Japan Trip 2024 | FindPenguins

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Trip start
September 27, 2024
Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
1 4
Adelaide to Japan - via MEL and HK
Sep 27–28, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
TRAVEL DAY :
After a year of planning, saving, preparing, shopping, rewriting itineraries, crowd sourcing ideas, panicking about missing work, watching YouTube videos, following friends’ holidays - it’s now our turn to go to Japan.

This started out as a 7-10 day trip to New York for just Krissi and I to celebrate our 20 year Wedding Anniversary - after a few conversations over wine it somehow became a 2 week trip to Japan with the kids. 🤔

They are excited and we have a lot to look forward to - this was the right decision.

Given how much time and discussion has gone into to this holiday, we are still leaving somewhat underprepared. We still don’t have some of the tickets we need and we only transferred money onto the travel cards from the airport bar in Adelaide.

To be advised if this comes back to bite us later.

The other thing I hadn’t given much consideration to was masking up on the plane and in airports. In the end we chose not to - and we were in the significant majority there.

Again, to be advised if this comes back to bite us later.

I also only did a week of Duolingo so can only order rice, water and tea in Japanese.

Again, to be advised….

Started our trip at Adelaide Airport (Ben enjoyed his 1 hour of playing jazz numbers on the piano for the other passengers) while K and I finished up some last minute work at the bar. Unfortunately we will have to keep working while away this trip, but I’m hoping it’s manageable and doesn’t impact the trip.

✈️ : Flight to Melbourne - uneventful, half full of people going to the Grand Final.

3 hour stopover in Melbourne International Airport, (Ben enjoyed another 1 hour playing piano), Krissi and I bought new sunglasses 😎 😎 🤷

✈️ : 8 hour flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong overnight (max 4 hours sleep…) leaving at midnight. Uneventful, would have slept more but food service took the first 2.5 hours of the flight. Had pre ordered the fruit platter which was great. Getting a light meal for an overnight flight is a good idea. Watched The Fall Guy - just the right type of movie for a flight, lots of action, pointless plot. Won’t ever watch it again.

3 hour stop over in HK (No Piano). We were all quite tired and vague. Large coffee helped. Checked in on our dog back at home. Miss you Jerry….🥺

✈️ : Finally - a 4 hour flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo (short nap, running on fumes and the excitement of finally being on holidays).Read more
TravelerLove that Ben utilises his time productively!!
9/28/24Reply
Traveler Photo bomber 😂
9/28/24Reply
Traveler Only you Simon look unhinged
9/28/24Reply
TravelerThe rest of the family hide it better than I do.
9/28/24Reply
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
1
Birds of Tokyo
September 29, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
An Airbnb access issue last night meant we sat out the front of the place in the gutter for an hour with our bags and 7 Eleven noodles. Thankfully we finally made it inside and didn’t have to seek alternate accommodation! But after 24 hours of travel it was not what we needed.

Got woken up at half five by a crow - even though I thought the band Birds of Tokyo was named after the fact that there are no birds in Tokyo. Guess not. I should really stop getting my science facts from Rolling Stone magazine.

Started the day early with a 5km run with Krissi along the Sumida River - hot and humid, but shook out the travel stiffness.

Starbucks coffee immediately after also helped.

A problem with my travel card today - the money hasn’t made it there yet. Hopefully it lands tomorrow or we will have to call the bank….

On the way back to the house, we saw some people lining up outside a random closed door - turns out it’s the famous fluffy pancake place we had planned to go today. Massive coincidence.

And they have some serious Soup Nazi rules - including lining up from 8:30am to get a reservation and paying a 1000 yen deposit per person. Luckily we spoke to a fellow tourist who gave us the info we needed.

Lined up for an hour and got our reservation.

Spent a few hours doing the local temples and shopping in Asakusa which is in the older part of Tokyo. Laneways with small restaurants and bars that hold maybe 10 people max. It’s all very quaint and I’d seen this side of Tokyo on many of the YouTube videos.

