Arriving off the overnight bus in Toyko, my iPad decided to be difficult and not show on the map where I was. So the good old fashion, 'Ask someone for help' came in. The guy was seriously helpful. He asked me where I was wanting to go and then took me to the train I needed to catch. Two trains actually - he went with me to the first stop, then showed me to the second train. Despite 3 attempts at saying that I will be going there tonight, and today I will just be wandering around the current area, he insisted that I get on the train, which I finally just gave into lol. Which meant that I got the day to wander around Chiba, which is near/part of Tokyo (the city never really finishes). Which turned out to be fantastic. Got to spend the day exploring, and there are plenty of beautiful beautiful parts. Later that day I went further into Chiba prefecture to a town called Ishinomiya, which is probably the size of Paeroa, and on the east coast. There I met up with Satashi San, the surfer dude from Ishinomaki, and went to the place that I would be sleeping in for the next few days. Again, I was very kindly allowed to stay there for free, which was fantastic. The next day, I went into Tokyo city to catch up with friend from New Zealand, who kindly took me to the Tokyo Sky Tree (only about 634 m high O.O), then to Asakusa Temple (one of the most famous temples in tokyo), and finished off at Daiba - super wealthy shopping district island. One of the best sun set views I've seen. And to make it better, they had a life size Gundam there.. Awesome xD (Gundam is like transformers, only they don't normally transform, and they are polited by humans). I had a fantastic day with my NZ friend and her friend that also came along. Again, reall appreciated it, it was awesome to have some kind enough to show me around xD. The other things I did in Tokyo was go to akihabare(the electronics and anime center of the world, spend a day of fun there. Highlights were the Gundam Cafe and AKB 48 cafe (it soo so different to NZ culture. An Nz equiviant would be like having a 'Feelers Cafe')). On the last Day in Tokyo I spend with another friend from nz, to be joined later by another NZ friend. Again, another day where I really appreciate the time that people took to show me around. Got to spend a lot of time checking out some of the jewellery scene in Tokyo (thanks Namiko XD). After an awesome dinner with my friends there, they showedme to the bus stop for the overnight bus to Osaka.
Osaka
Started off the day just by wandering around, before meeting another NZ friend who I would stay with for the next few day days. Now I've had many cases where I've just happened to bump into people that I've met along the way, but this would have to be one of the most out the - I bumped into the guy that helped me on the plane on the way over. Awesome having a good catch up with him. (the day before I bumped into (litteraly) the Man how run Samaratians Purse Japan and his wife, then the day after I would bump into a guy who also worked up in Ishinomaki at the same time I was, fully awesome!!). Over the next two days in Osaka, I spent most of it looking around the fashion districts which I have to say, Osaka is totally fantastic for fashion, or hanging out with my NZ mate. Again, incredibly appreciative of being looked after.
While in Osaka, I spend one day in Kobe. I had long been looking forward to going to Kobe, and it definitely ticked the boxes! Seriously beautiful. The day started of (and carried on) with much wandering about. Again, as well as seeing what the place was like, I was also on the hunt for any good galleries. I have to admit, although I did find some awesome galleries, I didn't find any that were what I was looking for. On the other hand, I did find some fantastic Jewellery shops, and possibly have some good leads there (fingers crossed). After some initial wandering, figured that the time was nigh to tick an important thing off the bucket list. Try the fabled 'Kobe Beef'. After much great adventures trying to find a restaurant that I was certain that had it(opposed to 'Kobe Style Beef') eh, I did find a real awesome, but super classy place. First impression after 'this place is awesome', was 'they get lots of stupid tourist coming here to try Kobe beef. But the meal and experience was fantastic. They have a chef cook your meal in front of you, and the guy I had was awesome. Between conversation about NZ and the all blacks, he gave me great suggestions of different ways to eat the beef. I have to say, wasabi was the best
Anyway
After this, I figured that I was so close to the hills, I should go up at least some of the way. And I'm glad I did. Although this ultimately would mean that I would miss out on seeing many galleries, it did mean that I got to see Kobe in all it's beauty. A serious stunner. Loved walking around all the quirky streets. They style of most of Kobe has a huge European influence, and it was nice seeing the blend of the two cultures.
From there I headed down to the water front, which was also fantastic. I got down there at sunset, so I got the best of both worlds - the fading sky, and then later, the awesome Kobe city light. Awesome awesome.
The last few days have been spent in Kyoto, saying my good byes here, which goes without saying, was seriously fantastic. My japanese friend Ryo San had a Takoyaki night, which he kindly invited myself and friends, to join in with homemade takoyaki (delicous!!). Again, totally fantastic, meeting an awesome fun group of Japanese people. For the last night in Japan, another awesome japanese friend, Hideyuki San, took my (awesome) school friends and myself out to a rad little bar in the back streets of Kyoto. A totally great night. Lets just say, im at the airport now waiting for the plane, and 7 at night with only 30 min sleep from the previous night xD. So super tired lol. So if some of this update is a bit brief, i hope to go over it with each of you in person the next few weeks xD. Then the perfect finish today was with some of my school friend, lunch, goodbyes, some tears :,) love you guys. ( sorry, this is brief - got to go catch plane in a min :p)
So this is over and out for me!! Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read my rambles. God knows (and now you too) how long they take to do. I can tell you now, that I have no intention of becoming a writer in the foreseeable future lol.
Seriously looking forward to seeing yoll soon. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions when I get back. I have a shocker memory, and questions help jumpstart my mind.
See you all soon!!
Asher
Location:Kansai Airport
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