Claire got in to the spirit of cosplay

While I focused on the incredible food choices like fairy floss

Crepes

Before settling on a Croquant Chou ZakuZaku *drools*

Although I was tempted by some out there clothing selections, I did not succumbAfter Harajuku we wandered around Shibuya looking for love hotels (but failed) and investigated the Tokyu Hands department store, where Claire found a beautiful Delsey bag she lusted after.

We checked out the mural at Shibuya of Hachikō the dog

Had our final meal at a very well known Tonkatsu restaurant which was DELICIOUS

We said goodbye to the small yet well designed JR Blossom Hotel in Shinjuku

Then got on the Nex train to the Narita airport

The comfort levels on this train were a marked difference to what we experienced when we arrived and screwed up but by now we were Japanese rail experts.

Japan was a mind-blowing experience and one I would be quick to try again. It somehow manages to balance tranquility, crowding, compliance and crazy in a way that keeps it interesting yet not overwhelming. Language didn’t seem to be a barrier, even if we can’t speak Japanese and they couldn’t speak English, we still managed to communicate. I have not even touched the surface of what I want to see there and i will definitely be back. Doumo arigatou Japan!

For more photos, check out the Flickr Album.

The post Day 9 – Tokyo appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

The coffee was in the hotel room and brewed in an awesome container which I can only assume was designed by someone extremely cool. Behold!

The egg slut? Entirely different event. Claire and I walked over to the Paul Bassett coffee shop which is near City Hall. Paul Bassett is an Aussie barista who won the World Barista championship at age 25 and also designed an espresso machine with Sunbeam. Before you call me a douche for not going to a japanese breakfast location, I will try to defend myself by the fact that he doesn’t have any coffee houses in Australia (that I know about anyway) and I don’t know of any stores that would serve something called an egg slut. Behold!

Basically the egg slut is a californian invention by a store called EggSlut. It’s a coddled egg, potato puree and some coarse grey salt. It’s like a pimped up poached egg and it’s great. The wooden spoon was also a nice touch.

After finishing we headed over to City Hall, where we saw a love to rival Philadelphia

The beautiful Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower

And the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which looks a bit like a Robot claw. But maybe my mind was still on the robots from the night before.

The view from the tower was pretty good, but I suspect it may be better at night.

The inside was a little bit retro cool.

After getting our fill of photos, we hopped on the train to Ginza which is an upmarket shopping district and not just a chain of japanese restaurants in Australia. Mainly we just strolled down the street gawking, but spent a fair bit of time in Itoya, where I found the most beautiful backpack but didn’t take a picture of it. It was perfect for carrying a laptop, but it also had space for weekend clothing and a bag that zipped off for toiletries. I’ve tried their website, but I doubt I’ll ever see that bag again. Either way it was multiple floors of lustworth items.

After shopping, we found a place to eat which has become a source of stress for Claire. She isn’t the biggest fan of asian food, so every meal is risky. This place delivered enough for her to get sustenance and I thought it was great even if neither of us were feeling adventurous.

Once again on the train, we headed over to Edo-Tokyo Museum and got off at the Ryogoku station, which had these cool Sumo pictures at the exit.

And this strange looking Sumo who didn’t need any more fish.

The Edo-Tokyo museum is a really cool interactive museum that shows you what Tokyo would have been like when it was called Edo and full of ninjas, shogun warriors and monkey magics. As an added bonus, you also get 19th century Tokyo as well. Even the building it’s in is quite unique

I made Claire pose for this photo, which she was not pleased about, but what I didn’t realise was that she was going to pick it up – in my head I assumed she was just going to emulate, but she was strong enough to try. Unfortunately, she also hurt her back doing it, which wasn’t in the plan. I think the photo details the exact moment she broke herself. I’m still sorry Claire!
I always love seeing retro kitchens in museums, it’s usually the exhibit I spend the most time at. I don’t know why, as I am barely in the kitchen at home.

Can’t have a museum without a queen

or a man sitting on a chair sleeping

After the museum, we were completely knackered, but we continued on.. because there was no way I was leaving Tokyo without going to Akihabara. Hai! Hai!

Claire and I went and got a coffee before we headed in to the fray, as we were flagging at this point but still determined. We had the coffee BEFORE we found the maid cafe.

We had fun in the toy stores

Claire got intimate with a hairy friend

While I reacquainted myself with an old one

We had a great time in Super Potato which is probably the best retro gaming store in the world

You can buy cartridges for old consoles and even play some beloved games

After having our fill of games and geek stores, we headed back to the hotel, where there happened to be a Studio Ghibli film on tv. It was not subtitled (obviously), but I became transfixed by the visuals and calming sound that I watched it until we fell asleep. 

For more photos, check out the Flickr Album.

The post Day 8 – Tokyo appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

Claire had a friend who had made a request for us to bring back a totoro plush toy if we could find it. They had a little boy who had gotten one as a baby and it was his best friend, but it was looking a bit worse for wear. I had never heard of Totoro but immediately fell in love.

We decided to head over by train to Asakusa Park to visit a temple and a shrine, with the added benefit that a Studio Ghibli store was near the entrance. Unfortunately the store was closed when we got there and didn’t open despite repeated return visits over the next few hours.

