Today we started the day off with eggy bread which really set us up for the day.

Reading about Japan and safety, I had read quite a few posts like this one.
Lost something in Japan? You’re in luck — chances are good that you’ll get it back. Countless travelers in Japan have reported being reunited with lost valuables, including wallets with all the cash intact. You can attribute this to the overall honesty of people in Japan as well as efficient tracking systems for lost property.

So today on the way to Hakone Open Air museum we decided to pop back to the onsen theme park as we were passing it, to try to find the elusive bra. Popped in and had to try to explain it all again, ferried round the place to explain to people with increasing levels of English. I saw the tracking system at first hand, the log books etc but drew a blank.

On a side note, the previous day Pete had left his shoes where we were staying and when we came back 12 hours later his shoes were still there!

So braless we continued to the Open Air Museum. It’s a bit of a misnomer as it is full of sculptures and artworks. The first hall had art you could interact with which Pete readily complied with.

Then one of the curators took one of us together.

Upstairs there was an artist in residence called Yoshiaki Kaihatsu. This is what he says about himself:
I am primarily interested in social services projects. Following the belief that works of art do not necessarily have to be objects, I am working on projects that incorporate direct communication with people. However, as viewers often experience problems in identifying such intangible projects with artworks, in my attempt to find new ways of expression, I conceive my works as tools, which can be immediately recognised as art by any viewer.
My work is thus engaged in providing social services, which may lead to a form of art activism. I believe that this approach favours the emergence of an advanced form of insubstantial art, echoing the forging of a new mentality and social change in the near future

His project here is linked to Picasso. He explained to us that Picasso produced 80,000 pieces of art in his life time. Kaihatsu’s premise is that he is trying to replicate this by creating art and letting visitors take away a piece of his artwork, which in turn they in turn are taken to their homes, photographed and emailed back to him. He had made a yurt like structure in the gallery and when he receives an email he prints the picture off and displays it in the yurt.

So we picked a piece of art, took his card with details and will email him when we get home. So a bit of Sheffield will be there!

The grounds were beautiful, with sculptures dotted around.

As it is in a region of hot springs there was a ubiquitous foot spa, which was great because the humidity here is relentless and being able to relax for a moment is very much needed.

They have a permanent Picasso exhibition, but you couldn’t take photos.. There were some beautiful pieces, especially of his ceramics. Picasso didn’t start doing ceramics until he was 60, but as with all his art he was very prodigious in this as well. There were also 16 portraits of his second wife Jacqueline, each one slightly different. In his lifetime he kept the last one and did not make it public. Here there were all housed together in a line, showing his method in reaching what he thought was perfection.

In between some of the outside exhibits was pond filled with huge koi carp. You could feed them, despite visitor after visitor feeding them, each time the food came out there was a tangible frenzy. I fed them too and they seemed as though they could jump out of the water to chomp on a bit of pellet. They say that some koi can fetch thousands, looking at the size and quantity in the pond there was at least 1/2 a million worth!

Leaving the museum took us to another interactive area, which gave Pete a chance to be a moving sculpture.

We took to the road heading north west. The route took us quite a circuitous way so it was a bit of shock turning down a road and finally seeing…. Mount Fuji.

Not the best of photographs but in real time it was much clearer, it was quite breathtaking but also such a surprise as actually getting to see it without mist and cloud encompassing it, is quite an elusive thing. Pete was really excited!

Carrying on our journey we found a lovely michi to stay at, by the foothills of another range of mountains with its own supply of ‘famous’ mountain water.

We took a lot away with us!

We knew Japan was going to be expensive so we decided to try to cut costs as much as possible by cooking etc. We have been trying Japanese food on the way, sampling three different kinds of mochi. Mochi are delicious rice cakes, the rice is pounder into paste and moulded and then filled with different centres. But on the whole we are trying to cook our main meals.

Arriving at the michi I quickly began to cook a meal by the edge of the stream. It really was lovely! We garnered the attention of an old Japanese man who was really interested to know what I was cooking. I felt like Keith Floyd when he used to do those far flung cookery programmes in bizarre places. We don’t speak Japanese and he didn’t speak English, so the gist of the conversation was gleaned from hand gestures etc.

