Calm Before The Storm.

Before I started to write this blog post, I decided to take a glance at the clock. As the hands have now passed the midnight hour, I realise that we have only a single week left in this beautiful country. We will be spending the entirety of this week in Tokyo, and have some major plans, involving not only sight seeing, but also visiting some friends we have made throughout this trip. This will probably be my last blog post before I touch down on U.K. soil as I know the internet in the hotel requires money to function, and that is something we do not have much off. Thinking about the last week fills me with a mix of emotions. Sadness, knowing that the journey is coming to an end. Happiness, knowing that I get to see friends and family again. And last, but not least, fulfillment, knowing that all in all this experience has changed my life, and changed me.

We left Osaka via an overnight bus, the journey was worse than all the travelling I have done to and in Japan combined. The seats were probably made of stone, and the huge front window of the bus let in so many street lights, it became impossible to get any sleep. We decided we did not really want to do much in Yokohama. This is our second time here and we wanted to save some money so that we could go out with a bang in Tokyo. The weather took a turn for the worst while we were here anyway forcing us to stay inside quite a bit, so it all worked out nicely.

I have to give a shout out to Hayley's dad, Dave McSwiney. He booked us a room in Yokohama for Hayley's 23rd birthday, and the Hotel was like heaven after the hellish bus ride. As soon as we checked in and our heads hit those pillows, sleep drowned us, and we re-energised like never before. I might even go as far to say that was the best damn nap ever.

We spent the first few days walking around China Town some more, which I don't think could ever get old or boring, and in general, just taking it easy. A few days in however we decided to head to Kirin Beer Village for a free tour of the brewery. It was pretty swell! I have never been to a brewery before, and although the tour was in Japanese, I pretty much caught the gist of how things worked (mainly because of the English leaflets and not my awful ability to decode Japanese). The end of the tour was my favourite part. We were given three free beer tokens to go and try as many kinds of the Kirin Beer that were on offer to taste, also you got a free bag of snacks. After trying some Stout beer, and two different kinds of lager it was safe to assume, I was quite drunk. I guess it was the combination of having to finish all my drinks within twenty minutes and that because the tour was at 1 o'clock, the only thing in my stomach was some chocolate flakes from breakfast. Great times.

Kirin Beer Village, Damn Tasty Free Beer
Source: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3211.html

After the free tour we headed into the main area of Yokohama to meet a friend, Kaz. We had met Kaz by chance a couple of times in Fukuoka and upon finding out that he lived near Tokyo, arranged to meet up again for lunch. We tried, for the first time, Omarice. Basically, it is a huge amount of rice, wrapped in Omelette, and a sauce of choosing to go with it. I was not sure how egg and rice would go, I mean, sure egg friend rice is good, but that is only a minuscule amount of egg, this egg was huge, but it was really delicious, as is the majority of Japanese food, so I was glad I tried it. Also, Kaz paid for the meal, despite our best efforts to give our share of the bill, so thanks goes out to him, for his kindness and generosity.

Yesterday, we went to CosmoWorld. A theme park in Yokohama which was pretty cool. The first ride we went into however, was awful, it was a mirror world, where you had to find creatures and then answer questions, I dunno, it was just lame, it was not challenging or cool, it was just pretty stupid in my opinion, I guess maybe I didn't get it. The next ride however was awesome, it was a ride which had guns mounted onto the fronts of the carts and you just shot the hell out of everything and as you hit targets you get a score. I left the ride with a score of 20,500. Hayley's was 4,200. I needn't say more.

We then headed for dinner after CosmoWorld. A delicious steak and rice meal and walked about a few of the shops nearby, generally just taking in the night time lights of Yokohama and the illuminated ships floating on the nearby sea. It has been nice in Yokohama, although relaxing, I have enjoyed my time hear again. I feel ready to take on Tokyo for the second time. We barely scratched the surface last time, so this time, we are going to do it all.

Also on another note, before I came to Japan I kind of expected to experience some sort of earthquake whilst we were here. Throughout the whole journey we had not come across any, but since being in Yokohama we have been in two. Although the centers of the earthquakes have not been near and the magnitudes of them have shrunk down to a "2" by the time they have reached Yokohama I can say that they are not fun. They are horrible to experience and I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have felt like to be near the center of the 9.0　magnitude earthquake that struck in March.  That and the Tsunami caused over 16,000 deaths here, and I just wanted to say that my thoughts go out to all the people affected, and the families of the people affected in those horrific events.

