As you’ll have seen over the last few weeks, I’ve been publishing plenty of blog posts documenting my time spent across Japan. Although my time spent there was limited to just two weeks, I’ve wound up with seven posts outlining the highlights from the trip, so here I’ve included them all for quick and easy reference!
Tokyo
I arrive in Japan to some drama with my passport and explore the nations capital. Including a climb up the world’s tallest tower, an awesome interactive art exhibition, and many amazing districts of the world’s biggest city.
Inés and I head to the city she’s been living in. We explore the centre and then spend a day taking in the sights of a huge parade through the streets then on the river.
I head out for a day trip to this infamous city, exploring the historical landmarks and relaxing in a tranquil park. The day ends with karaoke back in Osaka.
Inés, Joob, and I make an excursion to a city famed for being overrun by deer. We interact with them, have lunch, and explore the ancient parts of Nara.
As ever, you can also start at the very beginning of the trip and then just hit “Next blog post” at the bottom of each post as you go along. I’ve also updated my travel page with all the new locations I visited along the way. Happy reading!
After leaving Osaka for two days on the trot, it was time for me to enjoy my last couple of days in Japan within this cool city. The two excursions to Hiroshima and then Nara had left me quite tired, so there was no rush out of bed once I was awake.
I did eventually potter down to street level and meet up with Inés for some lunch, which took the form of a cool sushi restaurant in which everything was freshly prepared and then sent flying to us on some very fast conveyor belts. From here, we headed out for a spot of shopping, where I bought clothes aplenty in Uniqlo and then would have bought half the shop in Muji if given half the chance…
The streets of Osaka are the definition of visual noise.
Before we knew where we were it was 6pm, and so I found myself rushing around the city looking for a post office that was still open. We eventually found one, but were soon left very confused by all the signs and the way everything worked. The guy who attended us was a darling, though, so I soon had my postcards sent and we were off to sort out the next thing on my list: procuring an antigen test.
Inés searched for a pharmacy and we arrived at the location only to find that the building had been razed to the ground and turned into a car park: just our luck! Then we headed off to another one nearby only to discover that – and I kid you not – this building had also been razed to the ground and turned into a car park. What are the chances!
After some more running around we eventually got hold of a test, after which it was time for some food to end the day. As I hadn’t had chance to try a specific local delicacy during my first few days in Osaka, Inés took me back to her preferred place and we jumped in a very slow-moving line heading down into a basement.
What followed was a meal of okonomiyaki, a local dish made with pancakes, eggs, cabbage, and all sorts of other mysterious and wonderful ingredients. These came served directly onto a hotplate on the table, and we shared the two different varieties that we had ordered between the two of us. They were divine!
Once I’d waved Inés off I then spent the rest of the evening in an onsen, which had a cool outdoor area where you could lie down in a few inches of water and stare up at the sky. Although not as fancy as those up in Arima, I still maintain that these nudist spas are the best thing about Japan and something we need to introduce in Spain and the UK…
The next day I was back out for more local food, this time in the form of yet more ramen. Excited to eat some more after the delicious meal I had in Kyoto, I met up with Inés and Joob to visit a place which Inés insisted was the best.
Another wait ensued, this time in the hot sun. This wasn’t a problem, though, as I’d picked up some menthol cooling wipes during my shopping trip the day before. These miracle inventions kept me feeling fresh despite the heat and the humidity, so you just know I stocked up on them before returning to Spain!
Our lunch was absolutely amazing, with a rich and delicious bowl of pork ramen accompanied by a side dish of pork pieces with rice and egg. I was once again on cloud nine – the food in Japan was just otherworldly.
From the restaurant, the three of us headed to the home of Inés’ partner’s mum, Yuki. We stopped off along the way at a little local florist to pick up some flowers as a little gift and then headed up to the fourteenth floor of a lovely blue apartment building.
It turns out that Yuki lived in Madrid for a good time in the past, so I was surprised to find the conversation flowing in Spanish! Translating as best as I could for Joob, we had an absolute hoot, telling stories and laughing about our little anecdotes. It was lovely to meet Yuki and spend time inside a Japanese home.