Initially we thought he wanted some food so we offered him a bowl. No… He wanted to know what was in it, so I explained aubergine, pepper etc. He then brought out a huge shopping bag full of cucumbers which are called kyuri in Japanese, we know this as he kept saying it. Then he held his hand out, thinking he wanted money but rather he wanted a little taste of the food. Again we offered a bowl but he was adamant he wanted this boiling hot food in his hand. Tasting it he smiled, thumbs up and then walked away leaving us with about 20 cucumbers.

That night we fell asleep to the tune od Auld Lang Syne from a shop, not the first time we have heard it play here.

Today was amazing from beginning to end. On the way to Hakone cable car we had to stop as there was a huge religious procession going through the village. Have tried to find out what it was to do with but have drawn a blank but think it is linked to the shrine here. It was really impressive. Many in the procession were wearing huge bells around their waists.

In Shinto, bells have long been used at shrines and in ritual dances and processions to get the attention of gods and bring them down among the people to offer protection. “Because of these and other traditions, there is a deeply rooted belief in Japanese culture that the sound of bells wards off evil and brings protection.We decided to abandon going to the cable car and walk to one of the most famous torii In Japan, also described as the top picture perfect destinations here.

The light is difficult as although by this point it was sweltering and temperatures nudging over 30 it is overcast.Just as we were about to leave the religious procession had moved on to the lake and a flotilla passed by. I managed to just capture this next photo.

We were lucky to have been able to take any photos here as when we passed later there was a huge queue of people waiting to ‘capture the moment.’ Giving the impression to the folks back home that this is a quiet place of tranquillity and contemplation as opposed to teeming throngs wondering how to achieve the best selfie.We went up the mountain to the cable car and the road was blocked and we were told would be for some time. It had felt quite ominous as we climbed up the mountain range as a snake slowly slithered across the road in front of us, so slowly and without a care in the world that we had to stop. It was brown with black markings so could have been an adder or a mamushi which is even worse, safe to say I was very glad of the fact I had the car between me and it. It has made me wary.So plan B was put into place and we drove to Hakone ropeway and managed to get a Hakone pass that saved us huge amounts of money with many things free and lots of discounts elsewhere.

When visibility is good you are supposed to have panoramic views of Mount Fuji but I can imagine that happens very rarely. As a result at the bottom of the ropeway you can have your picture taken with a sunny backdrop of Mount Fuji for a price.

However you do get really great views of Lake Ashinoko and other mountains in the area. Going up in the cable car we saw blankets of bamboo covering the mountainside. The cooler air at the top was a godsend.A short walk away, on the actual peak of Komagatake, stands the Hakone Shrine Mototsumiya, the original original one and I can see that if Mount Fuji were visible this would have been a very spiritual place.

This is what the view should look like, there was an old photo in the departure area at the top, probably the last time it had been glimpsed as the mist generally covers it.When we came back down we could hear really loud drumming so went to investigate. It was amazing, four talented young people and two adults.Taiko is an ancient Japanese form of percussion using large drums. The drums range in size from roughly a snare drum (“shime”), to drums as large as a car (the “o-daiko”). The most common drum size in taiko is the “chu-daiko” which is the size of a wine barrel. It is incredibly loud and energetic, I was mesmerised.

We then were able to go on the boat tour which again was part of the pass. A few facts I learnt on the trip – only because it was repeated a lot by the commentator. The lake is 20 miles in circumference and never freezes as it never gets 4 degrees. Also the lake is a crater lake formed between a tricone volcanic ridge. A geographers dream! For me it looked pretty and it was cool – a bonus.

It stopped off at different points around the lake and there was time to pop into shops etc. Brilliant as we were able to have a cheeky ice cream!Hitting dry land again from where we began meant we had time for the aquarium (also included in the pass). A lot of it was good but some parts, the seals and turtles not so, I later messaged them.As we were leaving the aquarium there was a Osaka conservation tent with huge beetles. From what I could gather it was about trying to break barriers between these bugs and humans.

