The End

Some final general observations:

- All the figures depicted in road signs are wearing hats
- Automatic doors open just that little bit later
- Apple hasn't dominated here yet
- Food is over-packaged in the extreme
- The landscape is either flat or mountains, there's very little in-between

Thursday


Hiroshima was in full bloom. The river near our hotel was lined with dozens of Sakura trees and had even more parties gathering underneath them. When we returned in the evening a lot of them were still there, shivering in coasts and passing beers around. I guess its the equivalent of our BBQ season taking place regardless of the weather.


Just the name of the city invokes so much history. We paid a trip to the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Museum. To be honest I found the whole experience a bit overwhelming. I've seen countless reports and documentaries about the atom bomb before, but seeing it up close...lumps of roof tiles with the description that they boiled and melted together, mannequins depicting flesh melting from the body...it was not pleasant. But I guess it's not meant to be pleasant.

There's been a few occasions where we've obviously looked very lost, as helpful locals have then pointed us in the right direction. We weren't looking particularly lost when someone approached us in the park. She mentioned that she had been to the British Museum and it was beautiful. We nodded in agreement. "Have you heard of the bible?" Oh, right. Closer inspection of the park saw dozens of them at work. I'm sure they're lovely people, I just wish they wouldn't.

Dinner that night was our first conveyor belt sushi restaurant of the trip. I only had one thing that made me feel sick so took that as a victory.

Friday


We quite literally set sail, on a boat and everything, for Miyajima. Just when I thought I couldn't be any more impressed with this holiday, we went to this mini tropical paradise. The centre of attention was the torii gate out at sea. The tide rapidly departed and we were able to paddle around it.


If Hiroshima was in bloom, Miyajima was ablaze with colour. You couldn't turn a corner without seeing another cherry blossom tree in full life. The island was full of tourists and package tours, but it was amazing how easily it was to ditch them. Quiet little havens of beauty were never far away. Like the beach front restaurant which gave us superb udon noddles.

In the evening we went searching for a Hiroshima delicacy. Okonomiyaki are large pancakes containing lettuce, bean sprouts, meat, noodles, egg and all types of herbs & spices. We went to a building that contained dozens of stalls selling these beauties. Picking one, we saw masters at work. Watching the cooks put these together was like watching a conductor at a symphony. Bloody tasty it was too, all that and the matriarch of the stall complemented my facial hair. I thanked them the only way I know how: by cracking my head so hard on the extractor fan that I nearly passed out.

Saturday

We made our way back through Japan, passing all the places we visited. My thoughts drifted. It's been 2 weeks but that disastrous journey here feels like a lifetime ago. In short: if Holiday Fatigue exists, I have it, and I'm ready to come home. We spent some of the day in a windswept Yokohama, but my attention was elsewhere. Waiting for the train, we experienced our one proper encounter with a local. An old man struck up conversation with us. He said he spent 12 years in America but his English wasn't very good (it was near perfect). A sweet end. We are spending our last night in Narita, just round the corner from the airport. The only thing that soothes my bruised head is that my journey home couldn't possibly be worse than my journey out here. Fingers crossed...

Japan Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Monday

Really had to think about what day it was. It doesn't help that I log in to Facebook & Twitter and hear people talking about it being the morning when I'm ready for bed. Anyway, today we went in search of a castle. The more famous castle at Himeji is currently under major restoration until 2014, so we went along to Hikone instead.


The castle was apparently surrounded by around a thousand cherry trees, but alas we still didn't come across a swam in raging bloom. We found half a dozen gently flowering away, but that was about it. I sound disappointed. It was still beautiful.

Beautiful too was the recreation of a Lodge from the Edo era. It felt massive, with unending passageways leading on to silent, minimal gardens. The larger grounds at the foot of the castle hill were also very pleasant to walk around, save for the American tourists. I'm still seeing tourists everywhere. How must the locals feel?


The day belonged to Hikonyan, a Samurai Cat who was everywhere, and even had his own song (which, once heard, will never leave you). Yet again the gift shop did well out of me. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a novelty cat with its own theme tune.

We've actually had quite a bad run of trying to find museums that have since closed down. I'd say around 6 or 7 have turned out this way so far. They've either vanished forever for temporarily closed for refurbishments. So after our latest failure, we went to the Kyoto Manga Museum. The place itself was more of a massive library, and it was great to see kids of all ages with piles of books next to them, sat outside in the sun. There was some informative exhibits and a superb collection of art once again responding to the March 2011 Earthquake.

