Today I met up with another friend in Tokyo and we went to an art gallery with a strange web thing you could climb into, it felt like we were eggs in an insect's egg sack.
After all that art, we went and got some shaved ice in Shibuya and admired the lovely construction work that was going on there.
Then we made our way to Harajuku and visited the Meiji shrine even though it was closed, it gave the place more of a spooky feel. Then we walked around Harajuku for a bit, the sky was really pretty.
Finally, we got some dinner in Ueno and said goodbye. Then I headed onto a language exchange which was close by at a 'British pub' which was fun but started to break down a bit as a cockroach interrupted the evening. After that had finished, I went with some of the people I'd met there to another bar and I met a lady who worked in agriculture who was responsible for giving the beetroot seeds I'd planted at the farm their specific pink colour. Apparently, it was very in important to have this specific shade which was very difficult to get right. I also met a guy who'd just spent a year in Leeds studying abroad, his accent was fun to listen to. Afterwards, I walked to the hostel and didn't get lost for the first time!
Today I went and visited my Friend Mikko in Tsuru! It's a tiny little town in the mountains by Mount Fuji! Here's a view from the train:
Here's the local shrine!
Not an awful lot to report on as we just got lunch, walked around the town briefly and then did karaoke for three hours which was excellent! Then I headed back to Tokyo after taking the wrong connection on one of the trains but made it back eventually!
Today I've just spent the day shopping and trying to eat as many delicious things as possible before going back to the land of soggy chips and vinegar. I the morning, I went to Harajuku and had a Harajuku crepe!
Caramel with nut and cheesecake
Then I went to Ueno and looked around, went to Don Quijote (a giant shop selling everything), got some Kit-Kats and went then went to Akihabara! I met a friendly maid who pointed me in the right direction to a book shop I was looking for.
Finally, I went to Tokyo station and had my last meal at one of the very few vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Tokyo.
Delicious ramen with Gyoza at T's
Then I came back to the hostel, packed up and now I will sleep before my early start tomorrow (4:30)! See you next time, Japan!
I left Kyoto in the morning and spent most of the day on the Shinkansen and then getting a bit lost and confused on the Tokyo metro but I finally made it to my hostel in Asakusa (after giving up and getting a taxi from a station). Settled down a bit, then had a nice stroll where I proceeded to get lost again, eventually made my way back though (after asking for directions from a pharmacy) and got some good views of Tokyo Sky Tree.
Today, I rented a bike again and set off to the Golden pavilion which was pretty but very crowded and quite small. I met two Americans while I was there though who were travelling around too!
Then I made my way to Ryoanji temple which was very peaceful and zen and by the exit, I bumped into the American people from earlier who were going to go look at some monkeys afterwards.
Parting ways, I went back to the hostel for some quick lunch and then went to the manga museum which was pretty relaxing as everyone was just lounging around, reading manga. I also saw a kid's entertainment show which was somewhat embarrassing as I was singled out within twenty seconds as being the only non-Japanese one. Other than that, I spent a while just relaxing, reading death note and had a small nap, then came back to the hostel!
Today I rented a bike from my hostel and zoomed off to Toji temple which was only about twenty minutes away from the hostel! It was really peaceful, there weren't many tourists at all which made it quite atmospheric.
After that I made my way to Fushimi inari-taisha shrine. I followed the main trail for a bit before decided to veer off to another shrine and then follow a sign which directed me towards the top of the mountain.
On the way, I saw a couple of smaller shrines, including one where a naked Buddhist priest was chanting in a waterfall, and a wood-workshop which was also by a waterfall. I decided to check it out and met a very nice man who gave me a small history lesson about the shrine. The shrine is flagged by two foxes, a male, and a female, the male's mouth is open to represent the first sounds in Japanese 'a, i, o, e, u', and the female's mouth is closed to represent the last sound, 'n', meaning from the beginning to the end. The reason that they're foxes is because the mice eat rice and the foxes eat the mice and I've forgotten the exact meaning for this. The shrine and foxes are supposed to give good luck in business which is why on the back of all the gates are various business's names and slogans. He also gave me some water on my way!
My descent from the top of the mountain - many gates
People's wishes are hung up at the shrine
I got to the top of the mountain, followed another path with a nice view and then kept going, vaguely following the person in front of me and proceeded to go into a quiet residential area with no sign of the main shrine whatsoever.
View from the top of the mountain
Luckily, the person I'd been following had google maps so we managed to make our way back without too much difficulty and then I decided to have a bit a food, including a soy sauce ice cream which didn't taste as soy saucy as I'd hoped it would.
The not-so-saucy soy sauce icecream
After that, I made my way back to the hostel for a shower and met another person staying in the same hostel and we headed out together to look at Gion for a bit and then wondered around looking for anywhere that would cater for two vegetarians. As we were both on the edge of defeat we came across a random restaurant with fake vegetables outside and took it as a sign, which it was! There were lots of options to choose from for us and everything was delicious! A good end to the busy day!
On my last morning in Osaka, I just walked around Namba (where I was staying) and looked in the shops for a bit and then made my way to Kyoto! It was a surprisingly short journey (about 30 minutes) I didn't realise how close the two cities were. As such, I overestimated my schedule and arrived about an hour early in Kyoto so just grabbed lunch and chilled in a convenience shop for a while and then utilised a police box to get them to point in the right direction for my hostel and then I arrived! The first thing I saw was my name written on the outside which amused me a bit, then I entered and was met with complete silence.
Today's guests: Annabelle-sama!
It was a bit spooky, there was no one around so I looked around a bit at some of the rooms and started filling in the check-in form which was by the front door when someone suddenly appeared. After settling in, I had an evening stroll around the area and had dinner in the hostel which was very yummy (aubergine with miso).
This morning I decided to check out Osaka castle in all its glory, so headed out there and headed up through the eight floors which is really more of a museum. I had an audio (which was free!) as well as reading the, slightly wrong, English translations of the exhibits which was interesting as the audio guide would say either more or less information than on the fixed signs. The top of the castle had an excellent view of the city.
Top of the castle
Afterwards, I stopped for lunch in a tiny Okonomiyaki restaurant run by a wife and husband who were very kind and made me a veggie Okonomiyaki. I also met an eccentric man who owned several properties in Tokyo which he let out on Airbnb who described himself as a 'super host'.
I head back to the area my hostel was in checked out the local Ukiyo-e museum which was just around the corner and had a go at making a print myself!
Then I briefly saw the tiny temple next to the museum.
Then, I noticed that there was an onsen really close to my hostel so I headed over, all ready for an onsen time, but unfortunately, it was only available to the patrons of the hotel where it was in. Then I had dinner at a restaurant and coincidently got placed next to the only other foreigner who could also speak Spanish! We had a walk around then met some other random people and enjoyed the city vibes.