It was HUGE!After this we decided to have a break. At Christmas my mum. Gave us 4000 yen and we really wanted to spend it on something special. With that in mind we went to Kowakien Yunnesan, an onsen theme park. A benefit is you can use wear swimming costumes and it’s mixed. It should have close 5000 yen but managed a reduction.I didn’t take my phone in so have downloaded photos. We soaked in a wine onsen, a coffee one and a green tea one. Odd experience to say the least. There was a more traditional area outside
With three different temperatures of water where you could sit back and soak up the views. It was great. Another part had a cave system with tropical fish. There was lots more but a very memorable way of spending Xmas money!I spoilt it by loosing my bra! God knows why. I searched high and low to no avail. So had to ask at reception. Lots of sign language and embarrament later it had well and truly walked!

So today we said goodbye to Tokyo and headed to Narita to pick up the camper van. For some time emails had been passing back and forth to the company, some understood and some not. I was quite excited to finally meet who we had been corresponding with.

What a difference a few days has made and doing the return journey towards the airport we definitely felt more like pros, getting from a to b with ease.

Getting into Narita I had to ring them so got to grips with a Japanese pay phone.

Haven’t used a pay phone for years and it was lovely that the ubiquitous smell of piss and stale cigarettes that I remember from the UK was not the case here.

We got picked up and Tashimi(?) was explaining how the weather was very different in Japan and had been so for the last 5 years. He said summers were hotter, wetter and more humid. The summer is the rainy season but normally its a few days of rain and then back to dry, warm weather. However this year just before we had arrived it had rained relentlessly for 31 days and now although dry, the temperatures were much higher than the past.

It took just under an hour and a half for Toshimi to go through everything in painstaking detail. Who to move the fridge, what the battery level should be, how to use the ipad etc. Etc.

However the one question I had omitted to ask was whether it was manual or automatic – unfortunately it is automatic. So definitely not having the wherewithal to drive it, Pete has taken over that job.

The downside was that we had to drive back through Tokyo. We had wanted to avoid toll roads (of which there are many) but Toshimi advised us to bite the bullet as it would be a more direct route, 2 hours as opposed to 5!

We didn’t have many delays going through Tokyo.

When we did it was positive as we got a chance to see some interesting buildings etc.

We were heading towards the Hakone area. It’s legal in Japan to stay in service areas for the night, theses places are called michi no eki and there are well over a thousand of them in Japan.

The idea of service stations makes you think of grey soulless places but it is very different here. We are in a small place at the top of a mountain with stunning views. A farmer delivered fresh veg earlier to the shop/cafe we bought some to make tea.

There are other camper vans with people from France and Germany. Although the ones from France are funny as they have matching kimono dressing gowns on and are currently making what looks like a 3 course meal!

Pete had mentioned to me before we came that there are issues for women on the subway and with close proximity on packed lines this does allow for unwanted attention. There have been women only carriages in Japan since 1912 but then they ceased only to be reintroduced again. As the Japan Experience site states although times have moved on the issue of ‘wandering hands hasn’t. They even have a name for the perpetrator of such offences on public transport – a chikan.

Today we headed to Harajuku Station and walked up Omotesando, known as Tokyo’ s Champs Elysees a broad tree lined avenue. We didn’t stop to look at the shops as Chanel etc seemed way out of budget. Instead we reached the top and began a walk towards the Meiji Shrine.

Pete looked overjoyed at the prospect of visiting the largest Shinto shrine in Tokyo. Dedicated to Emperor Meiji (d. 1912) and Empress Shoken (d. 1914). On the way we passed a ‘wall’ of straw covered sake barrels. Every year brewers across Japan provide these massive barrels as a form of remembrance. I could say it’s a bit of a waste but as I think sake tastes rank it really isn’t!

When they died volunteers planted a 100,000 trees which came from all over Japan and beyond. In a relatively short space of time the area looks well established. I wouldn’t expect 100,000 trees to be planted when I pop my clogs but I wouldn’t mind a few as it seems a good idea!