For the last two nights we've been dining at a great little restaurant not far from our hotel. Like most things in this country, you order your meals by vending machine. It's a great concept: the pictures are descriptive enough and you don't need to worry about the bill at the end. I've had two variants on what was basically a mixed grill. Taste heaven, and cooked extremely fast. Free rice fill-ups too.

Our hotel in Kyoto has been a step up from our other accommodation. When booking the trip this was the only one that fitted our date window and my requirements (sorry, but I don't do shared toilets). The result of which has given us a little 4 star luxury, and the comfiest bed of the trip so far. Example of swank: the bathroom mirror is heated in the area above the sink, so no matter how fogged up the bathroom gets, you can always see your face. But we can't get too comfortable, as tomorrow we move on again...

Tuesday

Osaka seems to get a bad rep in the books I've read. The suburban sprawl hasn't been handled as artistically here as in has in other areas. It's basically Japan's version of Birmingham. We arrived in the worst rain we'd experienced so far. The layout of the main station wasn't too amazing either. It didn't have a proper subway station, just three lines hidden amongst an underground shopping mall (they love these here).


So we were a bit damp and frazzled, and unfortunately our first destination did nothing to help that. One guide book named the Osaka Aquarium the best in Japan. I fear for the rest of them. For our 2,000 Yen entry (that's around £18), we were treated to cramped corridors full of rude children and ruder parents. It seems that we're now in the school holidays, which wasn't the Aquarium's fault, but the whole experience was underwhelming and overpriced.

Thankfully our next trip was a lot better. The Modern Transport museum was showing its age, but it had enough charm to make it a much more enjoyable couple of hours.

The rain had reached the point of forcing its way through the museum roof, so we gave up and went back to the hotel. Defeated but not discouraged, it was good timing to have a much needed quite evening.

Wednesday

Determined to have a better day, we went out of town to Nara. On the train there we passed many cherry blossom trees in bloom. Finally, I thought, I'll get my wish to walk alongside a whole bunch of them in bloom.


I can't recommend more the Nara walk that Lonely Planet suggests in its Japan guide book. It took us away from the main tourist trail and started off at the most beautiful garden we've visited so far. It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves, it was so peaceful.


Carrying on through herds of wild/tame deer who harass tourists for biscuits, we visited several temples, including the largest Buddha statue in the country. It was an awe inspiring sight, especially seeing so many people offering a prayer.

To the side of the hall, metres away from the statue, was a gift shop. Now, this isn't the only tacky stall to encroach on an historic landmark, but for some reason this really got to me. This was a place of worship, fair enough I'm not the slightest bit spiritual and I was taking pictures like everyone else. But the whole vibe of "You've offered a prayer NOW BUY THE T-SHIRT!" just didn't sit right with me.


We had another 2 or 3 miles to walk, so I had plenty of time to forget about that and just enjoy the scenery as it unfolded.

Back into Osaka, we decided to pay the city's castle a visit. Just as we were walking out of the station, something caught my eye. There, tucked away behind a mound overlooking the bay, was around a dozen cherry blossom trees in bloom. And Sakura parties were in full flow underneath them. Children were playing, drinks were flowing, it was quite a sight. And I finally got to see it.


The climb up to the castle and back down again was pretty impressive too. It's one of the highest points in the city, and some people joke that it's only the most visited site in Japan because Osaka has no other places of interest.

We went out in the evening to try and prove this wrong. And after one of our trademark wrong turns, we found the main shopping district: a 2 mile long covered stretch that feels like a busy street as opposed to a soul-less shopping mall. It was surrounded by neon signs and street vendors. It sure beat staying in.


Since Tokyo we have been moving on every other night. It's weird, just as you start to get a handle on a place, you leave. It's hard to make any real conclusions. The only definite is we are about to journey to our final city of the holiday. The end is looming, and hanging heavy in my mind.

Japan Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Your English Is Good

Friday

Train Observations:

- THEY ARE HUGE. The Tokyo subway trains all had 11 carriages. The Shinkansen seem to have around 20.
- The average delay for trains in Japan is 30 seconds.
- Subway trains seem to run every 2 minutes.
- On the main lines, all station signs are also in English and tell you what stop is next. So navigating isn't as difficult as it could be.
- Each city has characters for their Oyster-style cards. Tokyo had a penguin and a robot, Nagoya had a chick and a lemon.

It was tough leaving Tokyo, and literally tough to work our way through rush hour. It had been a frantic week of no sleep and a lot of walking, so a change of pace was needed. Luckily, that was just what we had planned.

