Arrival to my Japanese home in Kyoto!!

'Comfortable' sleeping on night bus

As I said in the blog entry last evening, I was travelling to Kyoto by a night bus which cost 4700 yen (£35.37), a third of the price if I were to travel by shinkansen (bullet train). So after asking, "すみません, ウィラートラベルのバスはどこですか？"　("excuse me, where is Willer Travel Bus?), I found after 30 minutes or so!!! The map I had was too small to understand!!

McDonald's breakfast

 Anyways, it was quite a small coach filled with many business people and others travelling to Kyoto or Osaka. The bus left at 10:45PM and did not arrive at Kyoto main train station till around 06:15AM the next day. We did take a few stops along the way so we could stretch our legs, buy something to eat or go to toilet. I had some ear plugs, my neck pillow and something to cover my eyes so at least I could sleep as best as I could have done, however the seats were very narrow and I could not rest my feet so it was difficult to fall asleep sometimes. But it was definitely worth it as I saved on accommodation fees, so in effect it only cost me around £15.

My Japanese home!!!

 So after arriving at Kyoto main station at 06:15AM, I went straight inside the main building as the weather was quite wet when I got off the bus. I then contacted Yuri, a friend I had met whilst in Taiwan, as she was allowing me to stay at hers for a while. I went to have breakfast at McDonald's as I was hungry and I needed to charge my phone up!!! It cost me about 400 yen (£3.01) which included 3 pancakes, hashbrown and an apple juice. She came to see me on her bicycle and helped me with my luggage, but I had to walk to another place to meet he as she was cicyling . Her boyfriend is also learning Japanese and is a beginner of English, so he has been teaching me Japanese for most of the day, which is awesome!!!

Me eating Japanese food!!

Not long after I arrived at her place around 08:45AM, and it was not really a traditional house but more of a modern one. It was pretty cool as it has a lovely kitchen with a table, a toilet, shower and bathroom and a washer. Also when I went upstairs I saw some cute ferrets, called Mio and Haku. Yuri's boyfriend is called Shinjin, and he is really a relaxing and chilled guy and it was cool to teach him English and learn Japanese from him!!! After a while I feel asleep around 12PM as I was still quite tired from not sleeping well on the bus.

My lovely Japanese friend, Yuri

So I feel asleep for about 5 hours and woke up around 5PM. He continued to teach me some Japanese, we watched an episode of Pacific and then arund 8PM we went to get something to eat. Yuri had to have a massage at a local physiotherapist, however I did not have any money on my card to do so. We went to the convenience store and he bought me dinner, dessert and a drink. He is so kind, and what great hospitality from my Japanese parents!!! I later planned my trip for tomorrow with Yuri once Shinjin had gone to bed around 10PM, so it should be awesome as I am doing some cool stuff tomorrow :)

Best Pic of the Day:

A trip around the city with Koji! かれは私を案内人してくれた

Me + Koji @ Burger King

Today I was due to check out so I planned to chill out before catching my night bus to Kyoto around 10:45PM later tonight. However, I got a message from Koji, a guy I met in Australia whilst I was working at the working hostel in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. Thus I decided to meet up with him around 1PM at my hostel.

Me @ Khaosan Ninja

We were not sure where to go at first so we decided to get a drink at Burger King near Asakusabashi JR Station. I had a sundee and he had a coffee, which was very delicious as he paid for me!!! He did this for most of the day actually. I had a Tokyo book with me so I thought it would be cool to head to Ginza to check out Sony, so this is what we did.

Me + Koji @ Sony

Once we got to Ginza, we went straight to Sony but I was surprised to see how built up the area was, and it was  cool to check this place out before I head to Kyoto later night. Sony was filled with the latest technology, although I am a geek, it was cool to see what direction we were heading in. It was also a place where I could practise my Japanese on the nice female staff ;) Firstly we got a free photo with us dressed in a samurai outfit infront of a sakura tree, although not a real one!! That was pretty cool as we got a free photo afterwards!!! So we checked out the latest gadgets, including high definition video cameras, 3D laptops and top-of-the-range TVs. I chatted up many of the women there with my useless Japanese!!! It was kind of funny, and I enjoyed it a lot!!!!

