Nada Stipanović

We visited Japan twice. The first time was in 1992. We arrived in Osaka in the morning and my husband said to me: “You know, reloading is rather quick here so we may only be here for half day.” However, an agent arrived and told us that we will have to stay for five days, so I was elated. In those five days, we went sightseeing all over Osaka and its surroundings. We visited temples, which were something to see themselves, but we were not allowed inside as foreigners. We had lunch at a restaurant that was only frequented by Japanese people. We waited at a table to be served but the waitress seemed to be waiting on all tables except ours. They didn't know what to do with us. They couldn’t speak English. We did finally get served but it was nothing special. When we had visited Rotterdam previously and eaten in Japanese restaurants it was phenomenal, but in Japan it just wasn’t the same dish.
We had a subway pass to get around and everything was so well-explained that we didn't need to ask for help. During our second visit to Japan, we only spent a day in the port of Shimizu. The most memorable experience was seeing the ship enter the bay at 5 a.m., and I was awake and excited. I went out on deck and saw the top of Mount Fuji in the distance. It was an amazing sight. The peak was covered in snow and clouds, and the image will always stay in my mind. It's incredible to see something you know exists but still manages to impress you.