The Pancake WAS amazing - although $20 in Japan felt a touch overs (most other meals are under $10). Thankfully it doubled as lunch. I had the pancake with eggs and bacon, Krissi and the kids went the sweet options.

More shopping through the laneways of Asakusa after that.

Ben and I then got changed and caught the train across Tokyo to the Blue Note Jazz Club near Shibuya.

Found the rich part of Tokyo! Everyone there was well dressed and about 20 years younger than the people at Asakusa. It reminded me of the richer areas of Paris, Beverly Hills, NY near Central Park. I could live there...

The performance was genuinely first class - the Alfredo Rodriguez Trio - super professional Cuban Jazz trio - piano, bass and drums. Ended with a phenomenal version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller which had the whole place on its feet. I had a few moments where I had to pinch myself. This was a once in a lifetime experience. All 3 of the musicians were world class - the pianist Alfredo said his mentor is Quincy Jones. So I guess he goes ok.

The venue held maybe 250 people all seated at tables with table service, cocktails, food; the whole works. Was something out of a movie.

After that gig, Ben and I walked a few kms across town to the Billboard Live Tokyo for our second gig of the day - Casiopea P4- which was a a group of geriatric (except the drummer) Japanese musicians playing funky instrumentals with great solos. They did some fun songs and the crowd genuinely loved it (I think they are a bit of an institution in Japan), but the 5 minutes of crowd work every second song was lost on Ben and I given it was entirely in Japanese. It had a bit of a Hey Hey It’s Saturday vibe TBH. It’s a band Ben likes so he was really happy.

Krissi and Clare spent the afternoon and evening travelling around Tokyo eating and shopping. I think so anyway, I’m writing this on the Ginza line on the way home.

Also the toilets in our Airbnb are electric, self flushing, have heated seats and I’m never going back…..

Good first day!

Back to the hotel!Read more
Monster brand - glasses 😝 [Alex]
12/14/24Reply
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
1
The Toilet Tried to Eat Me
September 30, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
If day one was old Tokyo, today was the modern end of Tokyo with all the crowds, lights and tourist attractions I’d expected.

(Staying in Asakusa is nice and peaceful, but it’s a decent train journey to get anywhere. I’d perhaps recommend somewhere more central to anyone considering a visit. Price and availability not withstanding.)

Our money finally arrived on the second travel card which was a relief!

Also our amazing heated, automatic, self flushing electronic toilet seat malfunctioned today and the lid tried to close on me - pushing me into it.

I escaped, but now I don’t trust it. 😒

Started the day with another jog with Krissi along the river - and a cooler morning meant it was a lot more enjoyable than yesterday.

Back to the house via Starbucks and off on the train to Shibuya Sky for the Observation Deck. This was stunning and gave us 360 views of the city. At least what we could see of one of the largest cities in the world. I think I personally saw more people today walking the streets of Tokyo than live in the entire city of Adelaide.

After the observation deck we made it through the souvenir shop unscathed and made our way to the famous Shibuya crossing. Took some photos and a video.

It was fine I guess, I mean in Adelaide we have the intersection of Pulteney and Rundle Street - same same…😜

Every brand you can imagine has a ‘flagship’ store near Shibuya City and I’m proud to say I bought nothing at all apart from food! Ben, however, is another story.

Ben went alone to Tower Records for 2 hours while Krissi, Clare and I strolled the area around and grabbed some lunch.

(Apparently you can smoke in some restaurants here. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should).

After we reconnected with Ben at Tower Records (6 stories, each one dedicated to a different genre or type of media) we paid his bill there (nearly $300 for a bunch of rare records he wanted) and wandered off towards the Yoyogi Park. We were all a little frazzled at this point so stopped for ice cream and some time out. Which included sitting by the dog park and watching a Samoyed play. When did we become dog people…

After that we walked to Harajuku for the Takeshita Street shopping. That’s awful, just tourist crap and people trying to convince you to go into their second hand clothes shops. Do not recommend.

However, this did include an Olivia Rodrigo pop up store (she was in Japan this weekend) which was the highlight of Clare’s day. They were mostly sold out of everything, which was a relief. Clare and Krissi are going to see Olivia in Sydney when we get back, so this built some excitement for Clare.