Asakusa Park was of interest due to the Senso-Ji temple, but to get there you need to walk through Nakamise, which is a cute little shopping street full of trinket stores that were all done up for autumn.

Once you get through the shops, you hit the imposing Hōzōmon Gate that has two statues, three lanterns and two large sandals that apparently weigh 400kg each!

After walking through the gate we made sure Claire was healed by standing near the incense burner, then headed up to the temple. I am not sure she was the biggest fan of the experience.

At the shrine, Claire and I bought some O-mikuji which are random fortunes written on strips of paper that we got by shaking a container until a stick falls out. The stick is numbered, and you are given your fortune. I was lucky enough to get “No 1 BEST FORTUNE”, which was nothing to be sniffed at. Because it was good luck, I got to take it with me.

Claire however didn’t get a great one, so she had to tie hers up and leave it behind – the bad luck will stay there instead of coming with you, which is very handy.

After the shrine and temple we left via a side exit and wandered down some quaint streets where we saw…

old people lining up outside a restaurant with some funk decorations

Some great artwork on some store fronts

Photo opportunity outside Don Quixote grocery store

A giant baseball mitt.

We made our way over to Kappabashi Street which is a street that sells everything you could need for a Japanese restaurant. You know you are in the right place, because there is a giant chef on the building.

We had a great time looking at the Japanese knife stores

Browsed the fake fish and meat shelves
And the fake sush and crepe displays.

The street was a great place to find gifts for people.

By now we were getting hungry, so we found a random place to eat and buy green drinks with cherries,

Before we headed over to the shopping centre under the Tokyo Skytree to get the elusive Totoro.

We had toyed with the idea of going up the Skytree, but the queue was long, so instead we headed back to the Tokyo Water Bus stop to take a boat ride to Hamarikyu Gardens. It was dicy train trip as we were convinced we would miss the boat, but we made it with time to spare.

You catch the water bus from a place where you can see the giant sky tree phallus jizz gold all over the black building.

True to form, Claire fell asleep on the ride, but honestly, it was quite a boring ride – there aren’t too many exciting things to look at on the way.

However, it does dump you out at the beautiful Harikyu Gardens, which is a big restful park in the middle of the city.

The garden was originally a feudal lord’s residence and even has a 300 year old pine that needs a bit of support.

There is also remains of an old moat and a fantastic cute little bridge.

Wearily we headed back to the train and our room for a quick rest as we had an evening appointment with Robots.

Shinkjuku is the world’s busiest railway station and right behind it is Kabukicho, Japan’s largest and wildest red light district. Smack bang in the middle of all that is the Robot Restaurant – an experience you can only have in Japan.

This show is everything it says on the tin – it’s a restaurant and it has robots. The advice was to not worry about the food, so we skipped that but arrived early enough to get some chairs and listen to the excellent cover band. Even the entrance is eye opening!

The restaurant will give you epilepsy
and the actual show will give you a stroke.

It was the best thing ever!

For more photos, check out the Flickr Album.

The post Day 7 – Tokyo appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

Instead of taking the van back to Gora station, we decided to take the cable car down. We thought it was a bit of a walk to the elevator to get there and asked the staff at checkout for directions. Instead they started wheeling our luggage outside, which we helplessly followed, afraid they had a walk on them. Turns out there was a little path and the elevator was in the mountain of rock behind the hotel. They put us in it with the luggage and waved us goodbye. We felt like James Bond as we slid diagonally up the mountain, letting us out at the top, which also happened to be the cable car station.

We bought our tickets, got our seat and headed down the mountain in to Gora, swapping transportation for the zig zag train (Hokone Tozan) to Hokone-Yumoto then another to Odawara.

Back in Odawara we got back on the Shinkansen and headed for Tokyo – specifically the JR Blossom Hotel near Shinjuku station.

Arriving at Shinjuku station I sent us in completely the wrong direction which is a bad move to make given how huge the station is. Don’t confuse west for east like I did.

JR Blossom is a Japanese chain hotel owned by Japanese Rail. We had picked it as we wanted to try out a chain that wasn’t American or French in it’s history. It’s great because it’s close to the train station, modern and super clean. But what is better is just the incredible thought behind the design of the room – plus the added extra toiletries like razors.

After checking in and dumping our bags, we headed for the place I’d been most looking forward to in all of Tokyo – ultimate sneaker heaven Harajuku. Only a few stops from Shinjuku and we are in the place famous for cosplay and a song by Gwen Stefani.

We had a fantastic time wandering all the little laneways, exploring the boutique sneakers stores and lame Barbie shops.

We walked our way down to Shibuya, stopping at Tower Records where I bought a Tower Records baseball shirt and saw a bunch of people get excited about some artist turning up.

The streets of Shibuya are as exciting and busy late at night as everyone says.

We made it a point to cross the busiest crossing in the world. We can confirm it is very busy.

The recommendation for the best photo to take of the crossing is in the Starbucks, which we entered until we realised we would have to buy something. In retrospect we were better off doing that, because in the end I wanted to get a view of the crossing. We ended up in the L’Occitane cafe with the idea of getting something to eat, however what we got were some expensive sweets and not a very good view.

For more photos, check out the Flickr Album.