Pete has to badger me to stay still for a photo opportunity. I am not the best but quite like this Tkmaxx top I got for the holiday so it seemed like a shame not to ‘show it off ‘.

The entrance Tokii to the shrine is also the biggest in Japan but the 1 5\n00 year old wood comes from Taiwan.

The Emperor and Empress filled their time writing waka poetry – compromising of 31 syllables. In fact they wrote 130,000. I could scoff a bit but a lot of them revolve around the theme of world peace.

By helping each other

With the means we possess,

We can come to know

That the four seas of this world

Were born on one mother.

Leaving this shrine we headed towards the nearby Harajuku shopping area a ‘shrine’ to alternative Japanese. A heaving, vibrant area full of alterative shops and a lively atmosphere.

One shop had signs that didn’t want any photographs taken, with signs saying ‘fuck off foreigner, kiss my anus. No photo.’ But to be honest I don’t think it packed the same punch as all the notices at Grindleford Cafe! In the main this place’s attitude was very isolated as very much everywhere else screamed out to be photographed!

However this lovely shop assistant gave me free sweets (always a plus) and was happy to pose with a deranged looking western! Everything in Japan looks cute even when they are trying to look mean and menacing. No amount of gothic makeup or black can possibly make them look sinister.

So when I saw these stairs it just seems laughable as everyone seems so polite.

We also found it was the must go area for animal cafes. As much as I love hedgehogs (which are not native in Japan) and dogs in cups

, thinking about a relentless deluge of sweaty humans pawing them day in and day out is hard to stomach. The experience to my mind would be purely selfish. Reading a someone’s blog describing the experience the writer comments on the hedgehog curling up and hiding in the corner of the box. Hardly the behaviour that would indicate they want to be played with.

The area is full of ‘characters’ and shops are full of a wide array of interesting clothes and shoes.

If only I could pull this off!

Pete was interested in picking up a T shirt so we looked at few vintage shops and the prices were truly eye watering 5200 yen is around 45-50 quid. Which makes me think that Japanese students in Sheffield can make an absolute killing.

We had thought of going to the Skytree the world’s tallest tower. Firstly it was quite far away and it was fast feeling like we were walking through treacle and secondly it was expensive.

So we decided to go the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building- closer and free. 202 metres above ground the observation decks gave an impression of the Tokyo skyline.

We went up 44 floors in literally seconds. Apparently from the observation decks you can see Mount Fuji but in all honestly with the Summer haze seeing any of the buildings was a miracle. It was exciting spotting where we had been walking the previous day and being able to see them from this perspective.

Truth to be told I started to feel a bit disoriented after a while but Pete was in his element.

What was really exciting for me was seeing a piece of artwork by Yayoi Kusama. The 89-year-old Japanese artist, who for the past 41 years has lived voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital who is known for her dotty repetitive work.

After this we headed to the borderless team lab travelling over the Rainbow bridge. The name “‘Rainbow Bridge” was decided by the public.

The towers supporting the bridge are white in colour, designed to harmonize with the skyline of central Tokyo seen from Odaiba. There are lamps placed on the wires supporting the bridge, which are illuminated into three different colours , red, white and green every night using solar energy obtained during the day. The train journey there was equally impressive as we passed over Tokyo Bay.

To get to borderless teamlab we had to walk through something called Toyota experience (?) which as the name on the tin implies is linked to all things Toyota. I wish we had known about it as there were lots of interactive things to do for free, but we did spend some time there. The architecture to the place was very futuristic.

We saw their plans for what cars will look like in the future, including things like recycling energy. I didn’t quite understand the science behind it but do know it’s a step in the right direction.

This was the car that was on Pete’s wish list.

We booked borderless team lab some time ago but were uncertain what to expect. The website described as ‘world-leading Japanese digital art collective teamLab unveiled their new awe-inspiring permanent digital art museum’.

Hard to describe the experience so will let the photos and videos ‘do the talking’.

The rooms were maze like with mirrors giving the impression it was bigger than it was. Every so often I would nearly step on or nearly knock over a young Japanese girl sitting on the floor beguilingly with digital flowers cascading down her face and body, being stage directed by a friend. Leaving I pondered if these would make up a Tinder profile.

