Category: Asia

Posted in Asia, English, Japan, Tokyo

Japan – Day 10

Posted on by travellingleila

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1 June 2025

Well, today is the last full (and generally significant – since tomorrow can be ignored) day in Japan. We woke up in Kyoto, again quite early, got ready, and went straight with our suitcases to have breakfast at a very nice café, called Tsumugi, near the station. We had sandwiches – as always, on thick slices of Japanese milk bread.

Once again, we noticed groups of schoolchildren in uniform walking around everywhere – the only surprising thing was that this was happening on a Sunday. Apparently, they also have excursions, trips, or extracurricular activities on weekends.

Then – yet another Shinkansen and a two-hour ride from Kyoto back to Tokyo. This time we had a different hotel, and in a different area – Shinjuku. From Shinjuku Station – by the way, the busiest railway station in the world (although we arrived there by subway, as the Shinkansen doesn’t go to Shinjuku but to Tokyo Station) – we really struggled to drag our suitcases to the hotel, not least because we exited the station from the wrong side (and the right exit is very hard to find!).

In broad daylight, we didn’t immediately recognise the area, but we turned out to be just steps away from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building – the one we visited earlier for its observation deck.

For today, we had planned a visit to the teamLab Planets museum. I don’t even know how to describe it properly – something like a digital art museum with immersive effects. But more on that in a moment.

Before that, we wanted to get lunch and found an interesting restaurant nearby – this time an American one – but when we got there, we saw a queue and realized we wouldn’t make it in time. The restaurant was in the skyscraper business district near Tochomae Station, and unlike other places (where, as we remember, there are 528 eateries per square meter!), there was nothing else nearby. We even went down into the subway to the station where a sign pointed to restaurants, but on a Sunday everything was closed – except for one Chinese place, which wasn’t exactly a diner, but a restaurant in the spirit of one.

Luckily, they served us Chinese food really quickly, and we got to the museum on time – it’s located quite far away, in the Toyosu area, with a river and skyscrapers, which strongly reminded me of my dearly loved Canary Wharf in London.

Now about the museum – it was a very interesting experience. I really liked it, although the coloured lighting was a bit much for my taste in some places.

The museum features different elements – water, a garden, a forest. In one installation, you walk barefoot through knee-deep water with glowing patterns on the surface (including koi carp) that constantly change. In another, you find yourself surrounded by live orchids, and it’s not immediately clear how to get out. In another room, you’re immersed in a space filled with large glowing spheres that you have to push aside – and when you touch them, they change colour. In general, it’s truly full immersion.

There’s also an interactive part – “Catching and Collecting Forest” – where you can “catch” animals that appear on the walls and floors using a smartphone app (we didn’t try it, but from the outside, it looked like something similar to Pokémon GO). In another “forest,” called “Athletic Forest,” you’re supposed to interact with three-dimensional space – climb on things, move along swings. It’s probably aimed more at kids – though we did jump on a trampoline.

I didn’t really understand the name Planets – I had a vague idea of what to expect from the museum, but I thought there would be a space theme. There wasn’t, so what the planets had to do with it remained a mystery to me.

After the museum, we made a second attempt to eat at the American restaurant – this time successfully: after just 10 minutes of waiting, we were seated. We ordered a delicious steak, but the main draw was the unlimited salad bar. And that’s when we realised just how much we had missed simple salads and vegetables during all these days of Japanese food – we really went for those cucumbers and cabbage!

Then we returned to the hotel and, after a bit of rest, Rena left for the airport to fly to Baku via Dubai. I’m staying until tomorrow morning, and then I’ll take another long, direct flight back to London. That’s the end of our trip to Japan! It turned out to be a wonderful journey – and at the same time, I feel like I’ve had my fill of Japan, in the best possible sense. Not that I got tired of it, but more that I feel fully satisfied, having being able to do and see everything I wanted to. As they say, I’ve “closed the gestalt.”

Posted in Asia, English, Japan, Kyoto

Japan – Day 9

Posted on by travellingleila

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31 May 2025

Today is our last day in Kyoto. We woke up very early again and had breakfast in a French café.

Since it was early, we decided to go to Gion again and take another look at the geisha quarter and the streets around the Yasaka Pagoda, which we hadn’t properly explored a couple of days ago when it was crowded and we were in a rush. We figured there would be fewer people at this time – and we were right. Of course, there were the occasional enthusiastic Chinese tourists who got up early and even dressed in kimonos to take photos before the crowds arrived. But overall, there weren’t many people, so we were able to enjoy the Yasaka Pagoda and the historic streets of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka in relative peace.

However, we still didn’t manage to spend a lot of time there – we were feeling cold, and it also started to rain. I’ve actually been joking that the head of the local meteorological service should commit hara-kiri – the forecasts here are so unreliable that you almost need to do the opposite of what they tell you. For example, yesterday the forecast promised cool weather and rain, but not a drop fell – it was 26 degrees, hot and stuffy. And today, on the contrary, it promised 23–24 degrees, with sunshine, and zero chance of rain – but couldn’t even forecast an hour ahead, because it was grey and chilly, and the rain started almost immediately.

So we went back to the hotel to change clothes and grab an umbrella, and then we went our separate ways. I went to the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, while Rena had already been there on her last visit and didn’t want to go a second time. Not surprising – the shrine is located on Mount Inari, and the main shrine is at the top. The whole round trip takes about two hours, so doing it once is probably enough.

