Sniffles, snorkelling and the Sultanate of Oman

I seem to be writing about my travels in reverse. When I started this blog in May 2015, I had just come back from a dream break in Japan and it seemed right that this should mark my entrance in the travel blogging world. What this then means is everything that follows will be a blog post that is stuck in the time-space continuum with flashbacks to the past and real time entries. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Oman- December 2014.

I have a dear friend from Oman who I had met while at university in London. She returned to her native home upon completion of her studies which meant two things; our friendship would continue through the use of sending good vibes and love, WhatsApp, voice messages (and failed google chats), but that also I had another reason to visit Oman.

So off I (and 3 other fabulous friends) went to visit Muscat. I have to say, it is so wonderful to have a local as a friend who can show you all the spots (touristic and otherwise) to visit as well as invite you to crash one of her friend’s weddings.

Visiting in December was absolutely perfect (mid 20’s temperature with a subtle breeze from the ocean), any later and it would start to feel too hot. I was there for a week, and this also was a good amount of time to sight see Muscat as well as take a number of day trips out to sights and nearby cities. Salsalah is a city by the southern coast and is meant to be incredible. I didn’t get to visit on this occasion, but would probably have stayed a week and a half if I had the chance to check it out.

Oman is a beautiful small country located in the Gulf Middle East. Omanis, though Arab, originally and ethnically come from a number of backgrounds including Indian, Iranian and from Zanzibar. This means the culture wonderfully encompasses Arab, Asian and African traditions through food, music and clothing.

To sum up, Oman is a must visit. Beaches, Mountains, Green spaces are all present in Oman making it a perfect destination for those looking to explore a range of landscapes or those who come just for the sun and sea. What I would say is that Oman has limited public transportation and relies solely on the use of a car so either think about hiring a car for your trip, plan for the use of taxis or organise for a private driver to take you out on day excursions.

I’ll cut to the chase and recap on the spots visited.

Muscat:

Royal Opera House.

I had caught an unfortunate cold and fever on the day of arrival to Muscat, which meant missing a visit to the Royal Opera House and spending the majority of the week wearing sunglasses, drinking orange juice and separating my contagious self from my friends via a handbag. However based on the feedback from my friends, this place is so stunningly beautiful, the architect in us all would not want to miss out. If organised enough to come at a good time, the Opera House has regular schedules of performances so bring along your evening gown and a feathered fan 😉

Sultan Al Qaboos National Mosque.

The structure of this mosque is huge, grand with very unique architecture, again encompassing details from other cultures and countries. For instance I had noticed a lot of the tile work on the walls had a Moroccan or Iranian touch to it. The mosque is very open and inviting and welcomes both muslims and non—muslims to visit and find out more about the mosque’s history and Islam in Oman over tea and dates. The staff were incredibly polite and informative and I would definitely recommend visiting the information centre while there.

Beit Al Zubair Museum.

This museum is privately owned and has an extensive collection of items including ancient weapons, household items and costumes. Parts of the museum is built to look like a traditional Omani house which take you back to a different time. It didn’t take long to look around the museum but it was a wonderful insight to traditional and modern Omani customs.

Snorkelling and dolphin/ whale watching

This is an absolute must, must, must. A wonderful stroke of fate meant that the boat trip we booked on was empty and led to the 5 of us having our own private boat to go dolphin watching around Marina Bandar Al Rawdah . This was a once in a life time experience- the water was beautiful, the weather was clear and the surrounding mountains were just so picturesque, it was quite unreal. What made this moment for me was the fact that though we didn’t see a single dolphin, we saw a school of 6-7 sperm whales! As an avid nature and animal lover (and someone who is obsessed with David Attenborough as a result), this moment really made the whole year for me. Watching these huge, oil black mammals navigate through the water so elegantly despite their size was awe inspiring and humbling. If there is one thing you do on holiday (anywhere), it has to be this.

After a perfect 5 minutes or so, we sailed further in the distance to Marina Bandar Al Khairan to go snorkelling. As mentioned, I was brought down with an awful cold and as much as the water was calling me to its depths, I did the sensible thing and looked on longingly at the sea with my feet dipped in the water. My friends who did go snorkelling had the entire sea to themselves. I remember snorkelling in Langkawi and while the experience was amazing, bumping into legs and heads and arms,  I could have done without. There are a number of tour operators who can take you on this trip and there doesn’t seem to be any real difference in price. I believe that they all take you to the same place, but if you wanted to confirm- Marinas Bandar Al Rawdah and Al Khairan are your buzzwords!

