New Years Eve in Tokyo

We traveled in to the city and via a visit to Shibuya and a stroll around surrounding areas, we went to Yoyogi Park. Just outside the entrance to the park, there was a guy with a teddy hand-puppet and a sign which said "Free Hugs" so Eric and I went up and got a free hug. We both agreed he held on a bit too long but it put us in a good mood. Philip got one on the way out. We visited Meiji Shrine in the park. It had a huge entrance and the shrine itself was located in a wooded area in the park.

We went to a running sushi bar. This was my first time properly eating sushi, sushi and nothing but sushi. I already knew I could eat raw salmon and raw tuna. The biggest discovery for me was knowing that I couldn't eat raw eel. Philip recommended it to me and when it was in my mouth, I thought that not only was I going to have to spit it out but I was going to get sick too but I forced it down.

One thing about Tokyo and Philip told me this before we arrived there that just walking around Tokyo is most of the experience and he was right. Trying to take it all in probably what most people do. I don't think there is anywhere else in the world like it.

We popped into to get Purikura pictures. This is a thing that is very popular among Japanese teenage girls. They are group photos of people that you can add silly things to while editing after. They also make your eyes wider for "added cuteness". Cuteness is very important for Japanese teenage girls.



I really needed a Japanese toilet so we went to a bar called the Hub and stayed there for a few hours. We had time to kill as we were not going back to the apartment so there was no rush and we had seen a lot for one day.

We then went to an Arabian restaurant for dinner and 2 of Eric's friends from Toyama who were in Tokyo for New Years joined us. From here we started making our way to Tokyo Tower. We were spending the countdown at Zojo-ji Temple next to the Tokyo Tower. Tokyo Tower looks very similar to the Eiffel Tower, where I spent New Years the previous year. There was saki on sale but we brought our own beers as none of us like saki. The temple was packed and was a lot of fun. When the temple opened, there was a big rush of people trying to get in but most of the people stayed outside under the tower. Once the countdown was finished and everyone calmed down, people started leaving very fast. There was no hanging about.

We went back into Shibuyo and found a huge karaoke bar. Our room was on the 7th floor. It was great. We stayed in there singing until the early hours. It was great fun. One thing I always found interesting in all the karaoke bars I visited, was on toilet trips, seeing the variation of Japanese people singing through the windows on the doors. Most of them simply sitting down but I always saw a few who were really into it standing on the chairs or table pretending they were rock stars. Was pretty funny. After doing a few songs imitating an "auld Dublin man" my throat was in bits.

It was an absolute epic New Years celebration.

While at the train station on the way home, my mother sent Philip a text telling him to tell me my sister and her boyfriend were engaged. I couldn't find my phone charger so my phone had been dead since Fukusaki.

Toyko - Getting There & the Pizza Buffet

We got up, packed and checked out.We were getting a Shinkansen train to Tokyo. I had gotten this type of train from Tokyo to Himeji and to and from Hiroshima.

They are amazing. Incredibly fast and a point on Japanese rail in general, 98% of  trains are punctual to the minute. The ones that leave their stops late are mostly due to suicides, people jumping on the tracks. This is amazing considering how big the rail service is in Japan.

On the train on the way to Tokyo, we passed by Mount Fuji, Japan's biggest mountain. It was very impressive, especially when I'm used to the hills we call mountains in Ireland. It was a long train ride and Tokyo being so big, when we were in the city, it was still a while to go before we reached our stop. We passed through Yokohama too and the stadium used for the 2002 World Cup final.

Our host in Tokyo was a friend of Philip's; Kozue. My first impression of Tokyo was at Shinjuku station, the world's busiest passenger station in the world, was the fact it was so crowded. It was nearly over whelming how busy it was. We made our way by subway and local trains to Kozue's area. On one of the Subways we saw 2 people dressed up as Power Rangers with a sign about something, I thought this was slightly weird and the guys informed me that in Tokyo, nothing is too weird. We met her outside the station and walked to her apartment.

After dropping the bags off, we decided that even though it was late enough and we were wrecked, we would go back into the city for dinner. We got to Shibuya station and right outisde is the famous crossroads. We went up a few floors in a public building to get a great view of the crossing and the mass of people that cross it at once. It was amazing yet I was told it's not very busy due to New Years coming up. Of course we crossed it ourselves.