Tokyo, hear we come.

Thanks for reading,
Arigatou, Sayonara.

Mama always said "Life was like an Instant Ramen"

Well, the few days that have followed Summer Sonic have been equally as amazing. The first day was a bit of a right off. We were really tired after dancing and being baked by the sun for 11 hours so we simply walked around a district of Osaka that we had not come across yet, Shinsekai. The area was actually quite cool. Although unclean and a bit of a mess, Shinsekai evokes a lot of Nostalgia, it reminded me personally of Blackpool, especially due to the large tower that stands in the middle of the area.

Shinsekai

Source: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4012.html

It was almost like we had walked straight into the 70`s, which I liked. Also there are a lot of Fugu (puffa fish) restaurants around there. But due to my cowardice nature, I was afraid to try, in case you know, it was cut incorrectly and I died.

The day after we went to our second Ramen Museum of the trip. However this was a museum that worshipped the Instant Ramen, that is right. A whole museum dedicated to noodles in a cup, or Pot Noodle as you might know them. The museum itself lacked english translation so was difficult to understand, but that was not our main reason for visiting the museum. We went purely for the workshop you could get involved in. A "make your own" cup ramen. It was awesome, and maybe one of the best hand on experiences ever. You simply pay 300 yen for a cup, then draw on the cup and design it in whatever way you like. Choose the flavour, and four ingredients, it is then sealed and placed in a bag for you to take away! I love it! I choose curry flavour, with pork, cheese, sweetcorn and onion. I know cheese and curry might not go, but I don't care, I'm still going to love it anyway.

Today was amazing too. We went for dinner, an early present for Hayley`s birthday in the Universal City, part of Osaka. We headed to a restaurant called "Bubba Gump" and it is probably the best restaurant I have ever been to, a "Forrest Gump" style restaurant that takes inspiration from the films plot.

Source: http://vivalifestyle.blogspot.com/2009/10/bubba-gump-shrimp-co.html

In the film Gump buys a boat to go shrimp fishing and when he manages to haul a large amount of fish, he secures his promise to his friend Bubba. The restaurant sells a lot of shrimp dishes and we chose two beautiful ones. I had "Coconut Batter Shrimp", which had a tag line of "Bubba's Favourite". They were delicious, it was incredible. Coconut and Shrimp is truly delicious. Hayley had Spicy Shrimp Gumbo, a pot with soup and shrimp, and some bread for dipping, that was also pretty damn amazing. I loved it, all the Forrest Gump references. From ping-pong racket drink menus, to "Run Forrest, Run" signs you had on your table, and when you wanted the waitress or waiter to serve you, you switched it over to "Stop Forrest, Stop" truly amazing.

Another overnight bus tomorrow will get us to Yokohama, for 6 nights and then it is off to Tokyo, for our second time, and overall last destination of the trip. It is not long till we are home, so we are going to make the most of it.

Thanks for Reading
Arigatou, Sayonara.

Summer Sonic

Firstly, I should just mention that our last two days in Kyoto were pretty brilliant. We spent the first day in Arashiyama. Arashiyama is a distrcit in western Kyoto which is famous for it's traditional look, it's long bridge and it's beautiful appearance. When we got there we headed to the bridge first. The river the bridge crossed, and the surrounding landscape was beautiful. It was true countryside and despite the fact it was really busy, it was still elegant and magestic.

Togetsukyo Bridge

Source: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3912.html

We crossed the bridge to find a festival that although hadn't officially opened, was still showing some "teaser" exhibits. It was basically an exhibition of sand that had been sculpted into marvelous shapes. The few that we saw were quite complex and took on a range of forms from Buddhas to Monkeys, the temptation to knock them down was starting to grow, so I suggested that we left before I ruined some quality art.

After the bridge we headed to the Bamboo Groves of Arashiyama. These groves are back streets that are lined on both sides by massively tall bamboo shoots. It was so quiet through the groves, no sound of man's creation, simply the noises of mother nature. It was great, the sun flooding through the trees to create shadows like the bars of a prison cell. It felt enclosed, it felt locked off, it felt like there wasn't a world outside of the grove. It made me at peace, and it was a beautiful solitude that I have never experienced before.