The post Day 6 – Hakone to Tokyo appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

Then we were back on the Shinkansen heading for Odawara, which was a transfer station to get us to Hakone. On the train we encountered some other tourists just as we were getting off, they were asking if we were heading to Hakone, they had tossed up between there and the Fuji five lakes – the same as I had. The five lakes have the view of Mt Fuji I desired badly, but after trying to make it work in the time we had available I just couldn’t justify it. Maybe next time.

Hakone is a spa town that is often visited on a day trip by tourists and Japanese alike. It’s popular because you can perform a loop traveling on five different means of transport (train, cablecar, ropeway, boat and bus). The ropeway was down when we visited, but we got to try two of the options.

From Odowara you go down the escalators and then to the end of the platform to catch the train to Hakone -Yumoto which is quite a short journey. The train emerges from the trees to a beautiful river cascading over rocks. It was quite pretty and I would have been tempted to explore if we didn’t have a more alluring destination in mind. Instead we swapped to an older train again to head up to Gora. We got in the train with a man accompanying an older man – both with aussie accents. They were quite clearly train spotters and it was funny to hear them geeking out.

The train driver took his seat and using his white gloves he set the Hokone Tozan train in motion. What is unique about this train is that it takes a zig zag method to get up the very steep mountain, which results in some amazing scenery. It takes about 35 minutes to get to Gora, because of how steep it is, the train has engines at both ends and the driver walks back and forth between them to drive depending on which way the zig zag goes.

At Gora we called the Hakone Gora Hanougi Hotel to be picked up and were happy to discover the van was already there to retrieve some other people. We had the option to take the cable car, but figured we could do that the next day to get back and it would be easier to find the hotel by being driven there.

Up another steep mountain and we were dropped inside a japanese garden oasis with some large doors beckoning us inside.

Entering the huge doors we were immediately greeted by the staff in Kimonos and urged to remove our shoes, which we wouldn’t get back until we left. We were in awe of the architecture of the lobby and the feel of the tatami mats on our socked feet.

The staff led us open mouthed to a seating area where they brought us tea and nibbles to fill out the paperwork, where we still couldn’t believe what we had walked in to.

After completing all the necessary paperwork we were shown to our room, where the jaws drop ped again. We were prepared for the in room spa bath but not for all the modern Japanese features like in floor heating, automatic lighting and stereo speakers in the ceiling. This somehow seemed to fit with the tatami mats, futon bed, wooden bath and incredible views from the balcony.

We were provided with two kimonos – one a formal type one for walking around the building and the other a more relaxed version for wearing in the room.

Left to our own devices we enjoyed the room and the spa and the music before heading down to dinner in our outdoor kimonos.

Claire was a little nervous about the dinner which was a degustation that was very seafood heavy. She can’t stand seafood but the hotel restaurant only offers two types of meals, the standard or a vegetarian, so she chose vegetarian. I don’t think the Japanese comprehend the idea of not liking seafood.

In the restaurant we were greeted by our server Liddy and taken to our private room to dine. Everyone in the hotel gets their own private dining room while they eat which was a novel experience for us.

Liddy was absolutely charming and so Japanese with the formal way of presenting the food and describing it. She totally made the meal for us, she spoke in quite a high pitched voice but when she discussed the plums her pitch got very deep to explain that they were “sour”.

The food was fantastic, but Claire sometimes couldn’t stomach some of the items which led to a bit of guilt when Liddy returned to collect the plates with a disappointed look on her face. It was like a personal affront to the Chef and Liddy when she didn’t like Tofu. From my perspective the food looked amazing and tasted great, although there was some things that didn’t exactly suit my westernized palate I was still able to admire it.

We were one of the first to finish dinner so afterwards we headed to the public onsen within the hotel to try out the shared spa facilities. There was a large internal spa with the abiity to lounge in the water as well as a large wooden bath outside in the elements. We sat on the little plastic chairs to perform a wash before trying out both spas. It was fun to sit in the outdoor bath which was a little chilly outside while being super hot in the water – makes me want to try something like that in the snow. It was weird being naked in a public place, but luckily no one turned up as they were all still eating their dinner. They have dressing rooms after you finish in the spa with hair dryers, hair brushes and various different beauty products. Unfortunately no photos were taken in any of these areas due to the privacy concerns.

Our day at the hotel had been utterly mind blowing and a great exposure to Japanese culture. The minimalism, design ascetics and respect for the history of their culture is just so admirable and manages to rub off as an inner calmness and feeling of relaxation.

For more photos, check out the Flickr Album.

The post Day 5 – Osaka to Hakone appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

The Togetsukyo Bridge is a well known bridge in Japan that is also called the moon crossing bridge. It was originally built some time between 794-1185 but rebuilt in the 1930s. Like a few of the Japanese families around us we stopped to take a bunch of photos and I had a fleeting wish that we had arrived a couple of weeks later so that we could see the red and orange leaves of Autumn as a backdrop – we were just a little too early.

Turning away from the bridge and heading up a few side streets, we passed some restaurants, a different pretty train station to the one we arrived at and a cool old car with a panda in the back.

We had seen enough temples the day before, so didn’t stop in at the couple we walked past – our primary destination being the Bamboo Groves. The Bamboo Groves are a popular destination for tourists and welcome reprieve from the city. It’s a cool and relaxing walk that winds it’s way through the bamboo trees, eventually ending up at Torokko Arasiyama station.