Here’s Yuki, Inés, me, and Joop down at the bottom there.
Yuki had also bought a series of cakes, which went down a treat as we nattered the afternoon away. I had brought some of her favourite cheese over from Spain as a gift, but Inés hadn’t mentioned that we were going to Yuki’s straight from the ramen restaurant, and so had to ferry it over to her later.
I then had to return to my hotel to pack ready to fly the next day. With most of my stuff back in the suitcase, I took my remaining yen and headed to a couple of supermarkets to load up on Japanese snacks to take back to Spain with me as gifts. Well, that and some delicious chocolate beans all for me…
With my money spent and bag locked up, I headed down to the metro for one last time to meet back up with Joob and Inés for the evening. We’d arranged to meet the share house that Inés lived in for a while in order to meet back up with her friends that we’d met during our night of karaoke.
It was pretty late and so the metro was almost empty.
In the end were all arrived quite late to the neighbourhood and Inés still had to finish up wrapping some lovely ceramic gifts that she’d made, so we sat down on a low wall under an overpass and helped her out as we chatted. It was quite a strangely beautiful way to end my time in Japan: in a quiet little neighbourhood in the outskirts of Osaka, kicking a ball around an empty street under a motorway.
As Saturday came around I was up at the crack of dawn to grab my train to the airport. It was a good job that Inés had asked me which airport I was flying from the day before, as I would have sped off in the wrong direction and to the wrong one if not!
It turned out the correct one was Kansai International, an airport built on an artificial island in the middle of the Osaka Bay. It was quite a sight to see, even if the views from the train were ruined a little by the excessive fencing around the tracks.
I’d then to wait a good while in arrivals before I could check in as I’d arrived way too early. This was a conscious decision as I was flying with the emergency travel document (for more on that whole saga check out what went down upon my arrival in Tokyo) and wasn’t sure if there’d be any extra checks. The whole thing was a breeze in the end, and I was soon on my plane, making a quick change in Shanghai, and then languishing during the longest flight I’ve ever been on: 14 hours from Shanghai to Madrid!
After a busy day visiting Hiroshima, I was once up again and out of the door of my Osaka hotel in order to make good and proper use of the last day I had on my rail card. I wouldn’t be alone on my travels, though, as Inés and her friend Joob were also coming along for the excursion!
I immediately proceeded to get lost in Namba train station, but once I’d got some phone signal I eventually found the two of them waiting on the right platform. We then hopped on to the train bound for Nara, a city famous amongst other things for being overrun by wild and yet (mostly) friendly deer.
I’d thought that my day trip to Hiroshima had been a warm one, but boy was it hot when we stepped off the train in Nara. We thus hopped on a nice cool bus up to Nara Park, a big open space which was chock-full of deer. We didn’t have much time to stop and gawk, though, as we were quite hungry, and so headed off to a restaurant that Inés had marked on her map.
That place turned out to be closed for a wedding, and so after wandering over a bridge and then yet another disappointment as another restaurant was also closed, we eventually stumbled upon a little café which offered some curry dishes for lunch. Now as sweaty as we were hungry, we took off our shoes and headed inside.
The place was as beautiful as the food was.
The interior consisted of beautiful wooden rooms with low tables and cushions for us to sit on the floor, something which was doing my back in quite a bit until Inés showed me the proper posture for this kind of seating arrangement. The food was presented as beautifully as the decor, and we soon discovered that it tasted as good as it looked. What a great little find!
From the restaurant, we wandered back over the bridge, stopping to take in the beautiful scenery now that we weren’t just thinking about food. This led us back into the park, where we grabbed some ice cream to cool off and watched the deer pottering around.
This lady was stood in the middle of the road without a care in the world.
From there we headed on to Tōdai-ji, a temple which Inés said was a must-do whilst we were in Nara. Inside the impressive gates we were joined by plenty of tourists and plenty more deer, all milling around as they made there was up to the impressive main temple building.
These guys were just everywhere you looked.