Having had a rest we headed to Roppingi Hills – a very swanky area in Tokyo, home to the Ritz. Roppingi literally means 6 trees but there quite a few more than that.

Coming from the subway the huge skyscrapers lit up the sky and the massive digital billboards did feel very reminiscent of Bladerunner.

Looking for affordable things to do on a Summer evening in Tokyo I found an open air digital light show which was free.

Situated in front of the Ritz and with a skyline view which included Tokyo Tower, it was stunning.

Not really knowing what to expect we were really suitably impressed. Described as a light and fog digital art garden we sat around a rectangle decking area. Dangling our feet below – refreshed by the ‘fog’ as atmospheric music played and swirls of mists ebbed and flowed, accompanied by lights coming and going.

It was a very calming experience.

Bridges linked some of the tower blocks and we crossed quite a few. I felt quite startled when an automated voice told me to be careful of the steps!

Later we went to an area called ASHIMIZU, where a riverbed had been fashioned, with lit up ‘canopies’ you could sit under whilst immersing your feet. This was brilliant as by this point my feet were quite tired!

There was even time at one point in the evening for Pete to be a demented geisha.

Finally heading back to Kanda Station to find somewhere to eat near our hotel. On the subway home there were many suited and booted business men who seemed worse for wear. There is very much a drinking culture after work apparently and station workers are accustomed to helping the drunker ones off the trains, even using wheelchairs at times. Higher salaried workers are given vouchers for taxis so that they don’t have to cope with the often lengthy journeys home when very much worse for wear!

Leaving Kanda Station we passed a number of women. As previously mentioned the Japanese are very helpful and these women seemed to encapsulate this. As business men passed in and out of the station the women approached them seemingly offering help of some kind – although they ignored us…. I wonder why? I think it makes sense why there is a ‘hotel’ round the corner from the station that hires rooms out by the hour.

Having only eaten a cereal bar all day we popped into a cafe playing jazz music.

Eating silken tofu with chopsticks is a very sloppy artform!

Picked up at cute cake from a shop on the way to the hotel. Seemed sad to eat it but it was very tasty.

Slept late as the journey had really caught up with us. Later than intended wle headed to Uneo Park, which was one of Japan’s first public parks. It’s estimated that there are 8800 trees in the park but what comes with the trees is a cacophony of noise. Pete described the noise as if there were thousands of chainsaws going at once. The noise was coming from the cicadas. The currugated exoskeleton helps it make the level of noise it does. I guess if you wait 17 years to make an entrance you would make quite a song and dance about it!In the cherry blossom season the park must look equally amazing as there are 800 cherry blossom trees.We walked part way round the Shinobazu Pond. It was hard to see that it was actually water as it was completely covered in lotus beds.

We could see some flower buds emerging – they are apparently in full flower mid August so we may pop back to see them on the way back as certainly it is bound to be quite spectacular.Hard to believe that the fish in the pond are able to negotiate around all the plants, especially given their size. However they seem to manage it..

On our way to the National Museum of Nature and Science we came across a young couple getting married in traditional costume. From what I can make out it is a popular place to get your wedding photos taken and the groom was starting to look a bit fed up with this process.The museum was good but not like the ones we have visited in London like the Natural History Museum. But that said I liked the quaintness of it.We did find out quite a few things that we can now randomly drop into conversations. Although random is the word so may have to be very adept if we manage to drop them into any chats we have.Found out that the Japanese originally had a very different way of telling the time. The Japanese clock is called a ‘wadokei‘, the system being that daytime and nighttime are always divided into six periods whose lengths consequently change with the season. Makes some sense but also sounds very complicated.One display showed what the inside of a camel’s hump looks like – hopefully the camel died of natural causes before it was relieved of his hump!

There was a bit about the progression of ‘man’ in Japan through the ages. Pete thought the man looked like someone from a progrock band we saw a few years ago called Acid Mother’s Temple – although they were fully clothed.