We took a Shinkansen to Shizuoka, and a local train on to Kanaya. You really start to notice how lucky you are in the bigger cities to be surrounded by tranlations, subtitles and people who understand you. We had a slightly awkward exchange at the ticket office, but luckily they really don't seem to mind if you just point at things.


We then got on a huge old steam train. It was full of families on package tours, tucking into bento boxed lunches which looked and smelt amazing. The train guard had metal teeth and played old folk songs on his harmonica. The train took us up a valley surrounded by Sakura (cherry blossom), tea fields and bamboo trees. It was quite the combination.


We came to a stop at Senzu, and got on a tiny little train to go further up the valley, clinging to the cliff as we climbed higher. We passed three massive hydroelectric damns, and a painted sign that could be roughly translated as "if you hear an alarm go off at the dam, run for your life!" Igawa was our last stop, and we had little choice but to do the whole journey back again. I'll never forget the train guard's energy, bounding up and down the track as to check we hadn't lost a carriage on the way.

After re-tracing our steps back to Shizuoka, we went on to our next destination: Nagoya. We arrived around 9pm and it was still unbelievably busy. There only seems to be a couple of hours when it isn't rush hour. Our hotel was only a couple of stops away on the subway, and we were greeted with more station jingles to get in our heads.

Saturday

The first day of really bad weather, and even then we missed the worst of it. After another tasty pastry breakfast from the 7 Eleven, we set off for Kinjo-Futo and the SCMaglev & Railway Park. We were met with a massive queue, when it finally clicked what day it was. I had completely lost all concept of time, as thinking about it just cost valuable sleep.


The museum had only been open a year and was a fine experience. The Shinkansen past and present were lined up along with various other vehicles, plus all sorts of facts and buttons. And children. Lots and lots of children. Staring at me, mostly.

At all these sorts of places we've been so far, we've pretty much been the only foreigners there. It does feel quite weird to see another Westerner. It's almost annoying. "What are YOU doing here??" Still, we had another local experience by having our first Bento Box for lunch. For around £8 you get a huge meal. Ours was 8 rice balls, 2 meat things, 1 large fish thing and various vegetables. Rather nice it was too.

After that we went across town to Sako and the Toyota museum. And I actually learnt something. I had no idea that the family behind Toyota started out in the cotton business, and invented the first automatic loom. The More You Know. We also saw our second robot. This time "Harry" serenaded us on his trumpet (seriously) and we got to hear Aux Champs Elysées, the theme from My Neighbour Totoro (still in my head) and When You Wish Upon A Star. All very good, but he was no Asimo. You know you're cynical when you witness a robot playing a brass instrument, and all you can say is "meh".

The viewing platform on Nagoya's tallest building was not only going to charge us rather a lot, it also didn't have a roof. It wasn't really the weather for it, so we just went up and down in the big glass elevator and got giddy. That evening we got lost in search of dinner, and came across a tasty little noodle joint. I continued my home habit of accidentally ordering the hottest thing on the menu. I was left with a tasty beefy dish that was burning my face off. Again.

Sunday

We now only had 2 nights in each city, so we said goodbye to Nagoya and set off for Kyoto. My first impressions were of a fairly faded city that had a bit of a "we used to be the capital but now we're not" feel to it. That soon changed.

Outside of the nationalised JR lines, Japan has a lot of independent railways, and seemingly nowhere more than Kyoto. We had to get across town using three separate companies, none of which were integrated in the slightest. Eventually we found our destination on a charming/rustic/just plain old half train half tram hybrid, which seemed to stop at stations tacked on to back gardens, or just dropped people in the middle of the street.


We came across a park that was having a Sakura party. There were large pergolas to rent and families were gathering. There was a carnival atmosphere, the laughter and music from the gatherings mixing with the sounds and smells of the various food stalls that had sprung up. Alas only a few trees were in bloom. We've still only come across the odd one or two trees flowering. My hope is that we find a whole bunch of them in full bloom before we go.


Walking around the city centre, I've seen more fellow Westerners here than I have in any other city in Japan so far. And with each one I see, I feel less like an explorer and more like Any Other Tourist. I can sometimes see it in their eyes too.


Highlight of the day was making our way around a large park full of temples of every size and shape, Buddist mixed with Shinto, past combined present. I fulfilled a wish by having my photo taken with a massive cuddly Totoro. Happy boy!