Me outside the Imperial Palace

Then we headed off to the Imperial Palace which is not far from the Sony store, however it is not really spectacular as it is blocked off in several places and the main building is quite far away. However, it was interesting to know it was the seat of the Edo Shogunate several centuries ago. The imperial family still live there so that is the reason why tourists could not enter. I think you have to pay a lot of money to do so, but I am not sure.

Me with Koji @ Izakaya

We also saw some government buildings in the local area, although it was nothing amazing to see. I also saw a big sakura tree blooming in one of the small parks, so that was pretty cool. So after that, we grabbed a meal at McDonald's before heading off to eat dinner at a Izakaya near Asakusabashi Station.

Sakura

So we arrived at the Izakaya around 6PM and we straight up to the 2nd foor. This was the same place I had gone with Hitomi a few days ago, and the food there was good so it was cool to go back. This time I ate Octopus (たこやき）, Okonomiyaki （おこのみやき）and Japanese fried chicken （からあげ）. Koji was drinking a lot but he did not get drunk unless if I did, I certianly would have!!! However, I only had two orange drinks!!!! I had to go back to the hostel at 7PM as I needed to get ready to go catch my night bus at Shinjuku Station to Kyoto.  And of course I had to write my blog as I won't be able to do it on the bus tonight.

See you guys in Kyoto!!!

 

A venture out to Roppongi Hills!!!

Roppongi Hills!!!

Today my plan was to learn as much Japanese as possible and to go and check out the famous nightlife of Roppongi Hills, Japan.

I woke up 'late' again around 12PM as the cleaners were busy hoovering outside my room. What a morning wake up call!!! So I got up, did my usual thing, and went downstairs to chill out in the basement. I was also planning to learn Japanese with Rino, a girl who I met yesterday. She looks like she is 12 but she is actually 21!! I think this is because she is quite small and does not seem to have developed much.

Anyways, I actually was learning a lot from, Emi, an older woman I met a few days before. She actually lives in London which is pretty cool, and she will go back to live there. She taught me how to say:

• ちか　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　> 　　Basement
• した　に　いく　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Go up
• うえ　に　いく　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Go down
• キャベツを　はもの　で　きる　　 　　Cut cabbage with a knife

Roni did come down after she had finished work at 2PM, however it seemed she was not keen in learning English or she thought I was learning more from emi, I'm not sure. So, I continued practising my Japanese as much as I could.

Cool architecture

 So I chilled out for several hours before heading off to Roppongi Hills around 5PM. I was going to a meeting about self-actualisation, which is something I am keen in, although it was a bit disappointing. Anyways, the meeting was being held at Izumi Garden Tower, which is about ten minutes away from Roppongi subway station, but I got lost several times and had to ask, いずみこえんタワー はどこですか　(Where is Izumi Garden Tower?) Most people I asked actually did not know, but one person did, so I got there in the end!!!

Meiji chocolate and milkshake

That meeting finished around 9PM, and so I decided to check out Roppongi Hills. This is the area where apparently the best clubs are, therefore the hottest girls and the most foreigners should be here. I do not really like clubbing, but I wanted to get a sample of what the nightlife is like in Japan. Actually, I am not a drinker or a club-goer so I went looking for a Roppongi book store that is famous for staying open till early morning. It took me ages to get there and I had to ask several times!!!

Tsutaya Roppongi Bookstore

I noticed whilst working around that there were many Nigerian guys saying, "I can hook you up," or "this club is the best!". They looked really dodgy so I ignored them!!! I also saw some cool architecture which I had not seen in Tokyo so far with neon lights and that were quite impressive. You could definitely tell it was a main attraction at night. Also, I checked out an 'American' store which had many different foods and drinks, which were quite different from other convenience stores. I could not find a chocolate milshake, but I bought some Japanese chocolate, Meiji, which was delicious, and an apple juice.　I went to McDonald's to buy a chocolate milkshake which was so expensive at 190 yen (£1.45), but it was so delicious!!!  I also practised my Japanese on this girl but she was not responsive, for reasons I am not sure!! Maybe she was very shy!

Roppongi Hills Intersection!!

