My name is Inga Marie and you are reading my personal guide on Katashina. This blog will inform you about the endless activities, sights and secrets that Katashina has to offer. I worked here in this friendly village for 1 hot summer month and 2 cold winter weeks in the Planning and Sightseeing Division of the Katashina Village Office.
Let me introduce myself a little more…
I am a 21 year old German Blondie. I grew up half of my life in the Netherlands and now I am a student living in Scotland. It is not only me but my entire family has a unique relation to Japan. It all started with my grandfather being the president of the sister-city organization of Linden (Hessen, Germany) and Warabi (Saitama, Japan). Therefore, I have had the chance to visit Japan both as participant and as leader of the International Youth Camps and Cultural Youth Exchanges.
In the summer of 2014 during my holidays I spent a wonderful 3 months in Japan. I spent one month living with friends in Warabi. I traveled to Okinawa, Yamagata, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and discovered many different areas of Tokyo. In addition, I volunteered at the International English Camp for children that were traumatized by the 2011 earthquake and moved to contemporary housing in Chiba. Then towards the end of my stay I was a youth-leader at the International Youth Camp in Nagano prefecture.
On top of that I stayed in Katashina for 1 whole month during my Japanese adventures. I was warmly welcomed and settled in quickly in this small friendly village. To share my numerous experiences and impressions with all of you I started this blog ‘Katashina FUNtashina‘. I was invited back to Katashina to during the winter of 2014-2015. This invitation put a humongous smile on my face and I could not wait to pack my suitcase and go. Katashina not only has a lot to offer during summer but also during winter so therefore I have updated ‘Katashina FUNtashina‘ including a winter edition. This visit was my 5th trip to the ‘land of the rising sun’ and a special one indeed – seeing friends, experiencing the Japanese winter and New Years for the first time.
Please enjoy reading and following my blog. I hope that you will feel encouraged and burst with motivation to just come and discover for yourself!
How can you trust my opinion?
I was born with the travel bug in me; I have always been very passionate about traveling, different cultures and adventures. I am very grateful of previously discovering many different European countries, the United States of America and Kenya. After receiving my International Baccalaureate (High School Diploma) I spent 9 months in South America. I volunteered with Peruvian children in Lima and in the jungle capital, Iquitos. In addition I had the chance to backpack through various South American countries, where I completed many adventurous challenges: a 5 day trek to Machu Picchu, Piranha fishing in the Amazon, sleeping in a hammock in the rainforest, ice climbing to 6088m and paragliding from the desert onto the beach… With the use of a similar wordpress blog I was able to record these amazing adventures.
I have learnt so much from my past travels and this being my 5th time in Japan I want to share my knowledge with you, still learning something new every single day.
Please have a look around and explore for yourself!
Any questions – let me know!