Day 26: Tokyo: Saying Goodbye, and a New Country

Today sucked.

We started the day off on an overnight bus from Osaka to Tokyo, an 8 hour journey. Unfortunately, they must have overbooked the good bus, because we got shipped across to the scummy horrible one and got about 2 hours of sleep each.

We had a pretty nice time just bumming around Tokyo today though, getting lost in a subway station for about the 100th time, and picking up the last of the souvenirs we needed for back home.

But today sucks because I had to say goodbye to my travel buddy, punching bag and boyfriend Sean to head off to a new country, and him to head home. 

I would be lying if I said I didn't cry, but as I sit here in the terminal, waiting my plane, I'm excited for the next leg.

Bring on 2016, bring on more travelators, and bring on the world.

Tomorrow, Seoul, solo xx

Day 25: Osaka: Nara and Lots of Deer

Today we had a massive day. It was our last day in Osaka, and we had to be out of the hostel early, so I planned a day trip to the town of Nara.

While Nara is fairly spectacular in and of itself, it also has an added extra, amazing feature - it is completely full of deer!

We started our day with a healthy meal of McDonalds - in a Maccas with a Grand Piano. Then we headed straight for the action - Deer Park.

While there are deer everywhere, most people just stick to this one park, where deer just sit around, waiting to be fed rice cakes. Most of them were quite unenthusiastic about them, but as we got further out of town, that's where the real fun started.

While getting some street food (warabimochi with sweet soy sauce is hands down my new favourite dessert ever) we also ran into an old man who had a special skill with the deer, he seemed to be training them!! This one would stick out his tongue for food if you did it first!!

Deer aside, the whole town was beautiful, with incredible shrines and temples everywhere, and people filing in for their new years fortunes.

Tonight, an overnight bus, and changing countries!! xx

Day 24: Osaka: Castles, Parks and Shopping

Today we explored more of Osaka than I thought existed, and started our day at Osaka Castle.

Despite being built in the 1600s, it has been mostly gutted and made into a museum now, but it was really interesting learning about a society from so long ago. The gardens around the area are still amazing, and it was completely packed full of people.

We were also lucky enough to see some New Years performances out the front, which were totally weird and wacky, but awesome to see.

Also weird was a guy who yelled out "Happy New Year" to us repeatedly from his bike before stopping to hug, kiss on the cheek and smell both Sean and I for an odd amount of time. If that's a tradition, I'm fairly glad it's not common!!

After the castle, we headed over the Hard Rock Cafe to grab a souvenir for my sister. The food was delicious, but it felt wrong using a knife and fork after so long.

I think I'm going to have to start adding alcohol to all of my thickshakes!

Once we were super full of not only food, but also great tunes, we headed to Tennoji park, but unfortunately, most things around the area were closed, but there was a huge park filled with families and people with their tiny little dogs. There was a whole shop dedicated to pet outfits in all shapes and sizes!!

I don't really need a dog outfit though, so we moved onto Dotenbori - a huge shopping district full of thousands of people, all looking for the equivalent of boxing day sales.

Every second store seemed to be a huge games arcade which put my time at Timezone back home to shame. The skill of some of the players was insane, but the noise was even crazier.

I managed to pick up a few bargains of things I had forgotten, and a few things to send home, but honestly, the crowd and stores in themselves were the real attraction!!

Tomorrow, Nara and a night bus!! xx


Day 23: Osaka: New Years Day

Today was the first day of the new year, and Japan celebrated in the way Japan knows best - by lining up for things. So we joined in with the thralls and went to a Shrine to ring in the new year (literally on a bell) and find out what the year has in stall for us.

There were lots of stalls around selling food, even inside the temple, and even more people around, and it was really amazing to see all the sights and dancers and coins being thrown around.

If anyone can translate our fortunes better than we could on Google, please let us know :) I got the number 8 fortune, and Sean number 37. We have some idea, but don't know exactly what the year is going to bring.

It is technically now Heisei 28 rather than 2016 here, which is kind of weird, now that we know about it.

Tomorrow, sightseeing xx

Day 22: Osaka: Aquariums and the New Year

Today was the last day of 2015, and the first proper day we spent in Osaka.

We started the day off at one of the biggest aquariums I've ever seen. They had whale sharks!! It was insane how huge they were!

After the aquarium, we headed across to the shopping centre which happened to have a huge lego store and factory in it! Sean got to have a close up encounter with a giraffe.

We also tried our hand at Pachinko, a super loud, weird Japanese gambling fad, and sucked at it, and saw a street performer who was wildly entertaining, even though we couldn't understand a word he said!

In the same complex though, is a huge 113m high Ferris wheel that overlooks the entire city. It may have been an extra 30 minute wait, but the clear carriage was totally worth the wait!