I'm not going to lie about our next day. It was a massive right off. I got up, sat in the hostel and played Super Mario Bros. Wii for about 8 hours straight. I was glued to it. We wanted to save money, and I figured that was the way to do it, whilst having fun at the same time. I completed the game however, and was glad to do so. Also beat Hayley a lot at Mario Kart, and by a lot, I mean each and every time. I think my video game skills are a curse, but it is a curse I'm happy to live with.

Then there was the big day. It had finally come. Summer Sonic. The first festival I have been to, and what a way to start the festival life style. We got up early and made our way to the station nearest to the venue to meet Jun for the fourth time, and also his friend Shohei. After the greeting we made our way to the shuttle bus and across to the Island hosting Summer Sonic. It was bloody hot, that is for sure, I felt a bit faint at times but I didn't really care, I was too busy enjoying the incredible music and atmosphere. It was great. I loved it, I love anything that envolves music I enjoy, and doing it in Japan only made it all the more special. Here`s a list starting from worst, to best of the artists we watched, and why they ranked in that order.

Mona: Now Mona haven't come last because they were bad. They have come last because all the other bands were just better.

X Japan: I didn't understand a word they said the whole time but I have to say, X Japan know how to put on a show. I had not heard of them before the concert, but they seemed to be a heavy metal Japanese band with a lot of talent. The drummer especially, although over-dramatic, was very good at both drums and piano. Not to mention the large amount of flames, smoke, sparks and glitter that no other band use. Although unpleasant on the ears, brilliant on the eyes.

Panic! At The Disco: Yes, we get it, it's hot in Japan. But in the whole 11 hours I was at Summer Sonic, I did not complain about the heat nearly as much as Brendon Urie did in his 40 minute set. Also, it was like he couldn't be arsed to sing properly. At times, it was like he just gave up, and just played piano to cover. The only good thing about their set was the songs they chose to play. A lot of them were from the first album which is undoubtedly the best.

Gypsy & The Cat: I had not heard of them coming into the festival, and I was blown away. They were incredible. Like a good version of MGMT. Also they were the only band that had bothered to learn some Japanese. Which I found strange, no other band, apart from the word arigatou, had bothered to learn even a little for the Japanese audience. So kudos to Gypsy & The Cat for bothering, and for also being a great band on the ears.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Wow, what can I say? Apart from "Red Hot Chili Peppers, you guys still have it" I don't care that you are old, I don`t care that the new guitarist sucks a lot compared to John Frusciante, you guys know how to put on a show, and know how to entertain. Also Flea is still the best basist around, without question. That man knows how to work a bass more than any other Human Being.

Friendly Fires: Shit! What a performance, these guys were insane. They played the hell out of Summer Sonic, a nice mix of songs, unfortunately I knew none of the new ones but I didn`t care, they sounded nice and the lead singers vocals live were the best of the entire day. Easily. He also knew how to dance, and got into the crowd a couple of times. The only front man of the day who just did what he wanted. Extraordinary.

Two Door Cinema Club: My favourite act of the day. Not only because I love them massively but because they were great live also. They played their songs well and Alex's vocals were spot on too. They chose the best songs to play from the album and just looked cool. Also, when artists finish playing songs, the crowd in Japan goes eerily silent, I took this opportunity to be a knob and shout "We Love You!!" at the top of my lungs. Got a giggle from the crowd and a "Thanks very much" from Two Door Cinema Club. Great Times.

All in all, Summer Sonic was incredible, great music, amazing company and a beautiful day to boot. I will definitely be attending more festivals in the near future, and if I'm lucky, these too will be in foreign countries.

Thanks For Reading,
Arigatou, Sayonara.

The Bright and the Beautiful.

I really like Kyoto. Not only is the city in itself a beautiful balance between modern and cultural, but it seems to have a relaxed and laid back atmosphere that I really enjoy. We've only been here for two and a half days but we have probably already accomplished double than what we did in Kagoshima. There is simply so much to see, do and eat.