The temple is famous for the more than ten thousand orange torii gates that line the entire route up and down the mountain, forming tunnels of gates you walk through. I arrived around mid-morning, and there was an absolute sea of people. Especially at the entrance to the first “corridor” of torii gates, there was a continuous flow. Everyone was trying to take photos, but there was hardly any space to move.

Apparently, people didn’t realize that the torii gates would continue all the way to the top of the mountain – or maybe they just didn’t feel like climbing there. Some were dressed in kimonos, some even in evening dresses – where would you go in heels or socks with flip-flops up a mountain?

To be honest, I wasn’t planning to go all the way to the top either. I thought I’d climb a little, take some photos of the gates from different angles, see a few shrines, and call it a day. But then, for some reason, I got caught up in the excitement – maybe it was the signs at each rest stop showing how much further to the summit. Especially that the higher you go, the fewer people there are. I was able to peacefully explore the shrines and the torii gates – for example, the back of each gate is covered in kanji. It might seem like some sacred texts, but it’s actually just the names of those who donated each gate – there are even a few rare inscriptions in Latin script. The route isn’t one straight path – there are forks leading to smaller, secondary shrines, and rest areas with toilets, a small shop, and an ice cream stand.

One route led up, the other down. In the end, very few people made it to the summit, so I could take photos in peace. By then, though, I was completely drenched in sweat – and that was despite the spitting rain and cool weather.

After the shrine, I was supposed to meet up with Rena for lunch at a ramen place – but there was a slight hitch. We didn’t align when we arrived and stood in the queue, so I ended up going in first and tried to save her a seat next to me, but they didn’t allow that – we had to sit separately. The concept of this (chain) restaurant is that visitors sit alone, separated from each other by plywood dividers. There’s also a divider between guests and staff – you just pass them a piece of paper with your order number and the desired spice level, noodle firmness, etc., and they place your ramen through a small window.

So, in the end, we didn’t sit next to each other – but it was fine. After lunch, we walked around the shops and bought some Korean cosmetics.

Then our tired legs started reminding us of themselves – and of all the previous days, each of which involved at least 20,000 steps. We had to find a café to sit down in – we found one in a small side street. In general, I have to say that all the little backstreets in Kyoto feel the same – I honestly couldn’t tell the street our hotel is on apart from another one a kilometre or two away.

After coffee, we went back to the hotel to rest a bit. And then it was already evening, so we headed to a recently opened izakaya, where we had all sorts of interesting dishes, like some kind of whelk in an unusual sauce, but also quite plain donburi with chicken and egg (a sort of chigirtma–plov à la Japonaise) – and drank fragrant sake.

After that, we continued the evening at an Irish pub we’d spotted earlier – but only briefly, since it turned out to be a bit of a dive. On a Saturday evening, there were hardly any people: there was a cheerful Japanese group celebrating something in the private room, and in the main area – just a couple of foreigners, plus us.

Posted in Asia, English, Himeji, Japan, Osaka

Japan – Day 8

Posted on by travellingleila

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30 May 2025

Today, completely unintentionally, we woke up at 6:30 a.m., but it turned out to be a good thing, since we had a long day of traveling ahead: from Kyoto to Himeji, then on to Osaka, and finally back to Kyoto.

As a result, we left an hour earlier than planned. But before heading out, we walked to Kyoto Station and had breakfast there – we had delicious toasts made with Japanese milk bread, topped with egg and salmon in my case, or ham in Rena’s.

At the station, we took an express train (not the Shinkansen, just a regular limited express) to Himeji.

The sole reason for the trip to Himeji (which took about an hour and a half, by the way) was to visit its famous castle. From Himeji Station, we walked down one of the main streets towards the castle. Honestly, there wasn’t much to see along the way – the city seemed fairly ordinary and, at first glance, felt rather provincial.

The castle really is the city’s main (and maybe only) attraction – but what an attraction it is. It is extremely popular among tourists, as it’s one of Japan’s oldest castles, and interestingly, is built almost entirely out of wood.

We weren’t sure whether it was enough to admire the castle from the outside or whether we should go inside as well. Google reviews strongly recommended going in, and so we did – but in hindsight, we might as well have skipped it.

From the outside, the castle is stunning – graceful and elegant. No wonder it’s also called the “White Heron Castle” – it truly does resemble a white heron. But inside, there’s practically nothing to see. Just seven floors of empty wooden rooms, between which we had to walk up and down the steep, slippery staircases (they are slippery because you have to take your shoes off and walk in socks). There’s no interior decoration, no furnishings, barely any artifacts. Even the weapon displays are sparse – just a couple of spears and guns for show.

However, right next to the castle is Koko-en – a lovely garden made up of nine smaller gardens, each designed in a different traditional Japanese style. One focuses on pine trees only, another features multi-level paths, waterfalls, and stones, while another has a flat landscape – and all are filled with beautiful flowers and trees. Interestingly, the garden was created only recently, in the late 20th century, but it’s designed to reflect the aesthetics of the Edo period.

It was hot and stuffy all day, even though the forecast had promised rain – instead, we got bright sun. By the time we finished at the gardens, it was already lunchtime. We decided to have lunch in Himeji and ate in a tiny local eatery that served Kobe beef – a premium, marbled Wagyu variety that’s about twice as expensive as regular Wagyu, but still reasonably priced here.

