Neena spent a month in Japan seven years ago and I did a cruise with friends around the country two years ago.
Japan left quite an impression on both us and we had been thinking about going back, but this time together. I thought this was something we would do in a few years time but Neena noticed an advert for a Qantas flight sale.
I regularly look for cheap flights but they have been pretty well non-existent in recent years and especially so since the attack on Iran by you know who. Most of the Qantas sale prices were still rather steep but there was a three week period in October which had a few very cheap flights.
One of the benefits of being retired is that you have plenty of time, so the credit card came out and worked its magic and hey presto we were going to Japan!
All that was left to do was arrange for a house sitter and jump on a plane.
Some notes and tips on Japan.
We found Google Maps and Google Translate absolutely invaluable and as far as I can see these are the only apps you really need.
Google Maps was terrific for route planning and navigation and even informs you on the cost of various routes and even which platforms you need to take, which is super useful given how large and crowded and confusing the railway stations can be.
Many signs and restaurants menus have English translations, but plenty do not. This was especially true with menus and in supermarkets and this is where Google Translate came into its own giving real-time instant translation so we had a least some idea what we would be eating which given the locals propensity to eat pretty well anything, this was no bad thing.
Another surprise was the number of restaurants that only accepted cash, so Japan is bucking the trend and cash it still king. The majority of places take plastic but you will be limiting yourself if you don’t take cash.
Along with the scenery and temples and the like, for us, the real highlight was the food.
An additional highlight, for me especially, was how clean and orderly and tidy the country is. There are plenty of factors that lead to this most notably the Japanese sense of community and shared values but also the way they deal with other issues like cars and litter, which blight many other countries.
Cars are not allowed to be parked along the roads and and you can’t even own a vehicle without proving you have a dedicated off-road parking space meaning that the towns and cities looked remarkably uncluttered and comparatively traffic free, despite their large populations.
The way they deal with litter is by not providing any public bins. At all. The idea here is not to litter in the first place and be responsible for your own trash, and it works, as it was rare to see any rubbish. Even in cafes and bakeries you are expected to take responsibility and clear up after yourself.
As you might have guessed, littering is a pet hate of mine and neatness and order a passion, so I was in heaven in Japan.
For the most part we tried to eat the local cuisine which was uniformly excellent and much healthier than most western food. An exception to this was curry bread which Neena and I call curry puffs and are both addicted to. Basically, they are fried bread rolls filled with curry (very different to Indian style curry) and healthy they are most certainly not, but you have to try them.
Being the cheapskates that we are we brought a lot of foods from local convenience stores of which there are thousands upon thousands. They sell lots of very bad things but also quite a lot of healthy stuff and their precooked meals were really good and reasonably priced. Our favourite store chain was Family Mart.
On the subject of costs, eating out was about half the price of NZ so a comparative bargain whereas the cost of transport and especially the high speed Shinkansen trains, was, I thought, really expensive and apparently due to go up again soon.
One thing the Japanese do better than anyone else is toilets. Public toilets are everywhere and the loos themselves are high-tech marvels with all manner of weird buttons to press that do all manner of weird things. Admittedly, a degree in physics is required to use them, but you get the hang of it eventually.
All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip and we are already planning the next one.
08 Oct 26
We flew from Wellington to Sydney and then on to Tokyo, landing at Haneda airport at the ungodly time of 6am.
Both Neena and I hadn’t slept well the day before so we both found the flying very tiring - it didn’t exactly help that the Haneda bound flight stopped while taxiing for take-off and then proceeded to sit on the runway for an interminable 60 minutes while the toilets of all things were being fixed.
I rarely watch the inflight entertainment these days so downloaded a couple of seasons of Jack Reacher. This is the perfect show for long haul flights as it is very entertaining, is easy to watch and funny with regular doses of brutal violence from Jack, so what’s not to like.
I did manage to get at least some sleep courtesy of the math rock band, Anguine de Poitrine. Their music is mostly instrumental and made up of multiple guitar loops and drums which lends the music a sort of hypnotic feel which despite the musics energetic nature, drifted me off into a peaceful sleep (at least for a bit).
We had booked two nights accommodation at the unito residence Sumida. The residence was located about 90 minutes away from the airport involving multiple trains lines. To simplify things and as we had about 8 hours to kill before we could check in we caught a train to Asakusa station on the Keikyu Line and then walked the 6 kilometres or so from there.
