Day one - plane and train

After a breezy (15min from car to duty free) security check and immigration (though the auto gate wouldn't let B out, thought I was about to travel on my own) we had some breakfast before boarding ourLes mer
Kaiseki cuisine

Today was another long travel day - a 10:03am shinkansen from Tokyo had us in Hiroshima at 2:35pm , where we transferred to a local train and arrived in Ono-ura at 3:29. Breakfast was a tuna mayoLes mer
Onsens and Miyajima island

Waking up early after a comfortable night on our futons, we had an early morning onsen before having a Japanese style breakfast at our ryokan. We had veggies, tofu, steamed sea bream in the mostLes mer
Humble Hiroshima

Today we woke as the sun rose and had our last onsen. We had a western style breakfast before our ryokan hosts bid us farewell and drove us to the train station. From there we caught a local trainLes mer
Hiroshima to Kyoto

Today we woke early but had a lazy morning before heading out for coffee at 9am. We walked to Hiroshima Orizuru Tower which has a really cool rooftop area with great views of the peace Park and theLes mer
First full day in Kyoto

Today we headed to Nishiki market, which apparently doesn't open until 10am! We settled for coffee before finding a place that did pancakes not too far away. A bit average and over priced, we then setLes mer
Arashiyama

After stopping at our local Lawson for coffee, we were off to Arashiyama by train. We wandered through the streets before seeing the magnificent bamboo grove. We were lucky that it wasn't very busy -Les mer
Nara

After a late start and a Lawson Breakfast (I'm not a huge fan of eggs but the egg sandwich got a thumbs up from me) we headed to the train station to go to Nara for the day. We got to Nara just afterLes mer
Fushimi Inari Shrine

Today we woke to a rainy morning. After sandwiches and coffee for breakfast, we headed to Fushimi Inari shrine. We spent about an hour wandering up the hill side under the orange torii gates, the sizeLes mer
Osaka

After a relaxing slow start, including our infamous convenience store breakfast, we headed to Kyoto Station for a Shinkansen to Osaka. The trip took a whole 13 minutes. When we arrived we dropped ourLes mer
Kobe

Well intentioned, we headed off early at 8:30am to head to Kobe for the day. When we got to the metro there seemed to be an issue and the trains weren't arriving. After a long delay, a train turned upLes mer
Hedgehogs and snacks

Today we decided to have a slower day to prepare for Tokyo tomorrow! We lazed around until 11ish and went to Harry Wood, a hedgehog cafe. There we met our new best friend Ricopin. He likes snuggling,Les mer
Tokyo

Today we travelled to Tokyo by Shinkansen, taking approximately 3 hours. We transferred at Shinagawa to Shinjuku. We are staying in a neighbourhood called Hatagaya, just near Shinjuku. Once we settledLes mer
Kamakura

Today we ventured to Kamakura by train, arriving at about lunch time. We wandered the main street looking at all the street food and deciding what to eat. On the way back down Komachi Street weLes mer
Tokyo

Today we headed to Team Lab Borderless, a digital art museum in Odaiba, Tokyo. We spent about 3 hours exploring all the exhibits. The whole museum is dark and many entrances to exhibits are hidden soLes mer
The sides of Tokyo

Today we set out for the Edo-Tokyo Museum which details Tokyo's history. They had lots of displays of typical streets and a life size temple recreation. We then went around the corner to a gyozaLes mer
Tokyo

Today we ventured out to the Samurai Museum. The museum was small but houses original armour and weapons, some 450 years old. Included in the admission price was an hour long tour which we bothLes mer
Home again, home again

After a bit of a sleep in we packed up our things for the last time and stored our luggage in a coin locker at Shinjuku station. We headed to the Fire Museum... which was shut as it was the day afterLes mer