Quite a few people email me asking for advice on travelling to Japan either on holiday or in one case, on relocating completely.
Mostly, I never heard from them again (did I frighten them off?) but one lovely couple kept in regular touch.
Michael & Glynis Thomson made a long dreamed of trip to this beautiful country and managed to fit a lot of sight-seeing into a relatively short time.
Once again, unfortunately, I've lost their original emails and my replies, but I kept this one as they enclosed a gorgeous photograph of them in front of Mount Fuji.
Hi Carole,
I felt that a quick email to you in Tokyo would be in order. Why? Well having read, with great delight your many excellent articles on Japan in our local "Freebie Booklet", I then am happy to say spent an excellent fortnight in the country in question!
Everything you said was a great help to us, on this trip of a lifetime. My wife and I are both ex-art teachers, so you can understand that Japan had to be paid a visit (This is a forty year old dream) to see for ourselves the "real" stuff!
Well the dream came true and we had a really wonderful time all round.
Our trip took us from Tokyo to Nikko, Bandai National Park (Snow still up in the mountains ) Fukushima, on to Toyama-Shirakawa and the GasshoZukuri thatched houses, to Nagoya-Toba and then on to Osaka.
Next came a trip to Matsue, Hiroshima followed by an excellent link in a "700" Shinkansen train to Kyoto. Spent a great time in this city, to continue to Hakone National Park and a cruise on Lake Ashi.
Japan is a strange country but I could cheerfully live there!
I have many interests in Japanese things, one being a collector of Japanese toys- the best being "Pla-rail" which this year celebrates 50 years of age! (See my trains on YouTube under the name of:-plarailmike)
However, enough about me, all I can say to you is, please keep on writing your super articles on Japan for my wife and I to read!!
Best regards,
Michael J. Thompson.
HELLO TO MICHAEL & GLYNIS!! Thank you for following my very slow blog and please feel free to fill in my many blanks about our email conversations! I'm so happy I could help you a little bit with your dream trip.