Overall, we enjoyed the walk but the weather was unseasonably hot and it was a relief when we found a small coffee shop for our caffeine fix and even more importantly gave us some shelter from the heat. We spent some time there before completing the walk to our residence.
In best Japanese tradition the apartment was on the small side but was well equiped and in a nice quiet location and compared to some of the places we stayed at in South Korea, almost palatial.
Dinner was some cheap noodles from a local Family Mart. We are going to splash the cash tomorrow and eat out at one of the local restaurants.
09 Oct 26
It is amazing what a good nights sleep does. I woke up feeling mostly human which was a far cry from yesterday when I spent the day auditioning for a part in The Walking Dead.
The plan for today was to visit the famed Shibuya Crossing and have a general mooch around central Tokyo.
We caught the train into town from the Kanegafuchi Station which handily was only 2 minutes walk from our accomodation.
To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed with the crossing as I had expected it to be both bigger and busier. Some of this was down the time of the day which was outside rush hour when it would doubtless be more impressive. Still glad we did it though.
After Shibuya we wandered around the shops before finding a nice little cafe. The American influence is very marked in Japan and it was no surprise to find the cafe selling pumpkin pie which Neena of course ordered. The pie was surprisingly really good, not least as it was heavily spiced which completely masked the pumpkin, which of course should only ever be fed to pigs, although the SPCA may have something to say about that.
After lunch we walked to the nearby Yoyogi Park. The park was extensive with lots of trees and shady spots to shelter from the heat and was a nice way to while away an hour or two.
The weather has been surprisingly hot with temperatures in the mid to high twenties which is pretty impressive for October.
The heat eventually wore us down so we decided to head back to Sumida.
For navigation we used Google Maps which proved to be absolutely invaluable - we just typed in our destination and how wanted to travel and did what it told us. Maps also covered what platforms and trains we had to take and any walking bit. We would have been utterly lost without Google Maps, so it comes highly recommended.
In the evening we had dinner at a tiny restaurant close to our residence. At first it looked like it was shut as it had no windows and just a small sliding door and we almost didn’t go in, but open it was.
The place was run by an older lady who spoke no English and took only cash, so real old school. The menu was only in Japanese but fortunately we had cash and Google Translate. I honestly don’t have shares in Google, but Google Translate and Maps really smoothed our passage around Japan.
The restaurant had a nice ambience and more importantly the food was reasonably priced and delicious. Apart from one Japanese lady, we were the only customers which was just fine with us although I felt sorry for the woman running the place as it must be a real struggle to make a living with that level of custom.
We had planned on Saturday (10th) to head to Kanazawa on Japans West Coast. Trouble was that all the trains were booked solid for that day which necessitated a change of plan. Trains were available on Sunday which meant that we would have to spend another night in Tokyo. This was fine in theory but accommodation in Tokyo on a Saturday does not come cheap so we had to blow the cobwebs out of our collective wallets and purses and spend some serious money. This hurt a great deal.
It was still a rip-off but we found a comparatively cheap hotel, the Hotel 555, which was only a 15-minute train ride away.
It is still early days but we are spending more money than expected. We were originally planning to visit Japan in November or December when prices are cheaper but managed to get some super cheap flights in October. In reality, what we have saved in flights will likely be exceeded by the cost of going during the main tourist season (or shoulder season anyway). A lesson learned.
10 Oct 26
We took the train to Kinshicho Station which was the closest one to our hotel and which also had a JR ticket office.
The first order of play was to get tickets booked to Kanazawa.
Next on the list was booking a hotel there for 3 nights. Again, accomodation availability was very tight, but amazingly, the cheapest place we could find was at the 4-star Kanazawa New Grand Premier hotel. Given that even hostels with dormitories were only marginally cheaper, if available at all, the hotel seems like a real bargain, although it remains to be seen if it lives up to its grandiose name.
The Hotel 555 had a suspiciously late check in time of 6pm. As it was only midday we went there hoping to drop our bags off early.
The 10 minute or so walk was a lot more interesting than expected as we passed through a red light district festooned with all sorts of dodgy bars and brothels. Our hotel was also a bit of a shock as it was branded as a love hotel which might also explain the late check-in time!
Still, the hotel has got reasonable reviews and hopefully we get a vibrating bed and other goodies.
We managed to get our bags checked in and then spent the next 6 hours exploring the local area and killing time. The highlight was the nearby Sarue Onshi Park which had plenty of shady areas to hide in and even more trees for Neena to commune with.
All in all a bit of nothing day, although we will see how the love hotel goes…
11 Oct 26
We couldn’t get out of our hotel room!