We had only learnt about the Sagano Railway the night before, so we were impressed that we had sort of accidentally ended up at the second station on the line. The railway is also known as the Romantic Train. We had to wait about 30 minutes for the next train to arrive, but we were early enough to make sure we got an assigned seat on the train.

The train eventually arrived, we squeezed our big butts in to the small seats and headed off through the tunnel, only to emerge in what looked like the Canadian Rockies. The train was open roofed, which provided wonderful views of rapids, woods and boats floating down the river. A common trick is to take the train to the end of the line and the boat back to Arashiyama, but we didn’t have enough time for that, so were just planning to take a normal JR train back to Kyoto. The scenic railway was breathtaking and we just couldn’t stop taking photos and grinning. It was just so unexpected and beautiful.

The train dropped us off in a bunch of rice paddies, but also a bunch of tourist attractions like horse carts, fast boat rides, slow boat rides and of course the tourist shop. We navigated our way through the throngs of people waiting to get back on the scenic train and followed the signs to the JR station to head back to Kyoto. Arashiyama was a lovely little break from Kyoto and a great way to see some of the incredible natural wonders Japan has to offer.

Back in Kyoto we had some ramen for lunch in the station, then picked up our bags and headed for the Shinkansen. Osaka is 15 minutes from Kyoto on the bullet train, but it deposits you at the outskirts of the city at Shin-Osaka, which means you have to switch to the subway and catch another train for about 30 minutes to get to the centre of town.

We had booked a good deal at the Swissotel Nankai Osaka, primarily because it was very close to Dotonburi (our evening destination) and it was also above the Namba station. We were only spending less than 24 hours in Osaka just to get a taste, so we didn’t want to spend a lot of time in transit. We arrived early and had to wait in line and I’m not sure if that was the reason, but somehow we were upgraded to a suite with club room access. Fantastic! The room isn’t the kind of style we prefer, but it was huge and had amazing views, plus a makeup nook.

Claire’s feet were in a lot of pain, so we relaxed for a while, then headed up to the club lounge to relax a bit more. The lady on the desk at the club was incredibly helpful in pointing out the local attractions and the main shopping street, which was virtually across the road from the hotel. We decided to head out to check out the department store across the road, but quickly found we were knackered, so went back to the room again to chill for a few hours before going out. I watched a bit of the Hunt for Red October while Claire dosed, then we headed back to the club room for a cocktail and some nibbles to watch the sun set – the land of the rising sun giving us an amazing setting sun viewing.

Refreshed and ready for action, we headed down to Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade which we had already skirted the edges of earlier. This is the major shopping strip of Osaka and cuts through Dotonburi which is the main eating area of Osaka. Our main aim was to get Claire a new pair of sneakers to provide relief from the ones which were giving her grief. This was not difficult considering the amount of sneaker shoes. In many ways this area was like Times Square in New York, all shops, restaurants and tonnes and tonnes of Neon. It sort of gives you this element of adrenalin and you find energy reserves you didn’t know was there – all just from the lights, the noise, the people and the hustle and bustle. We found some shoes, bought some Garrett’s chicago mix popcorn, marvelled at the lights (and the famous Glico Running Man) and just observed Japanese people going about their nightly business.

Feeling a bit peckish, we decided to try the Osaka delicacy Okonmiyaki. Given that Claire doesn’t like egg, we were a little bit concerned, but the wikipedia entry didn’t mention egg as an ingredient. We lined up outside Mizuni Okonmayaki, one of the best okonmayaki makers in the city. We arrived just in time so that there were only about 8 people in the line in front of us. You pick what you want outside by reading the menu while in line, then once you make it through the door you order the meal and eventually by the time you sit down they are ready to cook it right in front of you. I was having difficulties understanding what you actually get when you order – I thought there would be multiple fillings, but the guy set me straight. Claire ended up with a pork one, while I picked scallops.

Things didn’t start well for Claire when she saw the eggs being whisked in front of us, but she said she would give it a go at least. It kind of sucks that the chef is proudly cooking in front of you and you know that the enjoyment of the meal is going to be a problem due to the ingredients and a misunderstanding – nothing to do with the chef’s skills. When the food is finished cooking, it is covered with mayonnaise and sauces, then you just cuts bits from it and stick it on your plate. It was immensely filling and enjoyable, but after a bite from Claire we realised that I was going to have to try and eat both to be polite. I gave it a good go, but it was impossible.

In retrospect we should have just ordered one after seeing others do that (we didn’t think we could) and that way if we didn’t like it, we wouldn’t be rude and wasteful. But you don’t know until you try it. By the time we left, the line up was still long, but there was a closed sign at the end, meaning they now had enough people in the line to be busy for the rest of the evening.

After dinner we wondered past an arcade and couldn’t resist stopping for a drum game which became Claire’s new obsession.

Then it was back to the hotel for bed after an exciting evening of Osaka fun.

For more photos, check out the Flickr Album.

The post Day 4 – Kyoto to Osaka appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

I think I covered most of the styles (I also had a fruit plate).

