Travelling in Japan with Hannah

In May 2024, Hannah (@thewayfinderdiver, on Instagram) embarked on her second tour with The Dragon Trip to Japan – a 13 day adventure from Tokyo to Osaka. We recently caught up with Hannah to discover her favourite moments from the tour, what she adored about Japan, and some top travel tips for fellow adventurers.

A quick delve into the world of Hannah Diver: Why did you start travelling? What made you fall in love with it? Was there anyone in particular who inspired you?

I’ve always had the dream to travel ever since I can remember. I honestly don’t know where it came from but the older I got the more I dreamed of taking a gap year to explore the world. My parents have always told me that ever since I was born, I marched to the beat of my own drum, so I’m sure that must have something to do with my love of travel.

After studying Psychology at University, I got accepted into a graduate program where I got to live and work in Sri Lanka in mental health facilities. This trip will forever stay with me as it was my first time away solo travelling and solidified everything I thought I would love about travel! And I took it as a sign that this was the time to go on my big adventure!

After I completed the program, I spent the next two years travelling the world to some amazing places such as China, Southeast Asia, Singapore, New Zealand, and Fiji, before ending up living in Australia for a bit too. As you can imagine, this pretty much sealed the deal for my love of travel and even when I ended up coming back home to the UK to continue my career, I was adamant I would still strive to travel as much as I am able, which is exactly what I do now!

 

Why did you choose to visit Japan?

Like most people, Japan has been at the top of my travel bucket list for many, many years now. I actually went to South Korea last year and loved it so much that I knew I wanted to go to that side of the world again. I think the main thing that attracted me to Japan is it just looked like there was so much variety. It has massive cities, beautiful landscapes, chill beaches, islands to explore, traditional old towns… basically a bit of everything. (Oh, and most definitely all the food as well!)

What attracted you to group tour travel?

As someone who primarily travels around her 9-5 job now, it’s amazing how quickly time can disappear from you with other ‘life things’ like jobs, responsibilities, etc. So, I love tour travel because it saves me so much more time than if I had to organise it all by myself. Especially when tours like the Dragon Trip include activities or places that I’d never heard of before, or even thought to do! In turn, it allows you to have some really unique experiences you might not have had if you went on your own. I also have to add that I have also met some of the best people on The Dragon Trip tours which I think make the adventure even sweeter!

What was your favourite thing you learned about Japan on your trip?

One thing that blew my mind was when the tour guide explained how children learn the language in primary, and how they learn three different alphabets – in total, I’m pretty sure he said was over 2000 different characters! I knew they learnt multiple alphabets, but I didn’t quite understand the extent of the characters. To me that is incredible!

What was the best experience you had on the tour?

Oh gosh – there’s too many to choose from! I really enjoyed the calligraphy class in Kyoto. It was super interesting to learn the techniques and the teacher was extremely knowledgeable. I also loved it because we got to keep a piece of work we had created as a souvenir. It has gone straight up on my wall at home so I can remember my time in Japan whenever I look at it.

I also loved one of the additional activities on the tour where I got to eat lunch while watching sumo wrestlers! It was super fun and educational and there was even a chance to put on a sumo suit and have a go yourself! This was definitely an experience.

Where was your favourite place to visit in Japan?

Another tough question! I’m going to start with the obvious, but Tokyo was a top choice. I loved how much variety it had there – it literally has a bit of everything. Another highlight, which was the place that surprised me the most, was Miyajima Island in Hiroshima. I had no idea what to expect from this place, but it quickly became one of my favourite places on the tour. It had temples, beaches, hikes, local food and drink, deer… it had it all! I spent the day exploring all it had to offer, and it has such a chill vibe with amazing views. It was hard not to love!

Do you have a favourite story or moment from your trip?

Speaking of Miyajima Island in Hiroshima… myself, my partner, and another person on the tour had just gotten a beer from the brewery on the island. We sat by the water together with the sun shining on us and chatting the afternoon away. My partner had to go and pop something in the bin and left me in charge of looking after his beer. I got distracted chatting to the other person for maybe a few seconds and suddenly turned back to find a deer sipping out of his beer glass! Cheeky thing! (Don’t worry, my partner has forgiven me).

As for my favourite moment, I think seeing Mt. Fuji in Hakone has to be my top choice. It was something that I really wanted to do but hadn’t got my hopes up about because I know it’s dependent on the weather. Thankfully everything aligned and the views were breathtaking.

What was the best food you ate in Japan?

I don’t think I actually had one bad meal in Japan now that I think about it. Obviously, ramen needs an honourable mention. I had never really been a ramen fan before I went to Japan, but I think that’s because I had never had a proper one! I am now completely converted and don’t know how I’ve lived my life without it.

I also love Okonomiyaki so trying it in Hiroshima was extremely authentic and, of course, super tasty. It was a cute and cozy place as well and it was cooked right in front of you… so I was taking notes!

What surprised you most about how people live in Japan?

I think it has to be how extremely convenient everything is. I think I was expecting more of a culture shock when I went to Japan but, because of the way things work over there, everything seems extremely logical and works really well. I never really came across anything that felt difficult to figure out or ‘clunky’ to use.

Were you able to pick up some of the local language?

Absolutely! I’m a big advocate of always trying to learn some basic phrases no matter where I go in the world – I think it’s the least we can do as travellers. And Japan was no exception! I started learning it a few months before and was amazed at how much you can pick up just from being there!

Any top tips for travellers going to Japan?

There are probably too many to mention all of them here but, if I had to choose, it would be to download Google Maps. It is SO useful for navigating – especially as it tells you which exits of the train stations to use because sometimes that’s a challenge in itself!

And most importantly, please don’t worry about the language barrier. I know this can be a concern for first timers, but as I said, everything is very easy to use and logical. More importantly, the local people I met in Japan were always extremely kind and very open to helping if you didn’t quite understand. And, if you really get stuck, then Google Translate is also extremely useful! (I only had to use it twice).

Where’s next on your travel bucket list?

I also have way too many of these! 😀 I’ve been extremely tempted by India recently because I’ve been seeing a lot of content about it lately and seen some amazing places – Goa and the chill beach vibes sound ideal right about now! However, as I mentioned I also have a strong tie to Sri Lanka and recently I have felt it pulling at my heartstrings again to go back to it, so we shall see! Maybe flip a coin?

Finally, anything else to add?

Just that Japan is an incredible place, and I can almost guarantee you will fall in love with it and probably want to go back again before you even set foot back in your home country!

Also, if you are looking for more travel tips or travel bucket list inspiration then be sure to follow me on my socials as I share a lot more information there. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself as I love meeting like-minded people and am always happy to answer questions about my travels. I am also working on an exciting new eBook all about first-time travel to Japan so keep your eyes open for that… Happy Travels!

To find out more about Hannah’s travels, follow her on Instagram or TikTok (or both)!