Welcome to Oil Street guest house in Kyoto
Burrito the dog
The bedrooms complete with tatami mats and DIY bedding
posted by the biker daddy.
This is us waiting for the 10.33 from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Shinkansen, unfortunately not the Bullet train, but a little slower at 150mph.
Kyoto is double the amount of walking in Tokyo, sorry Allan and Bel but Hazel will be a little shorter when she gets back.
All aboard, cleaners first
We’re off
Only 2hrs 30 mins to go
posted by the biker daddy.
Not a word of a lie, a picture of Keith’s back in Tokyo.
We have no idea either!
Question, how do you embarrass a teenager?
Answer, when she is in a Korean K-Pap shop buying records, both of the Foggs start pulling a madness dance move in front of her and the entire store. Oh yes, we got the power moves!
And a few more shots of this manic city with its themed “love hotels”
awesome 5 way crossings with a sea of human bodies
and Neons to hurt your eyes (you can see where they got the idea for the Blade Runner cities from)
Next stop, far, far away. Kyoto.
posted by the biker daddy.
So today was Nellie’s turn to decide where to go and she wanted to briefly return to Korea Town to pick up some souvenirs.
So, we plumbed for a day of less walking (yes really we tried) and opted to visit Akhibara in the morning for a dose of electronics store heaven plus a few dodgy cafes which Mr Fogg already kindly wrote about!
So then back to Shinjuku (entertainment town with neon and LOTS of bars and men’s clubs- if this was the UK this would be stag do central) and a slow walk to Korea town.
We just HAD to try eating Korean food so we settled on a small place up a side street where we could recognise pictures of meat. And oh what a choice we made. It was simply brilliant!
You sit at your table which has a full stove in the centre along with a retractable extractor hood. We asked for recommendations on the food and selected two different pork cuts plus a traditional Korean savoury pancake with a fermented cabbage ingredient (this is traditional Korean food).
The server then cooks at your table. It was delicious and a great experience. It was made better since Nellie knows some Korean and could exchange some words with our waiters.
Once nicely full it was another slow amble back to Shinjuku and a long wander to find a cafe. Plenty of bars, but no cafes apart from a French one.
Then it was a wait for it to get dark so we could look at the neon lights.
This is our last night here before we head to Kyoto and a new set of adventures. Oh, and more walking.
Where Tokyo is loud, bright and caters to all shopping requirements, Kyoto is quiet, refined and historic. It’s great to get the contrasts.
Posted by YourTourGuideChick
A nice late start this am, plus Nellie was even up on time. Over then to Akhibara, electric city for a womble round.
Mrs Fogg even bought herself a toy and then decided it would be soo cool to go to a maid cafe
You get in a lift to the 4th floor and are met by a teen dressed in a French frilly maids outfit. Out steps Mrs Fogg first as she is accosted by a 12yr old eager to serve, quick as a flash Nellie slammed her hand on the ground floor button leaving Mrs Fogg to explain to the maid that there are/ were 3 of us and she would go and get us. Nelly and I were wetting ourselves in the lift on the way down.
To try and make up for it we agreed to try another seedy maid cafe, where you have 3 attentive teens, keen to charge you an arm and a leg for a drink, whilst walking around in their frilly outfits. The only thing missing was the box of tissues on the table!
Needless to say we went to a less seedy place for a drink. This one even has a toilet the the seat lifts automatically as you enter the room.
Time then for sharp orange and apple drinks that curl your face, makes your face hurt
posted by the biker daddy.
So today we visited the original emperors duck hunting grounds which is now in the middle of the Tokyo metropolis. A haven of greenery and tranquility (who also offer you free use of industrial strength Deet to protect from the mosquitoes). This was lovely and peaceful.
Next we took a water boat ride to Asakusa and walked boiling streets to the Tokyo Sky Tower. This is a pretty cool spot and something we have never done as it was built in 2012.
Then on to Sensoji temple. A Buddhist temple full of people mingling around with an impressive row of old shops on the way in. This is one of the oldest temples in Tokyo.
All told a good day, but tiring with the heat (currently about 30 degrees) and walking in 86% humidity.
My two companions reckon I’m wearing their feet out!!
Next stop a cold shower for my feet!
via PressSync
Another early(ish) start for some of us, wake up call to Nellie at 07.15, which she promptly went back to sleep after. So tomorrow will be 2 early am calls.
Off for breakfast at the Tokyo Fish Market, with raw tuna, raw salmon and crab on rice, yum
Time to brave the blistering heat through the Tokyo metropolis to the Royal gardens
And then off for the Japanese Tea at the gardens
The sweet ain’t, so off to the water bus now to the Tokyo Tower at 634m with viewing platforms at 450m and 350m, with spectacular views
Next stop Asakusa and the Sensoji temple
And then back in cRush Hour on the Tokyo trains
posted by the biker daddy.
Unless you are a teenager!
via PressSync
The hunt for food commenced at 7pm, starting with a hunt for the “cat cafe” where you get to pet loads of cats whilst having a drink. Following Foggette our able tour guide we arrived at the pregoogled location (just past Denny’s Diner). The cafe appears now to be a pet hospital and no sign of said moggies, mind you the diners at Denny’s seemed to have purrfectly full plates. Not to be deterred or out googled, Mrs Fogg soldiered on to find our evening grub. The meal selections can be a little daunting, so our Japanese friends actually have plastic samples of the food for foreigners to show what it looks like. Having seen one we liked the look of last night we went to have another look, but then decided the roadkill wasn’t that nice looking and settled on a popular one underground. Unfortunately it is still common place to smoke in Japanese restaurants, so we left due to the heavy smell of smoke. The hunt continues until we found a little place where everyone likes the look of the food.
The next challenge is ordering, since this one, like many has a ticketing system, you look at the pictures, choose the meal you like, pay for it in the vending machine and give the cook the chitty. The chef takes this as the order and cooks your grub, a very efficient way of working, if the pictures aren’t tiny and you can read Japanese, they were and we can’t. After a few moments of Japanese dictionary and pigeon English chef, we chose the evening noodles and pork dishes. A monster amount of noodles with pork was the order of the evening. Nellie and I polished ours away whilst Mrs Fogg was busy soaking herself in noodle juice.
Nice food and with that Nellie could walk no more and needed to rest her poor feet, ready for tomorrow’s route march to the Fish Market sushi breakfast), Japanese Tea Ceremony, Asakusa, The Tokyo Tower and finishing at Shinjuku for food.
posted by the biker daddy.
Well hello to the UK from another 34 degree Tokyo, with a full day walking from 8.30am through to 18.00.
Early call for Nellie at 07.15, with an out of 8.30 for breakfast at StarDollars coffee house before we trundled off via the navigation skills of Nellie and Mrs Fogg to the Meiji Jinju Shrine, where it was baking hot and chance for some photo opportunities including a couple walking their minkey
After a light snack and more Pocko Sweat water we trundled to find Korea Town without finding the rough bit (seems we weren’t that lucky)
Nellie then went into every KPap shop possible and found some bits of boy band stuff (in some places they seem to play 10 tracks at the same time by groups called G-Donkey, BoyPap, screetchyLot), Nellie seemed happy we were bemused
Time for a refreshing drink in a Kpap haunt whilst watching the latest boy band (shoot me now)
And a slow walk back up through Shinjuku (neon city, which is where Blade Runner is based on) and the tubes back to Ginza
Time for a shower then back out to find fooooooooood
posted by the biker daddy.