Around the World - Section 27 (Indonesia & Japan)
We arrived back at two familiar spots from the beginning of our journey almost one year ago. These two island-countries have been great spots for us and they were well worth the return. See section 4 for our previous time in Bali, and sections 5 and 12 for our previous journeys in Japan.
In Indonesia we relied on a combo of motorcycles and cars as taxis to get around (they are very cheap, except for going to and from the airport). While in Japan, we relied on a mix of public transportation and a car rental.
Indonesia
We returned to the “Emerald of the Equator” for some similar experiences as before and some new!
Komodo
We landed in Bali for a short layover before hopping onto the first flight to Labuan Bajo, otherwise known as the Komodo Island! This was on our bucket list for a long time and one trip we were saving for!
After arriving in the small town, we set off to explore the main street which reminded us of Coron, Philippines, with its many street shops and tourist activities offering daily boat trips. We went to a few places and heard that the journey to and from the main islands of the Komodo National Park were 4 hours each way. This disappointed us as we did not want to spend most of our time on the boat.
So after walking past many tour stands we finally met a man selling the same tour (as they all do), but this time he mentioned a speed boat, which would shave the 4 hours journey down to 1.5 hours. This was the tour for us. We were able to negotiate the rate down to $80 per person plus the $25 Komodo National Park entrance, which is going up in price soon. We woke up the next morning at 5 am and headed to the docks where we set sail on the smooth waters surrounding the islands, a pleasant surprise compared to Galapagos’ waters.
We arrived at our first destination - Padar Island, where we hiked up the mountain for a scenic view. The hike, albeit short at roughly 45 minutes one way, made it worth it because the vantage point at the top of the island was to die for! You can see the lush green landscapes of the mountains descend to the water edge where the sand is a unique color of pink.
The next destination was pretty pink beaches for some water time. Pulling up to the beach, we couldn’t believe our eyes how pink the sand seemed. We later learned that the coloration was caused by microorganisms that create a red pigment for the coral reefs that mixes with the white sand. We spent our time on the beach snorkeling and enjoying those local coral reefs which had an amazing array of fish of every color of the rainbow.
Afterward, we rode over to Komodo Island, the biggest island in the National Park and home to the largest population of the dragons. Approaching the island, we felt like we were entering Jurassic Park. After docking, we took a picture under the giant entrance with the statues of the dragons on it. The dragons are considered the largest and most venomous lizards in the world, even able to take down cows and humans!
Our boat split up into groups one group stayed on the beach to look for dragons hovering around the cooking smells of the local village, while the other group that we joined ventured into the jungle. On the walk, as we were approaching a wateringhole, our guide was explaining to us that it is not always common to see dragons out in nature. Suddenly, as we turned the corner past a tree there was a medium size dragon laying in the mud. It was waiting for a thirsty water buffalo or deer to come by. It was our first Komodo Dragon!
As we continued further into the jungle, Julia kept a keen eye out for more and we were soon rewarded when a younger dragon crossing our trail roughly 50 feet ahead of us. It was on the prowl. We kept our distance but enjoyed following it, before it cut off into the jungle. Our guide was psyched for us as he exclaimed with a fist pump.
Winding back to the beach, our guide took us to places where the dragons were likely to hang out. And sure enough, as we approached the beach, we saw a larger male dragon lounging in the sand. We had a few photo ops with the dragon from a distance before leaving him be. On our way back to the boat, we passed another dragon hanging near a villagers’ house and then my favorite sight of two dragons standing front to back guarding a territory. We let them be and bid farewell to the island of dragons and our guide after an amazing experience of seeing 6 dragons. Our day was just halfway over as we sat down for lunch on the boat. Afterward, our trip continued to a piece of powder-like white sand beach in the middle of the ocean. The sight look like it belonged on the cover of a magazine. We enjoyed swimming and taking pictures.
From there, we rode to a spot in the ocean known for some underwater animal sightings. We put on our snorkeling gear and jumped off into the deep blue sea. At first, we did not see much and then a mysterious diamond-shaped marine creature almost 15 feet by 15 feet wide gilded under us as we witnessed the behamouth known as the Manta Ray. The animal was majestic and almost seemed effortlessly soaring through the ocean.
As we followed the ray, he led us towards his family where we were surrounded by not just a few but 10-15 manta rays swimming around in different patterns in each direction. It was unbelievable and the creatures slowly opened their mouths sucking in plankton and other small creatures. Soon they all took off to another part of the ocean and it was time for us to return to the boat and head into port.
Komodo National Park was more than we could imagine and the speed boat made it that much more impactful, as we had more time to spend on land with the dragons or in the water snorkeling with our sea friends.
Bali
After such an amazing experience and long day, it was time to relax. We spent a few short days at the Hilton Resort in Bali. I would highly recommend it since it is relatively cheap compared to most paradise locations.
We spent our days enjoying the pools, beaches, and pina coladas!
Japan
We headed back to the land of the rising sun, to visit a few regions we had not been before.
Yokohama
A short limousine bus ride from Haneda Airport took us to the suburb of Yokohama where we spent the night at the Intercontinental Yokohama Grand. It was a lovely place to get grounded in Japan and to get used to the winter climate after coming from tropical Indonesia.
We ventured out though the winter air to explore Yokohama Cosmo World, which served as a mix of roller coasters, carnival, and Japanese arcade games. It is a fun place to just walk around and explore and we even opted for a ride on a pink roller coaster that we had all to ourselves!
Sapporo
While we enjoyed Yokohama, we came to Japan to explore its winter wonderland with our cousin Monica, who met us for a journey to the northernmost island of Japan, Sapporo!
We arrived at a snow-covered mountainous island. With the cold weather we knew exactly what we needed - onsen! We stayed at a local resort called KitaHiroshima Classe Hotel, where we may have been the only non-Japanese tourists. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the hot springs. Onsen is a Japanese tradition of hot baths, spa, and saunas with no clothing. It is quite the experience though as you can set you mind at ease on the spa celanse.
While in Sapporo, we also wanted to explore the city of Sapporo. We spent the day traversing the city by foot seeing many free highlights including:
- the Pokemon Center,
- Shopping Streets,
- Ramen Alley,
- the Clock Tower,
- the Sapporo TV tower,
- the government Building,
- And the Sapporo Beer factory and museum.
The highlight of our day exploring was the Sapporo Beer museum, where we learned about the history of beer making in Japan. Sapporo beer has been around since 1876 and after tasting a few beer flavors we confirm that it stood the test of time!
Nagano
We had to see Monica’s hometown and her new Japanese style apartment. We had a blast hanging out, grocery shopping, cooking, watching movies, and playing Switch.
Also, we had a chance to visit the famous Japanese snow monkeys. The mountain of Nagano serves as the perfect home for the red-faced primates. It offers plenty of food to eat in the summer and plenty of hot springs to warm up in the winter. The park ($7 pp) offers a chance to get a close look at the monkeys when they walk right past you and to watch them use the hot baths to stay warm.
We want to say thanks to Monica, Japan, and Indonesia. As we closed out 365 days around the world! Arigato!