Places to eat and relax in

Muscat has a number of wonderful places to eat; the usual global corporations as well as restaurants and cafes that are classy (ie. Fauchon café near the Royal Opera House) , novel (Slider Station) or authentic (Karjeen) depending on what you are looking for.

My friend’s family are members of a private club in Muscat (PDO club) that is situated near Qurm beach. We went on a few occasions for food and general relaxing. As far as I am aware, you need to be with a member of the club to enter, but if you do happen to know someone in Muscat who is, ask them to take you for a coffee- the atmosphere is very family oriented and serene.

Hotels. Muscat has a number of stunning and beautiful luxury hotels. Though we were not staying at these wonderful spots, we made sure to visit them at least for a cup of tea or dinner. The Cheddi, Shangri-Laa and Bustan were all absolutely grand and worth a visit.

Day trip out of Muscat.

This was a busy day. We had a wonderful driver by the name of Ahmed who took us to a number of spots just outside Muscat.

Hawiyat Najam (falling star)/ Dabab Sinkhole.

I still recall how crystal emereld and fresh the water looked. This is a lovely diversion if you are on the road (to one of the wadis’ or Sur town). It was quiet when we visited and there were a few young men who had just finished taking a dip in the refreshing waters.  Local legend has it that the sinkhole was caused by a falling meteorite.

Dabab beach

To be honest, there wasn’t anything too exciting about this beach, but it was a welcomed stopover for a person who doesn’t do too well with roller-coasters or long car journeys .

Wadi Shaab.

This is a beautiful stream with surrounding greenery and mountains. As we had a number of stops to make and were also visiting another Wadi, we didn’t stay long but could see families taking out boats to cross the stream and explore. A definite must if you have time.

Sur.

This is a small fishing town outside Muscat and very quaint. We visited a spot where boats are built and I was amazed at the woodwork and craftsmanship of the workers. I guess I just don’t see that type of work very often in a Western city so was humbling to see how much work it takes to build a boat and then what it looks like upon completion.

Wadi Bin Waleed.

Oh my. This was something out of Indiana Jones. The greenery, the mountains, the water. The landscape was just breathtaking.

Wahiba Sands.

Now as I previously mentioned, I am no good with long car journeys. So when my friend told me we were going to the desert, I thought great, I love me a bit of sand. When she said we were going to go desert safari, flashbacks of me slumped at the back of a car, sweaty, pale and dehydrated in Dubai came flooding back. Thankfully I had armed myself with travel sickness meds and spent the majority of the experience eyes closed and saying my prayers. Though if you like action- you will love this!

Day trip out of Muscat part 2.

Wonderful Ahmed took us for a second day of excursions. The schedule was a little less full due to the distance we had to cover to get to Nizwa but on the way we stopped off at:

Bikrat Al Mouz

Beautiful view of the city and palm oasis that beautify it. The journey up the mountain was terrifying though especially as the path was not marked.

Jebel Akhdar.

What a feast for the eyes. Granted, the journey up this mountain involved me crouched on my friend’s lap and eyes firmly closed so as to ease the motion sickness but the view at the top was stunning. The lunch at Jebel Akhdar Hotel was wonderful, overlooking the city top and mountains.

Nizwa.

Now Nizwa is a city about an hour and a half from Muscat. It has a very authentic and old feel to it with bustling markets where people barter for camels and sheep and is home to the ancient Nizwa Fort (which we had missed the opening times for). Although we had arrived late afternoon and things were starting to calm down for the evening, the atmosphere alone was worth the journey. Nizwa is a UNESCO heritage site as it has a water delivery system that is over 2000 years old.

And that’s my 2 cents, essentially Oman is a must visit. Have you visited? What did you like or enjoy while there?

S

 

Eat in Osaka till you drop

Final stop: Osaka

Before travelling to Osaka, I was told by a few people that there wasn’t much to see but that the food would be worth the trip alone. I would agree with this. Osaka is about 30-40 minutes out from Kyoto and definitely worth the shinkansen train out but you don’t need a lot of time to see the city in whole.

