I only went to Akita prefecture this week, so not very far distance-wise. It's only like 11 - 50 miles away from my campus. The beach was the furthest at only an hour and a half away from my university.
Pretty far! I’ve been to Tokyo, Hokkaido (the island at the top of Japan’s main island) and many places in Akita prefecture! Hokkaido is about eight hours away via train, and Tokyo is four hours away by train or one hour by airplane.
I always use public transportation, but mostly via the free buses AIU provides to help students get off campus. I also use the local trains, subways and lots of walking.
I think the beach, for sure! It was very different from beaches in the U.S. in the fact that it was serene and peaceful. Lots of local people go fishing there, but rarely anyone uses the beach. I also don’t know how to describe it, but I feel like the beaches I’ve been to in America have a very “beach town” vibe. Since I'm from Colorado and haven't been to a ton of beaches in my life, beaches make me think of things like ice cream stalls and volleyball nets. But here, it is just a small area of sand. Nothing is nearby but the ocean and the dragonflies.
