Day 1: Narita Airport - Odaiba - Tokyo International Anime Fair - Roppongi Hills

We touched down at Narita Airport on an early Saturday morning. Being my first overseas trip I really wanted to have the window seat, but in typical fashion, things don't always go my way. Instead a local who has probably seen this scenery many times was sitting in the window seat beside me. 

After being photographed and fingerprinted, we were finally on the Limited Express Train bound for Tokyo. Our first aim was to locate
our hotel.

Being jetlagged, with zero sleep, cold and having difficulty communicating with the train staff, made figuring out the already complex Tokyo Subway system that much harder. But somehow through those initial madness, we managed to find our hotel and by this time, the Tokyo International Anime Fair had already started.

Before reaching the Anime Fair, we made a detour to Aqua City, Odaiba where we have our first official meal in Japan. The meal was nothing fancy, just an average bowl of soba noodle with tempura and tsukemono (japanese pickles). Despite there being beautiful sceneries of Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Bay around me, it was too cold and windy to really appreciate it all. For a springtime in Tokyo, it sure felt more like a winter. 

Having no time to change out of my airport clothes, meant I was still in my track pants, sport jacket and havaianas. The funny thing was, I would never wear this kind of stuff out and about in Brisbane City, but here I was wearing it all around Tokyo! My friend was also dressed in something similar. We copped a few strange looks from the locals who were all smartly dress in "warm and proper" clothing like thick jackets, boots and suits. I'm pretty certain, we were the only two souls in Tokyo wearing havaianas on that day.

The Tokyo International Anime Fair was being held at Tokyo Big Sight- a bold looking convention centre. When we finally made it inside, the venue was massive with lots of other shows and fairs being hosted there simultaneously. 

Getting the Anime Fair ticket in my hand felt like winning the Golden Ticket in the Willy Wonka chocolate bar. The jetlag and sleep deprivation I was feeling before had momentarily evaporated as I grabbed my copy of the map and made a beeline for TV Tokyo where I knew Naruto would be. 

On my way there, I saw plenty of cosplayers as well as plenty of anime titles I had never heard of before.

The first time I spotted Naruto and Kakashi-sensei at the TV Tokyo stand, I was ESTATIC! But there was already quite a crowd around them. After completing a few loops of the Anime Fair, I spotted them again, only this time there was no crowd just a few, little kids tagging along. It seemed my wish to have a photo taken with Naruto would finally be granted. Yay! (Kakashi-sensei was a bonus).

From a shaky start to the trip, just seeing Naruto made it all worth it! 

By the time we got back to our hotel we were both knackered! But after resting up a bit we both felt refreshed enough to head out to Roppongi Hills for dinner. 

Day 2: Inokashira Park - Ghibli Museum - Harajuku - Shibuya - Shinjuku

We were off to Ghibli Museum this morning. To get there, we decided to take the leisurely stroll from Kichijoji station. On our way there we pass an alleyway aligned with food vendors. I spot my first FamilyMart here and my friend gets to try one of her best pork buns on our entire trip.

The guide books always mention Ueno Park as one of the best parks in Tokyo to do Hanami (cherry blossom viewing), but personally (and my friend can agree with me here) Inokashira Park was more beautiful. The park was not overrunned with tourists and crowds and there were more things to see and do on the grounds like visit the little shrine or rent out a paddle or swan boat.

At Inokashira Park, you really got the sense of how people live their lives in the "burbs. We came across locals walking their immaculately groomed dogs and plenty of cyclists riding their bikes (without helmets). We also saw people out with their blue tarps in the frosty morning, already booking their spots under the cherry blossoms (....or maybe they were stragglers from the night before, who knows?)

Walking to Ghibli Musuem, I knew I was on the right path as there were badges of the museum on the lamp posts leading the way. The museum itself was so charming that you didn't have to be a fan of Studio Ghibli's work to enjoy it. Our ticket also included a short movie called "A Sumo Wrestler's Tail" which was all in Japanese. We didn't understand a word while watching it, but we still got the storyline. It was really fun to watch and laugh alongside with the kids there because it almost made me feel like a little kid again.

The museum had some really awesome souvenirs in the "MAMMA AIUTO!" gift shop, some of the best I've ever seen. Even our tickets, which looked like a film print was cool. It was a pity visitors weren't permitted to take photos of the displays inside, however we were allowed to take pictures of its surrounding like Totoro (a big rabbit-like character) which greets you at the entrance of the gate and the large Laputa- Robot Soldier where everyone was queuing up to get their picture with.