There wasn’t anything else we wanted to do in Himeji, so we headed to Osaka – in the opposite direction, towards Kyoto – about an hour’s ride.

The contrast was immediate – Osaka has a completely different energy. It is a much more modern city than anything else we’d seen so far (even Tokyo). If your idea of a modern Asian city includes futuristic infrastructure and glass skyscrapers, Osaka fits the bill perfectly – it felt like such a contrast to Kyoto, which is only half an hour away. Even the people looked different – more relaxed, dressed more brightly and stylishly. And there are even dedicated bike lanes – in the other places we saw, cyclists just ride on the sidewalks, while you narrowly manage to avoid them.

Osaka also has a castle, so we went to take a look – just from the outside, of course. It turned out to be located on a hill, mostly hidden behind trees, and we didn’t feel like climbing up – we simply didn’t have the energy.

The park around the castle reminded us a bit of Hiroshima Castle’s grounds, but Osaka’s was better maintained and much more lively – full of people, like the city itself.

Next, we headed to what’s probably the noisiest and most chaotic part of the city: the Dotonbori area. Along the canal and the adjacent pedestrian street, there is an endless choice of cafés, restaurants, shops, and game centres – all with huge, elaborate signs, that are more like 3D sculptures, covering the entire facade. At night, everything lights up in dazzling neon.

Food stalls and restaurants offer all the local specialties – which, of course, we tried for dinner: okonomiyaki (something between a savory pancake and fritter made of a hodgepodge of different ingredients – seafood, cabbage, eggs), takoyaki (fried octopus balls in liquid batter), and noodles. I really liked it, though Rena didn’t.

In general, if you’re looking for that loud, wild, fashionable version of Japan you often see in the media – you’ll find it here, in Osaka. The city is vibrant, chaotic, and it’s very entertaining to look at all this, but we’re still happy to be staying in Kyoto, where we were happy to return in the evening.

Posted in Asia, English, Japan, Kyoto

Japan – Day 7

Posted on by travellingleila

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29 May 2025

In the morning, we woke up still in Hiroshima, had a tasty but small sandwich breakfast at a nearby coffee shop, and immediately headed to the station to catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto.

We arrived in Kyoto around noon and took the subway to the station closest to our hotel. From there, we had to walk another 10 minutes with our suitcases along narrow and not particularly convenient streets – again with no sidewalks. There seem to be especially many streets like this in Kyoto.

The city feels more uniform than Tokyo, where, as I’ve already said, each district had its own vibe. Generally, here it’s clear that Kyoto is an ancient capital, and this status is being preserved in every possible way – for example, I don’t think there are any skyscrapers at all.

Our hotel isn’t one of the traditional ryokans you see all around Kyoto, but it’s still quite interesting. For instance, they don’t clean the rooms daily (they’ll do it every four days), but they’ll take out the rubbish if you ask, and all essentials like towels, toiletries, and tea bags are available in the hallway for you to take as needed.

After dropping off our luggage, we were already pretty hungry and headed out to eat some delicious assorted nigiri sushi.

We didn’t have much time left before our scheduled tea ceremony, so we dashed through the historic Gion district, especially the geisha quarter and the famous Ninenzaka street with stairs. We didn’t see any geisha or maiko, though – they usually appear around 6 p.m., and we were there during the day. By the way, I’ve read that Kyoto’s authorities had to ban photographing geisha in Gion because tourists were behaving too rudely and inconsiderately.

There were indeed a lot of tourists in the area. The streets are charming and atmospheric, and they would have been perfect if there had been a few less people. There were also loads of tourists dressed in kimonos. Kimono rental services are very popular here in Kyoto – they dress you up, do your hair and makeup, and you can stroll around and take photos in full traditional splendour. But more on that later! For now, I’ll just say that most of the people walking around in kimonos in the middle of the day aren’t Japanese – they’re tourists, and mostly Chinese (which is probably why they’re often mistaken for locals).

As I said, we were short on time, so we had to rush back at full speed, since we thought we were running late. For instance, at Nishiki Market, which was on our route, we practically bowled people over trying to get through. But as it turned out, there was no need to hurry. In fact, we ended up sitting and waiting. And soon it became clear why. The tea ceremony included dressing in a kimono, and that turned out to be quite a process!

A kimono, especially the women’s version, is not something you can get dressed into yourself. As someone who’s loved Japan since childhood and used to dress up in random robes pretending they were kimonos, I’ve always dreamed of wearing a real one – but I had no idea how complex it actually is. Therefore, there’s really no point in buying one for yourself – it’s not just that there’s nowhere to wear it, but it’s also not something you could put on without help.

First, we were given tabi socks – the kind with a separate big toe – and led to the dressing room. There, we put all our clothes into special bags, undressed down to our underwear, and put on the provided undergarment. Then they helped us into the under-kimono and asked us to choose the outer one. I picked a red one with flowers. After that, we chose a thick obi belt to match, a ribbon (still not sure what it was for), and a decorative cord. Then they dressed us properly, layering and tying everything according to tradition. Next, we went to another woman who did our hair quickly and added accessories we’d selected. It was all very efficient – in about half an hour, we’d been transformed into fairly convincing Japanese ladies!

