Tokyo Holiday

As I was working on Christmas Day this year (but we had a Christmas Party on Boxing Day, so it still very much felt Christmas-y at work) I knew I wanted to have a good holiday after. So from the 28th to the 30th I visited Tokyo! I knew the district I wanted to see most was Akihabara so I booked a hotel there and booked the Shinkansen too; it gets extremely busy around the end of year, as lots of people visit relatives or return to their family house before/at New Year. For a reserved seat (you can buy unreserved which is cheaper then a reserved ticket but you might have to stand if the train is busy) it was around £100 (20,000 yen) for a return trip. Considering the speed, comfort and good service of the shinkansen I thought it was worth it! The service is miles better than the British Rail system anyday, and you can get a view of Mount Fuji on the way!

I caught a glimpse of Mt Fuji on the shinkansen!

On my first day I explored a bit before checking in to my hotel. I arrived at Tokyo Station around lunchtime, it was definitely the busiest place I have been in Japan so far! People were flowing everywhere like water, and there were lots of foreigners too. I took the train to Akihabara and the first thing I saw when exiting the station was a huge Sega arcade complex!

I played some machines there then visited a Maid Cafe to relax for a bit. The staff were cute in every sense of the word! From their uniforms to the way they spoke and acted, it was adorable. Then I got some very cute food as well! They also put on a little show, and got the customers to join in too, it was very fun! It was a unique experience, I definitely recommend it!

I won the Samurai Cat at the Sega arcade :3

After browsing more I retired to my hotel. I booked a 2 night stay with the APA Hotel in Akihabara. I chose them mainly because it was a great-looking hotel but not too expensive, and also a 10-min walk to Akihabara station. It was an excellent stay with lots of nice amenities, a comfy bed and polite staff.

The next day I went to the Ikebukuro district to visit the Pokemon Centre. There are a few in Tokyo but this one is the new Mega Centre (it was celebrating its 1 year anniversary when I visited) and it had lots of great things! 

The biggest Pikachu I've ever seen! 

In the same building as the Pokemon Centre (the 'Sunshine Prince' building, a massive shopping centre) there was also advertising for the 'Tokyo Sunshine Aquarium'. It wasn't until I got in an elevator after visiting the Pokemon Centre, that I realised the aquarium is on the rooftop of the shopping centre! I got a ticket and it was amazing, there were huge pools and tanks inside and a big open-air bit outside too (though it was very cold!)

On the 3rd day I explored the area around Tokyo Station before heading home. I found the Godzilla statue in the central business district. I only knew of it because it was on a map I got at the station; I expected a huge building-sized statue but sadly, it's just a smallish 'commemorative' type statue. Still worth seeing, though!  

In short, I had a wonderful time in Tokyo and can't wait to go back! It's busy, full of anime/games and nerdy stuff, and great food! It's everything I expected when I came to Japan and more! 

Kyoto Holiday

From the 8th to the 16th November, I had my first holiday at the Bohme Academy. I originally planned to travel to Seoul in Korea, but it became too expensive and complicated to plan with little notice, so I instead chose to stay in Japan and visit Kyoto for 3 days. I had 2 main reasons I wanted to visit Kyoto; the Golden Pavilion temple Kinkaku-ji and of course...the 'mecca' for many, many gaming fans- the Nintendo Japan HQ building!

So I booked a 3-night stay in a hostel on Booking.com. The International Guest House Tani House was cheap enough (6000yen for 3 nights, about £30) and had good reviews, so I went with that.
To get to Kyoto from Ichinomiya I took the train to get to Nagoya and then rode the Shinkansen (Bullet train). It was expensive compared to the normal trains (another 6000yen each way) but still better than British Rail prices haha (and better service/cleaner trains!).

The best part of travelling in Kyoto is the bus service. It can get pretty crowded, but basically the buses have a flat rate of 230yen for adults (just over £1) and you can stay on the bus as long as you want. It was a 40min journey from the Kyoto station to the Tani house (which took me a while to figure out, as google said to get the bus from the Emmachi Bus Station, but confusingly here, normal bus stops are called 'bus stations'. So I wandered around for about 30mins looking for a big bus station building...) and yeah, the cost was still only 230yen. You also pay as you get off the bus, and the machine gives change!
I wish First would take a look at this...

On the first day I took the train to Jujo and followed Google's directions to the glorious Nintendo HQ buldings. My heart skipped a beat when I could see them over the other buildings, haha!

After being told I wasn't allowed in to either building (well I had to at least try!) I decided to grab some lunch from the restaurant across the road from them. While I ate (about 12ish) some employees came as well! I wish I'd been brave enough to chat with some of them, but I don't trust my Japanese level that much yet and I didn't want to bother them. If it had been Miyamoto of course I would have jumped at the chance to talk to him!

After that thrill ride, I returned to the main part of Kyoto, and visited the Kyoto Tower. There so many gift shops and souvenir stands I could feel my wallet emptying by just entering! I got a few trinkets, then relaxed in Starbucks. They do an excellent 'crunchy toffee' latte here just now, with cornflake sprinkles. It's pretty tasty!

The next day I went to visit the Kinkaku-ji, the temple with the Golden Pavilion. It was a cloudy day, so my pictures weren't great, but it was still great to learn about the temple and do fun things like get my fortune told and taste some good mochi! I also visited some of the surrounding shrines.

After that, I visited a nearby Cat Cafe, Nekokaigi. It was so relaxing, and the cats were super-cute and really soft! I think many people in Japan bathe their cats, and you can really tell the difference!

                                                  

I will definitely visit Kyoto again. While I did achieve my two primary goals, there is so much more to see there. I fancy going around the Christmas period, but we'll see!