Japan Visit 2010

After arriving back home it really only remains to thank everyone who contributed to our holiday fund. Whilst I realize that the idea of having a holiday fund style gift list was a little unusual and that many people might have felt that it meant that their gift somehow wasn't permanent - rest assured your generousity enabled both Jill and I to make an unforgettable trip.

I hope you enjoyed the blog along with the photos we uploaded and hope that you felt part of our holiday. Posting (almost) daily was a really good way for us to reflect on what we'd done and also leaves us with a permanent log of what we did on the trip. Even if nobody actually read the blog we're both still very glad we did it. Reading back at it now is already bring back memories.

Domo arigato!

Well as expected our last day was spent getting the last souvenirs of our trip and saying goodbye to Japan.

Over the 3 weeks we've seen some amazing things and had a wonderful time. Japan was not what either of us expected.

Tokyo was an odd contradiction - it felt physically small in size but huge in terms of population. A hugely modern city, with the best public transportation system I've used. It's a cliche I know but you could actually set your watch by the trains!

Osaka is similar to Tokyo but it felt like a far less tourist friendly place but the Sumo tournament was something I think we'll both remember for a very long time. The history and tradition of Sumo is somethings that's well documented but it's only when you're actually there do you really get to see just how fast and powerful the wrestlers actually are.

Hiroshima is a much smaller town and obviously has a very distrubing past. The rememberance park is something I think everyone should visit not least the politicians who think nuclear weapons should form part of our armed forces.

Kyoto is the most historic place we visit and really was quite beautiful. Being able to see the Geisha and the cherry blosom was fantastic.

We've had a fabulous time and would recommend that if you get the chance you should visit Japan as it's a country quite unlike any other we've been too.

Well it had to happen eventually… the sheer manic energy of Tokyo proved too much for both of us today.  After attempting to make one of the major parks for a nice quiet Sushi picnic we just couldn’t cope with the sheer mass of humanity trying to make the park. 

Rather than queue to enter the park (there was a queue to just get in to the park) we just decided we had had enough and headed back to the hotel.  So we headed back and spent the afternoon watching baseball and eating crisps!

Tonight we’re heading back to the little Italian place we found as we’re starting to get a bit tired of Japanese food – I know we can’t believe it either! 

Tomorrow’s our last full day in Tokyo and it’s really starting to feel like we’re now in the twilight of our holiday.  Indeed I’m starting to miss some things about back home.  Indeed for some reason I cannot stop thinking about Warburtons bread and Irn Bru! 

We took the train today from Shinjuku down to Harajuku and spent the morning in some of the most amazing little shops I’ve ever been.  Lots of cool tee-shirts and kitsch stuff that was brilliant.  We managed to get pretty much all of the gifts for people back home and even some for ourselves!

One of the coolest place we found was graniph.  They sell lots of great tee shirts and I’m gonna be heading back on Sunday to pick up some more for myself.

In the midst of all this shopping we also managed to visit Meiji Jingu Shrine.  A huge wooden temple dedicated to the late Emperor Meiji and his wife. 

After our usual afternoon nap we headed out to find another Nepali restaurant.  The place was a little out the way but the food was absolutely amazing and if you ever have the pleasure to be in Shinjuku I cannot recommended it highly enough.  Called Sansar it serves wonderful Indian/Nepali food for a very reasonable price.  Jeez, even the booze was cheap – well cheap for Tokyo! The service was terrific, the staff there were very friendly and we’re even going back on Sunday night!

After dinner we took a walk through Shinjuku and stumbled across a little shrine hidden in the sprawling mass of Shinjuku.  Called Hanazono-jinja it’s supposed to have a reputation for bringing good luck to new business ventures – I’m going back before I go home to see if it brings me luck! :-)

Well we were back in Tokyo today after an absence of almost 10 days.  Strangely, it felt like returning back to somewhere that we know really well – it’s amazing how quickly you get used to a place! 