I worked my way towards the bookstore with starbucks, known as Tsutaya, and I was actaully relieved to get there after asking several people where it was!! I wanted to practise my Japanese so I went straight to the English section to see if there were any girls there. I found girl there, Maki, who is a lovely girl and I could practise my Japanese on her. Actually she was a beginner at English so it was quite hard to get a conversation going, but at least it forced me to improve my Japanese. After it was getting late, I had to get the subway back to Asakusabashi as the metro/ subyway was going to close after 12AM.  I got back to the hostel around 12:15AM, and went straight to the basement to relax :)

What a lovely day at Asakusa!!

Fortune-telling (みくじ）

Last night I did not finish my blog till 4AM so I did not wake up till the cleaners came into my room around 12PM!!! Damn them!!! Actually it was a good morning call as I had to wake up meet up friend at 1:00PM at Asakusa. I contacted her on Facebook and found out she was going to be a bit late too so at least I could lay in for a little bit!!!

So I got up and headed to the subway at Asakusabashi Station, which was a few minutes walk away. Asakusa was only two stations away so it only took a couple of minutes to arrive there. Once I got there I called up Saeko and we meet not long afterwards.

Me inside the Kaminari-mon Gate

She did not have an itinerary with her as such, but we rather spontaneously wondered around the area. Asakusa is famous for the Kaminari-mon Gate which I guess is the entrance to the Buddhist temple that is not far away from it. Inside there are several streets lined with shops, so it is a popular tourist area.

Kaminari-mon Gate

The temple is pretty cool as there is a part where you can do fortune-telling for 100 yen, although I did not actually do that. I am not a real believer that wishes that you make become true. Anyways, we checked out the shrine where the locals can pray for health, wealth, etc. I can really get a feel for Japanese culture at these shrines which is pretty cool. They must make a lot of money from fortune-telling and generous people donating too!!! It was good to see so many people there keen in the cultural side of Japan.

Dango （だんご）

As I was feeling pretty hungry, we found a Lawson convenience store where I grabbed a delicious sandwich, banana and a drink for around 500 yen (approx. £4). It is pretty cool as each slice is different from the next so they are unlike the sandwiches found back in England. I also ate a dango for 120 yen (92p), which is a local delicacy, and it tasted so nice!!! I am beginning to fall in love with Japanese food more and more; it's so healthy, there is so much variety and it tastes so good!!!!

Me and Saeko :)

So after that, we continued walking around the temple and into the surrounding areas. I love getting to know the local people as I can continue to understand the culture. The one thing I found astounding in this country is the level of politeness that exists. Everyone is kind to each other; they respect their colleagues, strangers, guests, and they even look after their environment. I think they may be too polite to an extent because it is hard to know exactly what they are feeling inside because of the lack of expression (known as たてまえ）, but it definitely means there are less fights and problems like in the West.

Me and Saeko walked around the local area for a while, and she helped me to practise my Japanese. I learned the following:

• Go straight: まっすぐ　いく　
• This way: この　とおり
• That way: その　とおり
• Try again: も　いっかい
• Turn right: みぎに　まがる
• Turn left: ひだりに　まがる

My Japanese is still pretty poor, but I really want to learn more as it is such an awesome language to learn!!!! Hopefully within the next 3 weeks I can hold a conversation for a few minutes :D 毎日に日本語を練習しなければなりません！(I must study Japanese every day!!!). Saeko is a wonderful girl, and I hope to meet her again in Yokohama so I can go sightseeing there!!! We also spotted what looked like the only tree blossoming which was pretty cool!!!

Cool Japanese figurine!!

So we went our separate ways around 5PM; she headed back home to Yokohama, whilst I went back to my hostel, Khaosan Ninja near Asakusabashi. When I got back, I went straight downstairs to upload my pictures, and to find people who I could speak Japanese with!!! I spoke a lot with emi, who is a bit older than me, but it was interesting to see her cooking Japanese homemade food. It looked so delicious!!! I also spoke a lot to Roni, a Japanese girl who is just learning English as she is going to Australia in four months. She is a really lovely girl, and I want to learn more from her!!! 

Me and Shaun

I later went out with Shaun, the guy I met last night, to a local pasta place to grab something to eat. He actually bought me dinner, as he said he was really under budget, so that was really nice of him!!! I am around £15 over budget at the moment, but I hope to make that up when I stay with my friend for a week or so in Kyoto. 

Chocolate and nut dessert!