Inside the temple we were confronted by a huge bronze statue of Buddha, around which we proceeded to make our journey, learning about the history of the various iterations of the temple and the traditions associated with it as we went. They sure were plucky to keep reconstructing this place after fires and earthquakes, with the scale models showing each iteration of the design was an interesting peek back through Japanese architectural history.
Once we’d taken a few photos of ourselves (we look a bit worse for wear thanks to the heat so I’ll save face here), we left the temple in search of a place to sit down and have a drink. Taking refuge in the cool air of a coffee shop, we watched the tourists feeding the deer in the plaza below and decided that that’s what we were going to do just as soon as the air conditioning had cooled us all off a bit.
We picked up some rice crackers as we left the coffee shop and then headed out on to the lawn where a large concentration of the deer had gathered. After observing what people had done, I knew the gestures I should make in a routine that went as follows:
Bow to the deer as a sign of respect
The deer would then bow back to you
Feed the deer one of the rice crackers
Show the deer your empty palms to indicate there was no food left
This last step didn’t work all too well for me, however. I must have had some crumbs left in my bag or on my person, as I soon found myself being chased around by a couple of very insistent characters! It was all good fun, though, and they eventually joined the rest of the pack in sitting down on the grass for a rest after a long day of being fed by the tourists. It was there city, really, and they were just allowing us to visit.
As the afternoon wore on we left the park back for the built-up area of Nara in order to grab some tea in the form of some barbecued eel which was very delicious. Along the way, we were kept entertained by watching the deer do seemingly human activities such as waiting at zebra crossings, following each other in a line, and their cute bows to passers by in the hope of some of those sweet, sweet rice crackers.
Whilst our train zipped through the countryside and back to the centre of Osaka, I was left reflecting on what an amazing place I’d just visited. Despite the heat – a theme punctuating my time in Japan – Nara was like stepping into an alternate reality where humans and nature were of equal standing. It was amazing, with the only downside being the amount of poo that we’d to scrape off our shoes as we left. Nobody ever seems to mention that!
To end my post, here’s me and Inés scooping poop off our shoes.
After just a day and a half in Osaka, I was up and out of my hotel early in order to make the most of the remaining two days I had on my Japan Rail Pass, the ticket I was using to travel around the country on its famed bullet trains. Although I was in the train station by 10:30am however, I somehow managed to miss my first train and thus arrived in Hiroshima at around 2pm: the hottest time of day.
I’m sure many images of an old and bomb-torn city come to mind when I mention Hiroshima, but upon leaving the train I noted that it looked very similar to the other Japanese cities that I’d visited so far on my trip. I guess that it’s precisely because of the devastation caused by the bombing of the city that it’s now a modern and sprawling metropolis: everything had to be rebuilt from scratch.
Hiroshima had, until this point, just been the name of a tragedy for me. It was time to put a face to the city.
Although intrigued by the other parts of the city, the high temperatures and the limited time I had during my day trip meant that I was focussed on going to see what makes it unique: the Memorial Park. To get there, I quickly discarded the idea of walking through the humid heat and hopped on a bus to take me over the river and to this historical location.
Stepping off the bus, I began walking through the park, located near the epicentre of the blast and where much of the old city centre used to lie. Finding a little structure along the way, I headed inside only to find that it contained an archaeological dig site which had unearthed the scolded floor of a destroyed home. This impacted me much more than the various monuments and informative plaques that dotted the park, amplified even more as I was stood there completely alone. It was my first time being directly confronted with the realities of what happened in Hiroshima in 1945, and made me pause to reflect on the horrors of war.
The next impactful sight was of the infamous Peace Memorial. This consists of the bombed out yet miraculously still standing ruins of an old exhibition hall, a structure which was the only one left standing after the nuclear bomb detonated above the city. It was an eerie sight to behold, but definitely the best way of visualising the destructive power that these kind of weapons carry. Just imagining the landscape with only this shell of a building standing felt rather odd, especially as the modern city now completely encloses the Memorial Park with its towering skyscrapers and busy streets.
The Peace Memorial was haunting and suitably impactful.