We were going to eat in an all you can eat pizza place. It was 15,000yen for all you can eat and 5,000yen for all you can drink. This was an absolute steal and I, more than anyone else, got my money's worth. I couldn't stop eating. After a while, they started producing pizzas with strange and unusual toppings. Grapes and melon which I suppose isn't too weird since I like pineapple on pizza but the weirdest was strawberries, Oreos and marshmallows. I wussed out on this one and didn't try it, a slight regret now. After a visit to a bar where we played a few fun drinking games we went back and got the good night sleep we all needed.

Using a photo on Eric's iPhone of Philip's mustache.

Nagoya

We went to the train station Kyoto and had some doughnuts for breakfast in the Mister Donut, they were amazing and on the train to Nagoya we went.We checked into our hostel. Philip had stayed there before so he knew it was good. They had a Japanese style toilet so I knew I would like it too. After settling in, we got a taxi to the city centre and paid a visit to the TV Tower. It looks very similar to the Eiffel Tower.

We then went to a shopping mall that had a ferris wheel attached to the side of it. We decided we would go on it later but never did. We looked in the shopping centre for some food but it wasn't a great choice so we started walking back to the hostel and stopped in to Freshness Burger. A franchise that was great and we ate in a few of them over the trip. We also popped into a few little market places where I bought a t-shirt with Japanese symbols. There was a sign saying what they meant, I forget what it means now but I remember thinking it was stupid.

In the hostel, we got ready to go out and went to The Red Rock, an Australian bar where we ate dinner and had a few drinks. A drunk Japanese girl started talking to us. She lived in Wales for a while. She was  weird but it was entertaining chatting to her.

We then moved on to My Bar, an Argentinian bar. We ended up sitting next to a table of insane Japanese guys. 2 of which really liked to shout over everyone to be heard. At one stage it ended up talking about football which involved us saying the name of a Japanese player or football club and they would shout and them replying by shouting the name of a European team or player and to humour them we were shouting. Our Brazilian waitress seemed to like hanging out with us when she wasn't busy. She spoke English so it was a refreshing change from shouting single words at a group of Japanese guys. At one point one of the Japanese guys seemed very offended because we told him he was lucky to be with his wife. We said this because his friends seemed to enjoy making her look a bit stupid in front of us. Japan is quite a sexist nation and I don't think he liked us defending her making him look stupid. Towards the end of the night, a social website photographer came in a took pictures of people in the bar. We noticed they started telling people that the bar was closed, including the Japanese guys we were sitting with but nobody told us to leave and we were allowed even have another drink. I don't know why but we didn't complain. We left soon anyway.

Eric decided he would go back to the hostel at this point as Philip and I wanted to stay out a bit more. We ended up going to a bar where all the staff were dressed like cowgirls. It was an interesting themed bar but I think very soon into our 2nd drink, we were feeling a bit tired so we went back to the hostel.

Kyoto - Day Two, On Yer Bike !!

We decided that the best way to get around Kyoto for the day was by cycling. After a nice hearty breakfast in a big restaurant that we had to ourselves, we rented bikes for quite cheap. I love cycling around cities that I'm unfamiliar with and this was no different.Our first destination was Kiyomizu Temple, another UNESCO World Heritage site. Just before the temple, there was a very steep hill which we had to cycle up and it nearly killed me. We parked the bikes in a car park just before all the tourist stalls, shops and cafes. It was quite crowded. It was very impressive. Near the entrance, is Tainai-meguri, here you can enter the womb of Daizuigu Bosatsu, a female Bodhisattva who has the power to grant any human wish. It's probably the darkest place I have ever been in. We were guided by a rope and we couldn't see anything, it was completely pitch black apart from a glowing stone. The view of the city was amazing up at the temple. After walking around and having a look in some of the stalls, we were back on the bikes. Cycling down the hill was obviously a lot easier and fun too.

We pulled into a shop to get a drink and Philip led the way out on to the main road. 5 minutes later of cycling, we realised Eric wasn't with us and Philip's phone had died so we cycled back to the shop hoping Eric would go there and if not, Philip could buy a portable phone charger. Eric was standing outside the shop eating an ice cream and told us he saw us cycle away but he wasn't ready and when he tried to follow us he couldn't see us so waited at the shop. Buddy system doesn't work with an odd number of people.