Japan Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Strangers In A Strange Land

Tuesday

Running entirely on momentum, we emerged blinking onto dizzying wonder of Tokyo transportation. Tokyo has both an extensive, efficient subway system and an extensive, efficient suburban railway service. I was soon at our Asakusa hotel, showered and "ready" to face the day. And it was only 8am. Constantly thinking about time was to be my undoing, but that was several hours away yet.

We started with a trip to a local temple, the surrounding shops and market stalls still yawning themselves awake. I watched the rituals of washing and praying, and felt like I was intruding.

Being an outsider in Japan - it's something most visitors comment upon. You stand out, and as someone who tends to stand out anyway, it was especially noticeable. I've had quite a few stares, one or two laughs, and I swear (although this could be jetlagged delirium) I heard someone tutting at me.

A short walk to the river and our first experience with cherry blossom. We weren't the only ones stopping to admire and take photos, it's a huge deal over here. Even the slightest flourish seems to inspire instant picnics and celebration.


We then went down to Ginza which gave me Oxford Street vibes, only more so (much more). Every shop we walked into, we would hear the same greeting/chant from all the staff. I really need to find out what it means.

After that it was off to Akihabara aka Electric Town, with its deafening, smoky Panchinko parlours - speed pinball basically - and tower after tower of video game parlours. No place for a jet lagged man.

On to Ueno we went to one one the biggest parks in the city. More blossom was in effect, the trees even cordoned off for their own safety. We had a punt around the boating lake with each boat carrying one if not more brave and violent seagulls.

Then we took our first Shinkansen (Bullet Train) down to Yokohama for the Ramen museum. A museum about food? I can dig. The exhibits were all without translation, but below ground the place took on its true identity: a 1950s shanty village with each hut serving a different type of Ramen. Pretty unbelievable. But the food was amazing.

It was round 5pm when we left, and I was dead on my feet. It had felt like I had lived the last 48 hours with little rest, so had the earliest of nights.

Some general observations so far:

- Everywhere is spotless.
- Nobody walks across any road until the light is green.
- Each station has its own unique jingle.
- Even the street cleaning machines sing to you.
- You can walk around with £400 in your pocket like it's nothing.

Wednesday


Body clock adjusted but still not quite aligned, we set off for Mitaka and the Studio Ghibli museum. After a pleasant walk along a stream we were met with a large queue of families and school trips. You are told to book tickets well in advance, and with good reason. This relatively small venue may very well be the best thing in Japan - infinitely charming and fascinatingly detailed, just like the Ghibli films themselves. Your ticket is a reel of film from one of their creations. There is a stunning animation room that still baffles me to think about. Plus a mini cinema showing exclusive short films that will apparently never be shown anywhere else. Unfortunately we didn't see the adventures of Cat Bus Jnr, but we did get a sweet little tale about a lost puppy. The gift shop did very well out of me, not to mention everyone else there.

A long walk followed through various residential neighbourhoods. Space is at a premium in this country. Flats and tower blocks of all shapes & sizes dominate any direction you look in. And this area was no different. Everywhere seems to be reaching for the sky, but to juxtapose that you see countless tiny cafes & bars jammed under railway arches which only seat a handful of people.


After a walk around the shops of Shinjuku, it was down to Shibuya to visit That Massive Busy Road Crossing With All The Lights And Adverts. It was very busy and far too much fun was had crossing over it several times. Dinner was a pot luck choice, we selected one of a long line of faceless towerblock hallways and went up to the floor with the best photos. A good dinner was had. The sweet dumplings were the best.

On the way back I thought someone was hassling a group girls in front of me. They kept on being shown a piece of paper which they stared aimlessly at. Then someone started taking photos of them as they walked across. "Did we get it? Shall we send them back? Explain it to them again". They were models or something, and all those shots had me being gormless in the background.

An extended walk home and I was feeling shattered but not as dead as yesterday, which can only a good thing.

Thursday


Our last full day in the capital. Most of it was spent around Tokyo's answer to the Docklands: huge shiny buildings, monorail, that sort of thing. Panasonic's exhibition centre was full of facts, Nintendo games and staff members wanting to practice their English on us. Toyota's centre was, by comparison, closed.


After that it was off to Miraikan. There was a facinating exhibition looking at the end of the world, mainly its innevitability and the questions we should ask ourselves as a result of it. The exhibit was created in response to last year's devistating earthquake and tsunami. I had heard that as a rule Japanese people were generally unwilling to talk about this subject, but on the basis of this exhibition they are starting to accept it and air their emotions. It was moving, thoughtful and just the right side of ambiguous. The other highlight was Asimo, the most advanced robot in the world. His demo would have been more impressive had I not already seen it on QI a few months ago, but a robot kicking a football and doing a little dance will never get old.