I then visited the last few monuments in the Memorial Garden, which included ringing the Peace Bell. I then started wandering over to the next place I wanted to visit, stopping off at a Family Mart in order to recover in their air conditioning and get myself a drink and an ice cream to cool off a little.
This route eventually took me over more water and into the Ninomaru of Hiroshima Castle. This fortification looks as old as time, but is actually a faithful recreation as the original was destroyed during the bombing. Wandering through the gate of this structure and onto an artificial island, I then explored the beautiful gardens. Heading northwards, I eventually wound up arriving at the castle itself, another reconstruction of the original.
As I headed out, I noticed what looked like the remains of a bunker just outside of the Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine. I approached the old concrete walls for a closer look, whereupon I was approached by an old man who began speaking to me in Japanese. Noticing the look of confusion on my face, he repeated the word “bunker” and then gestured for me to follow him. I was then surprised as he squeezed through a little opening and casually wandered into the bunker itself, beckoning for me to follow suit, something I felt obliged to do and so off I went.
Inside, the space had been pretty thoroughly taken back by nature, but there were still openings that the man began to gesture to and explain to me in Japanese. Although I didn’t understand a thing, I was very appreciative of his interest in showing me the bunker: I definitely wouldn’t have ventured inside if he hadn’t come along. After a short while, we headed back out into the light of day, and I recited my best and most polite Japanese phrases in order to thank him with a bow.
From there, I left the Hiroshima Castle complex and made a quick stop at the Great Torii, famous for surviving the blast of the atomic bomb. I then headed eastward and to the pretty Shukkeien Garden, a very tranquil place which was the perfect way to end a busy day on my feet.
The gardens were peppered with a variety of lovely spots, including a pretty stone bridge, pools full of koi fish, all kinds of plants and trees, and even a little wooden structure jetting out over the water. Taking off my shoes as indicated, I sat down in the shade of this little building, resting my body and mind for a while as the afternoon turned into the evening.
There was no better spot to relax in after a busy day out in Hiroshima.
Now weary after a long day out, I hauled myself off the floor, out of the gardens, and onto a bus back to Hiroshima train station. There, I grabbed a bite to eat and awaited the next bullet train back to Osaka, where Inés had one little treat left in store before the day came to an end: it was karaoke time!
After a quick shower in my hotel to freshen up, I headed to the south of Osaka and to a karaoke place where she and her friends had booked a room for the evening. I was tired, but I just love karaoke, and there was no way I was going to leave karaoke’s birthplace, Japan, without a good sing-song!
I paid my dues, grabbed myself a strange milky water drink, and headed into room number 19, where Inés introduced me to all of her friends and old housemates. We then sang along to some absolute European classics and listened along as everyone else sang a variety of songs from around the world in a variety of languages. There were songs in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, German, English, and even Spanish. It would have been rude if me and Inés hadn’t treated everyone to a rendition of Aserejé and then the Macarena!
With my energy now fully spent and the threat of the metro closing on us, Inés and I then said our goodbyes and headed back to our respective accommodation. It had been a wild day of somber moments and then absolute hilarity, so it was definitely time to get some rest before the next day would see us head off on yet another little excursion outside of Osaka. More on that coming soon in my next post!
The train from Arima took me and Inés into Osaka, the city that she’d been living in for a good while and where I would spend the last five days of my fortnight in Japan. After switching to the city’s metro system, I waved goodbye to Inés as I hopped off at the stop just outside my hotel.
The room I was allocated was handily on the first floor of rooms just above the reception area, but upon entering it I saw that the window was diffused for what I guess were privacy reasons. This made me feel claustrophobic, so I asked if there was a room on an upper floor with a window I could see out of. There was, and so up to the 13th and top floor I was sent!
Once I’d unpacked, napped, and showered, it was back out to meet Inés once again to look for something to eat and for a little nighttime tour of the city. Inés wanted to take me to a specific restaurant, but for the life of us we couldn’t find it. Our wanderings around looking for it did lead us to discover some gorgeous little side streets and even a tiny shrine in the middle of a square, but our stomachs were rumbling and so finding a place to eat was top priority.
