Jumping in to Japan

Japan

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Kon’nichiwa

I’m not a writer as you’ve guessed but a little inside view on my brief encounter in Japan whilst I sit back in my massive ANA business class seat sipping champagne writing this

cheers and happy reading.

Wow

what a weird and wonderful place.

I flew business class to Tokyo with Ana airlines.

The seat / flat bed is HUGE & a very long bench like seat plenty of space to curl up in your seat or lay flat.

Plenty of films. Food was brill and drinks a plenty plus they have the doors on your seat giving you privacy and I slept wonderful on the overnight flight from London. ( good job as I was so hot I slept in my knickers and bra and modesty blanket

)

We arrived in Tokyo and what a vast city it’s huge.

It’s Not as techie as I expected.

Very reasonable to eat drink and shop.

Everyone is super helpful and the transport is superb. Although takes some research / studying but ask someone they will help you.

We did a wonderful tour taking in lots of prefectures I’ve seen temples, shrines, crazy shops, karaoke

, river cruises

, parks lots of walking and cycling paths, geisha girls – here’s a fact maiko is a trainee Geisha girl these can be in training for upto 15 years !!

Pokémon, fictional characters, hello kitty , micro pig cafes , the crazy crossing at scramble square where 3000 people cross in all directions at once & Literally a vendor for everything and you can pay with your railcard.

We visited Harajuku which was vibrant & Takeshita Street for the kids – Shibuya for the Piccadilly Square feel of Tokyo.

We also stopped off in Ginza is the ritziest and biggest upscale shopping district in Tokyo, home to the city’s posh boutiques and glamorous department stores, plus some swanky hotels.

After Tokyo We then flew to Beppu this is the home of Hot springs it’s the second highest in the world after Tibet. Our guide “tomato” ( I kid you not ) was amazing

she certainly looked after us answered all our questions and you could not be late she ran a military operation

Trotting us all over

We cooked our lunch from the spring, steamed veggies and eggs a slightly weird colour from the sulphur.

We went to a hot spring at night that you can hire for events and even raves

We met a monk who proudly showed us around his temple spoke very little English then asked if he could sing us a song and then broke into The Eagles – Hotel California with his guitar it was INSANE then he asked us to dance with him to the beat in like a tribal way and he banged out we will rock you on the drums never never in my life have I experienced anything like this nor will I forget it

. ( you kinda had to be there moment but extremely amusing )

We took a cable car up into the mountains and that revealed some awesome views. Then We visited a bamboo shop and relaxed and had dinner.

The next morning Tomato was waiting for us to take the Sonic train Beppu to Hakata this was great not the bullet train but very fast & prompt the trains run to the second and you are guided where to stand on the platform it runs amazing. Also the seats on the train spin around so when you change direction everyone stands up and spins around the chairs so you are all facing forward very bizarre but works to perfection.

We then Transferred to the Airport via subway for a flight Fukuoka – Yakushima ( island south of Japan ) DID YOY KNOW over 6000 islands in Japan

On arrival in Yakushima we met Jun our next guide. He took us along the coast to the beach and I mean golden Sandy beaches with amazing surf the waves were mega. Also the turtles come and lay eggs in the summer so it’s protected. We then headed up the mountain to see monkeys loads of them and Deer

After our drive around we headed to the hotel at this point we had learnt if Kimonos are provided in the room wear them as western clothes were a minority so we ate in our Kimonos. ( very comfortable)

The next day we were collected early after breakfast for a hike in a nature park containing several ancient cedars, such as the Nidaiosugi, Kugurisugi and Yayoisug here we did a 6 hour hike and climb the views were worth the climb simply breathtaking.

Jun our guide said it was lunch time we expected a sandwich instead he pulled out of his bag a camp stove and cooked us a stir fry – maybe the best meal of the trip it was super.

After the hike we headed back to the airport ( a hut ) to get a propeller flight from Yakushima – Kagoshima then another flight Kagoshima – Tokyo arrived in Tokyo for one last night before heading home.

Yakushima is superb for hikers who like to get involved in walking climbing and a kick back feel and those wanting to surf.

What a trip.

What I’ve learnt

Defiantly not as techie as I expected.

Learn or try to learn how to use chopsticks before you arrive.

No tipping the Japanese are likely to run after you confused if you leave a tip.

Food allergies / vegetarians/ vegans / you MUST do your homework on where to eat in Japan.

or I think visiting Japan by cruise could definitely work better for anyone who has food requirements.

The Japanese follow rules and are perfectionist in what they cover if you deviate off that and they are not so good. So me as a vegetarian it was difficult.

Also a cruise takes the hassle if not as confident to take trains etc.

A tour would also be a great way to see Japan.

If you want to throw yourself into the culture then a tailormade itinerary is fabulous and I can bespoke to exactly what you want to see or do.

The toilets

are amazing.