As we made our way home we stumbled on Tokyu Plaza - which was on the list for earlier in the day.

So there went another 3 hours of shopping and exploring. At one point when we were at the lookout from one tower flocks of birds (1000s) directly arrived in the tree across the road. Super random and very loud. No one seemed alarmed so it must be a daily occurrence.

Finally about 6:30pm we had definitely all had enough so caught the train an hour back to Asakusa and some dinner in a small laneway bar. Had Japanese pancakes and my first beer in 10 days.

Disneyland tomorrow so everyone in bed before 10pm.

28 thousand steps today after 26 thousand yesterday. Feet are sore!Read more
Traveler Does anyone keep left ?
9/30/24Reply
TravelerI’m not going to lie, those toilets scare me!
10/1/24Reply
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
The Happiest Place on Earth
October 1, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Woken at 5:20 AM by a random Sydney number calling Kristine’s phone. Decided to get up and work as neither of us could get back to sleep.

Today was Clare’s day - AKA Tokyo Disneyland !

We did Paris Disneyland 18 months ago which was a big disappointment. I was a little concerned about today.

Skipped the morning run to save our legs - left home early, got home late - did lots of rides and Clare had a wonderful time.

The Japanese version of Disney could well be my favourite - the staff were ridiculously friendly, the lines were ok and the prices were less than I’d expected. $2 for water and $4 for ice cream. Times that by 3 at least in Paris Disneyland. Ben did the Star Wars ride 3 times - once by himself.

Everything worked well at Tokyo Disneyland and the animatronics on the rides seemed - newer ? It was noticeably newer, cleaner and a better customer service experience.

The other thing that stood out was how much effort people went to dress up as their favourite characters. Many people looked better than the cast themselves. And it was hot today - they would have been boiling in some of those outfits. Super impressive.

Finished a very long day and with a dinner for two in a laneway in Asakusa where they cook it ON your table. Food and the experience were first class.

Sat down with the kids and recut the plans for the rest of the week based on weather, motivation and the realisation we only have a few more days in Tokyo.Read more
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
7,035 days
October 2, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 31 °C
Hot and humid today in Tokyo - so aimed to stay inside as much as possible.

Woke up at 5am but was convinced to go back to sleep by Krissi.

Woke again at 8am and felt I’d wasted the morning! 🤪

Definitely fighting something viral - 4 airports, 3 planes, 20 subway rides, Disneyland crowds and such will do that to you. I’m determined not to let it get the better of me.

Started today with Tokyo Skytree (great view, too many people, too many rude people to be exact) and the surrounding shops.

Then it was time for our visit to Teamlabs Planets.

Do recommend Teamlabs.

Very cool immersive experience. I’m not sure we needed to walk through water quite so many times - but it was good fun.

Took a picturesque train ride to Ginza and to the 11 story flagship store for Uniqlo.

Then made the long ride home via train and everyone was cooked.

Krissi and I finished the day with another “cook at your table” dinner for our 20 year ( also 7035 days for those counting ) anniversary in Asakusa.Read more
TravelerHappy Anniversary to you both! That is something to celebrate
10/2/24Reply
TravelerGday Simon
10/2/24Reply
TravelerHappy anniversary to you both from Kathy and I, what a way to celebrate, it sounds like your holiday is amazing, enjoy and kiss the kids for us.
10/2/24Reply
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
Jintonikku (Gin and Tonic)
October 3, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Krissi and I started the day with a Sumida River 5km run - was slightly cooler today but still drenched with sweat only a km in.

After that we caught the train and walked the Imperial Gardens. We couldn’t get through to the palace as all the roads were blocked, but the parts we saw were stunning.

Caught another train to the Tokyo Govn Building viewing platform, grabbed some lunch and then went up to the tower. This view is completely free - and at 45 stories high gives you great views.

Small world moment. We were sitting at the bottom of the building eating our lunch from 7 Eleven and the Norwood International High School Japan Trip walked past. Ben's friends from half way around the world were 5 metres away from us in central Japan. To say he was excited is a significant understatement.

