It’s probably weird to hear that some people have a favourite country, but has anyone else ever felt particularly drawn to a country they’ve never been to? A few of my friends feel very drawn to America as it is where some of their favourite bands and movies have come from. Others I know are drawn to England or certain parts of Europe. I’m not entirely sure what the cause of this is. Personally, I’ve always found myself drawn to Japan and Japanese culture. So much so, I even found a Japanese tattooist based in Brisbane who crafted a whole tattoo sleeve for me. The sleeve is mainly made up of various anime characters, Japanese writing and Japanese flowers. I really love how it turned out and I plan on adding more Japanese tattoos to my body.
Last year I was super lucky to have been able to travel to Japan and really embrace the culture. I got to visit some iconic landmarks and get heaps of photos of places I always wanted to go. I also got to stay in a traditional Japanese style hotel which was extremely lovely. All the people in Japan are fantastic too. Everyone is so polite, and some of the people I encountered were among the most creative people I had met in my whole life. The Japanese family I had made friends with while on student exchange not only showed me all the tourist hotspots, but they also took me to traditional locations where I could really spend time absorbing the Japanese culture. I also trained some karate while I was there, which was nice. When I got home, I finished off my trip by visiting a realism tattoo artist in the Brisbane CBD to add some final touches to my sleeve.
I think my love for Japan definitely comes from my obsession with karate and anime. I’ve been interested in these two things for a long time, it’s only natural that Japan is at the centre of my world. Let me know if any of you have any favourite destinations.