Then came the tea ceremony itself, held with a group of others who were also dressed in kimonos. First, they showed us how to wash ourselves at temple entrances – water over the left hand, then the right, then over the ladle’s handle itself. Inside the tea room, the only downside was that we had to sit on our knees, which quickly became uncomfortable and numbing. But otherwise, it was fascinating. The lovely host explained the rules of the ceremony and the signs and gestures of hospitality – for example, she placed a fan in front of her to symbolically draw a respectful line between herself and the guests, then removed it. Next followed a whole ritual around cleaning the tea utensils. We were given cups with matcha powder and little green sweets shaped like maple leaves – they tasted kind of like halva. We learned how to pour hot water over the matcha, whisk it until frothy, and then drink it along with the “halva”.

After the ceremony, we were told we could walk around the city in our kimonos, as long as we returned everything by 6 p.m. We decided not to go far – it’s hard to walk far in those undersized flip-flops (they weren’t the traditional wooden geta, but still not the most practical footwear). We wandered around a bit, found a small shrine where we took some great photos, and decided that was enough and we were ready to return the kimonos.

The whole experience was really enjoyable – being dressed so carefully, wearing the kimono, and seeing how great it looked., so we were very happy with it.

After all that running around and not-so-filling meals during the day, we decided to make up for it and went to the food court under Kyoto Tower. We devoured a portion of delicious gyoza, followed by fluffy and no less delicious Japanese soufflé pancakes. Kyoto Tower is right across from the train station, so after dinner we hung around the area, bought some souvenirs and sweets, went up to the top of the station building for a view of the evening city, and finally headed back to the hotel – it had started to drizzle, though the air was still stuffy. I really liked Kyoto, it has a pleasant atmosphere, noticeably more people than in Hiroshima, and a lot of tourists.

Posted in Asia, English, Hiroshima, Japan, Miyajima

Japan – Day 6

Posted on by travellingleila

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28 May 2025

Today we went to Miyajima Island right in the morning. Prior to that, we had breakfast at our hotel – we tried the buffet on the 25th floor, which had a really cool view of the city. The breakfast offered both Western and Japanese options, including local Hiroshima specialties like fish cakes and fish sausage.

We walked to Shin-Hakushima Station, passing by the castle we visited yesterday – which, in daylight, looked a little less impressive than it did lit up at night. The train took about 20 minutes to get us to the ferry terminal, accompanied by a noisy Iranian tour group. From the terminal, ferries from two different companies run frequently to Miyajima, and the crossing only takes 10 minutes. From the ferry, we got a great view of the famous “floating” torii gates.

There were tons of tourists on the island – but despite its small size, it didn’t feel crowded. Somehow, everyone seemed to spread out. Most tourists were local Japanese, but there were also quite a few foreigners – the Germans again made a noticeable appearance.

Stray deer roam freely on the island – so there’s no need to go to Nara to see them. That said, the ones here seem hungrier and more persistent. We didn’t even think of eating anything outside, but we saw others who did and clearly regretted it, trying in vain to fend off the pushy deer.

Once on the island, we wandered through the charming streets of Miyajima toward the Itsukushima Shrine – the one the “floating” torii gate belongs to. Interestingly, the gate doesn’t “float” all the time – only at high tide. So when we arrived in the morning, it was surrounded by water, but by around 3 p.m., it was already on dry land, with people walking right up to it and through it.

The shrine is Shinto, and the entrance fee is 300 yen (about £1.50), but at the moment, much of it is closed for restoration. Unfortunately, the nearby five-tiered pagoda from the 15th century was also under restoration – we didn’t even recognise it at first, and thought it was a new building going up in the middle of this historical island! So when we climbed up to the Hokoku Temple, we weren’t able to see it.

We then continued up to Daisho-in Temple – unlike the shrine and like Hokoku, this one is Buddhist. From here, you can hike to the top of Mount Misen, but we decided not to do that and just enjoyed the temple itself.

The path to the temple was calm and peaceful. Of course, tourists come here too (the same noisy Iranian group was there), but not in overwhelming numbers. Many worshippers were also present, performing rituals. For example, you can strike a large bell and make a wish – though you have to pay. Sure, you can do it for free, but I would imagine that the local higher powers probably don’t grant free wishes.

They say (and back it up with photos!) that the views from the temple in autumn are absolutely spectacular – but even in May, for some reason, many trees were already red, so it was beautiful anyway. We really liked the temple.

By then it was lunchtime, so we headed back down toward the pier and went into one of the local restaurants to try regional cuisine. We were seated in a “Japanese room” – many places here offer that option – which means sitting on tatami mats at a low table, shoes off. The regional specialties are grilled eel and oysters, which we had in a set meal with buckwheat noodles (soba). It was interesting to try, but I wouldn’t call it my favourite flavour of Japan.

Another local delicacy is momiji manju – maple-leaf-shaped cakes with sweet fillings. The traditional version has sweet bean paste, which I didn’t like, but the chocolate and custard-filled ones were very tasty and delicate.

After lunch, we strolled through covered streets filled with cafés, food stalls, and souvenir shops – including some Ghibli-themed ones that were much better than the museum shop we saw yesterday.

Then we stopped for coffee at a place we’d spotted earlier that looked like someone’s private garden. And as far as I could tell, that’s exactly what it was – a house and garden converted into a café, run by two elderly women. The garden was beautifully maintained and very traditionally Japanese, and it was such a pleasant spot to relax. At first there were some noisy customers chatting loudly, but they left soon after.

