Day 2

What a long flight! I got a grand total of an hours sleep with Jacob managing maybe two or three but between us we didn’t do so well on that front! Luckily there were lots of movies to watch but still felt like the flight was never going to end. I definitely got to the irrational stage where all you can think is GET ME OFF THIS PLANE! However despite being sat in the middle of the plane we managed to peak a glimpse of Mt Fuji as we soared over Japan, it really is breathtaking and I’m really looking forward to getting up close in the coming weeks, there is something really majestic about it.
Finally got off the plane in Tokyo- what a relief and I’ve never been bombarded by technology more than at 8am this morning getting through immigration. Trying to understand what the hell this talking machine wanted me to do whilst the very sweet lady was trying to explain to me but sadly her English wasn’t the best was a bit of a headache whilst running on very little sleep and lots of coffee! However, we carried on through and hauled our bags off the belt. They definitely felt heavier today than yesterday so I’m starting to wonder if I should take my bragging about it being so light back! But all jokes aside we got to Tokyo safely and in good spirits and that’s what matters.

We then got new SIM cards except they aren’t physical you just scan a QR code?! This may sound very non gen z of me but I thought that technology was incredible it was like something out of sci-fi! To be completely honest I slightly lost the plot with the SIM cards but Jacob is very confident so I left it up to him and so far so good!

We then slowly made our way towards the train line slightly dreading our first attempt at understanding the squiggles and complicated maps but we discovered the hardest part is actually buying the tickets as there seem to be about 7 different options for what appears to be the same journey and the prices vary hugely so we are going to go to Tokyos main station tomorrow to investigate as a very nice lady suggested that we should get some kind of tourist card which is apparently much cheaper! So far everyone we’ve met here has been SO lovely and friendly it’s such a nice culture here!

After taking the express train through the outskirts of Tokyo we managed to navigate the Tokyo subway/metro and very much took a “London tube” approach in order to end up near our hostel. Unfortunately we couldn’t check in until 4pm which did test my sense of humour this morning when all I wanted to do was sleep but they did agree to hold our bags for us which made a huge difference!

Feeling like I had a bounce in my step from losing the weight of the bag we visited the imperial gardens and saw the first few glimmers of the cherry blossom, I’m SO excited for them to be in full season I think on mass it will look truly spectacular! We also found a small off the beaten track ramen bar where you ordered from a vending machine and then they would sit you inside it was rather bizarre but I’m gathering that’s quite normal here! We were the only tourists in there and they didn’t speak much English at all- always a good sign I think it means you’ve really found where the locals like to eat! Killed some time wondering around and enjoying being in a new place and then headed to the hostel for some much needed r and r! A very relaxed night tonight I think!Read more