Here are some short notes I wrote during my trip

The best (and worst) of Japan:

The city that I like the most – Fukuoka
It is a city, which gave me everything. Ups and downs; happiness and loneliness; the beautiful side and the poor side; ocean and land; sunset and sunrise. See Fukuoka

The most fun city – Tokyo
The city itself is not very fun. Only my friends make it stands out from the other big city in Japan.

The city that gave me the most thoughts – Hiroshima
I visited the peace memorial park twice and it was quite emotional. I thought about it a lot. May there be "PEACE" on earth.

The most culturalistic city – Kyoto
City of temples and history. The whole place was beautiful even me, an amateur photographer can take postcard quality photos.

The most boring city – Kofu
I was in Kofu for 3 hours but it really have nothing in it. So impossibly boring.

The best scenery – Kiso-valley
Very nicely persevered open-air museum with both history and nature. I highly recommend 'Magome to Tsumago' walk.

The hottest day – 8th December 2002 in Fukuoka

The coldest day – 9th December 2002 in Tokyo (it was snowing all day long)

The best time I had – travelling with Hiro, Kumiko and Roseanne

The best person I met – Onari San
He is not rich but he definitely full of kindness. He has an immeasurable richness. See Hitchhiking

Asshole I met – a group of high school student in Kobe
For fuck sake, even though I don't understand a word of Japanese you guys were saying. But I knew that you guys weren't saying anything nice. Cheers! Assholes!

Home in Japan – Hiro's place: Tomioka-nishi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagaua-ken.
I will go back there for sure. Really feels like home to me.

The best Youth hostel – Aichi-ken Seinen-kaikan Youth Hostel (Nagoya)
Good Japanese style bedroom with nice roommate.

The most welcoming Youth hostel – Kiso Ryojoan Youth Hostel
No matter how cold the outside was but inside I was the only guest and it was bloody warm and welcoming.

The worst Youth hostel – Osaka-fu Hattori Ryokuchi Youth Hostel
Very dull, boring and old hostel deep inside a big park.

The best Japanese meal – cooked by Hiro's mum
It was just unbeatable; curry chicken, roasted beef…

The cheapest food – bread in bakery in Hiroshima (178yen – that's my lunch)

The most expensive meal – Indian restaurant in Canal City, Fukuoka (2000 yen for lunch)

The best food – Ramen in Fukuoka

The worst food – Soba in Nagano

The car I drove – Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia MX-E

The coolest driving experience – driving thru small alley in Kawaguchi-ko city (with speed)

The most dangerous moment – the car skidded toward oncoming car when drove down a curve at Mt Fuji.

The transportation that I spent most time on – Walking (at least 5 hours per day)

The clothes that I wore the most – All Blacks Jersey and light blue Hallensteins Jeans