When we headed back to Inokashira Park, we decided to try some of the local street food. What I thought were takoyaki (octopus balls) ends up being glutinous rice balls which gets drizzled with soy sauce when you buy it. The weather was still really cold here so when we notice a big pot of milk-like liquid simmering away we decided to give it a go. The flavour of the drink was err.... interesting and reminded me of a warm yakult mixed with a bit of sake. I later found out the drink we had was called "amazake."

By the time we finished eating, it was not only afternoon, but it was a Sunday afternoon, which meant a perfect time to do a trip out to Harajuku. Sure enough, when we arrived at Harajuku, the main strip of shops were packed with teens and tweens. Some pushing and shoving to score themselves the latest bargains. The atmosphere here was very market-like, there were only a few stores on the main strip worth checking out for me - one of them being Zona Liberta. This store had some really quirky but affordable accessories.

Away from the main strip of Harajuku, there were more mainstream stores, the ones we saw were Beams (I guess our equivalent would be Country Road) which seemed to be everywhere in Japan. My friend also discovered a fabulous ladies shoe store here called Diana, where the shoes actually have "Made in Japan," printed on the soles. 

After our quick tour of Harajuku, we were off to Shibuya. I was so EXCITED! When I first spotted the 109 building and the famous intersection, one of the busiest in the world, I felt like a little kid in a candy store! It was quite a surreal feeling crossing it and it made the Adelaide St/Edward St intersection in Brisbane feel like a tiny, little baby in comparison.

Shibuya 109 is the pinnacle of super girly fashion for me in Japan. The fashion at the time felt very much like "little house on the prairie," meaning lots of florals and frills. I even saw scrunchies being sold at one store, something I haven't worn since the early 90s. Another trend I picked up while doing my paces around the stores were the ubiquitous "bangs with long curls" hairstyle on the girls.

The first time arriving at Shinjuku Station, one of the busiest stations in the world, was really overwhelming. My eyes had never seen so much signage jammed into one station. I'm so glad we were with locals we knew at the time, otherwise my friend and I would of definitely gotten lost!

The restaurant we were taken to in Shinjuku delivered one of our best dinners for Tokyo. By ourselves, we would of never been able to experience this restaurant as the menu was all in Japanese and there were not any pictures to point at. It was such a lovely and stress-free dinner because everything was ordered for us. The sake we tried was extremely concentrated, but it was cool that the restaurant let us pick our own sake cups. The sashimi here was really good too and I wish I could of gotten the recipe for that sashimi and avocado salad dish that I ate because that was really OISHII!! The sample platter dessert that came out here was also fabulous.

In my opinion, a Japan Trip wouldn't be complete without karaoke. So after dinner we were off with our new friends who booked us in for a karaoke session. When we arrived at this karaoke club I was amused by the number of floors they had dedicated to karaoke. We only stayed for an hour which was more than enough considering the whirlwind day we just had. Even without a pedometer, we knew we had clocked up some serious kilometres, but it was all worth it as this day ended up being my most favourite day in Tokyo.

Day 3: Ginza - Akihabara - Ueno Park - Aoyama - Shibuya - Tokyo Midtown

Unless you have loads of cash to dispose of, Ginza would probably not be the place for you as I soon discovered. The streets are lined with rows of expensive designer labels and department stores like Matsuya Ginza, Seibu and O1O1. Apart from that, there wasn't much else to see or do in Ginza. Even the Apple Store was sold out in the iphone case I wanted - how disappointing!

Being a Naruto and Bleach fan, it was actually really hard to find cool merchandise of them in Akihabara. Maybe I wasn't looking in the right place or maybe they were old news on the anime scene in Japan. Of the merchandise I did come across, about 95% of it was unfamiliar to me.

Akihabara didn't live up to the hype of being this anime/manga and electronic town mecca for me. What I do rememeber in Akihabara, was spotting my first supermarket "Y's Mart" in Japan and also having the worst margherita pizza in my life!

Our next stop was Ueno Park and it was really cold here. I think I remember more how cold it felt then actually seeing the cherry blossoms.

Ueno Park was packed with both tourists and locals, most of them already deep into their hanami parties. Even though there were more cherry blossoms out in full bloom here, I could have of easily traded it for a more peaceful stroll through Inokashira Park. At Ueno Park, there were plenty of food vendors lined in one section of the park. It was here, I got to try my first takoyaki (octopus balls). You could only buy them in lots of 6 and unfortunately for me, I couldn't get pass the first one.

