Back from Japan, and time for some reflections.

This trip was two years in the making. I think it was back in Korea when we kind of agreed that two years is a reasonable gap for trips together and Japan was the obvious next choice. Of course along the way there are doubts that it can happen - financial capabilities for some, work scheduling conflicts etc. And the brand new issue of partners coming in play. So for a long time...it almost didn't seem like it will happen. 

But as always, it took one airline promotion to spur everybody into action lol. This time it came in the form of MAS which we ended up securing return  tickets for RM996 to Osaka Kansai which is a serious steal. Though we had to forego the Sakura season for it but everybody thought it was worth it. More on that later. And there was also a bit of apprehension on the length of the trip (12 days, kind of long) but I remember KH convincing us that 10 days wasn't enough to cover the cities we wanted to cover. So the trip for 6 (not 5) was born (yes there was a bit of apprehension on having a 6th person on the trip too).

Planning went swimmingly well partly coz these are really well travelled places - Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. Decided to give up Kobe and Nara to dedicate more days to Osaka. And there's a super organized person in the mix so we settled everything nice and early. 

Will do a day by day review as usual later on but to summarize - it's another enjoyable trip! Weather was actually pretty fantastic, a bit on the colder side than I was prepared for so finally caved in and bought another jacket when I fell sick towards the end of the trip. Food wise, realized that Japanese food which we are accustomed to in SEA is actually pretty close to the originals so didn't find it all too outstanding. In fact, we found most things to be on the salty side. So not exactly going on a Japanese food boycott upon returning lol. Swept so many snacks back from drug stores and Don Quijote lol.

For me these trips are more about spending quality time with this group of people and less about the location. But I get that it is a lot harder to do so with a 6th person whose mentality isn't the same because...he wasn't as close with us. 20 years of friendship makes a difference. So to be honest tried hard to achieve a balance throughout the trip and I guess it's pretty comfortable in the end, though the 6 person dynamics are really different. Can't stress that enough. Still very thankful for the chance of another trip together though, it really isn't easy to do so as we grow older (for instance, can we really see ourselves doing this 2 years later, when we are *gasp* 30 and 31 years old?). So, much as it wasn't the perfect setting this time round, less 笑点, more stress, I still very much cherish these times together. 

That said, Japan is a place I will return to. There are still so many places to see, and Sakura. I know we said earlier we would forego Sakura for cheaper fares (and less tourists) but seeing all the bare trees and thinking about what it could have been brought about a tinge of regret. Plus spring time is always a good time to travel anyway. 

Alright that's about it for reflections!