Made in Japan

Few knows that when I was a young teenager, before getting into the endless tunnel of rock/metal music, I was manga lover, videogame addicted and computer nerd... So Japan represented to me a dream destination, something like the Eldorado on Earth. Well, time as gone but the charme Japan has on me is still high and, now that I've seen it, I must admit that it exceeded my expectations. The people, in particular, they all are absolutely incredible, friendly, kind, extremely polite and respectful. A dream comes true.
The Japanese society seems to me like the electronic devices that they produce and export all over the world. It's efficient, precise and scrupulously programmed to the smallest degree of detail. A perfect oiled machine where all the functions are strictly planned in advance and everybody has one role to play, many times one role only. As I'm Italian, as Italy works the opposite, all this seems to me amazing, a really delight to my eyes and thoughts. Anyway, trying to look the other side of the story, I ask myself which is the price they have to pay for such efficiency and perfection of the society. As we are all humans, not machines, I wonder if in the long term it maybe leads people to frustration as they become slave to rules, or maybe leading to a lack of creativity and freedom. Don't know... As perfection is not of this world, I'm just trying to find something wrong in something apparently too neat to be true.
Usually people has jokes on my addiction to photography. Well, here in Japan it's not only usual to bring cameras in your hand and shoot almost everything, here people even suggests you the right angle for taking a better picture!

Tokyo, Japan

What if I say that I love Japan, and particularly Tokyo? What if I say that it took three months but finally I've found the right city for me? What if I say that I want to apply to get a job here? Tokyo is simply unbelievable. I usually don't like metropolis, but Tokyo is well different than regular big cities: it has 12 millions people but the order, the cleanliness, the politeness make you feel like in a town. It's on a higher step of civilization. Businessmen reading comics or playing pachinko in an addicted mood, manga-style goth ladies walking down the streets, plastic food displayed on windows, music and singing birds broadcasted on subway, electronic toilets and even more... Yeah, Tokyo is much more. Japanese have done their own best to make me feel sad and regretful to leave the country, they've been perfect, that's the right word. It's the first time I'm in Asia, so every day there's something new to learn, something unexpected, something to discover, but honestly I didn't think I would have experienced such a sense of hospitality and kindness... Tokyo, in my memories, will also have the name and the face of a girl met previously in Turkey, she hosted me and her company made my stay even more pleasant.
Everything goes quick when you're on the road, so many feelings you don't even have time to realize what is going on. The past is gone and the future uncertain: present is the only thing that really matters.

Mount Fuji, Japan

The art of motion

I had a very long way from Italy to here. Seems unbelievable thinking that I'm in Tokyo right now, and I reached it with a train ticket to Venice as first step. Overland, no flights, that was the promise, the challenge. It's almost 3 months I'm on the road, but they worth like years: all the memories I'm collecting will be tattoed forever in my mind, all the experiences I'm living, all the great people met till now. This travel is one of the coolest things I've ever done. Anyone who thinks traveling is just a waste of money and time has understood nothing from life. Traveling is an investment to life, well different stuff to simple holidays.
I'm enjoying each euro I'm paying, each day I'm living, each person met on my way. I don't give a fuck to what people thinks about me, or what society is expecting from me. This is my life, I live it my own way.
I'm doing what I always wished to do. I'm happy.

Where to go next?

Im in Tokyo, the city is really amazing and Im having great times here. But what to do next? I dont know which way taking after Tokyo, not really sure where to go... So, please, my dear trusty readers, help me in deciding the next stop submitting the poll on the right side of the page! You can decide my journey. I will definitely take the result in consideration to plan my next moves.

What the hell is a manga cafe`???

I`m just arrived in Tokyo by Shinkansen after a nice day spent in Kyoto visiting some very remarkable sights, and I`m already deep into the capitol`s lifestyle going overnighting into a manga cafe... A manga cafe` is similar to a regular internet cafe` but you have showers, toilets, free drinks and small private box where you can use internet, watching tv or reading in absolute freedom all the comix you want from the library (manga=japanese comic book). The price is usually low for Japanese standards, about 13 euros for 6-8 hours, and the small room clean and comfortable. In all honesty, the feeling I had as soon as I got inside it was that officially that place is made for manga readers but, in reality, is something closer to love hotel for lonely teenagers... Time to sleep for me now: you pay per hour and after the six hours' package the price dramatically increase! Oyasumi nasai!