The restaurant we went to was quasi-Western; it offered mainly pasta and pizza. They did not have the greatest selection in the world, so it was quite hard to choose one. After a few minutes of thinking it over, I decided on the Chef's Whim Pizza, which is something the cook will make in the moment. It actually turned out really nice with meat balls, cheese and some salad on top!! I also had a chocolate dessert, which contained some nuts but it was really nice!!! 料理がうまい　(The food was well cooked!!!) They also gave us a banana each when we left, so that was nice!! What service :D I wish western countries were like this :) 

We then headed back to the hostel; Shaun actually is staying in a capsule across the street as this hostel is fully booked, whilst I went down to chill out in the basement. I actually met this Japanese girl from Okinawa, who acts completely opposite to her peers; she is loud, expressive and sometimes rude!!! Wow, I wonder if all the girls are like that in the west of Japan!!!

Best Pic of the Day:

Cherry Blossoming!!! (さくら）

More cultural experiences - Shibuya's love hill and Ueon's awesome zoo park!!!

Today I was due to check-out from Anne hostel at 11AM, and I had no idea what I was planning to do afterwards!!! I met this really kind girl, Monique, who was going to go to Ueon Park with me but she got lost, so I decided to go to explore Tokyo by myself.

Before I left the hostel, I booked tickets for Kyoto so my overnight leaves Tokyo around 10:00PM and will arrive at my destination at 06:00AM!!! I hope I can sleep on it the bus, but luckily I have a travel pillow which should be helpful. I left the hostel around 01:00PM and got the JR line for Ueon Park. I only had to change one line and it did not take too long to get there.

Massive turtle!!

As usual, I purchased a lovely sandwich from 7/11 and a rice pudding before grabbing the JR line, which was so delicious!!! Once I got to Ueon, I headed straight to the park and to the zoo. I actually did not realise there was a zoo there and it was very cheap to enter, only 600 yen (£4.59). I was there maybe three hours checking out the various creatures, such as gorilla, polar bear, birds, sea lions, small mammals, among others.
 
My favourite animal there was the polar bear, as it is so impressive in size and I know those claws could do some serious damage!!The animal that scared me the most was the massive hippopotamus as it is so big and is not exactly cute :D  I was also very impressed by the masive turtle, and I thought he must have a very quiet and lonely life in that big shell of his!!

Polar Bear

 

Hippo

Ueon Pagoda

It was cool to wander around seeing the signs and trying to understand their meaning, and to hear what the kids where saying. I often heard かわいいね　(cute) , みえない (cannot see) or どこ (where). I am definitely picking up Japanese faster than I realised, and my brain is always try to tune in to its frequencey!!

As I left my bags at Anne hostel, I had to go back there to pick them up. I decided to relax there for a while as I was pretty tired. Monique was also there so when she was ready we went to a local supermarket where I bought an apple and a rice pudding, which was delicious!!! So I wandered to my next residence, Kaoshan Ninja hostel, which was just across the Asakusbashi bridge. I got lost and I had to ask for help. Luckily a really friendly Japanese person helped me out and pointed me out in the right direction.

One of the busiest streets in Tokyo

So I checked in the hotel around 6PM, and chilled out in my room for a while. I am really impressed by the hotel as it is very clean, has a basement to chill out and eat, and is very reasonable at 2500 yen (£19.13).  I met Shaun from the USA in my room, and I was quite surprised to know he loves geography and hisory, like me!!! He stuided American History for his major which is really cool!!! He also teaches English in Korea and recommends me to go there because the women are hotter!

My lovely angel, Paola xx

I was not really up for going out as I was quite tired, but I decided to go and check out Shibuya, the central district for shopping in Tokyo. I never realised when I got there but there is actually an area where you can go where there are pimps offering "beautiful women" for 30 mins at a time for around 7000 yen (£53.56)!!! There were also booths for those over 18 only, which I guess are designed for lonely men! Thankyfully, I am not that desperate! I have my angel :) Hi angel :)  Love you!!!

Dinner!

I also ate a lovely dinner from a Family Mart for around 500 yen including desert which was very delcious. I love these meals as they are cooked and served for you!!!!

We also went to a place where they have cute kittens and puppies in a little cage!!! Awww so cute!!! I got lots of pictures of them!! I wanted to take one home but they are quite expensive up to 50000 yen (£382)!!! Too expensive, I think!!