After eating, we headed over to Kyoto station, through the station to the other side (stopping at Uniqlo) ending up at the bus station. It was relatively easy to find the bus stop once we found the huge sign and were lucky enough to get on a bus straight away. Unfortunately by the time we were sort of pushed on, the bus was absolutely packed and we just squeezed in. Seriously hoping that not everyone was going where we were, which was the end of the line, we tried to see the scenery through people’s underarms. Luckily the space kind of cleared eventually and we ended up with seats. The bus is the Raku 100 bus which is just a normal bus (i.e. not for tourists) but seems to hit every tourist location on the way.

Alighting at the last stop we found ourselves facing a street that went up a hill to a gate. It was obviously where we wanted to go based on the fact that the street was closed to cars and was full of foods on sticks, trinket and ice cream shops. Yes, we were somewhere touristy.

We paused to look at the ice cream, cast a humorous eye on the rabbit kimono people

and ended up at our destination Ginkakuji – the silver pavilion zen temple.

We wandered the grounds, heading up in to the cooler trees

to find an awesome view of Ginkakuji and the surrounds.

Heading down again, we were confronted by a man with this sign

There was a bunch of media type looking people near the lake and it was quite obvious we were waiting for important people. Claire and I had fun trying to guess who it would be, which ranged from Beyonce (our wish) to Japanese Prime Minister (as a joke) to whom we thought was the Dalai Lama when we saw a man in that type of outfit arriving. Looking closer we realised it wasn’t the dalai lama, so we left having no idea who it was. Turns out, it actually was the Japanese Prime Minister along with the French Prime Minister!

After about 40 minutes of being stuck waiting, we got to leave, speeding past the lake

We were just glad though that we were stuck inside the tranquil gardens, rather than outside with everyone else!

After stopping to buy some Green Tea ice cream, we turned left at the end of the shop area, which was the entrance to the Philosopher’s Path. We sat on some chairs on the edge of the path eating our ice creams for a sugar lift, then headed off along the path. At this point Claire’s feet were really starting to hurt, due to the type of sneakers we were wearing, but she powered on regardless. This is her grimace smile:

Our walk took us along side the river where we saw bridges

Japanese ladies sweeping

And allowed us peeks in to hidden gardens

Struggling with foot pain, we sensed a large construction through some trees which I knew was were we were heading. Knowing that we could finally sit down, we made it to Sanmon Gate for a few minutes relief.

The scale of the gate was pretty incredible.

While we rested, I read about Nanzenji, which is the complex that contains Sanmon Gate plus a lot of other temples. I had wanted to see a rock garden, so after some minor relief, we followed the monk towards the temple.

After paying admittance to the gardens, we put on our super cool sandals (which provided Claire some feet relief)

so we could check out the Rock Garden. I think I expected some zen transformation after seeing it, but maybe I was a little too amped up for it to have any sort of impact.

We left heading for the aquaduct as it was our exit location, but we got distracted by all the people posing for pictures in their traditional outfits. At this point I should mention that there were a lot of people out and about in traditional clothing in Kyoto, my guess being that it is a weekend thing to do – posing for photos, going to tea ceremonies or going to temples or work. We kind of felt like we were stalking them a bit, but I did ask the couple below if I could take a picture.

Still following the itinerary, we eventually found the trail we hoped would lead us to the Keage Incline. For anyone wondering, go up the stairs so that you are looking down on the aquaduct, then keep going up the stairs which looks like you are going to a building, but instead find the canal leading to the aquauduct bridge and follow the water. It was up quite high and was a little bit precarious but not unsafe, so Claire and I were very alert to every step we took. But we made it to the incline!

Where we listened to a guitarist

At the bottom of the incline we saw two ladies being pulled in a rickshaw. The posh looking one on the right let out a giggle when I gave them a thumbs up.

After eating some fresh sushi outside the 7-11 for lunch, we walked past the Torii Gate

To arrive at the Heian Shrine

Which a lady was enjoying very much

and where we had our own Scarlett Johansson moment where we saw a wedding (just like in Lost in Translation – same location!)

Leaving the temple we walked back towards the Torii Gate

Past some baseball

To catch a bus as we had finally conceded our feet could no longer cope with the itinerary and it was just too much for us to handle. We skipped a few of the temples in the itinerary and aimed for Kiyomizudera, another temple. The bus dropped us at the bottom of the hill, which was near Gion and we walked up the hill with the rest of the crowds past all the shops to the temple at the top.

At this point we were unsure if Claire could go on (her sneakers were like compression bandage – they were made of wetsuit type material and were putting pressure on her toes and feet), so I was just going to go to the top and look down, then come back, but she pulled out the last of her reserves and walked upstairs, to be rewarded with this view:

The temple was absolutely stunning and well worth the effort. I just couldn’t stop taking photos.

Leaving the temple, we walked back down giving the shops a closer look (which is known as the Higashiyama District)

As we walked towards the Yasaka Shrine, we ran in to some girls who had dressed like Geishas for the day and they kindly stopped for a photo.

It seems they weren’t the only ones.

After looping around and almost back in Gion, we took the bus back to Kyoto Station where we hunted for dinner. On the 10th floor of department store we found a cluster of shops, where we decided we would cook our own meat. Turns out we kind of screwed up and ended up at a place where you cook you own meat, but it’s not on a hotplate, it’s steamed.

First they put the meat on the vegies

Then you wait for it to cook

Then you eat it. Turns out we aren’t big fans of steamed meat.

