Most of my favorite holiday stories are when we have gone somewhere and its empty of tourists and just pretty quiet overall.
I feel you, there is nothing worst than a place full of tourists doing the same stuff.. It just feels so unauthentic.. Unfortunately I had that feeling in Japan's most popular spots.
Reading the first sentence I knew bikes would somehow get part of your story lmao! Spontaneously connecting with local people is quite hard as a tourist, you must have been quite open, I really love that!
This is us is so wholesome it made me cry almost at every episode. So many good vibes, it came out at the right time for me: needed it.