Andy & Gillie's Big Adventure!: It’s That Time Again!

Yes we’re off - actually, we have been on the road since 7th October. We flew out of Manchester at a sensible time and arrived in Tokyo the following day after a lengthy stopover in Doha (Qatar). Following a night in an airport hotel - small but adequate - we made our way via the wonders of the JR Train Pass all the way to Sapporo on the northern island of Honshu.

Arriving about 7.30 pm, we availed ourselves of hot sandwiches and coffee in the nearest Starbucks (as you do). The problem we found, in our jet- and train-lagged state, was that we had no idea what was in the wide range of feasts presented to us in garish technicolour and, of course, Japanese! So we erred on the side of caution. Starbucks...

Somehow we navigated the Sapporo subway system and made our way to our accommodation - a very well-appointed hostel with shared kitchen and facilities (but not shared toilet and shower - oh, no, Gillie drew the line at that!). That night we slept on Tatami mats that were more comfortable than expected, but we were very tired.

As we didn’t wake up until about 10.30, we decided that a walk to the Sapporo Beer Museum was in order, so that’s what we did, followed by a taster tray of three of their famous beers. And very nice they were too. The weather was lovely - warm and sunny, with no indication of the horrors that were about to be inflicted on the central area of Japan. That evening we wandered along the street and found a nearby restaurant where we chose our food from pictures presented to us on an iPad. All we had to do was tap on the picture - mostly skewer-type food - and it appeared in front of us in seconds! What’s the world coming to, eh?

When we arrived in Hakodate the next day, we went to the tourist information at the station where a very helpful (and fluent English-speaking) chap told us how to get to our accommodation. We were given warnings about typhoon Hagibis and told that our planned journey for Sunday was unlikely to happen as trains into and out of Tokyo were being cancelled. Our accommodation in Hakodate was tiny and a bit seedy, so we made New Plans: stay in Hakodate an extra night, but closer to the station (our first accommodation was a boring 25-minute walk out of town), then find a pub to watch the rugby. Went back into town and found the ‘Historic Red Brick Warehouse Quarter’ and a Beer Hall to eat in. Initially we thought this was where we could watch the rugby, but not a tv in sight. Slightly close to panic, we discovered Shangri-La in the shape of Woodrow’s British Pub, serving pints and with a big tv screen. We met Brits, Yanks, Kiwis, Aussies, Welsh and Japanese over the weekend and the highlight was watching the Japan v Scotland match on Sunday with very excited and passionate Japanese fans. The cry of ‘Leeeiiitch’ every time their captain got the ball was great fun.

On Saturday it rained all day, so we mooched around, made more plans before more rugby in the evening. The next day dawned bright and very breezy, so we packed up and pushed off from our noisy room, dropped our bags off at our central hotel and visited the Tropical Gardens - basically a big greenhouse with an enclosure for monkeys(!) - and a bus ride to the top of Mt Hakodate, as recommended by Lonely Planet. Well worth it with stunning 360 degree views around the city and peninsula. Then back to town for dinner and more rugby - this time Japan v Scotland - see above.

Monday was a long day travelling. We reached Osaka about 7.30pm, so walked to Domino’s Pizza next door as we were too tired to do anything else. The apartment was great - spacious and comfortable with all mod cons - even a washing machine!

Our stay in Osaka was extra-long - three nights - due to the rearranged plans vis-a-vis Hagibis, so we had a great day wandering around the Golden Buddha shrine in Nara with not-so-wild deer all over the place and lots of tourists (us included). It was lovely to get out of the city and, even though there were a lot of people around, it felt very peaceful. On our way back in the evening, we went into one of Osaka’s many shopping centres, scoffed some Ramen and went on their version of the London Eye. Because we could.

As we had missed Kyoto on our way south, we decided to see some of it on Wednesday, namely the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine which had about a thousand orange arches proceeding up and then down the mountain. We went up, then up some more, then thought ‘sod it’ and went down. Once again, lots of people, but strangely peaceful. Another warm sunny day. It’ll end in tears...

Oh, forgot to mention that we stopped off on the way back to our digs at Dotonbori - the famous area of Osaka that has the most amazing area of neon displays, because we wanted to see the bright lights tonight. Piccadilly Circus and Times Square are bright, but this is, well, BRIGHT! FOR MILES!

Blinded by the light, we went back wearing sunglasses.

On our way the next day, and an easy train trip to Hiroshima. This city is identified by 6th August 1945 and will never escape that, but it has a lot more to offer. Unfortunately, we only had time to take the ferry to Miyajima to see the famous floating shrine, but it was wrapped in plastic undergoing refurbishment so we only saw the shape of it!! We then carried on to the Hiroshima Peace Museum and A-Bomb Dome, both memorials to and symbols of the horrific event of 74 years ago. We spent a very moving and thought-provoking few hours in the rain - which seemed somehow appropriate.

A few thoughts about our experiences so far with Japan and the Japanese people. The country seems to have effectively rebuilt itself since the Second World War, but still has centuries of history to reflect in its culture and development. Maybe because we have stayed mainly in the cities, which are very consumer-oriented, we haven’t seen what life is like out in the country. The people here are so friendly, charming, eager to help and love it when we mangle their language. The cities are sparkling clean (except our part of Osaka) and quite easy to get around. It is a bit of a whistle-stop, but so far we have loved it.

Kyushu this weekend for the quarter finals, then a bit more sight-seeing before settling in Tokyo for the semis and final. Come on England!!!!

Back after Gillie’s birthday!

PS. Hi there time for my little bit. Wow! We still can’t believe we are here. It’s such an amazing country and so different from anywhere else we have been. What I really like is their attention to detail in almost everything. They seem to sort things out before you need to ask. We’re mainly staying in airbnbs which have been really good. Our present one is a brand new apartment with so many mod cons, many that we haven’t seen before or knew existed.

One of the luxuries I’m getting used to is a heated toilet seat! Even the basic ones at the station have them, as well as a control panel to choose which bidet shower option you would like... In the ladies cubicles there are little wall mounted chairs to put small children in while you are busy. Andy confirms that gents cubicles also have this facility which is a good thing too!!

Talking about small children, the Japanese ones are just soooo gorgeous and cute and well behaved and, well, just lovely. Whether it’s the thick dark hair and round shiny faces I’m not sure, but I just love ‘em.

My last observation for this blog relates to the station announcements while waiting for a train. We’ve been on loads of trains so far and this makes me laugh every time. “Will passengers not use their mobile phones while walking along the platform. You may fall onto the track and be hit by a train. This will disrupt our services!!!!!!” Luckily all announcements are in Japanese and English, otherwise this little gem would have gone unnoticed. Time to go now as we are going into town to watch Wales v France in a bar, followed by Japan v South Africa, which should be amazing if last week’s Japan match is anything to go by.

Bye for now

Much love Gillie xxxx