Heading off to Aoyama, we got so completely loss and found ourselves in the back alleys of the streets, yet again. It's funny because we always say, "I bet you they didn't mention this place in the guidebooks!"

After unintentionally walking all the way back from aoyama to our hotel in akasake-mitake, we later realise we couldn't find any of the stores on the map because they were all located in Ometesando and not Aoyama!



That night we were off to Shibuya to try our first piece of sushi in Japan. Though I'm not usually big on sashimi, I didn't mind it here. 

By the time we wrap up dinner, it was still kind of early to clock off for the night so we decided to check out Tokyo Midtown. When we got there most of the stores had already closed for the night, except for Tsutaya Book Store - a place I could of spent hours just devouring their fine collection of design books.

Day 4:  Odaiba - Fuji TV Sphere Observation Deck -
Ometasando -  Shinjuku - Akasaka

Waking up this morning, I am pleasantly surprise to discover our room has views of Mt Fuji. Tokyo had been so overcast for the past few days that it was nice to finally have some blue skies.

We decided to do a trip back to Odaiba, having rushed pass it on our first time there. It was around 9am when we arrived- an hour too early to visit Fuji TV's observation deck.

It's hard to believe that in such a touristy spot, there were no obvious places open for breakfast at this time. Luckily, we spot Nikko Hotel nearby - a place we figured would have such restaurants opened.

Upon entering this swanky hotel, we discovered this charming, little restaurant called Sakura. The views from this restaurant overlooked Rainbow Bridge and made for a nice retreat from the freezing weather outside. This was our first time experiencing a traditional japanese breakfast and it was more than my typical fare. (How often do you get served a salmon steak for breakfast?) There were so many dishes to look at with some being familiar and others quite unfamiliar like this cold soup dish that I had which had a poached egg in it and the most KAWAII mushrooms I've ever seen.

After breakfast, we finally made our way to Fuji TV's Observation Deck. The views up here of Tokyo Bay were amazing as well as the architecture, some of which we would later see up close on the monorail back. From the observation deck I could also see where the Sujio-bus (water-bus) docked and this was one of the things I was hoping to do while in Tokyo. Not knowing when it would depart, we made a dash for it. Unfortunately, our efforts were wasted when we discovered departure times were not until another hour. Sadly, we gave it a miss this time, but I'm still grateful for the up close encounter.

After our failed attempt to locate my Y-3 and Issey Miyake stores the previous day, my friend gave me another go at it. This time we got off at the right station which was a good start.

Ometasando is an area where the mainstream designer labels mix with the more niche and cult brands. As we navigated to my stores, it was kind of strange to see brands like Cartier and Prada prop up in the backstreets of these neighbourhoods. 

When we do finally locate my stores, it's in a place my friend refers to as "Middle Earth." Somehow, I was beginning to notice a pattern here. That is, anytime I went looking for something I really wanted in Japan it was either really hard to find, sold out or a combination of the two.

That afternoon we headed back to Shinjuku. We didn't realise it before but Shinjuku had so many department stores- you could literally OD on them! The ones we saw were Odakyu, Lumine, O1O1 and Takashimaya which was where we were heading to find my Y-3 store. When I do finally spot my Y-3 store to make my purchase, it's located in the men section (I wonder what that says about me?)

That night we decided to check out our neighbourhood. It had been a few days since we last had bread so when my friend orders some garlic bread it tastes so good!! And so do the fried chips that came with her steak. I ordered my first bento box meal for the trip, but only manage to eat less than half of it. Surprisingly though, I did get served melons for dessert which didn't cost me that much either. This makes me wonder, "Where are all these pricey melons in Japan people keep talking about?"

Day 5: Shinjuku - Hakone - Fujiya Hotel - Kaiseki

Our time in Tokyo flew by so quick, it felt like we had been on the constant go since we stepped off the plane. We could of easily stayed on for a week and still not have seen everything in Tokyo. As we headed off to Shinjuku, and say our goodbyes to the beautiful gardens of our hotel and Tokyo, we were both really looking forward to taking it easy in Hakone.

Riding on the cute, red tozan railway to our hotel I notice patches of snow dotted along the mountainside. I was quietly excited as it was my first time seeing snow!

As we made our way to the hotel we saw more signs of snow on the streets which only meant to us, that this place was going to be much colder than Tokyo.