Me and Shaun then headed back to the hostel around 10:30PM. When we arrived he went straight to bed, whilst I went to the basement to do my usual stuff, and I also met these Japanese guys so I could practice my Japanese!!! It is still bad :D 私の日本語だめです！！

Best Pics of the Day:

Today I experienced more of Japanese culture - Izakaya and Maid Cafe!!

Today I was planning to go to a maid cafe with Joel before he headed off to Kyoto. So he came in and woke me up around 11:30AM. Thanks Joel for the morning call!! We got on the JR line and headed to Akihabara. We actually did not realise there were so many maid cafes there!

We went to a cafe called Maidreamin 3, which was 4 floors above ground level. It was a quite a small place with tables and counters and many maids in white and black dresses! I was not there for the maids but for the food!! Well, I was quite hungry!! I saw some guys bring in big folders, which were obviously filled with photos of Japanese maids!! たぶん、へんたいだろう！！I think they were most likely perverts!!

Noodle and mushroom lunch

So we chilled there for an hour or so; I had a mushroom and noodle lunch, and Joel had a fancy curry with pictures!!! After the meal, we had our photos taken with the maids which was pretty cool. So cute!!! かわいいね！In total it cost me 2400 yen (£18.36) which was quite expensive considering the meal was not that good!!! So that included a photo, the hire of the counter, some food and a drink.
Then me and Joel departed around 2PM as he was catching the bullet train to Kyoto and I had no idea what I was going to do!!! So I decided to head back to the hostel to see if Hitomi, a new Japanese friend I had met, was around. She is a really nice girl, and her English is awesome. It really is Hitomi :) じょうずだね！　

Sauna and onsen

So I went to see Hitomi at the hostel and as she was working later that, we were going to meet up later to go to an Izakaya after 8PM. I also met two other people, a guy from Switzerland and a girl from USA. They were planning to go to a hot spring in the local area, so I asked them if I could join them, and they said yes. So we grabbed the subway and got off at Asakusa. I had to ask a Japanese person in Japanese where it was: "おんせんはどこですか？" (Where is the hot spring?) My Japanese is okay so I vaguely understood is response but he did point out where it was so that was okay.

Outside the onsen, Asakusa, Tokyo

The onsen experience was out-of-this-world; for 650yen (£4.97) we could use the 98 degree boiling out sauna, the electic bath and the hot onsen! Everyone was naked but I guess that is just the cultural part of it!!! My skin felt like it was going to burn itself off in the sauna as it was so hot!!! I spent about 7 minutes in there with the guy who also came with me. Then I cooled down in the cold shower and jumped in the hot onsen for 10 minutes or so which was really relaxing. The sauna and onsen combined help to definitely make your feel more refreshed. I also used the bubbles in the electric bath to relax my body, which was pretty cool!!!!

Noodle dinner from 7/11

So I then got something to eat at the 7/11 as I was trying to keep close to my budget of £42 per day and I am failing a bit!!! It was a really nice meal; it was noodles with some beef. It only cost me around 400 yen (£3.06), which was very reasonable. I decided not to have dinner with the two as they were taking too long and I was due to meet Hitomi later.

Me and Hitomi @ Izakaya

I texted Hitomi and we met up at 8:30PM outside Asakusabashi Station. She took me to a local Izakaya, which is the Japanese equivalent to an English pub. It was a pretty cool place, and this one was actually upstairs, which she said is a bit unusual as most of them are on the ground floor.  We ordered sushi, okonomiyaki and some potatoes. It was all very delicious and I would love to go again. Thanks Hitomi :) I have not had eaten okonomiyaki since I was in Australia and I certainly had missed it!!! She was very good in helping me learn some important Japanese phrases in regards to ordering food, such as "how big is it?" (どのくらい大きいですか？）Large: 大きい; Medium: ふつう; Small: ちさい.

I have not done any video blogs today as I thought at one stage I had lost lots of money, but I have actually just spent too much!!! I was on the phone for a while to my bank :D But I will definitely upload one tomorrow :)

A day trip through sunny Tokyo!!

Today I planned to meet up with Joel at 12PM to go sightseeing around Tokyo and to visit the famous Maid Cafe in Akihabara. However, we ended up getting split up so we went our separate ways after half the day.