From here we walked 2km to Shinjuku and the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower (which was a bit of a disappointment- it’s all arcades and bright lights). We didn’t love Shinjuku either, it’s the first place in Tokyo where I thought we might get pickpocketed. It would look great at night with all the billboards - but during the day it’s just a bit seedy and dirty. We did see the Godzilla head and the 3D Cat billboard though!

We then made our way out to Koenji for vintage clothes shopping and record stores. Ben dropped another $160 on vinyl. 🫢 To say he was excited is a significant understatement.

Koenji didn't grab me at first - the main streets were very commercial - but the laneways were super cool and I even found myself flipping through some 80's records - and nearly bought some myself.

An hour ride on the train back to Asakusa for dinner with the kids.

They allow smoking in the restaurants here - which has taken some getting used to. I’ve not enjoyed it at all - and give how polite and considered the people of Japan are in every other way - it’s jarring to have the person next to you blow smoke in your face while you are eating.

Krissi and I finished the day in a tiny bar on the bottom level of our Airbnb.
The host only spoke Japanese so we ordered using a translate app - and we met a lovely couple travelling from Denmark.

26,000 steps and a lot of googlemaps navigating and a few drinks later we were ready to sleep.Read more
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
Hot in the City
October 4, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
32 degrees and 90% humidity made it tough going today. I’m not sure how we’d go in summer here.

We all started slowly today - Krissi and I were up working but even that was all half pace.

We had a mission today - get our stuff done and then Ben to Akihabara to meet his friends at 1pm.

Given we finally left the house at 9:30am, we were up against it all day and probably rushed everything a bit too much.

Started with a train ride to Hamarikyu Gardens which was worth it - saw a 300 year old pine tree. The gardens are surrounded by modern high rises and the river to the other side. This was the type of juxtaposition of nature and modern Japan we had seen in photos and YouTube - but it was even better in person.

Did a loop of the park and then rushed off to another train to the Tokyo Art Centre (did one exhibition and lunch).

Rushed this a bit as we were now behind in getting to meet Ben’s friends.

At this stage we had a 30 minute train ride and it was already nearly 1pm.

Train to Akihabara - followed by a sprint down the hill to the main shopping strip.

Then the most frustrating part of the holiday as Ben and his friends were on their phones trying to meet up in a place with tens of thousands of people moving in every direction.

I wouldn’t have cared how poorly they planned this - but we were running behind him as he went off in every direction trying to find them.

At one point of this adventure we were all in a 7 level anime shop going up the escalators floor after floor - and the statues kept getting weirder and weirder. Clare and I just kept powering up looking for Ben’s friends that we didn’t even realise that by level 7 we had entered the “adults only” floor - all the statues were naked anime women. Quickly turned around and made our way back down the lift…,. 🫣

Finally met the kids from Norwood International High School and had a chat with the teacher who was doing a great job.

Anyway after all that they only had 30 minutes before the school trip had to leave. BUT it gave Ben a huge lift and he loved it.

Akihabara had a bit of a sleezy vibe, lots of girls dressed in anime costumes inviting you into small clubs. Similar to Shinjuku, not my vibe.

Finished the day shopping in Asakusa, another visit to the Temple, Ramen with Krissi , Japanese Craft Beers then some late night shopping.

Now packing for Osaka.Read more
TravelerIt sounds like Tokyo was a great choice to start your Japan adventure, we look forward to your coming travels.
10/4/24Reply
TravelerVery funny Cookie sounds like a great trip how’s the timing that NHS were there at the same time!
10/5/24Reply
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
The Gig With No Beer
October 5, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Travel day today - Left our nice Airbnb and made our way across town to the Tokyo Station. Wandered around the station with lots of people shopping for anime gifts and food.

Caught the Bullet Train from Tokyo to Osaka - took 2.5 hours to go 550km. Unfortunately it was quite overcast so we couldn’t see Mount Fuji. Caught up on some podcasts from Australia and ate some food from the station.

Parked the bags in a locker at the station and walked around Dontonburi and then caught the train over to Osaka Castle.