It turned out that the door had a magnetic lock which could only be opened by phoning the hotel receptionist, who to add to the fun, spoke almost no English.
Apparently the door locking automatically is standard practice in Japanese love motels and is in order to prevent clients doing the deed and then running off without paying for their rooms which are usually rented by the hour, although ours wasn’t and had been prepaid through Booking.com.
We eventually made ourselves understood and were let out. The safety implications here are off the scale and can’t see many other countries allowing this meaning that would never stay there again which is a shame really as the room and facilities were great. The bed however did not vibrate, although some other items did.
After escaping the hotel we took the high speed Shinkansen train to Kanazawa.
Our hotel for the next three days is the 4-star Kanazawa New Grand Hotel Premier. The hotel is very posh by our standards but was actually one of the cheapest places on offer, although I have no idea why, as the place was excellent.
Japan has had a huge boom in the number of tourists in recent years. This has apparently caused some resentment from the locals due to the overwhelming number of visitors and in particular the bad behaviour of some of the them (this is of course a problem in many tourist destinations, including New Zealand).
We saw an appalling example of this on the train to Kanazawa.
On the seats to the side of us were a man who looked to be in his thirties along with an older woman. For practically the entire trip he was resting his bare feet on the back of the seat in front of him and at such an extreme angle that it was blindingly obvious. To put this in context the Japanese are very particular about feet and cleanliness in general with all of the places we stayed in requiring shoes to be removed and slippers worn.
To me this looked to be a deliberate and calculated provocation, but went unpunished. A number of Japanese attendants noticed, but I guess out of politeness or not wishing to cause a scene, said nothing, as shamefully did I. My excuse is that in Australia two years ago I pointed out someone’s bad behaviour and very nearly got attacked so was super wary of saying something, but still wish I had.
I won’t state the assholes nationality, but the country will come as absolutely no surprise to absolutely no one.
12 Oct 26
We did the tourist thing and visited the nearby Kanazawa Castle and the Gyokusen and Kenrokuen Gardens.
What can I say, both gardens were stunning. I have never been much into flowers or bright colours but love trees and the textures and shapes of their leaves with their endless shades of green and in the autumn, shades of yellow and red. My perfect garden would consist only of trees and ferns and these gardens came pretty close to that ideal
The Gyokusen Gardens are much the smaller but have the benefit of being free.
It cost a very modest JPY 320 to access the Kenrokuen Gardens although we later found out that if you get there very early the gardens are free and without the crowds, although we certainly got our moneys worth, so no complaints from us.
There were plenty of people around although not enough to ruin the experience and nothing like the insanity of Kyoto.
The weather was actually cloudy for a change which kept the temperatures down, but with the clouds came the humidity, but that was OK.
A top day.
13 Oct 26
We visited the historic Higashi Chaya Geisha District which was about a 30 minute walk from our hotel.
On the way we stumbled on the Sunny Bell Coffee cafe and what a find it was. The coffee was excellent as was our Tiramisu which was truly next level and almost a spiritual experience for me. The closer you get to the main tourist spots in Kanazawa the higher the prices but these guys were actually very reasonable - guess where we are going tomorrow?
Higashi Chaya was tourism central but was pretty and we enjoyed wandering along the lanes and alleyways soaking in the history.
Within metres of leaving Higashi Chaya the crowds melted away and we walked along lovely shady paths through the trees and barely saw a soul.
On the way up we spotted some bamboo groves and also dozens of evil looking spiders who had spun some very large webs spun right along and sometimes across the path. Spiders scare me something rotten but I was conversely also fascinated by them and kept thinking of Shelob’s Lair from Lord of the Rings. Judging by the number of insects they had caught they were doing very well so fortunately don’t need tourists for sustenance.
The walk up was very enjoyable and the view from the top terrific. We both enjoyed the park more than the Geisha district and couldn’t help but feel the multitude were missing out.
On the way down we found a tiny cafe in the middle of nowhere. We were both very bad indeed and had yet more coffee and cake - Marie Antoinette would have been proud.
All in all a great day.
14 Oct 26
We both like Kanazawa which is like a more chilled out Kyoto but without the insane crowds, so decided to stay another night.
Our hotel said the cost would be JPY 11000. We pointed out that their hotel was listed at about half that on Booking.com but they refused to budge. This seemed strange as they had lots of empty rooms and would have still gained from the deal if they had matched the online price as Booking.com take a sizeable cut and any money is better than no money.