2 nights were spent here and while enjoyed, I think a day and a half would enable you to get a feel for the city.

The main highlight for me was the food. On to that in a bit. The spots we headed to, liked and would recommend are:

Dotonbori Street. Definitely a must if you want to shop. We strangely didn’t do any shopping in Tokyo and left it to the last day to get our souvenirs. Osaka is no Tokyo but there were plenty of shops for us to stock up on make up and snacks.

Minatomach river place is a nice and calm area to just sit and relax in. It branches off the busy Dotonbori so is a welcomed stop.

Namba. This area was nice to just walk around. There is a big book shop in the area that you can wander in and spend some time in looking at manga and magazines.

Orange Street. This street is meant to be ‘hip and happening’. We went either on a day that everything was closed, or because it was hard core raining, no one was around so we only managed to pace through the long street and back to Dotonbori. If you can spare the visit, do as it is meant to be really cool.

Kuroman Market. Again we made the mistake of going at a time that not much was happening at. However this market is meant to be a great spot for local food stands.

Osaka Fish Market. As we missed the fish market in Tokyo, we vowed we would sacrifice our sleep and visit Osaka’s one. Unfortunately a press of a snooze button later, we missed the early start. Determined to still eat a sushi breakfast at the famous Endo restaurant, we still went along. So glad we did, despite the hour wait in the rain. The restaurant was small but cosy and the chefs were really friendly. The sushi was fresh and so delicious. My only hold back was one sushi roll that was called ‘sea urchin’ and was perhaps a bit too juicy for my liking. Definitely a must visit even if you can’t make the 6am start to see all the workers bringing their fish in for the morning’s sale.

Food to try:

There is so much to eat in Osaka. Personal favourites would be the okiniyamaki (stuffed omelette) and Takoyaki (stuffed balls of octopus). I can not believe how tasty these meals were and would happily eat them all day err day. Like the mantra goes- eat in Osaka till you drop! Word of caution though, when pacing the famous Dotonbori street for restuarants- do not be convinced by the people standing on the street who lure you in to their restaurant- twice we fell for this and the food was truly terrible (so terrible we had to end the night eating at Mcdonalds- something we NEVER do abroad). Instead spend your time looking at what you want to eat, check out the restaurant and what it is offering.

I would also say if you fancy Shibuya toast- you can only really get this in Tokyo. We spent the evening with a screenshot of said toast saunteering from cafe to cafe asking if they had it. We even went into a Maid’s cafe to enquire. Rather scaringly, the ‘maid’ waitress looked at us and said alluringly ‘yes I have the toast’ while standing and blocking the cafe door. We smiled politely and quickly made our exit. The story ended with confusion, laughter and basically no toast.

And that’s it for Japan. I can honestly say that this country has set the bar for me and will always be the comparator in terms of experiences and memories. Where to next- await and see!

Other blog posts on Japan:

Thoughts on Japan 

Tokyo 

Kyoto 

 

Kimonos in Kyoto

There is a famous mantra that goes ‘wear kimono in Kyoto until you drop, eat in Osaka until you drop’. I’ll be honest and say I never heard of it until my friend told me. We also didn’t get to wear kimono- but more on that in a bit.

So two hours of super smooth bullet train travel from Tokyo, we arrived in Kyoto and the feel of the city was immediately different upon exiting the station. The city was modern but had a very old feel to it. It rained a lot while we were there so this might have helped create this ambiance of old and nostalgia for time gone by, but none the less the feeling in Kyoto was definitely different to that of Tokyo.

We stayed in a Capsule Ryokan, which was quite the experience and involved negotiating floor space, keeping your coffee mugs on the toilet sink and showering in the bedroom. I am glad I gave it a go, let’s leave it at that.

