Long day of travel, but made it safely to Tokushima and met up with my friend Marty to see this city and a little slice of Japan away from all the hustle and bustle of the big cities.
Photo Gallery: https://pics.mattichan.com/-uwc118
Incheon Airport
Headed bright and early through the park to thr airport. Thankfully, it was just a quick 10 minute walk right back through the mall to the airport and got some nice views of the cherry blossoms on the way in the park.
Had the early flight, and mostly just slept on the couple hour flight over to Japan. Quick layover at Haneda on the way, but made it without any problems.
Tokushima
Tokushima Airport to Tokushima Station
Got to the airport and found a giant sign of some puppeteers that Marty knows greeting me on the wall. Got into the limousine bus to Tokushima Station and enjoyed the ride into the city.
Bizan Park
For our first stop, we headed over to Bizan Park to enjoy the views of the city. Took a nice tram up to the mountain peak.
Views
The view from the top is spectacular and gives you a great overlook of the city. Really interesting to see the “smaller” city still being so sprawling.
Loved the views of the mountains covered in layers of mist with cherry blossoms surrounding us in the foreground AND the background as well. Really quite enjoyable and peaceful up there.
Cherry Blossoms
Lots of cherry blossoms of all different colors and varieties. Pretty neat and still in bloom (and haven’t fallen yet).
Plaza
As we were finishing up, we stopped in the plaza and grabbed some beverages. The cute little polar bear is warning us of global warming (I think).
After taking the tram back down the mountain, we continued on.
Shrine
Right at the base of the mountain near the tram station, we headed to the entrance to the shrine for some pictures of the gate.
Dinner at Our
First meal of the side trip, we stopped at Our and got some fantastic ramen and some dumplings. So delicious, could’ve eaten a couple more bowls in my head, but I was pretty full and satisfied.
Walking Around the City
We set out for a bit, walking a bit around the city and orienting. Saw a ton more cherry blossoms everywhere and we stopped by a local market to get some veggies and supplies.
Turning In
We stopped by 7-Eleven and the grocery store nearby on the way back for some more sustenance and late night snacks and then settled in for the night. Had some plum wine, and we figured out how to set up the TV antenna to receive all the channels. Figuring out how to scan for channels while translating everything was quite an adventure, but we got it working!
Vibe Check
5 parts joy
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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