Japan

China

Our original plan was to transit in China after a few hours to our final destination, Japan. This however this changed while travelling to be a full 24 hour holdover. Luckily for us Chengdu offered a 48 hour visa system so we were able to escape the airport to a nearby hotel. We briefly explored around the airport but soon realised the lack of things to see or do nearby. Coupled with the fatigue from our long flight we gave up and headed back to our room to conserve our energies for our next adventure.

Narita

Our flight to Narita airport landed late in the evening and we had booked a small apartment close to the airport to recover before heading off to Osaka the next day. The little apartment gave us our first glimpse of Japanese living. The kitchen had 70’s plastic cabinets alongside modern kitchen equipment which worked well together. Without any food to cook we found Hotto Motto, a stark looking fast food place where we were able to get a take away which was a delicious Katsu Curry. After a comfortable nights sleep we packed and were soon on the move again. We stopped briefly at a local cafe for a coffee and were pleasantly surprised to find a Moomin peaking from the coffee foam rather than your usual leaf pattern.

Bullet trains

We made our way into Tokyo for the first time to pick up our JR Railpass for the next legs of our journey. This pass would allow us unlimited travel on the bullet trains for a week and we had planned to make the most of it. First stop was Osaka and we were looking forward to being propelled there at high speed on a bullet train. Waiting on the platform we noticed the time our train was going to arrive displayed to the second, and they were accurate. The sleek machine pulled into the platform at the predicted second and a very orderly procedure started to allow travellers to embark. We found our large comfortable seats in the immaculate carriage and settled in. As the train passed through the city it slowly gathered speed, until the moment it cleared the city limits and it shifted gear. The sensation of being pushed back in your seat was odd but pleasing and we hurtled towards Osaka.

Osaka

Our home for the next two nights was on a street lined with maid cafes, something of a novelty. Our flat consisted of one room and a bathroom and was protected by a worryingly sturdy metal front door. Having not washed any clothes since Wellington we headed out to find our nearest coin laundry. These seemed to be pretty common and well used so after figuring out the instructions we soon had some clean clothes. Food was next on the agenda and we found a busy looking Tempura place where we enjoyed things coated in crispiness. The next day was spent walking for miles around the city. Osaka castle, with it’s huge stones and stunning grounds was particularly breath taking. Dōtonbori market seemed to have everything from a dancing mechanical crab to the delicious Melon Pan, a sweet bread stuffed with ice cream. As we wandered past the river we stopped at North Shore Kitahama to stop and reflect as we watched the water go by. We were very much enjoying Japan.

Mt. Koyasan

The next stop was a Buddhist temple on top of a sacred mountain. The journey from Osaka should of been a straight forward one, a quick train plus short cable car ride to the top. Unfortunately even sacred mountains get bad weather and one storm had knocked out the cable car. The backup was a coach, which wound it’s way up very steep, twisty, tight roads for around 2 hours. The town at the top was a collection of temples, monasteries, houses and shops. Our accommodation for the night was one of these monasteries where we would stay and experience the life of a monk, kinda. The room was very traditional, with tatami mat flooring and sliding doors. The rooms were all circling a central garden, each with a windowed door opening out on to it. This beautiful garden and room added to the mystical quality of the place and we felt very peaceful.

As the temperature dropped, dinner was served. We ate on the floor of a large sparse room with others along for the experience. Our meal was already laid out with a large pot of hot rice brought in with the tea and sake. Everyone was a little lost where to start, the room was hushed and the distance between each other meant no one spoke. Eventually the brave started opening bowls, serving themselves rice, and tentatively tasting. A monk entered during the meal and lit what looked like a candle below a paper cone of liquid containing mushrooms and other vegetables on each of the diners place setting. This heated up the liquid and made a tasty broth. The whole experience was very alien but enjoyable. We soon retired to our room and with little else to do we bedded down for the night knowing we had a early start.

The Buddhist morning service started at 6 sharp and us visitors shuffled out to the prayer hall bleary eyed. Inside were monks chanting while we took our seats at the edge. The service wasn’t long and involved a little audience participation, with some of the visitors there for specific spiritual reasons. After the service we enjoyed a breakfast of similar food to the night before although cold. Our stay was so memorable that I would recommend it to anyone, the feeling of peace and tranquility followed us for the rest of the trip. Before heading down the mountain we walked through Okunoin Cemetery, a vast expanse of graves and monuments. The long path ends with the Kobodaishi Gobyo Mausoleum and Lattern Hall, incredible places themselves but in this setting they were given a mystical quality.

Nara

We decided to break our journey to Kyoto up a little with a short stop in Nara. Nara is famed for it’s deer and as we headed towards Nara Park we were excited to see them. These tame deer litter the park, small and resembling Bambi with light brown coats speckled with white spots. We stopped to buy some deer biscuits, circular oat cake things, from one of the many vendors in the park. Before long a few deer were upon us, bowing for a biscuit. That’s right, the deer have learned to politely bow for biscuits! Be careful though, if they know you have a biscuit and they have upheld their end of the bargain by bowing you better hand it over, we saw a couple get quite pushy.

Kyoto

A short bullet train ride from Nara was Kyoto and our home for the next couple of nights. Having heard lots about capsule hotels we decided to get one there. We choose Comicap, a Comic Book themed hotel. The sleeping area looked like a library, the walls were lined with comic books of every genre and on these walls were ladders leading up to small curtained capsules containing a bed, light and power point. The capsules were not for the claustrophobic but were comfortable and seemed quite secluded once the curtain was shut. Our hotel was located on the lanes of a market containing food stalls and shops. There were several of these covered market streets in Kyoto, with Nishiki Market being the most well known. There was a huge variety of food on offer, from freshly baked soya doughnuts to steaming hot squid balls all within a few paces of each other.