I’ll cut to the chase- 6 wonderful nights in Kyoto were spent doing the following:

Cafe hopping

Japan has wonderful cafes that you can spend hours just sipping tea and relax in. Along with the strange and wonderful spots like cat and owl cafes, there are also nice spaces for just pure chillage. We woke up one morning, rented some bikes (from Bike cycle and Music Rent) and away we hopped (cycled) from cafe to cafe. Our trail took us from Cafe Bon Bon on to Honyarado cafe which sadly burnt down a couple of months earlier so we arrived at a site that was blocked off and bore signs of ash inside. We didn’t let this spoil our plans so from there we continued on to our next destination, sped past Nijoo castle and biked through lots and lots of roads arriving at Infinity Cafe (Hachihachi.org) and my what a wonder. This beautiful cafe is hidden in a small neighbourhood and surrounded by trees and greenery. It was as though we had stumbled into a forest house. The cafe is run by one man who bakes just enough bread for the day- so if you turn up wanting to try his super amazing german bread, and its not there….well its not there. After a brief rest, we cycled on to our final cafe: Cafe Biblioteque Hello, mainly because the name was brilliant.

 

I should mention that on our last day we also made our way to Urban Guild, a really cool cafe that hosts live music and events. However we got there, climbed up some concrete steps, saw what looked like a group of harmless guys smoking something dubious in the corner and peered our head through the window of the door. Strange eerie music was playing and the room looked smoky. We promptly left and spent our last evening karioking in Kiyamachi and making use of the free hot drink vending machines in the building.

Illuminations and temples

My, my- the temples in Kyoto were wonderful and definitely worth a visit, especially in the evening when illuminations take place. There are so many to choose from to visit, and there are also some entry fees involved. The ones we visited:

Golden Temple (Kinkaju). The temple was beautiful but just as breathtaking was the lake and plants surrounding it.

Kiyomizudera. This historic temple is built on stilts. Enough said.

Kodaiji Temple. I’ll be honest and say I don’t remember much. I think I might have been slightly miffed that I had walked a lot that day and had to pay another entry fee.

Fushimi Inari Shrine. Points to whoever guesses what film scene was filmed here. The thousands of bright orange gates are a sight to behold.

Heian jingu shrine. This was my favourite because it featured a beautiful cherry blossom park and you can participate in a tea ceremony (choshin-tei) that felt authentic and was hidden away in one of the garden paths. We had to re-enter the park after realising we missed it!

Gion

Walking around old Gion is of course a must. The buildings were stunning and it felt like we had stumbled back in time. The only thing I would say is that at times the masses of tourists walking around wearing kimono accessorized with handbags and sunglasses kind of killed the mood for me and often I felt like I was on a pilgrimage with the numbers of people around me. Alas, this feeling was short lived- after all, I was also a tourist (a tourist sans kimono but none the less also a tourist).

Manuyama park is also in Gion, and as it was Hanami, lots of people were sat enjoying each other’s company under brightly lit cherry blossom trees.

Walking paths

Kyoto had a number of beautiful walking paths that you could spend the afternoon just sauntering around and enjoying the view. I really loved Tetsugaku-no-michi (philosophers path) and a special find in the form of Demachiyangi which was a canal path with some green space that the locals would sit and play music in. We spent an afternoon snacking on matcha green pockys and talking with musical university students.

Nara

Nara was a 3/4 to day trip and definitely worth the 1 hour train journey out of Kyoto. The city itself is tiny but was once the historical capital yeons ago. Really there is not much to see here apart from the deers, but they are worth the journey alone. These little busters are super friendly, but only because they are after one thing- the deer biscuits that are sold in the park and you feel absolutely compelled to get. The deer gently prod and nudge you for more, and they don’t give in. You can spend the rest of the day walking through the neighbourhoods, sitting at cafes and getting lost in the windy roads and was a welcome retreat from bustling Kyoto.

Aarishiyama

Bamboo trees. Thousands and thousands of them on a long winded path. Aarishiyama was a day trip (we visited Fushimi Inari in the morning and from there took off) and is absolutely stunning. After marvelling at the trees and walking around the area, we took a local bus to Sagano and ended up in a small neighbourhood. After walking a while we reached Gio-ji Temple, which I would thoroughly recommend visiting. The temple and garden were not as busy, was nestled in the forest and featured all shades of green and was so quiet you could hear owls hooting in the distance. I remember just standing at the side with my eyes closed taking in the sounds and smells of nature.

