The Kindness of Strangers Part 1

One of the most enjoyable aspects of traveling is the chance to meet new people and explore their culture.  We have been blessed with the ability to meet some of the nicest people through both random happenstance and through planned couchsurfing interactions.  While we have both hosted scores of couchsurfers, we recently had the opportunity to turn the tables and stay with new people up and down Japan.  These are our stories with them, and further proof that random strangers can show you the greatest kindness.

We had just arrived, had no clue who we were meeting, nor any idea of how we were going to find them.  We had a picture to go off of, a name, and the knowledge that there would be someone at the airport when we landed.  After somehow talking our way through passport control, (apparently you need a physical address to enter the country, but somehow I was able to convince them my email worked), we found our couchsurfing host.  The amazing thing was she had waited for us for almost two hours.  Our flight was delayed, and my smooth-talking took some time to warm up.  There were no complaints, just the offer to go to dinner.  Talk about kindness.  This was officially my first time being on the receiving end of couchsurfing, and I was sold. 

Nothing says "welcome to my country" like grilled dead animal.  

Mmmmmm... Dead Animal....

After our amazing experience with our newly acquainted friends in Fukuoka, we meandered through the country and made our way to our next previously unknown person in Osaka.  

He was to prove to be another amazing person who offered us both lodging and friendship while we were in town.  We were set up with a place to sleep and given free run of the apartment.  We stayed a few nights and then moved on.  This was all under the backdrop of both the World Cup and him working, so while we were not able to spend a lot of time together, we still keep in contact to this day.

After an amazing stint in Kyoto with the family of a friend of mine from college, we were to head to Obama.  Now, as I have mentioned in my post about Obama, this was going to just serve as a quick side-trip, but ended up being an extremely memorable part of our journey.  Our host told us that he would pick us up from the main train station in Kyoto.  Now, for those of you who are not familiar with the roads leading to and from Kyoto to Obama, this is no quick trip.  

Yes, 1 Hour and 57 Minutes....

This person, who had never met us before, drove two hours out, and two hours back.  Let that sink in.  He drove four hours round-trip.  He never asked for gas money, food money, anything.  He just did this because he was a nice person.  We offered to take the train to his house - the station was only about five miles from where he lived.  I even offered to walk from the station.  He would hear nothing of the sort.  It was non-negotiable.   

Before this, I would bitch about picking people up from the damn airport near my house.  Here is the map of that journey for comparison: 

Seven Minutes... 

His trip was almost 17 times longer than mine.  Good God, I am an asshole!

I have never complained about going to and from the airport since this moment.  

He and his family made us breakfast each morning, showed us around town during the day, bought us food while we were out, made us dinner, and even took us to the best train station so we did not have to make any connections.  Talk about hospitality.  Did I mention that he did not even know us? 

Breakfast!

Plus, Obama is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen.  Period.

Yeah, Quintessential Mist.

While these few people that I have mentioned went out of their way to make our trip amazing, they did much more than just provide us with lodging - they changed how I view complete strangers.  These people showed me that random strangers could turn into friends in a matter of hours.

It never would have happened if I had not stepped out of my comfort zone.  

Challenge yourself to talk to a stranger today.  Step outside of that comfort zone.  Meet someone new.  Let them change your life.

Part 2 

Scaling a Mountain in Osaka

At a whopping 4.53 meters, Mount Tenpo looms majestically over the surrounding...park (the flood gates are a bit taller).  Your three to four minute ascent is marked with a straight path, some pretty trees, and the surprise at the end when you reach a tiled area with a sign and a cute looking anthropomorphic mountain picture.  Many people climb Mount Fuji in their quest to take on the peaks of Japan, but only the chosen few will reach the top of Mount Tenpo.

Our trip to Osaka was more of an aside to the rest of the main journey.  My wife had a childhood pen-pal that came out to our wedding the year prior, and we decided that we should see Osaka with her friends while we were on our way through Japan.  Needless to say, Osaka was amazing.  The food, the culture, and of course, Spa World.  Spa World will have to be another story for another time.  Not sure if I am ready to discuss what happened there yet with the greater world.

Our day started in Osaka with a visit to the Osaka Aquarium.  This place is freakin' awesome!  I mean, look at the signs out front!  Alpacas!

Probably nothing to do with the aquarium

Needless to say, we had to go inside.  It was great, fish, fake snow machines, a huge sun fish, penguins, and this guy who stole my heart with his fantastic dance moves.

Dancing with the seals?

I went left, he went left.  I went right, he went right.  We spun and we hopped (sorta).  It was a ballet that could have only been better if it were caught on camera, which it was, but again, as with Spa World, will not be shown on here for the sake of everyone reading.  For a few minutes we transcended the few inches of plexi-glass that separated our physical forms.  Humans and spotty-speckled seal creatures with cute faces were one.  

After the Aquarium we were off to summit my mountain.  I did not know it was a mountain, but just that there was a geocache on it. Using the same decision making process that helps me each time I decide what to see in a new city, I walked over to Mount Tenpo to look through the bushes for a hidden box full of happy meal toys.

4.53 meters may not seem like a lot to the average person, but if you were to try and jump and touch that, you would fail miserably.  See my logic there?  Now, as this is almost 15 feet, we knew we had to be prepared, and we set out at a brisk pace and... promptly made it to the top.  

There was a quick stop in the middle of the "hike" so that my wife could look at a bug she found on a tree.  I have mentioned before that she likes taking photos in macro of different things, and this was a rare opportunity to do so in such a precarious location as on the side of a mountain.  Achievement!

Anthropomorphic Mountain with Anthropomorphic Rico

Also, unbeknownst to our ascent team, scaling Mount Tenpo entitles you to an official certificate of achievement.  As I have no other certificates of achievement, this will have to do for now.

Be Jealous

As our climb was done, we had to go and see another Osaka landmark - Osaka Castle.  

This place is huge.  Like, you stand there and go, no way, that is way too big.  Just trust me on it.  Here is a picture of a rock in a wall with my wife next to it for scale.

The Small Outer Wall

I am sure that there are all sorts of historical facts that you could read at this point about Osaka Castle, but let's just suffice to say that it is big, there are a ton of rocks, and you would have to be a next-level idiot to attack it.  

Person in the Picture is Actually a Giant

Picture Shot from Below to Make us Look Cooler

No trip to Osaka is complete unless you have seen some nightlife.  Food, lights, and a few stories that should not be told took place after this picture, but let's leave those for another time.

Imagine the Electric Bill!

Screw Political Correctness