Rereading the blog after a month at home is interesting. We packed a lot into this trip & yet there were many things that we missed as we didn’t have either the time or energy. I guess it's good to leave things for another time.
Something I didn't mention was the old restored section of Tokyo Station. The original station dome was bombed in the war. They have done a lovely job and the Maranouchi (west) and Yaeso (east) domes are pictured below.
Tit bits... in no particular order:
Something I didn't mention was the old restored section of Tokyo Station. The original station dome was bombed in the war. They have done a lovely job and the Maranouchi (west) and Yaeso (east) domes are pictured below.
Tit bits... in no particular order:
- Japan has more kitkat flavours than you can shake a stick at: banana, rock melon, strawberry, green tea (ok); wasabi (not bad); sake (brilliant & my favourite, I wish I bought more than 1 little bag for Kim).
- Onsen: Japan's gift to the world. IMHO
- Warm toilets: Japan's second best gift to the world
- Japanese trump Brits as the staunchest rule followers in the world.
- Water from the tap is scalding hot. No risk of Legionnaires in Japan.
- The train system - utterly fantastic, very easy to get around.
- Aside from the trains, Japan literally runs on convenience stores and vending machines.
- Sashimi, cold scrambled eggs, rice and miso. I did not take to Japanese breakfasts.
- Miso - very polarising you either love it or not. Not.
- Green tea ice cream, looks evil - tastes better than it looks.
- Pork rectum is a legit item on a legit menu. Not brave enough for that one.
- Eating ice cream while it's snowing is fun.
- Sugar does not improve seaweed tea.
- Cold sake - good. Hot sake - even better.
- Futons are awesome for dodgy backs.
- Water in the culverts/drains at Nagano is boiling hot.
- We saw an American photog who had a huge 2.5 foot lens mounted on a rifle trigger so that he looked like he was literally shooting the birds rather than photographing them. His camera & lens were also accessorised in camouflage to match his own outfit. Seriously.
- The outfit that everyone wears to go to the onsen is called a yukata. While they share basically the same shape as a kimono, yukatas were traditionally worn after a bath and/or to bed. Kimonos are much more formal and are not worn directly on bare skin, nor just with underwear.
- Future travelers to Tokyo be warned: the tax refund office at Haneda airport is cunningly hidden between security and emigration - with no signs. Once you are through emigration it's too late. I would have been extremely cross if I'd bought camera gear!