And finally, we move to Osaka. We didn’t wear Kimono in Kyoto till we dropped.. eating in Osaka on the other hand…

 

 

 

Other blog posts on Japan:

Thoughts on Japan 

Tokyo 

Osaka

Touring in Tokyo

I am usually not a fan of capital cities; mainly because I was yet to find a city that could beat London with both its unfamiliar and familiar duality, but Tokyo had far exceeded that for me. The city was busy, bustling and completely foreign but its safety and serene spaces cocooned me quite nicely into my happy place.

We travelled to Japan at the perfect time of cherry blossom (sakura) season. Along with the stunning light pink petals that were in full bloom across the country, the whole season was very festive in a manner that is similar to Christmas. Products were sakura inspired and flavoured and there were wonderful illuminations and hanami (flower viewing) festivals across cities.

I don’t think you can ever get tired of Tokyo; we stayed for 6 nights and we certainly didn’t do everything. However here are the top spots and tips not to miss out on…

*As a side note, when travelling, I do enjoy seeing the usual tourist spots, but I much prefer to seek out hidden gems and experiences. 

Green spaces:

Cutest couple picnicing at Chidorigafuji

Chidorigafuji-  A really beautiful park set with sakura (cherry blossom) trees everywhere when in season- a really nice park to take a leisurely walk through.

Ueno park– As it was sakura season, Hanami festivals were taking place in public parks. Hanami (flower viewing in Japanese) festivals are essentially picnic parties whereby families and friends gather under the beautiful trees and enjoy an evening of feasting under a stunning display of illuminated lanterns. Top tip is to bring snacks. We picked a perfect spot to people watch (a favourite pastime) and ended up sitting next to wonderful people who shared their food with us- a wonderful exchange of dried anchovies and prawn and cocktail crisps took place that evening. British crisps are an absolute hit!

Illumination at Ueno Park

Yoyogi park-This park had a lot more green space and seemed to attract a younger crowd of students. The neighbourhood was nice to walk around but I think I preferred Ueno park.

Shinjuku gardens– This park has an entrance fee but the walk around the space was really peaceful and serene. Definitely a hit if you like flowers- loads of them!

Don’t miss:

Mount Fuji- This is an absolute must visit! A day trip may be ideal but we managed to get there by 10am, walk across the lake to get a perfect view of the mountain and eat the regional (and awesome) hoto noodles before making it back to central Tokyo for 3pm.

The town was very picturesque

Fuji san

 

 

 

 

 

 

After researching and asking for recommendations, we decided against going to the actual mountain as we didn’t plan to hike and instead looked for the best location to sight Fuji san. Fuji Five Lakes (disembark at Kawaguchi Station) seemed like the best spot and it certainly was. Luckily, the sky was bright and clear and we managed to site the beaut in all her glory. The town was really quaint and quiet, and there were not many people around while walking around the area. If you are going, definitely try and go early as the more cloudy the day gets, the less the likelihood of viewing the snowy white top of the mountain.

The famous shibuya crossing

Shibiya, Harajuku and Otemasando– Spend an afternoon and evening just walking around the golden triangle of neighborhoods and cross at the famous shibuya crossing (to be honest, it was just a giant crossing but fun none the less).

Imperial palace- Again this was incredible to just walk around to see the architecture and natural elements around it.

Neka Meguro– We walked around the canal in the evening after a day of exploring as the illumination was on. Worth a visit if you like leisurely walks by the water front. A side story is that I bumped into an Egyptian friend from university (which is located in London) but had not stayed in touch with for the past 4 years- if you are intrigued, come over here to read about it.

Little Ido

 

Little Ido (Kawagawae)- This was a real wonderful find. It is about an hour out of central Tokyo and as nearly tourist-less!  A lot of the buildings have been preserved from centuries back- it was as though we were walking through old Japan.

 

Hidden gems:

Shimokitazawa- This neighbourhood was hipster town- the Shoreditch of London and really pretty to walk through.The area had trendy cafes and restaurants and hardly frequented by tourists (with the exception of us!) while we were there.

My friend and I had already visited a cat café in penang (Malaysia) and felt like visiting an owl café that was in the vicinity was against our principles as animal lovers. Visitng a bunny café seemed like a fair balance. The experience was interesting while it lasted, before realising the cafe was essentially just a pen for rabbits who were not the slightest bit interested in you and did not want to be picked up. My friend got bitten by one, and things turned sour soon after. Basically, once you visit one animal cafe, you have really visited them all but go for it if you are still a newbie!

