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Nationality : Romanian

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Japan was our first big adventure of the year, from a long list. Although the initial plan was to stay only for one month we were so intrigued by the culture and the people that we wanted to explore it more. Therefore, we extended our trip by one month and a half. This led to us experiencing our first Workaway at The Other House, a place where the atmosphere and the hospitality made us feel at home.  

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Rob, the mastermind behind this project, is a very open minded fellow from whom we learned a lot about Japan, especially his people. His passion for Japanese culture made our stay much more interesting. For us, it was the ideal place to discover The Other Japan, which is the Japan of the people and their way of living.

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Together with Cristina, we explored the Izu Peninsula and thanks to Rob we got to speak with locals, because only in this way you can really understand and feel the Japanese culture.  And for someone with a great passion for the outdoors and sports, I also found hikes and trails to sweat on. The peninsula is great for trail running with its numerous forestry hills. One day I choose to run up to the highest peak of the Peninsula from the Amagi Mountain Range – Bansaburodake (1406m). On the trail I met only local people, very surprised to see me. The trail is very beautiful, through a dense forest and ends with amazing views of the ocean from atop the mountain. 

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All in all, you got many bits of Japan in this rather small peninsula: hikes, forests, local people preserving their traditional homes and way of living, ocean and… Onsens ! I think and hope that Driven2Adventure (Cristina and I) and The Other House Project made a very good intercultural trade.