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24 October 2026 · Our last full day in Japan
Our Japan journey picks up speed once more today. We take a taxi from Hakone to the train, then travel to Tokyo on the Shinkansen. The journey itself is an experience. After all those motorcycle kilometres, the train can handle the fast part; this time, Anneliese and I are passengers together.
A little luxury for the farewell
In Tokyo we check into a thoroughly luxurious hotel, The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho. That, too, belongs to this journey: adventure on the road, with some wonderfully comfortable moments along the way. Japan certainly has not confined us to a single way of travelling.
Suddenly, we are inside the picture
We do not stay there long, though. We head straight out on our tour to teamLab Borderless. The photographs tell this part beautifully: flowers glow around us, mirrors multiply the lights, and we appear first in blue, then among silvery shapes. Our black clothes have acquired plenty of colourful company.
In these pictures, we become part of the scene ourselves. There is certainly no need for the surroundings to provide a discreet background here – they are welcome to share the leading role.
Anneliese even sits down at a table to colour a drawing. Amid all this digital light, actual pencils make an appearance. Add a brilliantly coloured seahorse in the projection, and our last day in Japan is hardly short of subjects for the camera.
From the Imperial Palace to a pink umbrella
After the world of light, we visit the Imperial Palace from the outside. Then we gather for our food tour. There is a little drizzle, but otherwise everything is fine. Anneliese’s pink umbrella supplies the next splash of colour in the photograph.
Japan on the tongue, the world at the table
The food tour has now come to an end. Around ten in the evening, Anneliese and I are sitting in a taxi. We are a little tired by now – this last day in Japan certainly has not served us a small portion.
Alongside the tastings come some wonderful encounters. We meet a lovely newly married couple: he is a construction entrepreneur from Brazil, and she is a forensic specialist with the Brazilian criminal police. A fascinating combination. We talk and exchange stories, and she also tells us about her professional life. There are Swiss travellers too. A wonderfully international group has gathered to savour Japan. Apparently, all that requires is curiosity, wherever you call home.
The photographs bring a few more impressions along: the basket of things to taste, the plate of fish and the lanterns above the tables. After the afternoon’s worlds of light, Tokyo offers a different kind of stage in the evening.
Outside, signs glow, umbrellas pass through the picture, and even Godzilla peers out between the buildings. In the photograph, he certainly towers over our dinner company.
Back at the hotel, we would like to have one more drink in our lovely sky bar and round off the evening. That is the plan for the final stretch. Tomorrow brings another country, Thailand; tonight, we are still letting Japan linger.
A journey with every facet
So here it is: our last full day in Japan. Looking back, I struggle to choose just one adjective for this journey: exciting, beautiful, varied, adventurous, comfortable. It had every facet. That is what I want to hold on to – the wonderful variety Anneliese and I have experienced together.
Tomorrow morning we are due to leave for the airport at 7:30, then continue to Thailand. There I want to begin a big new chapter: Thailand, our “Second Home”. Today, though, this page still belongs to Japan. Even for the farewell, Japan has turned the colours up once more.
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