From there, we headed back to the ferry. For some reason, at that time there were schoolchildren in uniforms everywhere – whole classes, probably on school trips. Some were arriving, some were leaving, some were gathered for class photos.

Back in Hiroshima, we decided to walk through the Peace Memorial Park and visit the Atomic Dome – the skeletal remains of one of the Hiroshima Prefectural buildings that survived the atomic bombing. Interestingly, the memorial plaque doesn’t mention anywhere that the bombing was carried out by the Americans – and the overall tone of the memorial isn’t accusatory at all, but more like a quiet reflection on the horrors of war and the importance of peace.

At the hotel, we arrived just in time for happy hour and had some rather mediocre wine that made us a bit dizzy – but then we went to dinner and had delicious katsu to make up for it.

Posted in Asia, English, Hiroshima, Japan, Tokyo

Japan – Day 5

Posted on by travellingleila

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27 May 2025

Today was our last day in Tokyo (though we’ll be coming back later). We had breakfast again at the same café in the park as the day before yesterday. We had to go to Hiroshima, but only after lunch, so in the morning we took a walk to Mejiro Japanese Garden, not far from our hotel. It’s a small, quiet, and very typically Japanese garden – clearly not a famous one, as there were very few people around.

At the entrance, there’s a traditional room that looks like a tea house, which can be rented for photo shoots or private events. The garden itself has a central pond surrounded by greenery, and a small gazebo. On the surface of the pond we saw lots of water striders, and in the pond itself, big fat koi carp swimming lazily around.

After returning to the hotel, we headed off to Tokyo Station. The station is truly massive – many subway and train lines converge there, and it’s also where the high-speed Shinkansen trains depart, which we were taking to Hiroshima. We had lunch right at the station in a Chinese restaurant – the hot and sour soup was especially good.

Coming back to the Shinkansen – also known as “bullet trains.” They’re fast, but not quite as jaw-dropping as the ones in China. Almost ten years ago, I took a Chinese bullet train from Hangzhou to Shanghai, and it was flying so fast you couldn’t even make out the scenery – everything outside just blurred into a gray wall. That was a proper “bullet.” Here, the train is definitely fast, but you can still see everything outside – the outline of Mount Fuji as we approached Kyoto, endless rice fields, and villages with houses that still have traditional curved Japanese roofs.

The journey to Hiroshima took about four hours, but it passed quickly and effortlessly. We’re not planning to do much in Hiroshima itself – the real goal of coming here is to visit Miyajima Island.

Once we arrived, we checked in to the hotel. First impressions of the city – at first glance, Hiroshima didn’t feel that different from Tokyo. But no, the vibe is quite different. For one, there are far fewer people, which makes foreigners stand out more – especially Germans, of whom there seem to be quite a few. Second – though maybe this was just our route – there were some confusing pedestrian passages and street crossings where it wasn’t obvious how or where to cross. Thirdly, I’ve already mentioned Japan’s older infrastructure – and here it feels even more dated. The buses look like ancient Ikaruses, and the taxis seem straight out of a movie from the ’80s or ’90s.

Just off the wide avenues, as in Tokyo, are hidden narrow streets. Same as in Tokyo, often there are no sidewalks, and where they do exist, cyclists ride along them, also in the same way.

We had dinner at a fish restaurant – though calling it a “restaurant” might be a bit generous. It was more like a small eatery with room for 10–15 people, and, once again, everything was in Japanese. They gave us a card with pictures of various fish, and we just pointed to the ones we wanted. Those were grilled with salt and served with rice, miso soup, and a few small side dishes.

After that, we made our way through some dark streets to Hiroshima Castle to see it lit up at night. It was definitely worth the walk – we got some beautiful photos with the castle reflected in the water. By the way, the original castle was almost completely destroyed by the atomic bombing – what we see today is a reconstruction.

Posted in Asia, English, Japan, Tokyo

Japan – Day 4

Posted on by travellingleila

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26 May 2025

In the morning, we went to have breakfast at a French bakery not far from the hotel. Since we had the Ghibli Museum on the agenda for today, we decided not to rush and instead went for a walk through Harajuku – a trendy, youthful district full of interesting and extravagant shops with alternative fashion.

Tokyo really is a huge city – the distances are vast, and each district has its own distinct vibe, completely different from the others.

Another observation – the Japanese really do love queuing. Even though, as I mentioned before, there are countless eateries, some are clearly more popular than others, and there are always queues outside them. We often see queues at shops too – and sometimes, it’s not even clear what people are queuing up for.

We walked across the entire district to the subway station, and from there we headed to the Kichijoji area, where the Ghibli Museum is located. Kichijoji also has a totally different feel, and it also has narrow streets with izakayas, but we didn’t find anything interesting here: since it was around midday, most of them were shut behind roller shutters (I’m guessing, it’s more lively in the evening).

So, in search of lunch, we somehow ended up in the Japanese equivalent of what we’d call a “day-day kafesi” (literally – “café for uncles”), indeed quite packed with local “uncles”, and everything was in Japanese. Luckily, the ordering was done via an interactive tablet – you just tap on pictures and help yourself out with Google Lens. They served ramen, noodles, yakitori with rice, and some very tasty gyoza. It was a delicious and incredibly cheap meal – 1800 yen for two (that’s 9 pounds, mind you!).