Obviously in a country with 110 active volcanoes a year and 1500 earthquakes annually, there was quite a bit on this. With things like Bread Crust bombs I hadn’t heard of. Although traveling with a Geography teacher I was regaled by more facts!

I read a touching story about this dog who was part of the first Antarctic observation exhibition in 1956.

Outside the museum is a massive 100 foot diving blue whale which seem ironic given the recent start in whaling again after 30 years. Although some would say the ‘scientific’ loophole has continued throughout and this latest move is more transparent.

A recent NY Times articles states:

Japanese people have “mixed feelings” about whaling, according to Hisayo Takada, spokeswoman for Greenpeace Japan. She cited a combination of national pride and politics, as Japanese lawmakers have propped up an industry they see as economically and sentimentally important for their voter base. Opinion polls by the national broadcaster NHK and Japan’s Foreign Ministry show broad support for whaling, even if people do not necessarily want to eat the meat. If shown a picture of a whale, “most people would see it as wildlife,” Ms. Takada said.

But whaling “has become a sensitive, nationalistic topic,” she said. “It’s not about whaling itself. It’s more about Japanese pride and standing up for what people see as their culture.

I just wish they didn’t do it!!After this we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Uneo Park has quite a number of Museums dotted around it.We went round a calligraphy exhibition – 3 rooms were dedicated to this art form. I used Google translate to try to find out what the pieces said but was none the wiser really. They did look beautiful though. I can’t imagine anything similar in the UK. But calligraphy or ‘shodo’ is considered an art form here, it’s not just about what it communicates but how it does it, which is why even if you don’t understand what it says you can appreciate the beautiful brush strokes. I thought this one looked like someone dancing!There are an estimated 80,000 shrines in Japan, with 1479 in Tokyo alone. Uneo Park has it’s fair number of them. Kiyomizu Kannon temple was one of the first ones we saw. Outside it is the famous Moon Pine with branches fashioned into a circle. The shrine is supposed to promote fertility in women.Before entering the shrine area there is a ‘washing ceremony’ which I thought had some overlaps with Islamic wudu. The area is called the purification fountain. I am looking intently at the instructions ahead of me so I don’t get them wrong. Not to self- wear glasses!When entering a shrine there may be a bell that you ring 2 or 3 times to signal to the gods you have arrived, followed by two deep bows and followed by clapping your hands twice, another deep bow whilst paying your respects and thanking the gods.

We went into one of the shrines and listened to a ‘service’. The shrines I think are invariably linked to the ethnic religion of Japan, Shinto. It was very calming. Inside was beautiful but photographs weren’t allowed. There were intricate metal flowers around the alter reflecting one of the four affirmations of Shinto which is nature is sacred.Outside the shrines many wooden plaques had been written on in a myriad of different languages. These are called Ema, a pictorial votive made of wood. Traditionally written as new year resolutions or prayers for good health and success.Also on sale were a range of talismans….. If only it was so easy to make your dreams come true!

Leaving the park we came across a flea market. My wishes at the shrine had been to have more reliance. My prayers were answered when I came across this backbone! I could do with one at times.

There were other interesting things too. Always hard to decide when to start buying things, trying to balance it with the hope that you’ll see something similar again.

A short walk later and we were at the Ameyayokocho shopping area, a riot of street stalls that led us down little alley ways. It was amazing and vibrant!

It is quite shocking that there are a number of animal themed cafes in Tokyo. There is a real pull to see the animals but realistically it’s a cruel trade and best not to buy into it at all. There all sorts of animal cafes which initially began with cat cafes and then spiralled in include owl, mini pig, hedgehog etc.

Managed to find the hotel, the Grand Central Hotel near Kanda Station. The subway system in Tokyo is supposed to be the most complicated in the world, not only because of the number of lines but also the fact the ownership of the lines is split between different providers. Sounds like the UK only to make it easier for visitors the subway card you get covers all of them.

Looking back at this first photo I look pretty manic. Think the feeling of exhilaration had set in that we had made it had set in.

