MOSAIK: Japan.

A few weeks ago, N and C embarked on a journey to the one place they had wanted to travel to for years: Japan. Journeying to a country in which they could not speak the language, teamed with a lack of experience travelling solo proved to make their trip even more memorable than expected.

A country of undeniable beauty, both the traditional towns surrounding Osaka and the modern towns surrounding Tokyo brought something unique to the trip. Some of the most beautiful cities we visited were:

Kyoto: A seemingly busy city full of skyscrapers, C and I decided to escape the chaos and instead walked along the backstreets, where we discovered the famous Nishiki Market, a traditional Japanese market filled with Japanese food, crafts, and art. From here, we walked to the Manga Museum (where Comicon, coincidentally, was running!) and the Imperial Palace.

Miyajima: Miyajima was by far my favourite place in Japan. C and I caught a ferry to Miyajima Island, a secluded little island with deer roaming around. Tori gates stood tall in the sand. At high tide, the tori gates looked as if they were floating in the water, and at low tide you could walk underneath them. C and I were fortunate enough to see the tori gates at both times. We hiked up the mountain on the island, which was lined with market stalls and little temples, and when we reached a high enough point we could overlook the island, which was so beautiful.

Hiroshima: Such a chilling and beautiful experience seeing the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. What I loved most about Hiroshima was the fact that the city has been re-built to reflect a 'city of peace' after the Hiroshima bombings in 1945. The city was so picturesque, filled with a lot of greenery and sculptures to reflect the history.

Asakusa: We visited Senso-Ji Temple where we received our fortunes. We also had traditional Japanese food from the market which lined the pathway up to the temple. Japan's Okonomiyaki (vegetable pancakes) and green tea soft serves were incredible. We were walking toward Tokyo Skytree when Chrissie and I were stopped in our tracks as we discovered a bunny cafe, where we got to pet a bunny called Cookie for half an hour.

The people in Japan were the most beautiful, calm, and kind-hearted people ever. Despite the language barrier, we had absolutely no problems venturing out and exploring different cities. If we ever had problems, the Japanese were always willing to help. What I found so intriguing was their order - whenever we were at train stations (or anywhere for that matter), they would line up in single file. They were very much for being 'one of the crowd', and were always so considerate of one another. It was so fascinating to observe and, eventually, be a part of.

Food was amazing. The health standards are incredibly high in Japan, so it didn't matter where we ate, food was always so fresh and delicious. I'm a huge fan or sushi and sashimi, so I was absolutely in heaven over there. The quirky, traditional market food was also great. Japanese sweets are the best. We brought so many different flavoured kit-kats home; from green-tea, to bake-able kit-kats, to strawberry cheesecake.

Being a media student, I assumed that I would come home from the trip with hundreds of photos. This was not the case. After day one in Japan, I realised that I wanted to take in as much as I could, without hiding behind my lens. So, I left my camera in my suitcase for the rest of the journey. I still took a decent amount of photographs, but not too many. I don't regret this decision at all. The experiences and memories created over there live so poignantly in my mind today, and I believe that I gained so much more out of the trip by completely taking in - and being a part of - my surroundings.

I could not recommend Japan more highly. I could write about our trip for days and days, but I've decided to purposely leave a lot of details out so that you can visit Japan for yourself and experience the magic that I felt whilst I was over there.

-N.