We grabbed a bite from the bakery and sat and watched the world go by.

Got our tickets and went in to watch Takanaka live at the Osaka Castle Band Shell. This was the concert series for his 50 year anniversary. He played about 20 songs and the crowd ate up every moment. They knew which songs to stand for, which ones to sit and which ones to dance. We just followed along.

The concert was a different experience than in Australia - once you got in there were no pass outs, no food and no alcohol sold at all.

You just watched the gig. 🤔

Back to the station to rescue our bags, quick food court meal ($8 for a bowl of beef and rice and potato salad - which was as good as most restaurant food in Australia) and checked into our Osaka Airbnb.

This one isn’t as nice as the last one - they provide ear plugs, which is a worry…Read more
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
Hitting The Wall In Osaka
October 6, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Osaka is a 24 hour city - at least where we are staying.

The noise of people out for the night didn’t stop until nearly 5:30am when the sun came up. And then it started again at 8am for some reason. We were all so tired we slept through most of it.

Kristine thinks we are maybe 20 years too old for this part of town. And then helpfully added that I’m maybe 25 years too old.

Started the day with breakfast in the Airbnb with food from the local Foodmart and then walked through shopping malls near Dontonburi. Stopped off at the Pokémon centre and then a train to the Umeda Sky Tower. Went up and enjoyed the view - Osaka is stunning.

Walked through the park and had lunch in a high end shopping mall. Paid more than we had for any meal on this trip - and then the servings were half the size of any meal so far on this trip.

Caught the train to Tenjinbashi-Suji (2.6 km long shopping mall) which was impressive but I didn’t really have an interest in anything there - it’s all food, pokies and junk.

We did a small detour there at one point and visited the Osaka Temmangu Shrine - which is over 1000 years old. Not bad for an old building, the roof looks better than our old house.

We sat down at this point and the kids were done - they had hit the wall and wanted to go home……to Adelaide I think!

Convinced them to make one more hike (train ride) to Osaka Castle.

We grabbed a snack in the park of the castle to refuel, then a hike up the hill to Osaka Castle itself.

At this point Ben was 100% done so we sprung for the park bus to the bottom and then a taxi back to the local Don Quixote for some retail therapy. They suddenly found their legs again and we lost 45 minutes shopping for gifts.

Back to the Airbnb for a rest and then Krissi and I headed out for dinner in the local area.

Started with dinner in a Japanese bar where you order on a tablet. While we were eating we could hear (and feel the vibration of the bass and drums) some rock music and turned out there was a metal / punk club above us.

Went upstairs and it looked amazing - maybe 20 people moshing in a tiny room to a female punk rock band. But the cover charge was $100 for the two of us and we (Krissi mostly…) weren’t sold - so off we went.

Next stop was a cute record bar and a few beers. The place was called Phoe-be which was a self described folk pop bar. Chatted with a fellow tourist about how wonderful Japan has been, then home to bed.Read more
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
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Retail Therapy in Downtown Osaka
October 7, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Started the day with a long list of tourist things to do - then we did almost none of them. I mean, I did do wordle for the first time in a few days, so it’s not a complete fail….

I started with a quick jog around the river (it was hot and humid and I managed just 3km before calling it and coming back to the house), we all got ready finally and caught a few trains to the Port where the family did the Giant Ferris Wheel while I lined for Aquarium tickets in the heat.

(We did stop off at a Melbourne style coffee shop on the way and I had the best double espresso of the trip).

The estimated time of entry for the Aquarium kept pushing out while I was in the line (there is a big sign telling you when your tickets is going to be valid for)- with a few hundred people in front of me it looked like a 2 hour wait to get in - so I gave up on the tickets and we grabbed some lunch in a horrid food court and we headed back to town.

So we chose retail therapy to rescue the day.

Shopped for a few hours in Shinsaibashi, the weather turned and started to bucket down - Ben did some vinyl shopping (got drenched but the records are ok) and then we all met for dinner out.

Krissi and I finished the night by wandering the shops and markets near our house and grabbed a quick beer outside.