After the Ferris wheel, it was getting dark, so we headed to the bar district of town for some New Years celebrations!! To our complete confusion, even now, we found that pretty much everything was closing, or already closed at 6pm.

We wondered around for a while, to no avail, before headed to the Sky Tower (a huge building in the heart of Osaka) and had some drinks up there, with a 360degree view of the city. It was really beautiful, and they had beers from all around the world!! (Unfortunately, the Australian representative was Fosters)

The building itself is incredible, with 2 buildings connected in the middle by a circular, doughnut platform, so you can not only see out from all directions, but also down the centre of the building!

Even that closed at 10pm, so we brought in the New Year on the top floor of the train station in a beautiful artificial garden looking out over the city and bay area. All in all, a pretty good night, despite the lack of parties.

Tomorrow, a quiet day xx

Day 20: Hiroshima: Miyajima, the Deer Island, and Christmas Lights

Today we had the most amazing day on a small island off the coast of Hiroshima called Itsukushima. Historically home to a recluse monk seeking enlightenment, the island was full of historic reminders of this amazing time, and deer.

First up, straight off the ferry, there were deer everywhere, and people crowding them for photos. In reality, I think the deer just wanted food, but Betty (my favourite deer) clearly wanted to be my friend.

People are told not to feed the deer outside of this one area, because they are wild animals, and there have been problems with them eating rubbish and getting really sick. I wrestled half a wrapper out of one deer's mouth, but it's obvious they are getting places they shouldn't.

The island is possibly most famous for a huge shrine built off the coast of the island. The shrine, along with the temples around it have water come right up to the edges of them, but never to them. The main shrine appears to almost float in the water, and was amazing to see both during the day and at night.

We were lucky to get there at one stage during the day at low tide, and were able to go right up to it and touch it.

Aside from the deer, the island had a heap of amazing attractions, we spent half the day just wandering around the mountain, with natural creeks and rivers. There is also a massive cable car that takes you to a lookout near the top of the mountain, which takes almost an hour. Mt Misen is over 500m tall.

The view was spectacular in all directions. Unfortunately this wasn't the summit though, and we had to climb an additional 200m to reach it, which was hard work, but totally worth it for the shrines and monuments there.

Another of the big attractions of the island is of course the temple built by the monk who sought enlightenment there. He lived on the island in the 800s, and lit a fire which has been burning for over 1200 years since then. The Misen Hondo Hall is where he spent 100 days meditating, and the Reikado Hall houses the eternal flame.

A special note also has to be given to the street food, which I didn't get a photo of, because I was too busy enjoying it all.

Last night we caught up with a friend we met in Tokyo, and she told us about a street set up in Hiroshima with an amazing light display. It was incredible. 5 blocks on both sides of the road, covered in light displays!

The street we went for dinner also had a pet turtle out the front of one of the restaurants. (Don't worry, we asked, and he was a friend, not food!!)

Tomorrow, Osaka! xx

Day 19: Hiroshima: Hiroshima Castle and Shukkei-en Garden

Today was yet another quiet day - the last until we leave Japan, so we decided to do some walking and see some of the other sights Hiroshima has to offer.

We headed to Hiroshima Castle which was rebuilt in the 1950s after being destroyed in the war. It is mostly a museum now, but the view from the top was great, and the whole area has a beautiful feel to it.

After the castle, we headed to Shikkei-en, a historical garden preserved for centuries through earthquakes, fires and bombs.

Like a lot of Japanese gardens, everything in this garden was meticulously planned and maintained. The layout is meant to signify the Hiroshima, and greater Japanese landscape, with islands throughout, and a peak to represent Mt Fuji.

The wildlife there was also pretty amazing, with hundreds of Koi fish desperate for some fish food, birds, turtles and even a few cats all around the place.

It was amazingly peaceful, and despite not being a huge area, took us a few hours to explore.

The carp were incredibly loud eaters. If I can upload it, I may put up a video of the feeding frenzy we created with just a handful of pellets.

Tomorrow, deer island!! xx

Day 18: Hiroshima: A Day Trip to Iwakuni

Iwakuni is a small, mainly fishing and petroleum town these days, but historically, was one of the main castle towns, founded by a banished lord who had supported a defeated shogun.Remnants of the town's history can still be seen, and today we left Hiroshima and traveled about an hour west. 

We spent the early parts of the afternoon wandering around the modernised parts of the town, just looking at the large river flowing through the town, eating McFlurry's (which are still mixed in Japan) until we found a small sports bar called "Poems" where we had some cheap drinks, free popcorn and a great chat with the sole barman.

Eventually we headed to the day's main attraction - the castle built by the lord, and a huge bridge, Kintai Bridge.

It was freezing cold, but we bore the elements and saw some huge Koi fish, and stayed late enough to see the bridge lit up from all sides.

For some reason, there were a heap of cats in the area, and I have no idea why.

Tomorrow, staying local in Hiroshima xx