Introduction
This time, allow me to tell everyone about my story on the things I experienced during my tour in the Ibaraki prefecture. How I was able to join the trip, how things went there, how was my overall experience, and how I was showered with kindness by people. Hope you will read until the end and thank you if you have read this part and onwards.
HIS Japan
Before the Trip
The trip to Ibaraki was from a travel agency called HIS Tour, and it was introduced to me from a friend of a friend namely @joanne1221. The said tour package was then sent by @appleeatingapple to our group chat asking who will join with them. I grabbed the opportunity to join, and @wittyzell also joined in.
At the day of our departure, I was the first one to arrive there and immediately got lost. You see, at the meeting place, there was no one but me so I was not entirely sure if I was in the right place. Few minutes go by and several meters of walking around the area, some staffs came, and I was finally sure.
Photo I took before going to the meeting place
During the Trip
Finally, my friends came, and I made sure that we were together. Before they arrived, I was talking to the Japanese staff who, to my surprise, had a perfect English. I told her that we booked the tour separately, but we knew each other. Then she looked at her notes containing the seating arrangement and told me that she will move their seats near our premium seats for free. I told the same thing to my friends when they arrived and were delighted by the news.
Upon going into the bus which maybe had a maximum capacity around 50, it made sense to us that their seat was moved since the people participating were around 15 people. I gazed around inside the bus and there were old couple, some families, some friends, and one solo traveler. I gazed back to my friends, and they already hastened their seat belts which made me do the same thing.
Photo of melons in the souvenir shops
Found a malunggay in Japan
Arriving at the first place which was at the Chikusei, it was sunny as hell since it was summer at that time. The bus was parked far from the place, so we walked for few minutes. While walking, our tour guide was carrying a flag, and she was also carrying some documents and other things. I asked her to let me carry the flag instead and she gladly allowed me to. While my friends were smiling and taking pictures of me, it gave me a sense of power. A power to guide them and bring them to some other place. Of course, that was a joke, but my intrusive thoughts were kicking in.
One of the passengers
Photo I can be proud of
After taking lots of pictures of the countless sunflowers, we went to food stalls and bought some kakigori which is a flavored crushed ice. When it was our turn, the old lady who was covered in sweat was making some kakigori for us, and I waved my fan towards her enough to cool her face which made her smile. She then said something that made us surprised, "I will add more ice". I didn't expect her to say that, but we gladly accepted it and made sure to say our thanks.
I forgot what flavor was this :D
After the sunflower fields, we went back to the bus and drove to another place. I remembered that our tour guide was on the call previously informing someone that we will probably be late. I could guess that it was the restaurant that we will be going next. Arriving there, we went upstairs and sat to the reserved seats. We ate some lunch which was part of the amount we paid in the tour. The meal was more than enough I could dig in, but I still managed to eat all of the delicious meals presented. After eating, we bought some snacks in the souvenir shop.
Delicious and well-balanced meal
Next, we went to another place which sells some beverages. Mostly were alcoholic drinks and there were free tastes, so we took the opportunity to try them all. The four of us had a unanimous vote which one was the best, and then some of us bought it. Aside from that, we arranged a plan to buy only one drink and share it equally.
The shop that was selling alcoholic beverages
Other two drinks I bought
After everyone had their time buying some of Ibaraki's special products and came back to the bus, we started going the final place. Last place was quite far as it was near the ocean. After arriving there, we slowly get off the bus. The driver bowing to us as we went down, and I could see his wide smile. To me, I could sense that he is genuinely a good person, and I wish I could talk to him, but my Japanese literacy is not that high.
I forgot where is this place T_T
The power spot of our trip
After the Trip
And that was the whole trip; after taking pictures at the last place, we went back to the bus and started the route back home. Overall, the thing that I enjoyed the most was not the place but the moments I experienced with people. Everyone had their own thing, and I just observed what everyone was doing. Including the driver, the tour guide, and the people involved in making us safe and happy.
After arriving at Shinjuku, everyone got off and I saw the bus driver and the tour guide checking each seat if there was something that got left behind. While observing them, I told my friends to wait for me and lied that I left something behind. I lied because I was shy to say what I was about to do at that time. When I went back in the bus, the driver and our tour guide had a puzzle look on their face. Then I braced myself to talk in broken Japanese, I wanted to say thanks to the both of them and as a token of gratitude, I purposely gave them the souvenir I bought during that lunch time. They were both delighted, and I could see the genuineness of the smile they gave to me. I bowed and finally got off again and told my friends that I am all good and said, "Glad something wasn't left behind".
Afterword
Finally, I managed to finish this blog post. The trip was in August, but I could still remember the good people I interacted with. There were other memories that I wasn't able to share like the kid who was playing on the sprinkling water, the conversations I had with our tour guide, and other the tiny little things that people did which was big deal to me. Writing this, I relived those memories, and it reminded me to be kind to others without expecting something in return.
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