Jimbocho- While in Tokyo, we had the opportunity to meet up with a friend of a friend who took us to an amazing local ramen place in this area. The area is known to also be quite trendy and is known as ‘book town’, as lots of books are sold on the street. Unfortunately it was raining when we went, so no books were in sight, but I am told it is quite nice to walk through and peruse the used books on offer.

Aayama flower market tea house- This was a treasured find my friend discovered. Located in Otemanesando, the tea house was part of a flower shop and had a very beautiful and modern feel to it. Definitely a must visit for a spot of tea but probably best to avoid for the allergy sufferers.

 

Purikura– This is a must. In fact, visiting an arcade is a must. Purikura is a photo booth that quite brilliantly churns out a very strange and doll like version photo of your normal self. The experience is fun with company and the end product is really quite fascinating. It definitely makes you think about the difference in beauty ‘standards’ across cultures.

Karioke– This is also a must. The Japanese take their karaoke very seriously and the 10 story buildings dedicated to a good sing song is testament to that. I am definitely one for a good sing song and did not hold back. An interesting tidbit for you is that karioke rooms and internet cafe rooms are often hired by people for the night as a cheap version of a hotel. I can see how this would work as the rooms are private, cosy and dark- perfect for a night sleep.

We had sushi at a really local sushi place (not even sure where we were!). The atmosphere was authentic and the food was great!

Food– If you don’t eat meat or fish, you will probably find it difficult to eat in Tokyo. Aside from an amazing shabu shabu dish at one of the few halal japanese restaurant in the city (we visited Gyomen in Shibuya but looks like there are a number of options), we only ate vegetarian food twice, the rest of the time was noodles or rice with sea food in the form of sushi, sashimi and unagi.

 

 

What we missed out on but may be worth a visit:

Fish market- come here early morning for a sushi breakfast. Unfortunately we didn’t make it here but managed to get to one in Osaka.

Harbour– This is apparently a nice spot.

Pokemon centre– for all those childhood memories.

Ghibli museum– book in advance; my friend, an avid shibli lover did not manage to get tickets for the time we were there.

This about covers it- next stop: Kyoto and a day trip to Nara!

S

Other blog posts on Japan:

Thoughts on Japan 

Kyoto 

Osaka

Japan- general thoughts

I knew before this moment that Japan had captured my heart and had become the country I will forever be comparing against. But I knew for sure when I was cycling through Kyoto, and misjudged how high the pavement was and fell over. An older man came rushing to help me, and despite the language barrier, he kept asking ‘ok? ok?’ before managing the sentence ‘I hope you will still have nice time in Japan’. Even at that moment, he had hoped my fall (which had come about due to my own fault) would not spoil my perception and experience of the country. It was then when I knew. When a sushi chef in Osaka apologised for the weather raining just as we were visiting the city, I knew for sure.

Nationalism exists. But in Japan, it existed in a really valuable form. I had experiences of nationalism in other countries as that of superiority, of ego and pride. But in Japan, the people we encountered loved their country and worked hard to maintain its image as positive but were always very humble and modest about it all. From the apologies about the weather and the smiles of joy as we told people we loved the country right through to queuing up at public transportation stations and communally cleaning up after festivals in the park.

I was in awe of how considerate everyone was towards another, and how helpful. Armed with our trusty portable wifi router (a must hire!), we were able to find our way around relatively easily, however our appearance gave us away as tourists and we would often be offered help in finding locations. One time, a simple question to confirm directions led to someone accompanying us on a 20 minute walk (and run through traffic stops) to help us to our destination. Upon arrival, he pointed at the bookshop, bowed politely and left. Help was never seen as a burden or a favour, it was always viewed as a normal gesture- ‘I have time, so why would I not help you?’. We still didn’t want to put anyone out of their way so decided to always look like we knew where we were going and not ask for help.

I loved that the country was so clean. It was incredible that not a single bin was seen on the streets and yet there was no litter what so ever. People carried their litter with them and hardly ate or drank while on the go so there was no rubbish to be disposed off. Taking off shoes in homes, hotels, cafes, restaurants and some shops may take some time getting used to but if in doubt, simply ask and if you do make the mistake of trampling quite nicely on the floor with your shoes before realising; a simple apology will rectify the matter.