We eventually discovered that we couldn’t find it because it was closed for the summer and was thus missing the bold lighting and menu panels that would normally be found plastered across its facade. Ever prepared, Inés took me to a place she’d identified as an option B, but this second place had quite a queue and it was already pretty late.
In the end we settled for some ramen, which was good but not half as tasty as the otherworldly dish I’d had in Kyoto. It did what it needed to do, though, and had the two of us fed and watered and back on the streets to continue our explorations of the streets of Osaka by night.
The bustling main street of Namba reminded me a little of Tokyo.
Most of our evening was then spent down by the river, a gorgeous area full of lanterns, bars, stalls, shops, and the general buzz of people out for the night. Surprised by how many people were around on a Tuesday night, we eventually found a table and sat down to have a drink of grape pop and a little boogie to the music that the stall owner was playing.
The next morning I grabbed some breakfast at the hotel and then was able to step on to the exact train and carriage of the metro that Inés was already travelling on thanks to the crazily detailed signage and organisation of the Japanese railway systems. We were heading to a different part of the city in order to catch a glimpse of the Tenjin Matsuri, a festival that takes place every July and sees the streets filled with processions which eventually turn into a huge parade of boats which wind their way down the river in the evening.
Most of this photo looks like it’s from 30 years ago.
Once we’d found the area that the parade was going to pass through, we looked for a bar to sit in for a while as we were already tired and thirsty from the oppressive heat of the day. We weren’t very convinced as we wandered in to an old little bar which stunk of cigarette smoke, but we weren’t keen on walking around any longer either so we plonked ourselves down on two of the spinning wooden stools and ordered a drink.
The lady at the bar turned out to be an absolute darling, plying us with freshly made juice mixes and offering us some sandwiches, which we didn’t turn down as we were already getting hungry. She asked us where we were from and then said Inés was very pretty, eventually presenting her with a traditional dress as a gift! It was a lovely gesture and there were smiles all round until the sound of beating drums came in from outside.
It turns out that we’d inadvertently wandered into a bar which sat on the parade route itself, so everyone in the place (the owner included) pottered out onto the street to join the people on the pavement watching the festivities unfold. There was an amazing variety of floats going by, with all sorts of symbolism and groups covering all age ranges.
I was beginning to wonder how they’d manage in the heat.
At one point, a group of young boys came past dancing with lion’s heads, a scene which was quite fun until one of them took it off and threw himself down on the curb. He was clearly suffering with the heat, so throngs of people suddenly showed up out of nowhere with fans, water, sprays… the works. Some medics finally moved him into the bar where we were at, where me and Inés took it in turns helping fan him whilst they unwrapped the seemingly endless winds of sash that he had wrapped around him. It was no wonder he was struggling!
He eventually came to, just as the ambulance crew showed up to take him away. We soon followed, heading off to continue following the crowds as they made their way down to the river and to the parade of boats. We’d to navigate through the throngs of people that were on the streets, passing through street food stalls and the gathered masses until reaching the water’s edge.
We watched a few of the boats go past with their accompanying music and even dancers, but the heat eventually got to us and we headed off to find somewhere a little less crazy to stand. This took us over a very busy bridge, where we were scolded for stopping to take photos. This led us to a metro station and as such to the toilets that we were so desperately seeking, after which we headed back to the riverside as night fell to catch the fireworks which mark the end of the festival.
What followed was a visual spectacle, with a higher density of boats passing by accompanied by music and dancing. This was all framed by an amazing firework display which lit up the sky and created an electric atmosphere which it seemed like the whole city had come out to experience.
Our feet then grew tired from the day’s rambling and so we headed back to the city centre on the metro. There, we plonked ourselves in a bar and had a couple of drinks and a good chat to end a crazy first day in Osaka. It wouldn’t be my last day here by any stretch of the imagination, but as I headed to bed that night I had an excursion in mind for the next day to explore even more of Japan’s amazing cities.
Where was I to go? That’ll have to wait until the next post…