The first day we felt a bit groggy. We had just spent fourteen hours on an over night bus and arrived in Kyoto feeling a bit worse for wear. We checked into the hostel and headed to a sight that we did not even know existed the first time we were here. The shrine is called Fushimi Inari and is by far the best shrine I have been to whilst in Japan. It is famous for it's "Torii" gates, which are large red constructions that look a little like this.

Source: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html

Well Fushimi Inari literally has thousands of them. You walk through long tunnels of torii gates and at some stages you cannot even see the skies above you or the land around you. It would seem closed in and claustrophobic, but it doesn't make you feel that way. It is beautiful. Each one has Kanji written on it describing the person who donated the gate to the shrine and how old it is. Some of the gates are huge and some head height. They lead the way to the top of a mountain which overlooks the city of Kyoto. That also was a lovely spectacle. The clear skies showed how vast and wide Kyoto is and reminded us that there is a lot to do here. In that moment, we were glad we came back.

The second day we headed to another famous temple. Kiyamizudera. This temple has a large wooden balcony (which was built without nails) that also overlooks Kyoto. The temple was very busy, but it was easy to see why. It was a beautiful place, high up in the mountains surrounded by trees  and woodlands. The temple also has a natural waterfall that splits into three streams. You are allowed to use a cup attached to a long pole to reach out and collect water, and then make a wish for long health or fortune whilst drinking. We read prior to the visit that drinking from a certain stream meant a certain wish, but it turns out all the streams bring a wish of your choice. So we partook in drinking of the waterfall. The temple was another thing we didn't know of the first time we were here so we were glad to discover it.

That night we heard about a "Hanabi", or fireworks display, so decided to take a gander. We headed north on the train for half an hour and arrived in Otsu. The fireworks were held by a huge lake and they were simply magnificent. A thousand times better than Beppu's Hanabi, these fireworks were being set off from two points around the river and at some stages, so many fireworks were exploding that it felt like it was daytime. The light illuminated the smiles on the crowd's faces and the round of applause in between each break confirmed how amazing the fireworks were. It was incredible, entertaining and damn right crowd pleasing. I loved the display more than Beppu's by a long shot.

Fireworks remind me of, for some reason, when cave men invented fire. There is something strange about human nature, and it`s attraction to bright bearing objects, such as fire, or fireworks. I'm not sure what lures us to these beautiful spectacles and holds our attention so easily, but then I don't really want to know. The mystery is poetic enough. The fireworks are just so beautiful and magnificent that rationalizing the way we are attracted to flames would kill the magic.

Anyway, two more days in Kyoto and we have big plans. Then, as I said in my previous blog, we are off to Osaka for the second time to hear some sweet music, at what is going to be a fiercely hot festival!

Thanks for Reading
Arigatou, Sayonara.

The Peaceful Life.

Kagoshima was great, I had a nice time there. I even spent my birthday there, but 5 nights was far too long to spend in Kagoshima. Basically there was not much to do. This wasn't much of a problem seeming as we wanted a break from the hectic travelling lifestyle, so we used Kagoshima's relaxed atmosphere to rest away.


On the first day we took a ferry out to the island of Sakurajima. Sakurajima is famous for it's live volcano that errupts every day,　and in fact, it isn't even an island anymore. A massive erruption that occured a century ago joined the island to Japan making it more of a peninsula. The island was cool however, we went to a few observation points and even the foot spa and sauntered about really. The lack of transport on the island makes it difficult to get around so we had to stay near the port area. After the weather turned bad we went back to the shore of Kagoshima and waited for the rain to stop. Upon doing so, we grabbed some drinks and headed to the roof of the hostel.

"Oh My God Look!" shouts Hayley out of the blue, and as my eyes follow her pointing finger, there in the distance, the volcano had gone off. The erruption was phenomenal, even though it was only minor an ash cloud still rocketed into the air, spanning a great height. It was amazing to watch the erruption from start to finish and to witness the growth of the ash from a small cloud to an intense fog. Brilliant.

Our next day involved walking around the historic meiji area in the centre of Kagoshima. Kagoshima seems to have lots of statues, I think we walked past at least 25 in one day, each one different from the other. Some of them looked really cool. However, my lack of Japanese History knowledge left me thinking that I couldn't truly appreciate the statues for what they were for. The Meiji area however had several samurai houses and lots of shrines and samurai grave stones and was in general quite fascinating. Because Kagoshima was the main port of Japan at the time, the army was based mostly around the area to be ready for attacks from foreign countries, so there are a lot of sculptors and shrines showing evidence of the war. It was interesting, but too much to read, some went straight over my head. Guess it was the heat...and the falling ash.