We could have just booked online anyway but on principle decided not to.
The long and short of it is that we booked a room at the next door and even more swanky Kanazawa New Grand Hotel Prestige for a very reasonable JPY 7200 so are certainly not complaining.
We woke up to a wet and rainy day.
Undeterred, we set about exploring Shimmaru Park. The park is very close to Kanazawa Castle and much more low key than the more popular areas and all the better for it.
The highlight was a stroll down a delightful avenue of trees which had some very fetching statues of nude ladies every 10 metres or so along with a few statues of guys to balance things out a bit.
All good castles need a moat and Kanazawa didn’t disappoint. One section of the moat has been fully restored and we spent some time feeding the carp there.
The rain that had been fairly light up to that point become much heavier forcing a tactical retreat to the nearby Sunny Bell Coffee cafe and more Tiramisu heaven.
We then checked into the Prestige and spent the rest of the day loafing about, drinking the complimentary wine and watching videos on YouTube.
Dinner was noodles from Family Mart.
15 Oct 26
We walked to Kanazawa Station and checked out travel options to our next destination, the coastal city of Toyama and also booked accommodation at the Shirokuma Inn.
We could get there via a Shinkansen train or for a quarter of the cost using local trains, albeit with more stops and a 40 minute longer journey, but we are on holiday with time to kill, so it was the slow train for us.
The Inn was run by a Canadian guy and his Japanese wife.
We initially asked if he was American so didn’t get off to the best start. I hope he can forgive us one day.
He was however good enough to point out the areas local highlight which was the towns historic centre located one street over from the Inn and even more helpfully pointed out where the nearest Family Mart was. He also recommended an area about 30 minutes train ride away that has an impressive temple, Japans largest Buddha and also a scenic coastal walkway.
With this information on board we checked out the historic centre, the nearby harbour and as usual, the local Family Mart. The historic centre was very quiet and to be honest a little underwhelming. The harbour was bleak and unlovely but it is a working port with zero concession given to whinging tourists, so on this basis I reckon is alright. The highlight was the Family Mart.
While on our walk we noticed a number of very large birds perched on lampposts and the like, but didn’t give them too much thought.
Among other goodies, we purchased some of our beloved beef croquettes from Family Mart. Neena was eating hers when one of them swooped down and snatched it from her hand and if it wasn’t for some evasive action my croquette would have been gobbled up as well - the birds were really aggressive so we beat a hasty retreat back to the safety of the Inn.
Keeping up our cheapskate tradition, dinner was courtesy of Family Mart.
16 Oct 26
We took a City Tram into the centre of town.
We visited the Glass Art Museum. I am a philistine when it comes to art and most other things come to think about it, but Toyama is not overflowing with excitement, so needs must, and Neena was keen. Bar a couple of pieces, I was initially underwhelmed by the art but the permanent exhibition located on the top floor was stunning and turned things around - it cost a very reasonable JPY 200 to access the top three floors and the real good stuff, so well worth it.
Next we visited Toyama Castle. The castle was nice enough if not in the Kanazawa or Kyoto league, although we had a pleasant time walking around the grounds. As we were leaving we found a nice little cafe selling posh ice cream desserts - I had ice cream with sticky rice balls and Neena green tea ice cream and red bean paste, both of them excellent.
We also visited an observation tower at the top of the cities council headquarters which gave a nice overview of Toyamas splendours, or lack thereof.
We were going to stay late and have dinner in town but by this stage our enthusiasm had run out, so we had a very late brunch and then made our way back to the Inn.
I have not been glowing in my praise for Toyama but that is the way I feel, and in fairness the city certainly has enough attractions to maintain interest for a few days, but in my opinion, not much beyond that unless you have a glass fetish.
17 Oct 26
We took the Shinkansen to the city of Nagano.
First impressions were very favourable as city is set in a lovely location surrounded by mountains.
Nagano feels more lively and upbeat than Toyama with all sorts of interesting shops and restaurants to explore. Due to the altitude it was also that little bit cooler, both literally and metaphorically.
Our accommodation the Hotel Unicorn was about 20 minutes walk from the railway station and painted bright fluorescent yellow and can probably be seen from outer space.
We arrived early so set about exploring the surrounding area before checking-in. There was a long elegant covered avenue of shops close by along with an excellent supermarket so it looks like we are well set for our next three days here.
We have already stayed in one love hotel on this trip and I have a sneaking suspicion the Unicorn used to be one as well as our room is rather garish and looking like something you would find in a brothel (so they say) and comes complete with a padded leather wall. I am however not knocking the place as the room is of a decent size and has a lot of character and I like it.
