Lei Yu

May of 2025 update! It came out a bit late, things got busy after coming back from the trip but here it is!

May 10-18: Mission Trip in Nagano, Japan

The main event of the month of May was my short term mission trip to Japan with my Church. The purpose of the trip was to help support a missionary that our church has been supporting. To find out if there are opportunities for our church to further support them on a more regular basis. It was also a vision trip for me as I am considering long term mission in Japan.

We were able to gather a team of 8 to go on this trip. The team have been planning and preparing this trip since November 2024 and it’s very exciting to have finally be able to go to Japan. One of the main event for this trip is a worship concert. Our church was able to bring a brass band over, with trumpet, soprano trombone, euphonium, and a tuba. Other itineraries include helping out the local farmers with rice planting and helping out a school band. However, we learned that due to the weather being colder than usual the rice planting won’t be happening for another two week. Our plan to help out with the school band also fell through because another band got the spot. The team was discouraged however we trust that God has a purpose for us here despite things not coming out the way we wanted.

The next day after we arrived is a Sunday. We met the churches in Nagano, seeing their passion for God, their desire for their own people to come to know Him, and how happy they are to see us here. We were immensely encouraged by them. We were able to find alternatives to the plans that we originally wanted to do. Potato planting and Apple Tree Branch cutting.

We experience the countryside of Japan. The beautiful landscape, the mountains that surrounds us, the green foliage where wild lives hides in.

We also experienced the Onsen, Japanese Natural Hot Spring Bath. Despite our hesitancy going in, God made use of our time in the Onsen.

We visited the Shrines and Temples. We prayed for the people there, and we sang worship songs.

We climbed Kurofuyama and looked out to an active volcano, Mount Asama.

We planted potatoes, prepared the land for Zucchini planting, and prepared a rice paddy for rice planting.

We also ran a worship concert with the Aquila Church Worship Team at the Karuizawa Union Church. It was raining so we weren’t expecting a lot of people to show up but God still brought in the right people.

And finally on the last day we helped ran a Children’s event at Ueda Bible Church.

The mission trip was absolutely a positive experience, the team, and the missionary family had grown to become like a family. And my calling to Japan has been further confirmed as I feel like I will be right at home if I ever come here long term. ¹

May 19-25: Vacation in Kyoto and Tokyo

For the second week a friend and I went to Kyoto from May 19th to the 21st. We were able to find a traditional accommodation with tatami mats and futons. During our time there we were able to visit:

• Kodaji Temple
• Walked around Gion area
• Visited Nishiki Market
• Fushimi Inari Taisha
• Nara Park
• Dotonbori in Osaka

Then we went to Tokyo from the 22nd to the 25th:

• visited my aunt
• Akihabara
• Shibuya
• Tokyo Skytree

There’s a big difference between the cities and the countryside of Japan. The cities are busier, much more tourists. The countryside is much calmer. I prefer the countryside just because it’s much more peaceful and quieter there. There is also much more nature. The cities are really good for shopping though.

“Free the Toes”

I went shoe shopping this month and ended up with a barefoot shoe. I have been looking into these and how they restore your feet back to it’s natural shape. My first impression of these was that they are really comfortable to wear because there is a lot of space for your toes. But they do require a lot of getting used to due to the minimal padding. I’ve had a few days where I walked a lot, 20k-30k steps. Especially during the Japan trip. There were instances were corns were developing on the balls of my feet but I was lucky enough to prevent that. I think I will keep wearing them since, I’ve adjusted to them pretty fast due to all the walking I’ve done.

DJI Osmos Pocket 3

I brought the DJI Osmos Pocket 3 on my second week in Japan. I wanted to get it before my trip to Japan, but it was sold out everywhere in the GTA. It’s a nice camera and I want to try and use it more, so look out for more video in the future.

I have recorded some (unedited) walking vlogs of Japan, check it out here.