12 Comments
May 18Liked by Claire Polders

Loved this piece from start to finish--I felt I was right there with you...loved the glimpse into places less traveled....and I'm rushing to correct my "grave oversight!"

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Thank you, Diana! I hope you enjoy Totoro as much as I did; Spirited Away is equally good if not better. Miyazaki's movies are so detailed and nuanced and therefore so human, like a literary novel.

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Makes me want to visit Japan one day.

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I hope you will have the chance to do so.

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You have opened my eyes to a destination I have long overlooked (because of over tourism). Thank you for this beautifully written piece.

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Thank you for reading, Polly. I hope you get to visit your own less visited part of Japan.

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May 18Liked by Claire Polders

Truly mesmerizing and gorgeous! I love how you let the place and people and your insight lead you to different paths! And that wisteria! WOW! It's all so beautiful! Thank you again for a another true adventure! And love that you got a bike to cruise on! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

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Thanks, Meg! The bicycle is true freedom here, the best way to get a feel for the land.

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This is such a thoughtful piece — over tourism is a big problem in the Netherlands, too (especially in Amsterdam and Geithoorn). There are specific cookie, stroopwafel and frites places that have become TikTok or Insta famous and the lines for those specific places circle the block, but there are so many other places that are amazing and not crowded.

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Thank you, Jennifer. I haven't been in Amsterdam in a while, but I don't doubt what you write is true. In the past, a long line used to tell people: there's something worthwhile being sold here. Now I feel it just means something has been hyped.

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This piece took me there. Thanks, Claire!

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Thank you, Thaisa!

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