Off to Nada and Kyoto tomorrow.Read more
Traveler Nice photos!
10/8/24Reply
Traveler Wow busy
10/8/24Reply
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
A deer bit me on the bum
October 8, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Started the day with a quick run with Krissi in Osaka (slightly cooler), then packed up our Airbnb and travelled by train to Nara for some Deer feeding and visits to the temples.

I got a selfie with a deer but then another one bit me on the butt. Krissi has a bruise from one of the males who gorged her with his antler!

Had some lunch and then back on the train for an hour to Kyoto.

Did some exploring and dinner and then back to our Airbnb for an early night.

22 thousand steps today, averaging 20k per day for the trip, feet could use a rest!Read more
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
As seen on Instagram
October 9, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Had aimed to go for a run this morning, but we all hit the snooze - then panicked and got ready!

Spent the first half of today doing a guided walking tour thanks to a recommendation from Canberra friends Andrew and Kate, which was excellent. If anyone we know is coming to Kyoto highly recommend this. Our host mixed local knowledge with Japanese history - and just enough about her own life to make sure you left a strong tip at the end.

The tour ended up the hill at Kiyomizu Temple so we spent some time visiting the places in the area we had seen on Instagram including the “cloud cake” cafe (Kumonocha Cafe). They were genuinely nice cakes, although Clare wasn’t convinced. Which is a shame, she was the most excited about it. They had a green tea flavour which put her off a bit.

When we had exhausted ourselves on the hills there, we caught an uber to the Golden Pavillion (Kinkaku-ji) and walked the gardens - with a couple of thousand of our closest friends.

Pretty hard to take a bad photo there.

Caught the bus back to the Airbnb (with a couple of thousand of our closest friends) and then out to dinner at Tare Katsu - literally under our Airbnb - which is the best pork katsu I’ve had in my life. Don’t take my word for it, they had a line up of people wanting to try it.

Then for something different we wandered the streets for some retail therapy.

To finish off the night we grabbed a drink in a bar - Krissi had an interesting sparkling sake and I had an IPA from Japanese brewery.

One more full day to go in Japan before we leave Friday night.Read more
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Japan Trip 2024 Traveler
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10,000 gates later
October 10, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
This is our last full day in Japan. I’m ready to head home, but it’s been a really fulfilling adventure.

All the beds in Japan have been single so I’m worried I won’t be able to sleep again with someone in the same bed. I also realised I haven’t turned a TV on in 14 days.

We started today with a train ride to Fushimi Inari Taisha - and a 2+ hour hike up and back to the top. There are 10,000 gates and I realised about 100 in that I wasn’t going to be able to count them all.

Definitely felt like we got there a little late - because all the tourist pages say you have to get there at 6:30am to avoid the crowds - but the crowds when we left were overwhelming.

Perhaps missed the crush by 30 minutes. So advice to future visitors, get there at 9am at the latest.

Legs are absolutely shot at this point - I’ve done a marathon in late August and then trained up for City to Bay - so came into this holiday tired but fit enough. Then walked 20k steps per day.

As such (not making excuses here, I swear….) we grabbed an uber from the gates to a temple back near yesterday’s adventure - and a bamboo plantation. This was very peaceful and there were hardly any other tourist here. Which was a nice change.

Could have caught another train but wimped out and got another uber over to the Nishiki Markets - famous for their fresh seafood.

Embarrassingly we ate at Starbucks - we needed coffee and something to eat quickly - it had already been a long trip.

I’d woken with a cold so went a little slower today - but still managed 19 thousand steps by 6pm. Its a surprise I’ve lasted this long, I’ve had contact with 10s of not 100s of thousands of people in the streets, subways, tourist spots - it’s been genuinely overwhelming how many people we have seen in our travels.

Krissi, Clare and I went out to dinner for skewers after a few hours in the room chilling.

Came back to the apartment and started planning next week at work as well as our next running adventure, next holiday and the small matter of getting to Osaka airport tomorrow.Read more
Traveler Beautiful photo
10/11/24Reply
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Trip end
October 12, 2024