We are but falling leaves

Si sta come d`autunno, sugli alberi, le foglie.

(G. Ungaretti)

Kyoto, Japan

I`m pissed off. Why? Because it`s raining since 3 days, maybe more.
I`m starving. Why? Because prices are out of my budget and I`m eating just a little every day.
I`m freezing my ass. Why? Because to save money I`m in a shitty place without heater.
I`m in a temple-overdose. Why? Because of the too many temples visited the last few weeks.
I`m scratchy. Why? Because an adorable bed bug decided to make my backpack home, and now each day the little bastard bites my arms without way to find him.
I`m drinking loads of sake. Why? Just read above.

Osaka, Japan

What doing in a gray rainy day if you are in Osaka? Easy, just squeeze your railpass as much as you can and have a trip to Takayama, in the middle of Japanese mountains! The town was ok, but honestly it didnt impress me too much, as impressed me - for instance - the crazy speed the train was flying through the cities on the way back: more than 330 km/h!

Hiroshima, Japan

Now I know why they are so called bullet trains, they are so freaking fast you really cannot imagine what it means until you have placed your ass on one of them.　And you cannot even understand how they are　crazily expensive: just think that if I hadn't a pass (which I had to buy out of Japan only) today's trip was around 160 euros! Well, I went to Hiroshima, the first city targeted by an atomic bomb in the history of human kind in 1945, two days before Nagasaki. No need to say anything else about it but sadness, for this kind of tragedies words are empty. Then I headed to the beautiful and traffic free Miyajima island, home of one of the most famous and photographic temples of Japan. I met there a photographer from Usa, one of those professionals who sells pictures to Getty Images and big companies like that. He is going to spend 6 weeks in Japan and plans to get at least 25.000 pictures, After all, it will take about 8 months the whole post-production process... Well, after this story, are you still thinking I am photo addicted???

Nagasaki, Japan

I`ve finally got my Japan Railway pass which allow me to travel for 7 days without limitations on the whole Japanese network, even on the bullet trains `Shinkansen`, the world ranking high speed trains reaching almost 300 km/h. The price of the pass has been very expensive but, as the whole transports here are hyper-expensive, still remains a good deal. Well, this means for the next week I will be extremely busy in a sort of marathon to squeeze as much as I can the pass to the main shrines of Japan... Anyway, after last days` fun I thought was a good idea to jump back to reality with a depressive trip to Nagasaki, the city targeted by Us army with the atomic bomb during the 2nd world war: 75.000 people died for the explosion that hit the city the morning of 9th August 1945, while other 75.000 were seriously injuried or died just few months later. The same people responsible for that tragedy nowadays talks about fight against terror or exporting democracy to foreign countries... Bah!

Fukuoka, Japan

I`m finally in Fukuoka, Japan, the destination of the original plan of my trip. In my original plans there was also the idea to reach Vladivostok through Siberia and then Japan, but I`m definitely glad to had a detour through Mongolia, China and South Korea as the cultures and things seen are really hard to describe. After all, plans are made to be changed, no?
I`ve reached the coast of Japan sailing with a night ferry from Pusan and, as usual, each time I leave a country it`s sadness time for me. The days spent in Korea have been really stunning, like Koreans are. I love them all. People is so respectful, polite, kind and friendly that seems to me impossible to be true: they call it Korea, I better call it Paradise.
Japan now! I quickly understood to be in Japan when the bus out of the ferry terminal was driven by a driver in white gloves while the engine was turning automatically off each red light and, even if the bus was pretty busy, the silence in there was surreal, that kind of loud silence previously experienced at funerals only. I`m sure will be a lot of fun to discover this country... Japan, here I am!