18 Oct 26
Other than requisite coffee and curry puffs at the our new favourite bakery, the Kobeya Kitchen, the main order of the day was figuring out what to do over the coming days.
The long and short of it is that we intend to visit a Snow Monkey Park tomorrow (Monday) and then head off on Tuesday to Kawaguchiko which is close to Mt Fuji and where we plan to stay for three days.
We had hoped to get up high in the mountains but It is supposed to rain on and off over the next couple of days and this coupled with the fact that, nice though Nagano is, many of the ropeways and access points to the mountains are some distance away mean that moving on seems the best option.
With all that settled we set about doing the tourist thing and visited the Zenkoji Temple about half an hours walk from our hotel.
It being a Sunday and a sunny day most of Nagano also decided to visit the temple. This meant it was crowded but there was a good atmosphere as there were lots of family groups out for the day including a surprising number of children, which was nice to see. Many people were also dressed up in kimonos which added to the sense of occasion.
The main temple was impressive but we found the most joy in the surroundings grounds which were lovely and much quieter.
19 Oct 26
It’s Snow Monkey day.
Spoiler alert - we saw no snow and even fewer monkeys.
We took a train to the town of Yudanaka and from there caught a bus to the base of the Snow Monkey Park.
From here it was about a 2km walk along a track that gently ascended through a forest to a hot pool where the monkeys tend to congregate.
Getting off the bus and breathing in the cool mountain air was lovely as was the walk through the forest which consisted mostly of Japanese Cedars.
We were at an altitude of 850m which while modest by mountain standards made all the difference both in the ambient temperature and nature of the flora.
On the way up we heard plenty of birdlife but failed to see any of it. Along with the monkeys, we were hoping to see some bears but the only thing we saw was a worm in the middle of the track slivering along its path to nowhere. The worm was duly rescued and placed back where it belonged.
Towards the top of the park is a geyser and a little way beyond that up a short but steep flight of stairs is the monkey pool and the parks main attraction.
Access to the pool costs a reasonable JPY 800. However, there was a sign that stated that the monkeys had yet to come down from the mountain so there didn’t seem much point in checking out the pool so we saved our money and decided to head straight back down again.
It was an expensive day out for what was really just a walk in the woods but it was nice to be up in the mountains for the first time on this trip and we both greatly enjoyed the walk. If contemplating this trip, my tip is to go online first and check if the monkeys are actually there.
On a positive note, although it was cloudy and humid the days promised rain never arrived.
20 Oct 26
A travel day.
We took a Shinkansen to Tokyo Station and then caught a bus to the town of Fujikawaguchiko which sits under the shadow of Mt Fuji.
We are staying three nights at the Tocoro Hostel.
21 Oct 26
For those that don’t know, Mt Fuji is a 3766m active stratovolcano which is apparently a glorious sight but is obscured by clouds for much of the time, as it was yesterday.
Today’s forecast was for hot, sunny and dry weather so I got up early at 5am and headed down to the nearby Lake Fujikawaguchiko hoping to view the mountain.
Even at this hour it was hot and humid which is quite something given that we are in the mountains and well into Autumn.
Anyway, despite the forecast Mt Fuji was shrouded in cloud so I eventually gave up and walked back to the hostel. It wasn’t a total waste though as it was very relaxing and peaceful sitting there in the warm embrace of the dark waiting for the sun to rise and the clouds to clear.
Later on in the day we noticed that the clouds were starting to dissipate so Neena and I walked the 15 minutes or so to the nearby ropeway and took the cable car to the top.
The view from the top was excellent and revealed the Mt Fuji in all its glory. Well most of it’s glory, as the mountain was snow free which was shame as it is usually covered by this time of the year, although given the heat we have experienced on this trip, this wasn’t exactly a surprise.
After all that excitement we needed a coffee and headed to the nearest cafe.
The Japanese can be friendly and helpful but on the whole are a very reserved bunch and this attitude seems to rub off on most tourists, including us. This has meant that we have had very few meaningful conversations with other people on this trip so it was a real pleasure to meet a friendly American couple and have a long chat with them over coffee.
It was the couples first trip away from the USA, and as such, they picked a great country to start with, and is hopefully the start of many such trips. We regaled them with tales from the many countries we have visited but I felt a little guilty doing so as I was conscious of how difficult it is for many Americans to travel any length of time overseas, or in their own country for that matter.