After lunch, we still had time before the museum and headed to the nearby Inokashira Park – a lovely park with a large lake in the middle.

As for the museum itself – as you can probably guess, it’s dedicated to the Ghibli anime studio. Tickets need to be bought in advance – for foreign tourists, they’re released once a month for the following month and sell out within just a couple of hours. I’m not a Ghibli fan (to be honest, I’ve never even seen a single film), but I joined Rena – and didn’t regret it one bit.

You’re not allowed to take pictures inside the museum, which makes sense – otherwise, people would be crowding every exhibit forever. The exhibits – both temporary and permanent – were really interesting. The idea is to use Studio Ghibli’s well-known anime films as an example to show the entire animation process – from early sketches and drawings to the final product.

There are piles of scrapbooks and art books filled with images of everything imaginable – tools, landscapes, cityscapes, people in motion, animals, plants – all used to create the most realistic animations possible. You really get a sense of how colossal the amount of work is.

It was also fascinating to see how animation frames are brought to life – with techniques like layering images or using fast-spinning three-dimensional figures in different poses (the rotation itself is too fast to see, so it looks like the figures are actually moving, though they’re just different models ending up in the same position). Overall, it was all really, really interesting.

They also showed a short animation – “The Day I Bought a Star” – about a boy who buys something like a precious gem from a mole and a frog, then plants it and grows a planet. Unfortunately, the film was in Japanese with no subtitles, so we didn’t quite understand what was going on. Actually, the museum doesn’t bother much with translations in other parts either – apparently, they feel they have enough visitors already, and if you don’t understand Japanese, that’s your own problem.

The museum shop was a bit of a disappointment – we expected more, given how great the museum was, but it really didn’t impress us.

After the museum, we headed to the other side of Tokyo – to the Asakusa district – to visit Sensoji Temple. It’s Buddhist and is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. The approach to the temple is via Nakamise-dori, a traditional-style shopping street that mostly sells souvenirs. Since it was almost evening already, very few of the shops were still open – which was actually a good thing, because there were no crowds. The temple itself was beautiful.

We had dinner in the same area, at a yakiniku-style restaurant – where you grill meat and other food yourself at the table. The place offered all-you-can-eat for 100 minutes. Naturally, we went for the marbled Wagyu beef – they had a variety of cuts. Unfortunately, we only managed two rounds of meat per person – a shame, because the beef was absolutely delicious!

Posted in Asia, English, Japan, Kawaguchiko

Japan – Day 3

Posted on by travellingleila

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25 May 2025

Today we got up early, at 8 o’clock (although jet lag is still noticeable), and went for breakfast at a cool café nearby, in the park. They serve delicious Japanese milk bread for breakfast everywhere – it looks like an airy bun, and at first glance I thought I wouldn’t like it, but it’s actually really tasty.

Then we picked up my umbrella I’d forgotten at another café yesterday, and after that, we headed out for our trip to Lake Kawaguchiko and Mount Fuji!

I have to say, this trip had a whole backstory that deserves to be told separately. The thing is, this time of year doesn’t offer great chances of seeing Mount Fuji: the best visibility is during the winter months, and even then, the odds are only about 60–70%, while May isn’t ideal at all. Because of the clouds and fog, Fuji might not be visible at all – or only be partly visible. So planning a trip there far in advance makes absolutely no sense. It’s better to decide last minute, using a special website that gives 5-day weather and visibility forecasts for the mountain from both the north and south.

A couple of days before travelling to Japan, I checked the site, but the forecasts for our stay in Tokyo looked pretty discouraging. On the evening of our first day, we checked again – and saw that for today’s afternoon, visibility was rated 6 out of 10. We decided to take a risk and bought bus tickets anyway. And today – it was showing 10 out of 10!

The bus picked us up right from our hotel and took us to Kawaguchiko Station in two hours. And right away, we saw the majestic mountain – fully visible! It really is incredibly impressive.

First things first – we decided to get lunch. We wanted to try the local specialty noodles (udon), but the line outside the restaurant didn’t look inspiring, so we went to another place that only serves one dish: beef katsu cutlet.

After lunch, we went for a walk along the perimeter of Lake Kawaguchiko – one of the “Five Fuji Lakes” – toward an observation deck. The lake itself didn’t seem all that remarkable, at least not this part of it – we didn’t even feel like doing a boat tour, which we’d originally planned.

There was a funny moment when it seemed like the mountain had completely disappeared, and we were confused – how could it vanish in just five minutes? But it turned out we were just looking in the wrong direction, and it was hidden behind a hill, so soon enough, it reappeared – still in full view.

Next on our list was the Chureito Pagoda with its famous “postcard” view of Mount Fuji. From the observation deck where we’d already taken a hundred million photos, we decided to walk there instead of heading back to the station to take a train – we figured an hour and twenty minutes on foot sounded doable.

Spoiler alert: this turned out not to be our brightest idea, because 2.5 kilometers of the walk (at least half an hour) went straight through a car tunnel carved through a mountain – something Google Maps didn’t warn us about. Initially we didn’t even realise how long it was. We reached the mountain, saw the tunnel, and even joked that a clever person wouldn’t climb a mountain but would rather dig a tunnel through it. But dragging ourselves through that dark, polluted tunnel wasn’t the most pleasant part of the trip. We didn’t see a single other pedestrian – just a couple of puzzled cyclists passed us along the narrow walkway.