If you are travelling throughout Japan and are a non Japanese national, I would definitely recommend getting the Japan Rail pass. Obtaining this pass meant we were able to travel between and within cities. It is quite a purchase however the cost of a single fare from Tokyo to Kyoto already tallies up to the 14 day rail pass cost.

We flew in from London to Tokyo with a 2 hour layover in Seoul. The journey was very smooth, though I should note that as a conscious meat eater (I try to limit my intake of meat as much as possible), food on Air Aseana airlines is problematic unless the airline is informed of dietary requirements beforehand. There was a situation whereby I spent a 12 hour flight having consumed half a portion of boiled rice, kimchee and pepper paste and tried to sleep the hunger away. On the journey back, my friend and I, fearful of a similar situation, armed ourselves with 3 hot bagels before realising once shared we would have a bagel and a half for a long haul flight. Word of advice- plan in advance!

Another tip- know where you are heading! I was informed prior to travelling that taxis are incredibly expensive in Tokyo so in order to avoid the high cab fare, we decided to get the fast express train into the city from the airport. I had been tasked with finding directions to the hotel from the station; a relatively easy ask however in my rushful state, I had only got as far as to the Tokyo station we would have to disembark at. The rest of my instructions were thus ‘From Shimbashi station…8 minutes on foot’. There was a still silence before my friend remarked ‘8 minutes on foot…. to where?!?!?!’, Luckily, though we arrived in Tokyo late at night, the closed information desk still had a phone call service. We arrived in safe fashion (Japan is super safe) but a lesson had been learnt that night- know where you are going.

Surprisingly the language barrier was not too significant. We had learnt a few words in advance (see below) to help us along our way but for the most part, there was enough signage at stations for us to understand how to get around.

Konichiwa (hello)

Ohiyo (good morning)

Sumimasen (excuse me)

Gomen’nasai (sorry)

Sayonara (good bye)

Hai (yes)

Ie (no)

Ofcourse, there were challenges to not speaking Japanese. While walking through the backstreets of Nara, we came across a woman holding her hands out and wearing what I thought was an apron. Assuming she was signalling us to enter her cafe, I began taking my shoes off at the door before realising this building had photographs of children on the wall and actually looked like a home. The sweet lady, either was too kind to stop me entering her home or didn’t mind me cheekily inviting myself in followed me in to her own house. Suffice to say, we exchanged pleasantries in the forms of smiles and waves and I slid quickly back out to the back street.

On another occasion, we were on the hunt for shibuya toast. Having missed our chance to experience the delight that is sweet toast in Shibuya, Tokyo, we began sauntering into cafes in Osaka enquiring if they sold toast. This just didn’t do so in our audacious manner, we googled a picture of said toast and began displaying the picture in front of confused passer bys. One man, confused at our insistence on consuming toast, apologetically remarked that he didn’t know as ‘boys don’t eat toast, only girls’. Word of advice; this approach could work but choose your victims to ask carefully. We didn’t find toast that evening, but spotted it in Seoul airport on our layover- it was delicious!

An absolute must have for travel in Japan is to hire a portable wifi router. You can hire the router in advance and choose to collect it at the airport or have it delivered to your hotel. At the end of your stay, you simply post the package in the post box. This was honestly so useful, especially as we were able to use map apps to get to places and google things to see and do on the go. We used e-connect.

Finally a word on the Onsen (public baths). We had fully intended to try the onsen experience at our hotel. Until we realised the clothing (or lack of) rules and the impossibility of remaining with a towel. Upon discovering that the onsen was a big giant bath tub, we quickly and quietly walked back downstairs in our robe kimonos with not a word exchanged.

So where did we go and what did we do:

Two weeks in Japan: London –> Tokyo (6 nights inc. ½ day to Mount Fuji) –> Kyoto (6 nights inc. 1 day trip to Nara) –> Osaka (2 nights).

Next blog post: Tokyo and its busy and bustling manner (and I promise some pretty pictures).

Other blog posts on Japan:

Tokyo 

Kyoto 

Osaka