Afterwards we said goodnight to Kyoto Tower and headed for bed.

The post Day 3 – Kyoto appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

It turns out we may have started a little early as Tokyo Station itself was only really waking up. We headed to the JR Ticket Office to book a reserved seat in Green Class for Kyoto. We had the office all to ourselves and found it really easy to book the ticket  with the man at the desk. I had installed an application called Hyperdia that has all the timetables for Japan on it. It helps when demonstrating your requirements. Reserving a seat isn’t necessary but it always pays to do it if you have enough time. Now that the important part was sorted, my hunger started to dominate the agenda.

My hunt for breakfast in the station took us in to the food corridors below the trains where there are lots of little food shops, but they were either not quite what I was looking for, not open, or just starting to make their ramen broths or noodles or whatever their specialty was. I’m sad to say that my hunger sent me to McDonalds for a coffee and sausage and egg mcmuffin, but it was the most perfect one I’ve ever had. It looked just like the picture and the muffin bread itself was incredibly fluffy. I’m ashamed that my first meal in Japan was McDonalds, but if that was a sign of the quality, I couldn’t wait to try real japanese food.

Eventually it was time to head to the platform and wait in the designated section for our carriage. We made the mistake of putting our seat reservations through the gate machine which meant they got stuck. The gate attendant must have been used to it and opened the machines to return the tickets. Turns out all you have to do is show the JR Pass to the gate attendant and the seat ticket to the conductor. Our luck at catching trains like a pro was 2-0 to the trains at this point.

Upstairs I decided to buy some lunch for the train trip so ducked in to Delica Station while Claire minded the bags. I had read that the train platform food stores supply some great food, so I thought I would get some Pork Loin Cutlets. I found it cool that the lady counted out my change for me in japanese even though she probably knew I couldn’t understand a word. Meanwhile the train was pulling up and Claire was looking a little concerned that my dilly dallying was going to make us miss the train.

We got on and got settled in our assigned seats and were immediately impressed by the quality of the train.

Not only were the seats massive with a lot of leg space

But the toilets were huge too

There was even a phone booth!

I ducked my head in to the economy seats for a sec which didn’t look half bad either.

We were in awe of how sleek the train looked and smooth the ride was. I was a little peeved that Japan had been enjoying this sort of high speed and luxury travel since 1968, while the closest thing Australia has is the tilt train that goes at around 120 kms an hour since it was hobbled from it’s 160 km original speed. Oh Japan, your engineering and design focus is a wonderful thing.

We enjoyed the scenery going past

and we were lucky enough for the shy Mt Fuji to make an appearance through the clouds just as we passed by. She even took her snow top off!

Eventually I cracked open my Pork Loin Cutlet Bento box, intrigued at what would be on offer and the quality.

I was not disappointed – it looked and tasted fantastic. I can’t say I was a fan of the sour plum, but I guess it isn’t for everyone.

After the most relaxing and enjoyable train ride I’ve ever taken we arrived at Kyoto Station

We could even see our hotel from the train line

I had kind of stuffed up the booking of our Kyoto Hotel, I’d done months of research, made a shortlist of my favourites and then a month before we were due to arrive I went to book and discovered that all my favourites had gone and there were only less than satisfactory options left. Thankfully we managed to wrangle a small room at the Ibis due to our Accor loyalty and it was in a fantastic position in terms of our ability to transport ourselves around Kyoto. If you are looking for old style laneways and japanese homes, it won’t be found in this area, but it placed us well for the connections we planned to make. It seems that weekends are a super busy time for Kyoto, so if you are staying the weekend, book well ahead of time otherwise you might be pushing it.

We were a bit too early to get our room, but we were able to check in and dump our bags before we headed out to Kyoto. After some minor struggles with the ticket machine we bought subway tickets to Nijojo-Mae station to visit the Nijo Castle. On the subway we were incredulous when we saw little Japanese kids taking the train without their parents, which is awesome in so many ways. We also saw a couple of dogs being transported in bags which made us jealous that Elvis couldn’t be with us too.

Out of the subway we crossed the road to be standing directly in front of Nijo Castle. Nijo Castle was once the residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns, but now is just a place for tourists to go and imagine what it was like 1626.

You can tour the main building in your socks

and experience the serene gardens with your shoes on.

After we had finished at the castle, we headed back to the hotel to get our room, unpack our bags and have a bit of a rest. We decided that we would go to dinner in Gion which is known for it’s fancy eating houses, but it’s primary appeal is that this is where you can find real life Geishas. This was the location of Memoirs of a Geisha girl and I was very excited to see it. Emerging from the subway at dusk we headed over the picturesque river to a small laneway that runs perpendicular to the river.

The laneway is called Kiyamachi Street and is packed with restaurants. We wandered from menu to menu with Claire in charge of picking the restaurant.

If you looked hard enough, you were able to catch peeks of ladies in traditional japanese clothing

Claire picked a restaurant (Yuzumoto Kyoto Hontocho) that specialised in Yuzu which is type of citrus fruit. It was a typical japanese restaurant with only about 12 seats and the chef prepares the dish in front of you and when I say prepares, I mean he even cuts the vegetables freshly before they are put in the pan. There were three staff and they all manage the cooking, cleaning, and bills. The food was fantastic as well as the Yuzu flavoured drink I ordered. It was the most perfect introduction to a Japanese dinner we could have imagined.

