Israel 3 days
I went there before the fighting with Hamas began in 2023.
I flew Lufthansa on the way there and back, flying from Narita to Frankfurt and then Ben Gurion in Tel Aviv.
I rented a car to travel around the country from Tel Aviv.
I didn't go south of the Dead Sea, but I did go to the Lebanese border and Gaza points.
The Lebanese border was closed, of course. There were armed soldiers standing there.
The Gaza checkpoint was also closed, and there was a high wall and barbed wire around Gaza.
I knew quite a bit about this country, and I thought I had studied it, including the country's origins, so I enjoyed a lot of things, such as Accon, the last fortress of the Crusaders, the Walls of Jericho, and Jerusalem, the holy land of the three religions. I think it was a more beautiful place than I expected.
I'd like to go again. I wanted to go to Gaza. I want to be close to the Palestinian people.
...The following year, I went to Iraq, but my passport meant I was not allowed to enter the country.