When French couple Julian and Eve decided to visit Japan, they wanted to see more than the usual tourist trail of neon lit Tokyo skyscrapers and picturesque temples. After saving for the long haul flights and planning the trip at length, they decided they wanted to experience authentic Tokyo living through a homestay. They stayed with two different Homestay hosts, Edi and Yuriko during their trip. But little did they know the friendships they would make and the memories they would have returning home. Read how they got on!
We decided to visit Tokyo for different reasons. It is the main city in Japan and it's also a very accessible starting point for exploring Japan as most major airlines fly there. It's an interesting place where highly modern technology hangs out with deeply entrenched Japanese traditions. There are indeed many things to see there: temples, parks, eccentric neighbourhoods, amusement parks and famous restaurants. We wanted to see them all!
I was travelling with my girlfriend, Eve. It was a trip we'd been planning for a long time.
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We chose to stay in a homestay because we were looking for an authentic experience. It wasn't about money at all for us. We wanted to dive into the Japanese culture and see what living in a Japanese family is really like. We wanted to share our views with the family about their culture and ours. That's not the kind of thing you're going to get in even the best of hotels. We don't like hotels, you don't meet anybody and you're never surprised by the experience. How can you visit a country without having a conversation with its inhabitants?! That's absurd to us!
We chose our hosts based on location, reviews from previous guests and also through the descriptions and photos hosts had in their profile. We wanted hosts that we could have a connection with and to stay somewhere we could experience true Japanese culture.
Our homestay at Edi's was great and a real, genuine experience. We felt completely at home and were overwhelmed by their kindness. Edi is an amazing, funny guy, with a polychrome life experience. An experience which he loves to share with you at any moment. He is actually an Israeli immigrant who fell in love with a Japanese lady 20 years ago. We had really interesting conversations and it helped us to see a different perspective about the life in Japan.
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The family welcomed us with open arms and seemed eager to get to know us (their dog included). We'd lots of interesting discussions with the whole family and they'd a great sense of humour too! Edi's wife is also an amazing cook, her Okonomiyaki were our favourite. In addition, the room was really comfortable, clean and spacious. Our fondest memory was the meal we shared with them on our last night. It was so much fun and we tasted some amazing local wine. We miss them already and would welcome them with open arms if they ever come to Paris.
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Our homestay experience with Yuriko was fantastic as well. She cooked marvellous food for us on our first night and also offered dinner on our last night for free. Breakfast was delicious too! The room was more than we could have asked for, it was spacious, very clean and well-furnished.
She asked us numerous questions about our country, our families and our trip in Japan. She shared some family memories with us, how she met her husband, the different guests she had before (she has had more than 200 and has a picture with each of them coupled with information like the country they were from, how long did they stay etc.). We had some good laughs too! The most surprising part about this is: Yuriko doesn't speak much English at all! But she really knows how to communicate! She and her husband are so generous and amazing. We were also given a free ride to the Tokyo station for the day of our departure. We were truly sad to leave them.
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To anyone thinking about a homestay, I would say go right ahead. It might be kind of scary to trust someone you don't know at first, but it's definitely worth the risk! As a matter of fact, we already did. We booked two other homestays recently. We're really looking forward to these new human experiences!
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I think the most striking thing about Japan for a foreigner is its convoluted street system. We asked Yuriko as well as other inhabitants, nobody seems to understand it! We will never figure it out I guess.
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Image courtesy of Candida.Performa.
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Our best memory of the trip was the final meal with Yuriko which we shared with her husband, her grand-daughter and a Chinese student she was also hosting. The food was really delicious, and there was plenty of dishes to choose from. We had hours of brilliant conversation. My girlfriend's mother is a stamp collector, so Yuriko showed us her stamp collection and offered my girlfriend very rare Diana Princess stamps for her mother. It was the perfect end to an incredible stay.
My advice would simply be: book a homestay!
Want to experience Japanese culture through a homestay like Julian & Eve? View Edi and Yuriko's host profiles or check out our full Tokyo listing page to start planning your trip.
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