In summer of 2018, after a long series of planning, a group of friends head to Japan. A place they’ve always wanted to go to. A Mecca of sorts. But also a whole new lifestyle that some of us never realized existed. From May 10th to the 22nd.
Japan - Summer ‘18
w/Pranav C. (@prchau), Dylan J. (@dylanjayaw), Rohin N. (@avatarrohin), Aniket P. (@aniket_pat1l), Sid M. (@theyungsiddhartha), and Vijay M. (@vijaym3)
a song to go with these images
Suki 6 - a brunch diner
Hello, I’m Rohin!
Kyoto Day 1 - The old capital. We took Shinkansens back and forth (bad idea) but everything we did became a story here.
Are you up to anything?
…not really
That evening Rohin and I left the rest of the group and headed to climb up Mt. Inari. At the top was a temple, but along the way were the iconic orange gates adorning the stairs. It took us roughly two hours to get up and come down again. Pranav joined us later, but he got lost and took the hiking trail up the mountain instead. We met up at the base on the mountain at the end and headed for the station to get back to Tokyo.
Kyoto Day 2 - Started the day separately, but came together as the end.
The Golden Temple - Kinkaku-ji
Ryoan-ji - Temple of the Peaceful Dragon
Kimono Forest @ Arashiyama Station
Each pillar of light is a tube with kimono fabric circled inside. As we left the local Kyoto station, we were suddenly greeted with this ensemble of pillars as well as locals dressed in kimonos.
Arashiyama
Casual Day in Tokyo Museum of Modern Art
Mt. Fuji (Fuji-sama) - Just me and Vijay, everyone else went in their own groups.
Morioka City - A city up north, where it was much colder…and a different vibe completely.
It was just me, Pranav, and Vijay who took the Shinkansen up north. Here we visited Wanko Soba, an unlimited soba bowl restaurant, and the Imperial castle ruins.
Pranav and I. (Vijay can be seen in the trip header)
The Last Day
On the last full day, everyone went their separate ways. We each had something we wanted to see. Dylan wanted to see the staircase from Kimi no na Wa. Sid and Pranav went to see the Tokyo Skytre. Vijay came with me at night to see the Gundam Unicorn statue. Aniket stayed at home to relax one last time.
“I feel like I’m always searching for someone, or something.”
Taki Tachibana
Quotes from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn:
“Through the potential that lies within, we will demonstrate the true power and compassion of humanity. To transcend what is immediate and realize our god-like potential, the greatness within us that is possible.”
“One man cannot be the voice for the wishes of all humanity. Not unless he becomes a vessel. But the only ones who can become vessels are those who have emptied themselves and passed through madness to emerge on the other side.”
“Humanity’s future is to be built by humans, isn’t it? People are weak. Flawed. That’s why we entrust it to each other. It’s passed on, and people keep walking forward. No matter how painful the path might be!”