Next on the cycling itinerary was Shimogama-Jinja shrine in Tadasu No Mori forest, one of the oldest shinto shrines in Japan. It was a very nice shrine in a very nice setting. It was a quick visit as there were still a lot to do and see.

Back on our bikes, we went to the Kinkaku (the Golden Pavilion) - Rokuon-Ji Temple. It's a Buddist temple and was by far the most impressive temple I had seen in all of Japan. It was a 3 story with a gold leaf coating standing in the middle of a small lake with impressive surrounding gardens. There was a small little rock monument which seemed to have penises carved into them but on a further look they were Buddhas and a bit beyond that was a wishing chair. We didn't sit on it in fear of being too big and breaking it, the small crowd of children waiting to sit on it was also a factor.

We stopped off at another small shrine before embarking on the long cycle back to the bicycle rent shop. By the end of the long cycle, myself and Philip were in pain due to small saddles. We ate in a ramen place near the train station. Myself and Eric bought umbrellas because it looked like rain was coming and I developed a weird fascination with Japanese umbrellas.

After going back to the hostel and getting ready to go out, we got a taxi to the nightlife area again. We walked around the "night-life area" looking for a place that wasn't an Irish bar and not a sleazy Japanese men bar. We eventually gave in and went to The Gael Irish Pub for a few drinks. It was quiet enough in there. We noticed in each of the booths, they had their own television which was pretty cool. There was a French football match on. After a quiet few beers and observing the people who looked like they were having a work party, we left it at that and went home.

Our taxi driver going home was awful. He took us but didn't have a clue where he was bringing us. Taxi men in Japan look cool. They wear hat like a pilot's cap and look very professional. Most of them know what they are doing too and where they are going. One of our taxi drivers in Kyoto was great. Being a daring amber gambler, he was making our fare cheaper. He didn't have a cap like most of them so we joked that he damn well deserved one for being great at his job.

Kyoto

We got up and organised. This would be my last day in Fukusaki. My final meal in Fukusaki was yet another hot hot ramen. Since it was during the day, the restaurant was pretty busy and it's normal that anytime a customer would enter or leave, all the staff would give a big hello or goodbye and since it was loud, they had to shout. By the end of it I was shouting noises whenever they would. The hot hot ramen was an excellent last impression of Fukusaki. We got a local train to Himeji and then the train to Kyoto.

Our first stop, like any good tourist, was to McDonalds. After going to the toilets, Eric informed me there was a Japanese toilet in there. I was so happy but when I walked in, it wasn't even a western toilet but a squatting toilet. I rejoined the guys broken hearted while Eric greeted me with his excited high pitch giggle. We then went to our hostel. We were too early for checking so just hoped to leave our bags but our room was ready which was great. We left the hostel and went to the Imperial Palace. Philip told us that if you go too close to the wall, an alarm will go off and a voice will tell you to move away.  We approached the wall and stood in the way of what looked like censors but the alarm didn't go off. We walked around the corner and decided we would try again and sure enough a very loud startling alarm went off and a woman's voice sternly told us something in Japanese. I thought it was funny but I was advised it wouldn't be smart to do it again. We could walk around the grounds but people can't go into the palace unless they book a tour in advance and "get permission" to enter.

We then walked to Kyoto Castle only to find out it was closed for the Christmas season. I had still yet to see a Japanese Castle and it wasn't looking like I'd see one. After going back to the hostel to reorganise and have a little nap, we went for dinner in a restaurant called Manzo Hearts. It was a great dinner and the owner of the place was very welcoming. After dinner we went to one of the Geisha areas to walk around and see could we see any of the traditional Geisha. Apparently they are out on the street from 6pm-8pm and unfortunately it was just after 8pm. Walking around trying to spot them reminded me of being on safari trying to spot lions. We went for dinner. All the restaurants had the traditional lanterns outside which looked impressive all lined up on the streets. While walking around, we saw a big black car pull up to an entrance to a building of bars. 3 huge Japanese men in suits with ear pieces got out and one opened the car door and out popped an old Geisha in full gear and an old Japanese man in a suit. One of the security men looked exactly like a large Gavin Henson (Welsh rugby player).