Exploring the grounds of the historical Fujiya Hotel felt peaceful and especially beautiful with the mountainside as the backdrop. You really got the sense that you were up here with the clouds. That afternoon we decided to try the cakes we bought from a nearby french bakery. I'm usually a savoury person, but after having a bite into these light and airy cakes it was enough to make me a convert and begin my love affair with cakes and french patisseries in Japan.

That night we arrived at Kikka-so Inn to start Kaiseki - a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner. Upon entry we were politely ask to take off our shoes and put on a pair of slippers. Soon after, we were whisked away into our own private sitting room which looked like one of those traditional tea ceremony rooms and maybe it was. 

Kaiseki was an amazing experience, one that you should try at least once if you ever find yourself in Japan. The whole experience lasted for about 2 hours and felt similar to watching a culinary art show unravel before us. It was not just the plating of the food that got us more interested in photographing rather than eating these pieces of art, but also the exquisite plates the meals were served on. Sure, some of the flavours were completely foreign to my palate but I guess that's all part of the experience.

Day 6: Cablecar - Ropeway - Pirate Ship - Hakone-machi - Pola Museum - Gotemba Premium Outlet - Onsen

To compensate for our extravagant dinner the night before, the noodles we bought from Lawson ends up being our breakfast. So much for living it up!

Our first stop for the day was Gora Park. We hiked all the way up from the station to get there only to later realise we could of caught a free bus. Typical! Gora Park was underwelming, I almost wanted to tell the people who were heading there to take a u-turn because it wasn't worth seeing. The pictures on the paper given to me when I entered Gora Park were much more vibrant than the photographs I came away with. I'm sure this was largely due to the cold weather Hakone was experiencing. 

Today was the day we chose to do all the touristy activities. And today was also the most worst possible weather you of could imagine to do a day trip in Hakone. We experienced the trifecta: cold, wind and rain.

Most of the scenery I saw were of hundreds of water droplets on the frosted glasses of the cable cars and ropeways. Whatever pretty scenery there was, it was all lost on me. 

Even the pirate ship was disastrous! I couldn't see that lovely fuji-san background or torii gates I was hoping for. Instead most of the tourists decided to just stay inside the ship. But for the brave few souls, like myself who ventured out on the decks, all that I could make out were ghostly silhouettes of mountains. Ironically, my only views of Mt Fuji ended up being from my hotel window in Tokyo.

When we arrived in Hakone-Machi, the weather got even worst. My friend and I decided to escape back to our hotel to have a nice lunch and more cake from our new favourite bakery. This was enough to get us re-energised and prepare us for Phase Two of the day.

The Pola Musuem was our next stop. Of all the places, I was definitely not expecting to see the famous "Water Lily Pond" painting by Claude Monet here, so I was pleasantly surprised.

After this we decided to check out the Gotemba Premium Outlet and well, I guess they called it "premium" for a reason. There were suppose to be great views of Mt Fuji from this outlet too, but as usual I don't see any. Instead all that I remember vividly was getting hammered by the wind and rain.

One of my most lowest points on the entire Japan trip was walking across the bridge that connects the west and east zone of Gotemba. This was where my umbrella snapped and it was also where I experienced a "moment."  I think, we all at one point experience these "moments" when we're really far away from home. For me, the umbrella incident made me feel really homesick. 

The "moment" however, was fleeting as I ended up trashing my old umbrella in the ladies toilets and buying another one. Buying an umbrella proved to be much harder than I thought because my options were limited to stuff like frills, lace and other girly embellishments and patterns when all I really wanted was something simple. 

After opening my umbrella for the first time, my friend and I both study it for a second before bursting into laughters. My umbrella looks like something that came off the set of the My Fair Lady movie (which FYI is totally not my style).

When we finally arrived back at the hotel, it was really late but I was still looking forward to having my first onsen experience. I had already chickened out earlier from doing the public onsen which was why I ended up paying for a private onsen experience. The experience ended up being amazing and it felt really good to finish the day on a high note.

Day 7: Open Air Museum - Venetian Glass Museum - 
Lalique Museum - Bullet Train to Hiroshima

Yesterday's weather had really gotten to my friend so she decided to rest up at the hotel for the day while I tackled the elements. 

This was our last day in Hakone and I was determined to not let a bit of rain, wind and cold weather stop me from seeing the things I wanted to see here. The weather looked like it was going to be a repeat of yesterday as I made my way to the Open Air Museum. 

Descending down the escalators and through this dark tunnel made me feel like I was going down the rabbit-hole. I really didn't know what to expect. To my delight, this amazing scenery revealed itself to me and I could see outdoor sculptures, one by Henry Moore and many others just scattered along this picturesque mountainside. It was here, the rain finally decided to stop. 