One evening after walking for a while we stumbled across Sanneizaka, a footpath up a steep hill lined with shops and stalls and packed with tourists. We made our way up the hill to the temple at the top and got incredible views over Kyoto as the sun set. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at a cocktail place called L’Escamoteur. Dark inside with a almost steam punk vibe, the cocktails were incredible and their preparation a spectacle. For example the smoky old fashioned was prepared and then smoked in a glass dome for several minutes before being presented with smoke pouring out of it. Our short stay in Kyoto came to an end in a pancake cafe, enjoying our sugary breakfast we contemplated our next stop.

Tokyo

Kyoto to Tokyo was a breeze on the bullet train and we arrived at Tokyo Station in no time. The modern station had grown from the old station, a small brick building which now serves as just one of the entrances. Our hotel was a 20 minute walk through the business district along some large multi lane roads and across a small river. The Sotetsu Fresa Inn was a chain and we were staying in their Nihombashi-Ningyocho branch for the week. The room was small and modern with everything we could ask for including pijamas, toothpaste and even brushes.

We had tried to keep up with our exercise while travelling but having been in many locations over the past week it had been difficult. So we donned our kit and went for a quick run in the local area. Heading to the river we found a well travelled route alongside where we were able to avoid the roads. The weather had gotten cold and we were running in summer gear but our attention was on all the sights along the route. Running is a great way to see a city.

Ginza was a shopping district not that far from us. Mainly consisting of high end fashion stores and office buildings it had a sterile quality to the area. We wandered up and down the streets in our scruffy clothes next to well dressed people hurrying about their days. Around one office block we found a huge steam punk copper clock, afterwards we found out that it moved and played music at certain times. Uniqlo has always been a favourite of mine ever since moving to London so finding a 7 story one was quite a treat. Also next door was GU, a shop which looked like Primark and Uniqlo’s love child where you seemed to buy clothes by weight.

Shibuya was less sterile, with people and neon it was a little overwhelming. First thing we did was head to the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing. A multi cornered junction where hundreds of people cross at a time. It sounds a little strange that this is a tourist attraction but it is quite a sight to see so many people try to navigate one another. Our next stop in Shibuya was Loopwheeler a Japanese jumper brand that I’d been interested in. They use low tension knitting machines that produce a long lasting fabric. Or that’s what I’d read. My one big purchase of the trip was a hoody from here and although expensive it will be with me for years!

Shinjuku had a tall Government building that we had heard you could get a great view of the city, for free. We visited in the evening and it was already getting dark as we got into the lift to the top. The top floor seemed to have many purposes. Around the edge were the great views, in the middle was a market selling souvenirs and one section was segmented off for a restaurant. None of it fit together well and it felt strange being set in a 90’s office building. After this we headed to the nearby Golden Gai Bars, a rabbit warren of shanty style bars each only big enough to fit a few people in. We went too early to see this place busy but you could tell it would be quite an atmosphere.

Sky Tree is a giant broadcasting mast and observation deck with a shopping center built right into it. It’s become a tourist attraction for the views alone but we were there for a different purpose, the Moomin House Cafe. We’ve had a love for these little cartoon creatures for sometime so we took the opportunity to go see one of a few themed cafes in the world. A little underwhelmed by what was on offer we only checked out the shop, everything else seemed set out for children, how dare they! Being on a budget we didn’t go up the sky tree though it was misty when we went so that would of been two disappointments in one day.

Tsujiki Market was a destination I had wanted to visit for a while. Being a lover of sushi I had heard that going to this fish market was a must. We arrived there in the early morning but the main wholesale activity had already taken place, the Tuna auction. This happens around 5am and people start queuing around 12am for a spot on one of the limited tours. We were not that hardcore so we arrived around 10am and proceeded to have a breakfast of very fresh fish. It was odd eating sushi for breakfast but it was delicious. Afterwards we stopped at a small coffee place called Turret Coffee, named after the turret mini trucks used in the market. Sun shining and full off great fish and coffee we continued our day.

DiverCity was a strange area we stumbled across while on an epic walk to see the Rainbow Bridge. It was a cross between an industrial estate, amusement park and shopping center. We wandered around this area for a while exploring the shopping centers and free science exhibitions. Then we saw a giant robot from the manga series Gundam Wing just standing in front of the building. It looked so detailed you could swear it would spring to life any second. We went inside and on the top level you could purchase your own models of these robots and more, Airfix eat your heart out.

Studio Muscat was the tattoo studio we visited on our last day of travelling. We had conceived a plan whilst travelling to both get a tattoo so we remembered our trip. This little studio was in Shibuya and whilst travelling we had booked appointments with the artists we liked through their interpreter. When we turned up the interpreter was not there so we had a few interesting conversations to finalise the designs. Once this was done we headed out a balcony and round to a small clean room with 3 or so tattoo stations set up and sterilized. I was getting an Enso symbol on my chest and before they could apply the stencil my chest had to be shaved, a job which was done slowly and meticulously. Once this was done I laid down to be tattooed. The process was a lot less painful than I had imagined and apart from a line that went into the center of my chest it was pretty comfortable. With our new ink wrapped up we headed out onto the streets of Shibuya for a coffee and doughnut.

The next stop was the Airport, and the final leg home from our 3 month voyage. With sadness we boarded the plane for Russia before the final flight to Heathrow. The trip had been incredible, so many memories made and experiences had.