After dinner we headed back in to the streets and wandered the Gion streets looking for geishas. I’m not sure if this lady was one, but she was being thanked by the men and then escorted off to somewhere else, so my guess is she was – or maybe one in training.

Gion is truly a place unlike anywhere else and Kyoto was already invading itself in to my “most loved places” list.

Being completed knackered, we headed back to the hotel for bed.

For more photos, check out the flickr feed.

The post Day 2 – Tokyo to Kyoto appeared first on Amyo is a geek.

Waving goodbye to my mother and Elvis, Claire and I got in the cab at the usual crazy early time that comes with a big trip. Luckily the Qantas business lounge was open for breakfast even at that time so we scoffed as much bircher muesli and coffees as we could stand and then sauntered on to the plane speeding down the business line. It’s amazing how quickly you adapt to feeling entitled.

To maximise earning Qantas points we didn’t take a direct flight to Narita, but instead flew via Brisbane – the added benefit being we could try the International lounge there. I was expecting to be able to take the airport train to transfer between domestic and international, but it turns out that’s for Virgin flights – Qantas fliers have to take the transfer bus. Moving through customs quickly, we headed straight to our new obsession – the lounge – with only a cursory glance at the duty free. Unfortunately we were pretty disappointed by the small space that was pretty full but it did eventually clear in the few hours we were there cooling our heels. As small as it was, it was still better than sitting in the general airport area (because I am a snob now and want free coffee whenever I like).

When the flight was called, we again took our entitled fat business asses down the business lane to discover what seats we were going to get. I was hoping that our flight was fitted out with the new Marc Newson herringbone style seats and it was like we’d hit the jackpot when we saw the sweet black leather.

Sipping our champagne, we examined our goodies:

• Black leather seats that convert in to a lie flat bed, with potentially a million different positions in between (I may be exaggerating)
• Kate Spade toiletries kit, including moisturisers, ear plugs, socks, face mask and toothbrush with toothpaste
• A huge touch screen with additional remote, packed with new movies, tv shows and music
• A desk and tonnes of space to shove ipads/phones/books whatever else you need nearby
• A pillow and blanket (in addition a sheet/bed cushion is attached to the seat just after takeoff)
• The seat has a massage option – it totally massages your back!
• The leg section fits below the seat in front of you – more precisely their desk/space area
• The ability to get in to the aisle from your seat without crawling over anybody – even if you have the window seat!
• Enough space for your legs that even if you were the tallest person in the world you would not have an issue.

We couldn’t hide the fact that we were virtually newbies and just giggled, took lots of photos and high fived each other constantly – even the hostess noticed and had a happy conversation with us about how cool it was. Taking off, we settled down to wait for dinner.

I was impressed by the pepe saya butter and dressing on the salad

But it was the Asparagus soup with sour dough croutons that was the absolute highlight of the meal for me.

After the most amazing flight I’ve ever taken we landed in Narita and did the relatively quick entry to the country through customs. Uncertain how to find the JR shop to exchange our pre-purchased JR rail tickets in to passes we were directed downstairs to the trains by the ladies at the information desk where we found the obvious JR Pass store. There was a huge line that wound its way through the store which we assumed was normal, but now I’m not so sure. It turns out there was a derailment on the JR line which meant that there were no trains running. Not the worst issue though as there are muttiple train companies with different lines that service Narita. We got our pass activated for the next day then headed over to the skyliner to purchase a $61 ticket to Tokyo. We had planned to take the more inexpensive NEX train but it wasn’t operating due to the derailment.

It must be said at this point Claire and I had lost our business class zen and were struggling trying to understand everything that was going along while also trying to activate the data on our phones. Frazzled, we dragged our bags down another level to the skyliner platform.  We then jumped on the next train that arrived, without checking it first. This was one of the stupidest mistakes I’ve ever made – especially when you see the trains. One looks like it’s from the future, the other is from the 60s. Somehow we got on the 60s train (the yellow one).

Claire made the comment “I don’t think this is the right train” just as the door shut. We were like – oh shit, we’ll just get off at the next stop, but as the train just kept going and going, our dread got bigger. This is what we looked like when we realised:

Eventually the train stopped and we headed back to the return platform to go back to Narita. Unfortunately, there wasn’t another train heading back that way for an hour.  We felt a little better knowing that another couple had made the same mistake as we did, but we couldn’t compare notes as they didn’t speak very good English and we didn’t speak very good Chinese. Instead we just smiled sheepishly at each other knowing we were all dopes stuck in the middle of nowhere (I had already checked the situation outside the station). But look how clean the railway lines are!

Given that it was about 9pm and the trains stop around 11pm we decided to take the next train heading towards away from Narita that was due in only 30 minutes. We read the train map for a good 10 minutes before we figured out the train we had been on was also going to Tokyo, just 10 times slower and 10 times cheaper. By this point we also had internet which backed up what we had learned on the board.