Morning breakfast from 7/11

So I woke up around 11AM and heard Joel come into the room, saying 'where is my friend?' I responded and he said he wanted to leave a bit earlier to go and see some sights. I was half asleep but decided I might as well come and join him as I might not know when I might get up!!! Two other people in our dorm, one English the other Canadian, joined us on our little venture.
 

Me outside Meiji Shrine, Harajuku

We left the hostel around 11:30AM and headed to the JR line to catch a train to Harajuku. Before getting on the JR, we bought some food at the local 7/11; so I got a sandwich, an orange juice and a rice pudding, which was all quite delicious!!! It set me back around 500 yen, which is about £3.83, so it was worth it!! It took a little over 20 minutes or so and did not cost too much to get there (around 200 yen, which is roughly £1.53). Even though this may sound reasonable, it quickly adds up if you do multiple trips during the day. I don't have a rail pass as I was not planning on doing extensive travelling around the country, and I believe you can travel on a budget using the overnight bus service.

Me @ "electric town"

 Anyways, once we reached Harajuku station and got our bearings, we headed off towards the famous Meiji shrine, which has been there around 90 years. People go there to give their prays to the spirit of the Meiji. It was a very relaxing place, and it is a stark contrast to the hectic rush of city life. I also saw what looked like a wedding procession taking place through the temple, which was pretty cool to witness. I was speaking to the Canadian guy, and we agreed that Shintoism definitely has its benefits compared to monotheistic religions because there is no fanaticism and no pressure to give our blessings to the spirits.

Arcades @ Sega

 After looking around the beautiful shrine, the other two had to catch a train so they left, whilst we decided to head to Akihabara to check out the "electric town". It was pretty to cool to see so many electrical stores and arcades such as Sega, although I guess Japan has a lot of おたく！(geeks!!). I only saw one girl at the arcades and she was probably just watching her boyfriend or something :D

Latest Final Fantasy game

So we headed towards yodobashi-akiba, which is the big electronic store with various goods on different levels. It has all the latest gadgets, so it is pretty impressive. Me and Joel separated; he went to check out the camera section, whilst I checked out everything else!!! I went to see the latest TVs, which included some where you do not need 3D glasses so that is pretty cool. I wanted to buy an electronic Japanese-English dictionary, but they did not have anything in romanji. Me and Joel were going to meet up again about 30 minutes later, but I waited for him and could not see him.

Me outside Tokyo tower

Thus I decided to check out some cool stuff in the local vicinity. So after speaking to a Japanese girl, I chose to go to Tokyo tower to see the city from above and the sunset. The tower is 332.5 metres high, which is not as tall as Taipei 101 at 509 metres. So I grabbed the JR line to Hamamatsucyou, which was really close to where I was. It is 1000 metres or so from the train station, but as you get close to it, it is a really impressive site.

Sunset @ Tokyo tower

 I chose to only go up to the main observatory which is 150 metres high, as I knew you would still be able to see a good view, instead of going up to the tallest look-out point, and that would have cost me 600 yen more. So once I bought my ticket (820 yen; £6.27), I waited in the queue and got on one of three elevators. Once up there, it was a pretty impressive view as you could see Mt.Fuji from the distance. It is calculated to be 97 km away from Tokyo tower, and as it was a clear day I could see it really well.


So the sun was going to set at 6:20PM, and as the sun began to go down, it was awesome to see Mt.Fuji become clearer as the sun was not blinding my eyes!!! I actually thought I lost my bag at one stage, so it took me an hour or so to find it!!! However, I did take some pictures of Tokyo city in the dark, which was pretty cool.

After that I headed back to the hostel as I was due to speak to my mum around 8PM (11AM GMT). On my back I grabbed a meal from a Family Mart; I bought some noodles and rice for 430 yen (£3.29), which was quite nice. I also nipped into McDonald's to buy a delicious chocolate milkshake and a Mcflurry!! It is certinaly cheaper in Taiwan, but I love McDonald's too much!!!

So once I got back to my hostel, I went straight up to the common room to relax. Man, I was tired!!! I could not see my mum on skype so I just charged my phone instead, so then I could call her. I contacted her around 9PM and she is doing really well, which is awesome!!!

Best Pics of the Day:

Me with Mt. Fuji!!

 

The crescennt moon alongside Tokyo Tower