Getting from A to B took longer as I wanted to take lots of photos and so did Pete. I love the plastic replicas of the food in the windows – leaving no doubt about what you will get…..hopefully.

Peter’s tablet had broken on route so we went to Asakusa – an area known for IT. Although late everything was open and it was good to have an escape from the overwhelming heat and have some respite in the air conditioned shops. We weren’t lucky. Pete showed them the tablet hoping the screen could be repaired. Despite the incredibly politeness of the staff I am sure they found it hard to suppress their giggles at such a relic of a device.

We headed to a Korean bar. There are about 322,000 ethnic Koreans known as Zainichi in Japan. Arriving during Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea. Laws only recently changing to give permanent residency. The Zainichi have and some say still do experience discrimination. The bar was great, with photos of Marx and The Smiths etc. Some guide books tell tourists to resist going to small bars like this but it was fine.

Next to the bar was a shop that I imagined I would find in Japan. Niche and odd all wrapped up in one.

Who wouldn’t want leather crafted strawberry purses etc!

On the way back to the subway we got waylaid by a Karaoke bar. Japan is the home of karaoke so it seemed fitting. Luckily for the people of Tokyo we decided to frequent a more modern version of the karaoke bar. The older ones are places where you sing in front of everyone – in my head I would like to think that everyone in the bar would give me a standing ovation. The reality I think would be I would be doling out compensation money for bleeding ears!

Luckily the modern ones have multiple private rooms. There was the option of fancy dress – Pete fancied a leopard suit.

We booked it for 30 minutes. We belted out The Passenger, How soon is now, Gigantic, Heart of Glass and I can’t help falling in love. You get a phone call when your time is nearly up. It was actually very exciting…. Hence the stupid grins on our faces.

Going past the other rooms and hearing a few snatches of others singing I would say our attempts were poor. People here take it really seriously to the point where there sing alone ‘hitokara’ meaning one person or alone. Practising before they join a group. I am happy just to sing badly.

Next we headed to Shibuya crossing. This is supposed to be the most iconic place in Japan, likened to the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty etc. With around 2.4 million people using the Shibuya Station nearby dealing this intersection outside it becomes very busy, with between 2-3 thousand people crossing at any one point. Crossing it felt far from chaotic and typically very well organised.

The Shibuya area is really vibrant at night and is a place for ‘youngsters’ but we managed to just about pull it off.

Neon signs everywhere made the place seem even livelier.

One sign caught my eye Don Quijote, which I remembered from reading one of our many guide books was a must go to shop to visit.

Multiple floors piled high with all sorts in every corner of the shop meant we spent quite a bit of time browsing. From the sublime to the ridiculous literally. The lobster hat was particularly fetching but by far not the oddest thing on sale.

The roll up piano was a hit…. Although possibly I shouldn’t have played the funeral march.

Strange flavoured kit kats – whatever next!

But the Japanese packaging is far more eye catching.

Some things I would try but others I couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to. Crunchy baby crabs????

Down in the basement food Hall was also an eye opener with eye watering prices for melons.

Around 30 quid for a melon and I am not certain if that is per kilo. Fruit including melons are considered a luxury item in Japan with prices going up to £20,000. Melons form part of Japan’s gift giving culture so the price tag matters as it reflects what you think of the recipient. I wonder what the students think about how cheap they are when they visit our local Tesco.

After this is finally felt cool enough to eat. You can’t visit Japan and certainly not the Shibuya area without tasting the national dish, ramen. We found ‘cheap’ looking place with lots of locals, which is always a good sign. Ordered two lots of spring onion ramen which looked beautiful and tasted even better!

So my attempt to use chopsticks, despite a bit of practice still did not come up to muster. The bemused owner smiled as he handed me…

A FORK!!

Pete was better than me. He looked like a seasoned pro.

There are 24,000 ramen cafes across Japan so I guess we will have more practice!

Immediate thoughts on touching down at the airport and getting through customs etc was how painless and efficient it all was. There seemed to be a real sense of trying to ‘get it right’. Lots of airport staff on hand to get things moving quickly and painlessly. First impressions were of how polite everyone seemed collectively, or as they say in Japanese ‘reigi tadashii’. Japan takes time management very seriously apparently and the ease with which we made it through the whole process was testament to this.