22 Oct 26
It seems to me anyway, that Kawaguchiko is very much a one destination town in that you come here to view Mt Fuji and then move on.
This left us at a bit of a loose end today but that wasn’t too much of an imposition as Kawaguchiko is an attractive and chilled out place in a beautiful setting. We basically spent the day wandering around checking out the towns shops and cafes and taking in the views.
23 Oct 23
We took the bus back to Tokyo and are staying for four days at the 3-star APA Asakusa Kuramae Kita hotel before heading back to middle earth.
We had dinner at a terrific restaurant called Torikuzoko that was recommend by a NZ friend who is a full on japanophile. The place took some finding as it had no signposting or frontage and was accessed by walking down some nondescript steps into the basement of a building. The place was filled with locals which is always a good sign and the food, as expected, was excellent.
24 Oct 26
A rainy day in Tokyo.
We woke up to light rain with the threat of heavier rain to come.
We fly back to Wellington in three days and it is getting to that stage of the trip where the end is in sight and one starts thinking of home. This combined with the rain meant we set of to today’s target, the Ueno Park, with our usual enthusiasm somewhat diminished.
I have been to the park before but it covers a large area and there is plenty I have yet to see. Neena also claimed to have visited the park before but I think confused it with another one as none of it looked familiar to her.
On the way to the park we stopped off at the Yamazaki Bakery & Cafe to sample their legendary curry bread, which Neena and I always refer to as curry puffs. The puffs were damned good, if not legendary, as was the coffee.
We spent a couple of hours wandering around the park until the rain which had been steadily increasing in intensity meant that a tactical retreat back to the hotel was in order.
25 Oct 26
Tokyo’s most famous temple the Senso-ji was only about 10 minutes walk from the hotel, so off we went.
Yesterday’s rain had disappeared but had been replaced with heat and humidity.
The temple is impressive but it being a Sunday the crowds were insane and enough to make even Kyoto blush. The shear numbers of people though did lend the place a certain kind of vitality and energy which was welcome as these places, especially for a non-spiritual person like me, can otherwise seem rather sterile.
The trip is nearing it’s end and we are both starting to miss home, friends and our beloved Libby and this coupled with the crowds meant that we soon retired to our new favourite cafe and caffeine heaven.
Neena was looking for souvenirs for some of her friends so we spent some time looking around a Daiso store. These stores are all over Japan and are like a sort of upmarket two dollar shop and are actually useful if you need something like a charging cable or some other trinket but otherwise hold zero interest to me. Neena eventually tired of shopping which was just as well as I was contemplating Hari-kiri by this point.
The day had started humid and with the humidity increasing by the second we decided to head back to the hotel as we didn’t fancy getting drowned again. The heavens duly opened shortly after we got back.
Despite the weather and crowds, a nice day.
26 Oct 26
Our last full day in Japan was another wet and rainy one.
Neena still had presents too buy so there was more Daiso action today. A hell of a lot more, so it’s just as well I didn’t buy that Samurai sword.
The Daiso store was close to the Senso-ji temple we visited yesterday so we gave it another go hoping that the weather had driven away the crowds.
Fat chance. In absolute terms there were fewer people, but practically everyone was using umbrellas which paradoxically made the crowding far worse. An umbrella takes up considerably more space than a person doing the sensible thing and wearing a raincoat (like us) which meant that we were forever dodging or being clouted by the infernal contraptions.
We were both got well irritated by the madness and, despite the Daiso disaster, I found myself again longing for a Samurai sword.
To avoid any disembowelments we quickly snapped a few photos and trudged back to our hotel in the rain.
To provide some context to the above, our home town of Wellington is famously windy and consequently umbrellas are completely useless and downright dangerous if the wind catches them, so are scorned by all and rarely seen.
27 Oct 28
Our last in Tokyo and with our flight not until 8pm we were basically killing time.
We stored our bags of at our hotel and set off for the Yamazaki Bakery and sadly our last curry puffs of the trip. I say sadly, but I must have put on at least 4 kilos on this trip so my waste-line will be very happy we are leaving - most Japanese food is really healthy but I have been overindulging at Family Mart and various bakeries whose fare is most definitely not healthy and this coupled with no exercise has had its predictable effect.
After yesterday’s rain the sun finally decided to put in an appearance which made for a very pleasant morning. We managed to bag a few goods shots of the nearby Sky Tree tower before the rain returned and it was time to set off to the airport and back to Middle Earth.
It's goodbye from Neena, Michael and Godzilla