The next couple of days involved walking and not really doing much. We saved some cash by just chilling out and relaxing in Onsens, which is always quite nice. We even had our first private onsen. Usually men and women are separated but by hiring a private onsen we could bathe together, which was lovely.

My Birthday was lovely. We went out for dinner at this lovely restaurant where in the middle of the table sits a live BBQ grill. A plate of meat is put down in front of you and you just barbeque away! It was delicious,　cooking your own meat and just scoffing it down! It is a birthday meal I will not soon forget.

The last day of Kagoshima involved us heading back to Sakurajima. We felt we hadn't seen much the first time and this time we were ready to walk the long distances if we needed to, to see the sights. We headed a quarter of the way around the island on foot, which took about 15 minutes, to the point where two centuries ago, Sakurajima erupted and buried a small island. The field of outstretched molten rock was a sight to behold. It was hard to believe that an island lay buried underneath all the rock.. After that we walked a little further to an "All Night Music Concert" memorial. A couple of years ago a concert was held on Sakurajima and to celebrate it's popular outcome a memorial was built. The memorial is an eruption of music, or so it is described, and shows a man shreading a guitar bursting out of a huge rock pile, just like a volcanic eruption. It was sweet, and really detailed. It was worth the second visit to Sakurajima just to behold those sights.

We could not afford to go to Yakushima, so we booked an over night bus to Kyoto. And despite the fact that this is our second time in Kyoto we could not be more excited. We have not done much in Kagoshima and Kyoto had lots of sights that we did not get to see the first time round. I am as excited as ever to be in Kyoto, no matter that we have been here before.

We have five nights in Kyoto and then we are off to meet up with Jun for our fourth time and head to the anticipated Summer Sonic festival. The excitement is at an all time high...

Thanks for Reading.
Arigatou, Sayonara.

Two Month's In.

So I have now been in Japan for two months. We have one more to go and a whole load of things that we still want to do. We are not going to get it all done, but at least that gives us an excuse to come back in the near future. So far, this experience has taught me that travelling is in my blood. Me and Hayley have already started making plans for our next adventure where we intend to spend two months in Thailand, then two months in New Zealand and then finish for a couple of weeks of bliss in Hawai. I cannot wait already. This experience has got me thinking more appropriately about our next adventure and I have learned that you can never have too muxh money when you go travelling. To put it simply, I did not bring enough funds to Japan and I am definitely going to pay for it in the near future.

Small talk aside, Japan has been great so far. So different to my own british culture and so full of suprise. It can be cute, adult, naive and so technologically brilliant that I still can not quite figure out where Japan really stands. I love it, that is for sure. Travelling has also opened my eyes to the world. There is so much out there, and I want to see it all.

We are now in Kagoshima. The most southern city of Japan, if you do not include the islands that trail away from the coast. We have not been here long, a mere few hours infact, but there seems like there should be a lot to do here. We got off the train to see the huge Sakurajima looming in the background. The volcano is literally a stones through away. In fact, I think if  I took a run-up I may be able to jump the gap of sea between the two pieces of land. It has already errupted once since we got here and there are piles of ash all over the place. I think that is pretty cool.

Our last few days of  Beppu were also pretty great. We did another Onsen and also took part in a festival that lasted all weekend. The finale on the Sunday night was spectacular. The "Hanabi" or fireworks, display was incredible. It made all other firework shows I had seen before seem like a feeble match flame compared to the Japanese fireworks. It is true what they say about Japan, when they want to do something from another culture, they do it better than the original. If you have come to Japan and been here in late July and not been a "Hananbi" festival, I am afraid, you have missed out.

Next we intend to go to Yakushima to camp. An island off the shore of Kagoshima. The island is famous for it's cedar trees that have ages that range from 2000 - 7000 years old. It is also the inspiration for the Miyazaki frim "Princess Mononoke". However, with money low, and ferries being expensive, we may have to give it a misss and head back to Osaka. We shall see....

Thanks for reading.
Arigatou, Sayonara