa-go post!

Also, Takayama happens to be one of the places were we splurged quite a bit on a ryokan stay. It's probably our third ryokan stay throughout the trip thus far, but the first time we got to try how grand and spectular a ryokan dinner (served to you in your room) is actually like. Two of us couples also decided to stay together because it's cheaper when the room is spilt four-ways.





Oh and they provide yukatas too!! So you get to dress a little fancy. :')

While in Takayama, the one thing not to miss is definitely the Hida beef!! It's unique to the Gifu prefecture, and omg I swear it's one of the best beefs I had the luxury to have. Four of us even agree that it's comparable to Kobe beef.




Many of the streets and stalls here will have Hida Beef on their menu, whether its beef sushi, beef ramen or just the grilled ones on skewers. They were all good.

Azumino 

Azumino is also another off the beaten track destination that we randomly chanced upon. We had plans to hike and trek here, but we underestimated the cold in the winter (it was always around zero degrees and extremely windy) so we didn't get to get anywhere close to the alps or the mountains.

Still, we got to visit the glass museum and the wasabi farm.





This farm below in Azumino actually happens to be where we are staying at! We got a farm stay here via Airbnb, and met a very passionate local who grows coriander and radishes amongst other crops. He is soooo enthusiastic about his farm that he even owns coriander hats, coriander printed shirts and pillows (which we slept on).

It was a humbling experience when we got to have dinner with him too! Despite my limited Japanese conversational skills, we somehow got by with the help of Google translate, sake and beers LOL. In the end, the time we spent with our Japanese host and his family was the main highlight of our stay in Azumino.



Also, just look at the view!! The Japanese Northern alps is just in the background.

Tokyo

While in Tokyo, I also covered the places I did previously such as Shinjuku, Harajuku, Asakusa, Shibuya and Akihabara. If you're keen in these places, you can read about my past trips in Western Tokyo and Northern/Central Tokyo.

This time though, Han and I went to Disneysea together with the other couple! It's my first time to Disney, and because I heard that there is only one Disneysea in the world (Japan), I thought I'd tick that place off first!













There's just so much to do in Tokyo, but I really do think it's quite similar to Singapore since it's just city life and all. We did however, cover their kitchen streets, art museums and bookshops because what they have in Tokyo is far better than what's in Singapore. We were just basically looking at stuff that's more relevant to our careers and areas of interests heh. Han got another knife in Tokyo, while I managed to get my hands on some photo books by Japanese photographers!

Odaiba

From Tokyo, we also made a day trip to Odaiba just to catch the teamLab light exhibition held at the Mori Building Digital Art Museum.

When I bought the tickets, I honestly expecting a lot from the exhibition because well, it is just an exhibition. But this is an interactive one, and it left all four of us pretty amazed by the whole experience!

Hakone

You can read more what we did and how we got around with the 2 Day Hakone Pass here.


I'd say that our itinerary is more suited for those who are into sightseeing, food and local experiences. Oh and feeding animals lol. Both of us always preferred exploring the road less travelled, and away from the city. But of course, we are still city kids down to the core of our bones so we will never be able to stay away from civilisation too long without getting bored.

So yes, that's our 23 Days in 11 towns and cities around Japan! We got to cover some unique and less popular places, which became one of the most fulfilling experiences (at least for Han and myself) ever. To think that we still spent another 10 days in Taiwan and South Korea prior to this long venture hahaha.

That's pretty much it for the Japan itinerary! It's been a super looong post and I hope that it has been helpful to other travellers, especially for those who have already been to Japan before, and are not too sure what other destinations in Japan they could visit on to spruce up their next trip.

Onto the next destination: Korea!!


Check out my other travel posts:
▶ 33 Days Around Japan, Korea and Taiwan
▶ Japan in December (part 1) - Christmas in Hakone 
▶ Japan in December (part 2) - Winter Wonderland in Shirakawa-go
▶ Japan in December (part 3) - Borderless Digital Art Museum
▶ Japan in December (part 4) - 5 Days in Nara, Okunoshima, Hiroshima, Miyajima & Kinosaki Onsen
▶ Japan in December (part 5) - 11 Towns and Cities in 23 Days