The day ended in a cat cafe. A room full of cats and a free drinks machine, what more could you want? They are designed for locals who don't have the space or time to have a pet, but still want to have the experience of being ignored by one until you feed it. There were around a dozen felines draped around the place, you got the impression that they'd had a hard day of fuss and attention. But they were still a cute bunch, and when we were given treats to feed them they were all over us. It made me a little homesick for our Tom waiting back home.

Tomorrow we head south for the next leg of our journey. I could happily spend 2 weeks just in Tokyo, but we have so much more to see.

Japan Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

A Little Journey

The Travelodge at Manchester Airport was full of angry, nicotine drenched souls and broken light bulbs. I was far too excited to notice. The first hurdle was setting our alarms against the backdrop of wondering if our phones would automatically update for British Summer Time (they did! Magic).

After a Greggs breakfast, we parted ways (we took separate flights, long story). As I watched Angelos disappear around the corner I just wanted this whole journey over with so we could be together again.

It all started so well. The flight to Copenhagen was uneventful. But as soon as I got there I hit my first snag. My flight to Tokyo Narita was delayed by 2 hours. I was trying to remain optimistic and think that it could be worse, so then I had to wrestle with the airport Wi-Fi.

I don't know about you, but to me, "free Wi-Fi" sounds like something you can just use, no fuss. I have yet to encounter any truly free Wi-Fi. But after logging on to some website, I was connected and able to tell Angelos about the delay.

Hours passed, and thank god for the company of Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures. The delay was frustratingly unexplained. But eventually staff appeared to let us on board. And I was suddenly assigned a different seat. Y'see, I need plenty of leg room, and we'd researched the best ones for me to book. So I had to queue up again to get this sorted. I was met by a woman (who would later prove to be a life saver), who just shrugged and said "I thought you'd like a window seat, but hey, tell you what, I'll upgrade you. Don't tell anyone!" I was being given a free upgrade, never thought I'd see the day. Hello Economy Plus! Free bottle of water and everything.

Eventually, we get on board. I was surrounded by Japanese families and drunk Danish businessmen. One bragged that they almost didn't let him on he was so hammered. I'm glad I wasn't stuck next to him, but thankfully he proceeded to sleep throughout the following few hours on the tarmac.

We were pulling out on to the runway when suddenly we stopped. Something wrong with the engine apparently. So they were tested. And we were returned to the terminal. And we were let back into the departure lounge. This was around 6 hours after our flight was originally due to depart. I was panicking. After my initial success with Wi-Fi, I had since been unable to log on. They wanted me to pay! But I couldn't even access the paying page. Then the same woman who gave me a free upgrade let me use her phone to text Angelos. A sweeter woman you would never meet. I wish I got her name.

When the news finally came of our flight's cancellation I was resigned to it. Our luggage was returned and we were compensated with a free taxi ride to a free hotel that was infinitely more swanky than our budget could ever afford. Casino, mini bar, curtains...it had it all. I managed to e-mail Anglelos about my plight and went to bed, worried, alone, exhausted and angry that I was going to miss the first day of our holiday.

I was woken up at 6am with news of my new flight. Within the space of an hour I was back at the airport, checked in and through security. Wi-Fi ditched, I texted Angelos my new flight numbers, and departed for Frankfurt with minimal leg room. It might as well have been a flight simulator, all I felt and saw was us going up and going down again.

It wasn't until we got to Frankfurt that I was made more aware that I would be arriving at a different airport in Tokyo than the one me and Angelos were originally due to arrive in. Luckily he's a clever thing and worked that out. So I boarded my 4th airline of the trip with my carefully chosen seat gone to waste. Luckily the leg room wasn't too bad. And we were away. The feeling I felt as we finally took off for Tokyo was quite indescribable.

Movies Watched: The Descendants, J Egdar, The Ides Of March, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

I landed just after 6am local time. And there was Angelos waiting for me at Arrivals. I've never been more pleased to see anyone in my life.

Japan Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Holiday / Celebrate

So I've been to a few gigs over the last 6 months but had no desire to write about them. Odd, its seems I only find it easy to write about bands I'm familiar with. But sometimes it's just good to go as a punter, y'know?

Anyway, I'm currently on a 2 week trip to Japan and felt like writing about it, so what follows are my thoughts and rambles along the way...