We stopped in for a beer in a Yakitori bar. Myself and Philip had a few beers and Eric ate a chicken leg which cost a lot more than he expected. We then found a very small bar. There were only 2 more customers in there and one of them left letting us know he wasn't comfortable with foreigners there. After a few drinks there we went back to the hostel. 

St Stephen's Day & Hip Hop Dancing

After everyone gradually got up, all the other guests went home, we all started to tidy up and pack for the week. It was horrible. I hate packing, I think everyone hates packing. We then went into Himeji to go to a dance show that Philip's colleague Valerie was in. We first went to hang out at Kozue's house. She picked us up at the train station. She had a heated rug in front of her tv. I lay face down on it and it was tough getting up.

We then went to the venue where the dance show was on. There were one or two other people that Philip knew there too. The show was many different dance clubs with people from about 6 to 25 years old. Valerie was on one of the first and the last. The show started at 5pm and was scheduled to finish at 10pm. We saw Valerie dance and we were so tired that after about 2 hours of watching dancing, we left to get food. We had dinner in Go Go Curry. I had another fine helping of chicken katsukara. We decided that we were so tired we would go back to Philip's place and finish packing. It was interesting to see the show regardless even if we left early.

Christmas Day in Fukusaki

We woke up early enough as any excited children do on Christmas morning. I was tired due to the inability of getting to sleep until about 4am the night before. We got up and got ready to go to a Christmas play that one of Philip and Valerie's classes was putting on.

It was called Fart Bonzai, (Hooray for Farts), not your typical nativity play as it was about a group of children in class and one of them farts so they talk about farts and in the end they are all happy they fart because it feels so great. Philip played the teacher and Valerie had to sub in for a child who couldn't make it. There were other small plays too from other classes. Before it all, myself, Eric and Winnie (Valerie's sister) got a special greeting. Westerners Bonzai !! I scared one child sitting in front of me by doing the tap his far shoulder so he thought it was Eric, Eric signalled it was me and the poor child changed seats. We ended up leaving early because we had to go to Michiyo & Soichiro's for dinner. We all got picked up, Philip, Eric and I in Soichiro's car because we were the men while Valerie and Winnie had to wait a minute for Michiyo.

Their house was amazing. It was huge. We got the tour before dinner and then came the feast. The food was amazing, I ate so much but I just couldn't stop. There were several dishes. Michiyo's friend who helped her cook also joined us for dinner. After dinner, Valerie and her family got dropped to the train station as they were travelling to another part of Japan.

We stayed on and Soichiro showed us a Japanese flag that belonged to his Father. It had messages written all over it from all his friends and was given to him before he headed off to fight in World War 2. We then had some Christmas pudding that Marie (Philip's mother) had sent over to Michiyo. After such a feast it was tough to move. Michiyo and Soichiro drove us back to Philip's apartment and then there was work to be done.

We prepared Philip's house for our Christmas party.

We tidied away the couch and the futons, cleaned and hoovered. Another great Japanese household item was put in the middle of the room although this wouldn't work in Ireland because we don't sit on the floor. It was a table with a blanket attached and the blanket was a heated electric blanket. Philip and I went to the local Supermarket to buy beers and snacks. Unfortunately the overly polite woman with the extremely timid squeaky wasn't working Christmas day. We met the first guest on the walk back as Saki cycled up behind us. We entertained ourselves while waiting for everyone else by playing Pop-Up Pirate. Soon after Kozue and Tsune joined and finally Yuka.

We exchanged our presents. Yuka was my secret Santa and gave me a Japanese tea kit. Eric had previously given us our gifts in a sports bag which was great as it was bigger than the small back pack I brought from home and Philip gave me cans of Japanese beers and asked me my opinion on them. He also gave me a small toy which looked like an evil hen but he said it looked like me. Kozue gave me a shopping catalogue from a toilet store full of different options for the Japanese toilet I will buy when I own a house.

