Japan

Japan is by far one of my most favorite countries in the world. As an Austrian, Japan feels like a completely different world. The culture, the people, the way of life, it's all different from normal European standard. Nagasaki, the city in which I was at, suffered an Allied nuclear attack in August 1945. If you wouldn't know your history, then you would have never guessed it was hit bombed. The city is absolutely beautiful and gorgeous.

The way the city is decorated is so cool. They use bunnies as "helpers" and decorate everything everywhere. You can immediately tell that you're in a completely different world. I absolutely love it.

It was fun walking around the city and checking out all the cool gadgets they had. The stores were filled with all sorts of items that I have never seen before. The isles were very narrow, and me being quite a big guy wasn't always easy to get around, but I managed :) It was also fascinating to see entire shops dedicated to one item, such as socks only, tee, sneakers, or crazy glasses. I had to buy some socks, as they did look funny and are comfortable.

As I got hungry I went completely "blind" into a restaurant, not knowing what to expect or "checking it out" beforehand. I decided that I was simply going to go inside and eat at a restaurant that I thought looked quite cool. As I entered this restaurant, I had to pay an entrance fee, which I was confused. Not having eaten at a restaurant before, I thought this might be a normal thing... My gosh was I an idiot... It was the fee to the buffet. The food was nicely displayed in the middle of the room and on the side a cook if you wanted anything cooked.Obviously I had to eat as much as I could, and I ate a lot! The food was super delicious and the experience at the place was awesome.

As you walk around the city, you will also find a lot of shrines. They each served their own purpose such as respecting the dead, the survival of the nuclear attack, being grateful of life. These shrines are an absolute must see, and people still go to these shrines to pay their respects. This is an experience you will not see anywhere else in the world.

The night life is very active and beautiful. A lot of lights keeping the city alive, people walking around, bars and restaurants filled. I was also at a bar, to which I had an Asahi beer (absolutely love it and has become one of my all time favorite) and got to chat up with a somewhat drunk Japanese. It was hilarious as it was very difficult to communicate with each other, but he was smiling and laughing and we had a really good time.

I've also been to Mt. Inasa, which is one of the most amazing night views I experienced in my life. It's about 333 meters up, on which you're a platform and get to see one of the most spectacular view in the world. It's amazing to see how alive this city is at this time of night.

At the World Night View Summit in 2012, Nagasaki was recognized as one of the 3 cities with the most spectacular night views in the world.