A BRITISH man has stressed his upcoming trip to Japan is all about experiencing the country and its culture as faithfully as possible, right down to getting laid.
42-year-old Japanophile Julian Cook’s itinerary is carefully planned to experience maximum authenticity, whether sipping beer in Sapporo, visiting temples in Kyoto or the multiple evenings in Tokyo where oddly he has no specific plan.
He said: “I don’t want to be one of those tourists who does no more than scratch the surface. I want to connect with local people and go deep.
“I’ve levelled up to B-1 on Duolingo so I’ll be going off the beaten track, searching our hidden gems and touching parts of the country most gaijin don’t. I’ve been on some fairly specialist forums to prepare myself. I’m excited.
“I really want to interface with the real Japan. Yes, I’ll see the traditional dancing shows, but I want to taste the sushi the locals taste. I’m going to immerse myself and return having had experiences the other members of my anime society may never have.”
He added: “Travel’s all about spontaneity. Sometimes you’ve just got to end up in a neon-lit Harajuku bar with an unnecessarily tight linen shirt and a fistful of cash and see what happens.”
Cook is expected to return home with a suitcase full of explicit manga and a heart full of bitter disappointment.
