emilyonearth

Well, the holidays are over, and it’s back to school on Monday. These last couple of weeks I’ve been hanging out in Japanland! Was super nice to get out of China.. Anyways, here’s part two, I guess!

First we flew into Tokyo, and proceeded to get a tad lost on the way to our hostel. This was to become somewhat of a recurring problem haha. All of the hostels were really nice, especially compared to places I stayed during the China trip.  On our first whole day we went and explored the National Museum. While we were there it began to snow, weather I hadn’t exactly dressed for, despite knowing that the weather report said snow. Silly Emily. Was very pretty though! By the time we got out of the museum it was nearly dark, and we went to go and look around some nearby markets. Japan has such cool stuff. One day I will be rich and will go on a shopping trip to Japan. When everything started closing down we went and found somewhere to eat dinner. Considering we had no idea what we were ordering, we did pretty well! Tempura purple potato (?) a potato and some sort of meat pancake sort of thing, crumbed ham and cheese thingies, and noodles. While we were there the guys at the table next to us struck up a conversation with us. One of them was quite intoxicated and came to sit at our table. It was quite hilarious, as he began a UK vs USA debate, and tried to convince Alicia to be his girlfriend.

Day two we went out to Harajuku and had a quick look around the park and shrine there, spent quite some time in a multi-storied toy shop, and had a look around a few other shops too. That evening we went and hung out in Shibuya, watching people cross the street, getting some dinner, and having a look around the area.

The following day we got up early to go and have a look at the fish market. Unfortunately the main part of it was closed to visitors, so we had a quick sushi breakfast before missioning on to find some sumo. By the time we got there though we were running a little late and they wouldn’t let us in. Next stop was Tokyo station to activate our train passes, get tickets for the next day’s travel, and stop for some lunch. In the afternoon we went to a cat cafe in Shinjuku before splitting up to go our own ways. Personally I got lost a few times, but enjoyed looking around the area before heading back for an early night at the hostel.

Our final morning in Tokyo was spent looking around the shrine near out hostel, and exploring the kitchenware street a few blocks away, on a mission for bento boxes and teapots. Overall it was quite a different experience from the last time in Tokyo, and I enjoyed the city a lot. Possibly to do with not having to go to school while I was there :D

Next stop: Mt Fuji. Kawaguchiko, to be more precise. When we arrived, the hostel staff advised us that it was forast to snow the next day. I guess I kind of underestimated the amount of snow this could mean. The snow in the following photos all fell after our arrival. And so, we woke up to snow. Deciding to stick to our previous plans despite weather, we spent our first day at Fujikyu Highlands theme park, as we wanted to go to their haunted house. It was quite scary, and I’m not sure I would do it again, but was also quite enjoyable. In the afternoon we just got food and hung out at the hostel, before going to an onsen (public bath) in the evening. That was quite pretty too, as it was outside, so the hot tubs were surrounded by snow. In the morning we set out to find a view of Mt Fuji before catching our train south, and found ourselves quite deep in snow. I may have fallen over. It was quite hilarious though, wading through it, and we did end up seeing the mountain, though we didn’t have time to make it all the way to a better viewing spot.

So then that afternoon we headed off for Hiroshima. We had everything perfectly planned out to arrive in time for check in to the hostel. Then the first train was late. As was the next train. Then my nose began to bleed. Another change of train.. running for the next train we realised Kathleen’s bag had been left on the train. Nose still bleeding. Ask people at the train station who make us wait quite a long time (like, at least half an hour) before telling us to go to the lost and found office on the platform, who then tell us we need to go to Tokyo to pick up the bag. And so off we go. Finally pick up the bag and head to the ticket office to see what we can arrange, to discover the last train for Hiroshima just left. And so we spend another night in Tokyo, booking the first Hiroshima train in the morning. Once we finally arrive we head to the peace park and memorial museum, where we look around for a while, before heading to Hiroshima Castle. In the evening we head back to the station, pick up tickets to Kyoto, and have some Okonomiyaki before the train.

And so onwards to Kyoto. While there we also did a day trip to Nara, the main attraction of which is a number of temples, shrines, and deer. So we arrived, walked to the park, had a good look around, and fed some deer. Which lead to being followed and bitten and head-butted by deer. And yes, we were allowed to be feeding them, they even sold us the feed.

The rest of our time we spent in Kyoto, mostly doing our own thing. Over the two days I had a look around Gion, walked up to Kiyomizudera, went to Kinkakuji, Inari, and a couple of other shrines, and walked around Kyoto itself. Was pretty cool being back, and it was a nice relaxing way to end our trip. Oh! And we spent a night in a capsule hotel!

And so now I’m back in Shenzhen. It’s quite chilly, and I’m not exactly looking forward to going back too school on Monday. Also, it’s exactly four months from today until my contract ends. I’m over halfway, kids!