During the party in Philp's apartment, his family Skyped him and we all said hello and Eric in typical weird Eric humour greeted Derek (Philip's dad) by telling him he was sexy and I later found out that Derek knew Eric didn't drink but thought he was the one who sounded drunk. My family were going to Farrell's later on to Skype me too. My parents, Ruth and Dave turned up and got a big loud Japanese Merry Christmas from everyone.

We ended the night in the local Fukusaki karaoke, the same one we went to for Philip's Eikaiwa Christmas party. Highlights of the songs were Eric trying to sing Eminem - "Lose Yourself" and Kozue trying to sing Eminem - "Stan" and missing most of the words. Another group effort of "Fairytale of New York" was an obvious choice and Phil's beautiful rendition of "Be Our Guest" from Disney's Beauty & the Beast.

We then had a few more beers back in the house and when the girls decided it was time for bed, the most quick and efficient sorting out and furniture rearranging occurred. Philip, Eric and I stood idle as our help would have just slowed things down. I was snuggling up with Eric on the floor which was concerning as he is a viscous sleep talker and I thought that may extend to kicking but I was undisturbed all night.

It was a long and epic Christmas day.

Gokayama & Sunshot - Toyama at Night

On Wednesday morning, we were driving 30 miles South to a small village of Gokayama. It's a small traditional village regarded as a UNESCO World Heritage site. We briefly pulled in to Eric's local Combini to get some breakfast, this was usually some sort of sandwich in a packet but in the shop I saw Kit Kats. When Philip came home in the summer of 2009, he brought with him strawberry and melon flavoured Kit Kats which were a unique treat. In this combini I saw the strawberry flavoured ones again but there were also cheese flavoured Kit Kats. The flavour was called Peitit Cheese so I had to buy it to impress my French half. It was a small box with 6 small individually wrapped Kit Kats. They truly were disgusting but I ate 4 of them and decided to bring the other 2 back to Ireland. The drive to Gokayama was a drive with incredible scenery. We were driving along the Showgawa River and stopped to enjoy the view at one point and Eric relieved himself.

We found the car park, paid our entry fee to the village at quite a modern building and while Philip was on the phone to Kay, I amused myself by doing wheelies on wheelchairs that were left for people.

We strolled down to the village, there wasn't much there but the area was very nice, the houses were all thatched. There were a few souvenir shops which we browsed around and a shrine. We then walked to the other side which were similar thatched houses but were accommodation for tourists.

It was an extremely nice remote area surrounded by mountains and a river. Going back up to the car, Eric told me to go in to the toilets and look at the sign with the badly translated English, when I came out, in typical Eric fashion, he was pretending to drive away on me, when I ran in front of the car, we played chicken. I won but not because he stopped for my health but for the health of his black Subaru.

When we went back to Toyama, Eric drove us up to a viewing point where you could see Toyama city which looked very nice at night time. There was another jeep with a couple in it so maybe that was a place to have a romantic moment. Too bad for them 3 loud guys disturbed their mood for a while.

On the morning of the 23rd, We got up early and it was absolutely pouring down. We put all the bags in Eric's car and he drove us to the Koreha train station and left us with the bags, drove home and walked back in the rain. It was late enough when we got back to Fukusaki and we went to eat some hot hot ramen which was delicious. One of my favourite meals in Japan. I had it 3 times in that resteraunt while in Fukusaki. Christmas Eve was a day of preparation. We bought Christmas presents for our secret Santa thing. I had Philip's friend Kozue. I bought her a book that Philip advised me she'd like and some other bits and pieces.

We went out for dinner with some of Philip and Valerie's Eikaiwa class, their supervisor and Valerie's parents and sister in a nearby resteraunt. It was great food. The table was a fire pit and we were all sat around it. I was talking to Philip's friend Michiyo about going to Europe and would it be safe for a Japanese person. I told her that for Japanese people, they would have to be more aware of their wallets as something I noticed in Japan was that being pickpocketed is something that just wouldn't happen and I saw some people with their wallets hanging out of their back pocket. She told me she heard in places like Rome that they would target Japanese because they wouldn't be aware of these things. I aimed to make her not fear travelling to Europe but just to be more aware of her bags etc. We went back home and I couldn't sleep so was on Philip's laptop until the early hours listening to Philip & Eric snore at an impressively loud level and Eric sleep talking proving he was having very weird dreams.