After the tunnel, though, the walk was much nicer – through a quiet rural area, with cute houses and irises blooming in small gardens. It must be lovely to live there, with the country’s most important symbol as your everyday backdrop.

Of course, to reach the pagoda itself we had to climb uphill – wouldn’t expect anything else. By then it was about 5 pm, so there weren’t many people around. Most tourist groups probably visit in the morning, because I recall reading reviews saying the pagoda isn’t worth it because of the crowds, with people packed so tightly it’s hard to take a single photo. As for us, we spent quite a while on the viewing platform, admiring the view of the pagoda and Fuji, and took yet another hundred million photos. In total, I must have photographed at least a hundred different views of Mount Fuji – just like Hokusai, only with much less effort!

On the way back, we ran into a bit of an issue. We hadn’t realised that bus tickets needed to be booked in advance. In one sense, it wasn’t a bad thing – we didn’t know exactly how much time we’d need to explore. But when we got to the bus stop, all three buses that came only picked up passengers who already had tickets. Since they were full, they refused to take us. When we checked the bus company’s website, we saw that all the remaining buses for the day were also sold out.

We had to walk to Shimoyoshida Station – at least that was still an option!

From there, we had to transfer trains and then take the subway. The return trip took over three hours, probably to balance out how easy and direct the ride there had been (right from the hotel!). So we ended up having a rather sad dinner – a sandwich and an onigiri (a rice triangle with filling, wrapped in dried seaweed) that we grabbed at the station and basically inhaled on the train in minutes, like cormorants (since it’s considered rude to eat or drink on Japanese public transport, at least we didn’t embarrass ourselves for too long!).

All in all, despite the hiccups, it was a wonderful trip – and Fuji-san was kind to us. We were so lucky to see her in all her glory!

Posted in Asia, English, Japan, Tokyo

Japan – Day 2

Posted on by travellingleila

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24 May 2025

Observations after our second day in Tokyo – first of all, Japan is, above all, for the Japanese. For example, you won’t see souvenir shops with magnets and other touristy junk popping up everywhere – you can find them, of course, but you pretty much have to deliberately look for them.

Secondly, cash still plays a major role here – which is surprising for such a developed, high-tech country. Cards are accepted in many places, but definitely not everywhere. For example, the balance on the transport IC card (which, by the way, is incredibly convenient – you can use it for transport all over Japan, and also to pay in convenience stores like FamilyMart and 7-Eleven, at vending machines, and even to lock up your suitcase in hotel storage rooms or in Shinkansen luggage lockers) can only be topped up with cash. You can load it from a card only when you first buy it at the airport.

That said, the country doesn’t even feel especially high-tech. Websites and online payment systems are often clunky, and the city infrastructure doesn’t give off a futuristic vibe that’s miles ahead of, say, old Europe – like was the case in e.g. Singapore. For instance, there aren’t always escalators at the entrances and exits of the subway, which would be unthinkable in Singapore. It feels like Japan’s rapid development sort of paused at some point – maybe in the ’90s. The architecture doesn’t resemble the likes of Singapore or Hong Kong either. There are lots of plain, boxy concrete apartment buildings. But it also doesn’t feel densely built-up like Hong Kong, despite what we’d heard about Japanese homes being so compact they fit a bed, a toilet, and a kitchen into literally a single square meter – often with retractable furniture. At least from the outside, it doesn’t look like space is that tight.

People, of course, are very polite. If the British are known for loving to queue, then the Japanese seem like they were born for it.

We also noticed that various jobs that seem “inefficient” by our standards – like waving a flag to direct traffic that’s already controlled by traffic lights – are often done by elderly men. Even in retirement age, people don’t sit at home on the couch; they still prefer to work, even if it’s not clear what exactly they’re contributing.

Now, about today itself. In the morning, we had breakfast at a café near the hotel and then headed to Meiji Shrine. It’s a large area with gardens and the shrine complex itself – the biggest Shinto shrine in Tokyo from the early 20th century. It was interesting, though there wasn’t that much to linger over. We were lucky to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession, and all the tourists immediately whipped out their cameras to record it.

From there, we went to the Nezu area, where we strolled through narrow streets and visited another shrine – called Nezu Shrine. It was much quieter there, clearly not a major tourist spot, but we actually found it more charming and interesting.

Before visiting the shrine, we had sushi nearby. I ordered an assorted nigiri set – I could recognise salmon, tuna, and grilled eel, and there were a few other types of fish I couldn’t identify. It was incredibly tasty – sushi like this just doesn’t exist outside Japan. And yes, it’s true what people say: sushi here is nothing like what we get back home. Here it’s mostly nigiri, sashimi, and occasionally very simple maki rolls. Just the basics: rice, fish, nori. No mayo, avocado, cream cheese – or God forbid, Caesar rolls.

Next, we headed to the Ginza district and walked around. Each Tokyo neighbourhood feels different from the the other – Ginza feels more upscale and also more European in a way. In places, it almost feels like walking around the Galeries Lafayette area in Paris.

In Ginza, we visited the Art Aquarium Museum, which has lots of different aquarium installations with live fish lit up in creative ways. Yes, it was cool and interesting, but there was also something a bit unsettling about it – some sense of neglect or even cruelty. Some tanks were tiny glass bowls, others looked like solitary confinement cells with two or three fish crammed inside, clearly with no room to move. It’s unclear whether they’re kept there permanently, and if not, how the whole system works – how they’re fed, where they’re moved, etc. The fish themselves were fascinating – some with bulging eyes, others round-bellied and odd-looking. But after a while, the installations started to feel a bit repetitive.