It doesn't take long for me to realise this is one of best museums I have ever been to and I wish my friend was here to see it as it would of definitely changed her mind about all museums being boring. I could of lingered on for hours at this museum, but the luxury of time was something I didn't have.

The next museum I visited was the Venetian Glass Museum. This was also an amazing museum to see, especially with all the outdoor glass sculptures on its ground. My final museum for the day was Lalique Museum. I couldn't take much photos here, as cameras weren't permitted, but what I did get to see at Lalique were displays of some really exquisite glass pieces like perfume bottles, brooches and jewellery.

While I waited for my bus to arrive to take me back to the hotel, the mountain scenery on this side of Hakone feels so reminiscent of the Glasshouse Mountains in Maleny that for a fleeting moment it feels like I'm back home. It's a strange feeling when the lines between your dream and reality are blurred and even though it's obvious where you are, you still have to pinch yourself when you think "I really am in Japan!"

When I finally made it back to the hotel, it was rather late in the afternoon. My friend was worried because she thought I got lost... but I didn't! In fact, I was slightly chuffed with myself for having navigated all around Hakone for the day. 

We were both ready to leave this miserable weather behind us and make the five hour bullet (shinkansen) train trip to Hiroshima.

The first time we saw the bullet train was AWESOME! And a little scary too, especially when it roared right pass us. Getting to ride on one was really exciting. On our way to Hiroshima, we caught glimpses of some of the cities like Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka which we would later come to visit on our trip. We also had heaps of time to kill and for whatever reason, we decided to put on a mini photoshoot session with our Japanese notes and coins. This was unexpectedly fun and kept us entertained for a bit on our long commute.

That night we rode the streetcars in Hiroshima for the first time before checking-in to our hotel.

Day 8: Hiroshima - Miyajima Island - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum

Today we were off to Miyajima Island - one of my most favourite places in Japan. To get there, we took the long, but scenic streetcar journey from Hiroshima to the ferry terminal.

It was such a beautiful, balmy spring day on Miyajima Island - I couldn't of ask for a more perfect weather. As we made our way towards the famous o-torii gates for a better view, we could see deers lazing around and food vendors selling things from corncobs to fries along the way.

Seeing the o-torii gates felt like having a postcard moment. I could of spend all day just watching it float there in the tidal waters, it was so serene that even the commotion of tourists around me couldn't interrupt the view.

As we entered the Itsukushima Shrine, we spotted ourselves a Shinto Wedding. How lucky! Making a beeline, I could see so many other tourists snapping away that it doesn't take very long for the bride and groom to feel overwhelmed by all the attention.

Taking the stairs up to the Tahoto Pagoda we notice so many beautiful cherry blossoms on this side of the island. The view of the o-torii gates from this shrine were especially breathtaking and from there you could also see the Five Storied Pagoda.

After studying the Miyajima Guide Map, we decided to take the less physical route to get to the top, this meant going through Momijidani Park (deer park) to start the ropeways. It was here, I stumbled across some of the most beautiful cherry blossoms on my entire Japan trip, the yae-sakura variety.

Riding the ropeways reminded me of taking the Skyrail in Cairns. The views from the ropeways were amazing and when we finally got to Shishiwa Station (where you can see the views 430m above sea level) it was even more majestic.

There were so many ways to get down from the mountain. Instead of taking the ropeways back, we decided to hike it down, a decision I hope I wouldn't later come to regret.

After working up a serious appetite from all the hiking, we decided we would eat at the next food place we saw, whenever that would be.....

An hour and half later, we FINALLY got to sit in front of our well deserved bowl of udon. After scoffing it all down, my friend confesses that her 500 yen bowl of udon tasted better than the 12 450 yen she spent on Kaiseki. Sometimes it's the simple things that are best and in our case, nothing beats a bowl of humble udon when you're starving! 

After our fitness session on the mountain, we decided that it was time to leave the island. 

When we finally arrived at the A-bomb Dome site it was already late in the afternoon. We saw hundreds of cranes adorning various memorial sites as we made our way towards the Peace Memorial Museum. At the Cenotaph for the A-bomb victims lots of tourists gathered around, some lighting incense while others prayed.

By the the time we reached the Peace Memorial Museum it was 4pm. We decided not to take the audio and instead do the readings. You need hours for this museum and we only got to see half before the closing time was announced. I really wanted to see the rest of the museum, so we decided to come back the next day to finish it.