Eventually the train arrived and before long Japanese houses, lights and signs were flying past the window – not just a Disneyland style version of Japan – the real thing which actually looked like a fake version – if that makes sense. After about an hour we dragged ourselves through Tokyo station – learning that their machines take more than one ticket at a time, then headed out in to the Tokyo air to the hotel. It was a couple of blocks away, which isn’t much but seems a lot at 10.30 at night. Claire still wasn’t convinced that Japan was a safe as I thought , but I kept an eye out for the Yakuza for her sake.

We happily arrived at the hotel (Courtyard by Marriott) and were greeted by the desk who spoke great English. The lobby was pretty, the room was pretty big considering we were in Japan and the shower felt great. We fell asleep quickly with the plan of heading to Kyoto early the next morning.

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Disclosure: My current setup is FetchTV, ChromeTV, Stan, Foxtel Go on the xbox. (When I write them all down it seems insane)

1. All of them are meant to be legal alternatives to downloading tv shows and movies. This means you’ll be using your internet monthly quota to watch these shows. If you don’t have unlimited monthly downloads, you’ll have to choose a product that doesn’t count towards your monthly downloads, otherwise it will cost you a bucket.

2. Most of them offer the ability to watch tv/movies on demand on your handheld device (i.e phone/tablet). If you want to watch it from your TV, you’ll either need a smart tv or another device plugged in to it like AppleTV, chromecast, WD TV Live or FetchTV. On demand still is limited to what the companies offer, but allows you to do binge watching like every Breaking Bad episode.

3. What are these Stan, Netflix, Spotify things?

a) Stan – an aussie company that has had a huge launch. It’s an app you install on your phone/tablet or a website you visit. Once you pay your $10 a month you can log in and watch all the shows/movies they offer, as long as you are connected to the internet. It streams over the internet, so the minute you don’t have it is the minute it stops playing (like youtube). They don’t have a non phone/tablet app for it, which means you can’t install it on devices like Apple TV, WD TV Live or Fetch. Which means you can’t watch it on a big tv unless you install a chrome cast or plug your computer in to the tv. I’ve trialled it and like it a lot, but it does annoy me that I have to have my phone and the chromecast to watch it on a big screen. The plus is that you can connect about 6 devices to your one $10 login, so the whole family can watch different things at once (if your internet can handle it). They have a lot of new american shows like transparent, but also aussie ones like Underbelly. It’s all on demand, so you watch it when you want to watch it.

b) Netflix – a big american company that are about to launch an Australian version. It’s has all the features of stan, but also apps that can be installed on devices like Apple TV and WD TV Live. Unsure of the price and content yet. Like Stan you need to be on the internet to use it.

c) Foxtel Go – Can be installed on you phone/tablet, xbox or playstation. Allows you to watch foxtel over the internet without cable, but you can’t record things and you are limited to what they offer for on demand. Foxtel has been the leader for content for many years, but is currently still the most expensive and least flexible.

d) Presto – I don’t know much about this one, other than it has been around in Australia longer than Stan or Netflix but doesn’t seem to have as much advertising budget or momentum.

e) Spotify – $11 a month gets you every song in the world except for Taylor Swifts (slight exaggeration). It’s only music, but you can install it on about 3 devices, plus choose some to download locally for offline playing when reception is poor. You can get it for free, but then there is no offline mode and you have to listen to ads. It doesn’t have anything to do with TV and movies, I just threw it in cause I like it.

4. What the hell is an AppleTV, Chromecast, WD TV Live, Fetch TV, Foxtel IQ or Smart TV:

a) AppleTV – Plugs in to the tv via HDMI, will play all the purchases you have made in iTunes including movies, tvs and music. Is only really useful if you hack it. On the hacked version you can put apps, but to make it truly useful it is fiddly, so I wouldn’t recommend it these days unless you want a new hobby. I had one, I liked it, but it turned out to be too painful.

b) Chromecast – is a dumb device that connects to the tv via HDMI and your wifi network. That’s it. All it’s smarts come from your phone/tablet/computer. Basically you can cast your videos, music and computer screen from phone/tablet/computer to a big TV screen via wifi. You don’t really install anything on it. That is both it’s advantage and disadvantage. It’s only $48 as well. (I own one just to play with it)

c) WD TV Live – a device that plugs in to the tv via HDMI, but also connects to the net via wifi or ethernet (blue cable). It allows you to play content that you have downloaded, but also allows you to install apps like Netflix and Spotify (which I’ll get to later). It doesn’t do free to air (i.e. old school tv antenna), so you’ll still need to manage that. I

d) Fetch TV – It’s kind of a combo box. It plugs in via HDMI to the tv, but also needs an internet connection via ethernet (blue cable). The combo box means it replaces your vcr/pvr by recording to free to air. BUT, it also has a bunch of tv channels similar to foxtel that are provided by internet that you can also schedule to record. In addition, it also has the ability for apps to be installed, like jumpin, 7Plus and SBS OnDemand. There are no current plans for Stan or Netflix apps to be installed, but the CEO has stated that he would be happy to have them on there. You can either buy it outright or get it attached to an internet provider plan like optus or internode in a subscription model. It’s generally about $20 a month

e) Foxtel IQ – you should know what this is already. Just know that it doesn’t allow you to install apps at this point

e) Smart TV – A normal tv that allows you to install apps like 7Plus, 10Play, Netflix, Spotify, so no need for any external device.

Hope this clears it up for you?

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