This morning we travelled to the Sumo museum and then took in the Edo Museum right next door.  Neither are widely publicised and that’s a shame because they are both worth a visit.  After the museums as we were in the Sumo district of Tokyo we tried a bit of Sumo spotting.  Unfortunately none where about but I suspect after the tournament last week they were all in their bed recovering!

In the afternoon, we went back to Akihabara to buy some souvenirs for folks back home.  Found a terrific little shop and got lots of stuff.  By the time we did that and got some lunch it was time to head back to the hotel.

We ventured into Shinjuku tonight for some dinner and found fab wee Italian place that served great Pizza and an interesting take on garlic bread. 

The weather looks pretty bad tomorrow so I’ve got no idea what we’re gonna do.

Well we've arrived safely back in Tokyo.

The bullet ride up was great as expected. You can set your watch by these trains!

Luck is definitely on our side as we saw a snow covered Mount Fuji from the train - apparantly this rarely happens! I woke up from having a nap and there it was - something inside me must have sensed it!!

Our room in the Hilton is great - we have a separate seating area which is nice. We are on the 27th floor so have a good view over the western side of Shinjuku.

Dinner last night was in a restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. I had mixed Tempura and Kobe beef which you cook at the table on a teppan. It was so good and I'm not sure I can go back to eating normal beef now! It just melted in the mouth.

We had a quick wander round Shinjuku to get our bearings - it's certainly more lively at night than Shiodome. Mind you having experienced Osaka we are not scared by it!!

Well the snow cleared overnight and we got sun today, albeit cold. So much so that we both have a bit of sunburn!! My nose currently looks like Rudolph's!!

Today we did most of the Lonely Planet's Southern Higashiyama walking tour - it says to get a bus to the start but we decided to walk to it as it was only a couple of kilometers from hotel. First up was the Otani Mausoleum which is on the hill up to Kiyomizu-dera. There we met a nice man called Howie who was also planning on doing the same walk as us. We gave him the blog address so if you're reading this "konnichiwa"!!

Next was the steep climb up to Kiyomizu-dera past a huge cemetry. We finally arrived at the temple but decided not to go in. We're a bit templed out plus it would seem that every tourist in Kyoto was here. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw someone with a Celtic top on! I mean, you expect that in the Costa del Sol but not at a temple in Kyoto!! Just goes to show you!

I lost my title as chief navigator as I took as the wrong way in our tour which meant walking back up a rather steep hill. Still it was worth it because as we headed down Sannen-kaza, which is wee street lined with wood houses and traditional shops, we saw a Geisha, then another 2 then another one!! If I'd not taken us on the detour we would have probably missed them.

Next up was Maruyama-koen which is a bit park with lots of cherry trees, including Kyoto's most famous one. I thought it would only be the foreign tourists that get excited by the blossoms but the Japanese do too. We stopped for some sushi in the park and took in the atmosphere.

We wandered through the park and came to the Gion district. The walking tour suggesting another wee bit but by this time our legs were a bit tried and Neil's shins were sore. We took a wander through Gion and took the subway back to the hotel.

I left Neil and headed to Shosei-en which is the garden we were going to go to yesterday. I'm so glad I went as it was so beautiful especially with all the blossoms. And to top it off I saw another Geisha. That took the total for the day to 5. I was just hoping to see one!

Dinner tonight was in a Nepalese restaurant called Yak & Yeti. It was recommended by Lonely Planet and it was the best curry we've had in a long long time. We both ordered set meals and each came with a naan bread the size of your head. Needless to say the gutsy Logan's finished everything!! We met a lovely couple there who are also touring round and stayed in the same hotel as us in Tokyo and here in Kyoto!

Tomorrow we are on the bullet train back up to Tokyo. We have changed out hotel and are now staying in the Hilton in Shinjuku.

Right I'm off to moisturise my nose in the hope that it doesn't start peeling!!!