Another year is over and it’s that time of the year when we reflect upon the year that has just passed and see what has been good and what has been bad and how we managed to get through the difficult times and become better versions of ourselves. One of my resolutions for this year has been to travel more and even surpass my initial goal of one new country every year and I’m happy to say that 2018 has been my best travel year so far. I don’t mean to brag and I worked really hard to make this happen so in this post I’d like to write about the places I’ve visited in 2018 and how they changed me and helped me grow because I think travel is the best way to learn, experience new cultures, get out of the comfort zone and get rid of prejudices. I hope that 2019 will be at least as adventurous as 2018 was!

January

Celebrated Christmas and New Year’s in Tokyo so the new year found me in Tokyo, where I started the year by doing a crazy but fun thing: riding a roller coaster soon after 12 am on January 1st, 2018. Great way to start what was going to be super fun and adventurous year! So, if you want to have a great year as well, I recommend riding a roller coaster at 12 am haha

In January, I didn’t leave Tokyo as I was busy with University-related stuff but I visited several places in Tokyo when I had some free time. And one exciting thing that happened in January in Tokyo was that we had one day of snow! And it was real, beautiful snow, not just a watery type of snow that would immediately melt as we had 2 years ago. Waseda University’s campus looked so pretty in white!

February

Time for some more snow and the first proper trip of the year! I went skiing as part of a student camp organized by the ICC (my current workplace) the No-Border Skiing and Snowboarding Camp in Nagano prefecture! If you’re a Waseda student and wish to participate this year, more info here. Not only did I have proper skiing lessons for the first time in my life but this camp was not just a usual camp, we were divided into teams with people we don’t know and had some interesting rules to follow, such as not telling our real names, nationality and so on. By doing so, we were able to engage in deeper conversations with people we have just met! It was a truly unforgettable experience and I was able to make great friends and it made my mind to apply for a job at the ICC during that next semester.

Then it was time for some early cherry blossoms in Tokyo, at Shinjuku Gyoen.

At the end of February, I went back home, to Romania to spend a whole month there as Spring holiday is quite long for students in Japan and I missed my family.

March

As I was back in Europe, I grabbed this opportunity and visited one new destination for me there: Paris! It was my sister’s dream to visit Paris since she was a little girl and I also somehow missed Paris last time I was in France so I’m happy we managed to go there on a family trip. Although I expected Spring weather and pretty flowers, the weather was quite unpredictable and we had a few snowy days during our week there.

End of March, on my way back to Japan, had a long stopover in Doha so I went out to visit the city and loved it! It was much warmer than France and Romania so I was happy for an early summer feeling and Doha’s night view was so worth it!

April

Returned to Japan just in time for… cherry blossoms! Japan’s best season <3 !

After a sea of pink cherry blossoms, I went to see a sea of blue nemophila flowers at Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki, Japan. This place was high on my Japan bucket list so I’m so happy I finally managed to go! Their peak season was a bit early this year, in April, as they are usually at their peak in May.

May

Beginning of May in Japan means Golden Week which means a week off work and school! Yaay! Two years ago, we went to Seoul, South Korea for Golden Week and this year we chose another destination not far from Japan, Taiwan. I’ve always wanted to see Taipei’s night view and Jiufen was also high on my list after discovering Ghibli movies. Even though we only had 3 days in Taiwan, I’m happy we managed to see these two spots.

May was also the month when many types of flowers started blooming in Japan so I went on a flower hunt, for poppies and roses.

June

Time for the rainy season in Japan. Started the month with this great view of Tokyo from the 53rd floor of the Mori Arts Museum where I was invited to attend an event by Häagen-Dazs Japan.

Rainy season in Japan also means Hydrangea season, and I love them because they bloom in my favorite colors: purple, pink, blue.

July

In July I was busy with finals and work so no new destinations, but I managed to visit a few new places in Tokyo, such as teamLab’s Borderless digital art exhibition which everyone was waiting for so impatiently. Also went to see some fireworks shows, one favorite activity of Japanese people during the summer.

August

Finally time for the summer holiday! After visiting some beaches near Tokyo, it was time to go somewhere new. My summer holiday started in Malaysia, where I met with my dear friend Choco and she guided us around Kuala Lumpur.

September

End of August and beginning of September found me in Bali, probably my favorite destination this year! It was so different from everything I have seen before, my first time to be on a tropical island, to drink coconut water straight from the coconut, to see beautiful beaches and most importantly, the warm Balinese people.

Not far from Bali, Nusa Penida was probably the most remote place I have visited. The way of driving on the island was quite scary but interesting at the same time and landscapes like the one below left me speechless.

 

October

My birthday month! Spent my 25th birthday in Hong Kong because I wanted to do what I love most for my birthday: travel.

November

Time for autumn leaves in Japan. Visited Kawaguchiko near Mt. Fuji where I was able to see Mt. Fuji from really close.

End of November found me in Kyoto where I decided to go again during autumn as it is my favorite season and my favorite season of Kyoto!

December

Christmas lights in Tokyo then as winter holiday started I decided to come back to Romania and spend the holidays here 🙂 . So, 2019 will find me in Romania!

So this is how 2018 was for me, especially in terms of travel. Thank you for stopping by and I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Hope to see you next year as well here on my blog. Happy traveling!