One thing that struck us was the age of many of the workers. With around a quarter of the population being over 65 there has been a real push since the economic crunch to keep people in work until 70, with attempts to ‘redefine’ the notion of retirees at 65. Sounds familiar…

Leaving customs we were met by a camera crew for Tokyo TV who wanted to interview us as to why we had come to Japan. I would love to say we came across as erudite and articulate but the reality is we were probably a bit dazed and bumbling. The questions were funny too, they couldn’t get their heads round we were traveling by camper van, it hasn’t taken off here as it has in the UK. They also were concerned as to how we would possibly be able to cook in such small confines. After a bit of head nodding the interview ended.

A wi fi dongle had been delivered to the airport. Japan has 97% wifi coverage and whilst there are places where you can get free wi fi it is intermittent. Added to that as we want to go off the beaten track it is essential. Again I was helped by an elderly volunteer with a spring in his step to locate the terminal post office.

Tactile marking was good throughout the airport.

These small rectangular areas provided audio in English and Japanese. This one gave the route to the toilets. Much on this in further blogs but I have been really impressed with the support for people with VI here.

We bought our travel pass (foreigners get various much cheaper offers) for 3 days unlimited subway travel and then headed to board the train to Tokyo. In some ways we felt a little smug getting from a to b so easily but truth to be told it’s so far proving difficult to get much wrong as things are properly staffed here, they are so helpful and so much is in English.

I have never written a blog before and really all I want to do is to record things that have interested me and maybe give you a sense of our ‘adventure’.

If there are any rules to writing one I will undoubtedly break every one of them. There will be no literary flourishes or clever bits to try to allure a massive following (as if). It’s just for friends so please set your bar as low as possible.

Breaking up the journey at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow not only was the cheapest option but did help in reducing the impact of a long haul flight.

It added hours to the journey but I think by breaking it up we weren’t quite like zombies by the end of it. Interesting as well to have the juxtaposition between Moscow (albeit just in the airport) and initial impressions of Japan. A lack of warmth or desire to help seemed to pervade our short sojourn in Moscow whereas immediately in Japan we have been blown away by the enthusiasm and friendliness of the people. There felt a certain amount of soullessness from our brief touch down on Russian soil. I remember reading some interesting words by a Russian writer, Yerofeyev, to paraphrase, he said ‘we are a people, we love those who are similar to us, we don’t need the dissimilar ones’. I think we got a real sense of this. But who knows what a further foray onto Russian soil would reveal and maybe I am being overly harsh. But mostly it was a sense of ‘the computer says no!’

Not all was bad, the food options were interesting, although seeing TGI Friday and a Burger King there was a let down. Pete did get very excited about a cheese dish he had previously sampled years ago in Hungary that had a very similar Russian counterpart.

Other options were to put it mildly very worrying….

Bear meat, boar and horse were also all available.

I have subsequently tried to look up bear consumption in Russia but the search keeps coming up as ‘beer’. It would be interesting to know how much bear actually gets in eaten, my hopes are not much but who knows!

The second leg of the flight was much better. On flight entertainment was good and at one point reduced me to tears. I think jetlag or something similar had set in when I started to bawl part way through watching Bohemian Rhapsody. Then boredom set in and I got overly involved in a Liam Neeson film.

Food on board was pretty bad and made worse by seeing what the person next to me was eating. We ordered ‘Asian vegetarian’. Vegetarian became vegan and the interpretation of that was bizarre. So for breakfast we were given fried rice and soggy vegetable spring rolls drenched in a sweet sauce, whilst my neighbour tucked into porridge and fruit. We did eventually get our order swopped, but only after I asked to flight attendant if there was any chance we could forego the delights we had been given.

On a plus we did keep the fortune cookie we had also been given. I am uncertain if a fortune cookie is something that is on many Asian breakfast tables but it was a lovely added extra.

The words were very poignant as this year has been on many levels really hard but working towards this trip has kept me going.