JAPAN

During my endless trips to New Zealand I always had to stop somewhere because it is not possible to have a direct fly from Italy to such a far away place. I have to admit that the Italian passport is a blessing since it is possible to stop in many countries a visit them without the need of a visa thus, I took advantage of this fortune and I decided to visit Tokyo since I was forced to have a very log stopover there. At the beginning I was torn…Was it really a good idea to get out of the airport? What If I lost my fly? I decided to be bold and try, at the end of the day I couldn’t know when I would have the chance to see the vibrant Tokyo again. I landed at Narita Airport and I decided I wanted to taste the atmosphere of the ancient city thus, I explored the neighborhoods of Ueno and Yanaka close to Nippori Station. Endeed, I found myself surrounded by temples and sanctuaries of different philosophies and religions where rivers of people where going to ask for good fortune. They were washing their hands before reaching the entrance of the temple and were clapping their hands after making a wish. All the wishes were written as well on pieces of paper or wooden tablets. No one could really speak English but I was lucky enough to meet a Japanese man who was an artist and an English teacher. I was extremely surprised because this man had blue eyes… He said to me “My blue eyes are the reason why Japanese people think I am a good teacher! I look like an European!”