I love Japan!!! The food, the people, the few sites we got to see in two weeks, the language, culture and even the small tremor of the earth we felt one night while falling asleep. Our first night in Tokyo was welcomed by a lovely couple that invited us to stay with them through Couchsurfing.org. Keita met us at Gotanda Rail Station and walked with us to his flat where his lovely girlfriend was preparing a meal for us. We put our bags down, and through the major language barrier enjoyed a meal of sushi, sauté, Kirin and miso soup. They would like to open a guesthouse when they retire so for now they invite people who are planning visits to Tokyo into their space and show them around when they can. Keita spent the following day taking us to all the embassies we needed to visit in the attempt to get a Shengan visa for EU and was so patient looking up addresses and walking in the heat with us. We spent that night thanking them with a meal Craig and I cooked for with foods we found from local markets and grocers.
After only 4 days in Tokyo we took a super fast bullet train to Kyoto where we stayed in a very clean hostel with little cubicles for beds and nice Japanese toilets with the bidets I've fallen in love with. We spend the next few days on bikes exploring temples, back streets, parks, and finding the best Ramen in town. Oh and we found it! 4 days in Kyoto didn't seem like enough but we packed as much into our time there as we could before heading to Osaka for the last 5 days in Japan. We got on bikes and explored some more. With Craig's expert navigation skills and my sense of adventure we found some really cool places and things in Osaka. Being one of the highest populated cities in the world, it's big. But on a bike you can see it slow enough to take it in but faster than walking which would take triple the amount of time to cover the ground we did. There's ferris wheel we enjoyed the view of the whole city from right next to one of the largest aquariums in the world with a whale shark, which we didn't visit. I'd rather spend the money scuba diving to be honest. Aquariums are like zoo's to me. Cruel.
Osaka has some serious Baseball. So since there were no Sumo matches while we were there we got the cheapest seats we could and went to a Japanese baseball game. The Osaka Buffaloes vs the Osaka Tigers. We were on the Buffaloes side with a bunch of highly participating fans who were proud to have us there. Some of them even offered us some of their snacks! So nice. With one grand slam from our team and two more runs in the 7th inning the Buffaloes took the game! We had a really good time. Next time we'll know that you can bring your own drinks and snacks to these games. The gate check dude will even give you a cup for your own beer you bring from the store. Nothing like any US sporting event where they capitalize on you having to purchase concessions from them.
The best way to explore Kyoto and Osaka is on bike! If the hotels you stay in have free bike rentals like ours did you save enough money and burn enough calories to spend it on more delicious food which both these places are well known for.
From Gotanda we went to Asakusa area where the Sky Tree lives and our new hostel we would call home for the next 2 nights. One guarantee in Japan is that even if you're not paying much for the place you stay, it's still going to be nicer compared to most other countries you're in paying the same amount. The toilets are always nice and the place will be clean. At least this was our experience of a budget hostel.
Mika and us at one of the lakes around Mnt. Fuji.
After only 4 days in Tokyo we took a super fast bullet train to Kyoto where we stayed in a very clean hostel with little cubicles for beds and nice Japanese toilets with the bidets I've fallen in love with. We spend the next few days on bikes exploring temples, back streets, parks, and finding the best Ramen in town. Oh and we found it! 4 days in Kyoto didn't seem like enough but we packed as much into our time there as we could before heading to Osaka for the last 5 days in Japan. We got on bikes and explored some more. With Craig's expert navigation skills and my sense of adventure we found some really cool places and things in Osaka. Being one of the highest populated cities in the world, it's big. But on a bike you can see it slow enough to take it in but faster than walking which would take triple the amount of time to cover the ground we did. There's ferris wheel we enjoyed the view of the whole city from right next to one of the largest aquariums in the world with a whale shark, which we didn't visit. I'd rather spend the money scuba diving to be honest. Aquariums are like zoo's to me. Cruel.
Osaka has some serious Baseball. So since there were no Sumo matches while we were there we got the cheapest seats we could and went to a Japanese baseball game. The Osaka Buffaloes vs the Osaka Tigers. We were on the Buffaloes side with a bunch of highly participating fans who were proud to have us there. Some of them even offered us some of their snacks! So nice. With one grand slam from our team and two more runs in the 7th inning the Buffaloes took the game! We had a really good time. Next time we'll know that you can bring your own drinks and snacks to these games. The gate check dude will even give you a cup for your own beer you bring from the store. Nothing like any US sporting event where they capitalize on you having to purchase concessions from them.
The best way to explore Kyoto and Osaka is on bike! If the hotels you stay in have free bike rentals like ours did you save enough money and burn enough calories to spend it on more delicious food which both these places are well known for.
Mika Masuda, a kind loving friend who drove us to the most lovely Mnt. Fuji San on one of her few days off. I met her in Hawaii when she came to visit the boutique I was working for, while she was the manager of our Japan store at the time. Thanks to Facebook we stayed in contact and i'm so happy we did. She treated us like long lost friends not only driving us to Fuji and taking us to a very lovely dinner. Our last night in Japan she picked us up from the train station, took us to her favorite local restaurant and let us sleep in her home. It is people like this that inspire me to be a better person than I am and think of the way I treat people. Thank you Mika San again for your love and hospitality.
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