We had dinner in a diner in the same building – set meals with meat, fish, and various small side dishes. I had one with wagyu beef.

We wanted to hang around Ginza a bit longer, but it started raining so we headed back to the hotel.

Posted in Asia, English, Japan, Tokyo

Japan – Day 1

Posted on by travellingleila

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23 May 2025

Whoop whoop, my childhood dream is finally coming true and I’m going to Japan! This is something I’ve wanted to do for years, but it never quite worked out – whether it was the Fukushima disaster (yes, when I say “years,” I mean years!) or trying to combine the trip with a wedding in Barcelona – only to realise this wasn’t going to work.

I took a direct 13-hour flight from London to Tokyo. I’d really hoped to sleep on the plane, but since the flight was during London daytime – and, as luck would have it, I was sitting right behind a baby who screamed almost non-stop for what felt like the entire 13 hours – I couldn’t fall asleep at all. Of course, I don’t know why the parents were flying to Japan – maybe they had a good reason – but if not, it did feel a bit selfish. Not just toward the other passengers, but toward the baby too, who was clearly not having a comfortable flight.

Naturally, I arrived feeling pretty irritated. But that mood quickly lifted as I easily went through airport procedures, figured out how to get to the hotel, finally sat down on the train, and realised – damn, I was in Japan!

But even before that, I’d already had my first culture shock as I entered a Japanese toilet. Heated seats, built-in washing functions, and even a button that plays forest sounds and birdsong to mask any “indecent” noises.

The second shock came while I was on my way, as I changed from the train to the subway. I happened to hit rush hour – around 9 am – and that’s when I realised: anyone who has never ridden the Tokyo subway, hasn’t truly seen a packed train. The London Underground looks tame in comparison. Luckily, I had a seat, but the crowd was so dense I ended up half-lying on someone, my suitcases pressing into me and simultaneously squashing some poor guy’s crotch. I was genuinely worried I wouldn’t be able to get off at my stop with all my luggage, but thankfully Ikebukuro is a major station, and a wave of people getting off pretty much swept me and my suitcases out with them.

I arrived at the hotel a couple of hours before Rena, who was flying from Baku via Tashkent, and while waiting for her, I decided to take a walk around the area and look around. My eyes just darted around – everything looked so interesting! The signs, the shops (including those selling loads of Japanese and Korean cosmetics!), and all sorts of eateries – at least 358 of them per square meter, by my estimate.

While waiting, I had a couple of coffees and a matcha latte – I needed to refuel with caffeine after an entire sleepless day. English doesn’t seem to be widely spoken here, as far as I can see. In the coffee shop they spoke to me in Japanese, and naturally I didn’t understand a word, but still managed to order and pay using gestures and pointing at pictures.

The weather wasn’t too hot or sunny, but it’s still fairly stuffy. Despite the lack of direct sun, many people carry umbrellas to avoid getting burned. And lots of people wear masks – which, as we know, has been common in Japan long before Covid.

I also noticed that food and lots of other things are actually quite cheap here. It’s only the accommodation and some transport – mainly the high-speed Shinkansen trains – that are expensive. The rest of the transport system is quite reasonable (I’m comparing everything to London prices, of course).

We also saw groups of schoolgirls in uniforms here and there throughout the day, but oddly enough, no schoolboys (at least until 6 pm – it makes you wonder if they either study in different shifts, or if the girls skip classes en masse during the day, while the boys sit in class).

Once Rena arrived and while waiting for the hotel check-in time, we walked around the neighbourhood some more, had a rich and greasy bowl of ramen in a casual eatery, stopped by a cemetery (and immediately left – it wasn’t exactly Père Lachaise, but just a regular Japanese cemetery) and had more coffee at a conceptual little coffee shop.

In the evening, we headed to Shibuya to see the famous scramble crossing – the busiest in Japan, with up to 3,000 people crossing at the same time.

From Shibuya we went over to Shinjuku, and explored some of its narrow alleyways lined with izakayas – these are something like traditional Japanese pubs. Some of them are so tiny that they fit literally five visitors at a time.

We also went to an izakaya for dinner – but not to one of these small ones, instead we found a larger one, on the 5th floor of a mall, where we happily consumed sashimi and other dishes. Meals here are usually served as a set – with miso soup, boiled rice and pickled vegetables. And honestly, those who say that Japanese cuisine in other countries will be ruined for you once you try it in Japan itself – are right.

After dinner, we strolled through Shinjuku a bit more, enjoying the neon-lit night views.

Our last stop of the day was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which has an observation deck on the 45th floor with great city views. We didn’t see Mount Fuji from there, although on clear days it’s apparently visible.

From there, we took the subway back to the hotel. Another observation – the stations here are huge. Even a small one with just a single line can have quite a few exits, a public toilet, and a number of shops and food stalls. And I’m not even mentioning the major hubs with several lines – they’re full-on labyrinths, and getting out can take a good 5–10 minutes. Luckily, there are plenty of signs, and everything is duplicated English (and often Chinese and Korean too), so it’s easy to find your way.

And that’s how we wrapped up the day – after 30+ hours with no sleep, running purely on excitement (with a little help from caffeine).