Probably Overthinking It

It’s a 20-minute journey to the Kinkaku-ji AKA the  Golden Pavilion from the bus stop closest to the hotel, a simple journey with a surprisingly quiet ride, too. Turns out a lot of people had taken a coach to this cover-photo destination. Once tickets were bought, we followed behind groups of people, hoping it wouldn’t be too hard to actually see the pavilion. But past the ticket office and around the first corner, there it was, in all its glory. While it was busy and everyone was taking family/group/selfie photos, it didn’t distract from the moment. In the morning sun, it really is quite the sight. After taking the obligatory family photo, you walk around a path that loops the grounds. It’s a one-way route and you shuffle more than you walk. It’s slow going with so many people, but again—it doesn’t spoil the experience. After enjoying the gardens and checking out the gift shops, I had a shortcut in mind to our next must-see stop.  Dad Hack: Skip the Long Route It’s a 50+ min...

The RESI STAY Kyo Ryuvilux Nijo hotel is slap bang in the middle of Kyoto. It mirrored our time in Sumida very closely in that it was quiet and surprisingly convenient. There was no Denny’s close by, however, but we’d become accustomed to having breakfast in or from 7-11. Our “local” store didn’t have a place to eat, but as the family rose late, I did a Dad run and fetched a round of onigiri, croissants, melon pan, and the cold bottled coffee I’d become a fan of. Once fed, it was time to hit the pavement.  Except, on many of the roads in Kyoto, there is no pavement. Lines often define part of the road left for pedestrians and cyclists. It’s something you get used to alongside the frequent 4-way junctions in the grid-like layout of downtown Kyoto. A Cultural Glimpse at School This morning, our destination was the Kyoto Imperial Palace and grounds, which contained a secret surprise for my wife. It was a modest walk from our hotel and meant we passed a school on the way. Here, we sa...

And so our time in Tokyo was over. Least for now. The friendly and helpful staff at Playsis East Tokyo helped us one last time by sourcing a taxi for us which arrived within 5 minutes. The taxis in Japan have a charm of their own. Drivers wear black suits and white gloves with the seat’s headrests adorned with a protective doily. Our driver spoke a little English and seemed keen to practice a few lines during the short drive to Tokyo Station. Despite a calm manner he drove like he was paying for the journey himself. He wasn’t speeding or driving badly, just taking every opportunity cut into traffic, skip a queue and generally make progress. We really weren’t in a hurry at all but it felt like he really wanted to help us, a theme of service that we still greatly appreciated even after a week of it. We arrived at the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, the modern side of the building. It’s pleasant enough but can’t match the charm and beauty of brick built west side of the station. But an arch...

The family and I were now truly into the flow of Tokyo tourism and still relatively early on Monday morning we were at the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing . My wife and daughter enjoyed it greatly taking many photos and selfies among the hoards of people . . . crossing an intersection of roads. My son and I were less impressed as that last description probably tells you. However, similar to how tourists visit Leicester Sq in London, it was good to tick off the list of must see spots.  Loyalty immortalised The dog statue at Shibuya however was interesting to see. There was a “queue” of some kind to take photos with it. While we didn’t partake I did pick up my son so he could see the dog over the crowd and told him the story: A long time ago Hachiko the dog would walk to Shibuya Station to wait for his owner to arrive back from his daily commute. One day his owner was suddenly taken sick, died and never returned from work. Hachiko did not know what had happened to his owner and con...

We started the morning with breakfast in the local bakery . James and my wife stuck to the croissants and coffee/juice combo they enjoyed. But keen to try something new, Bella went for a red-bean Anpan “roll” and I had a heart-stopping Curry-pan. Wonderful to taste, worrying for the waistline—it was perfect! Walking to Church Through a Rainy Park After our feed, it was off exploring to see how the locals of Sumida live. From our hotel, we could have got the bus to our destination. However, I had a walking route in mind, and the family chose to get some steps in. Luckily, we could do that away from the roads too, by walking through the Oyokogawa Water Park. While it was raining that morning, the light drizzle only seemed to add to the tranquillity of this peaceful, multi-purpose park. Our destination was Tokyo Multicultural Church , which provides sermons in Japanese, English, and Chinese. We arrived a little early, and as it was now mid-morning, we crossed the road to Olinas Mall . Its...

In the last episode of this exciting series (no skip recap), we heard how we had our first proper interaction with some locals. But today I was fortunate enough to be meeting up with an old friend from primary school! No, this isn’t a joke. My friend Soichiro had moved to the UK with his family at 4 years old, and we went to Burlington Infants and Junior School together. We hadn’t seen each other for a million years, but I took a chance and messaged him through an interesting website called TheFacebook. He was kind enough to accept an invitation to meet—and today was the day. But first, breakfast We went back to Denny’s! You can judge me all you want, but the kids and I all had pancakes—which I’m sure we can all agree is the height of luxury. At least, you can think so. But after visiting Ginza in Tokyo, I now have a new appreciation of what luxury really means. Ginza land of luxury, home of timekeeping I had always planned to visit Ginza because last year I became somewhat obsessed wi...

I’ve spent my lifetime wanting to visit Akihabara. As with all things Japan, part of my desire comes from how Tokyo inspired Blade Runner and other cyberpunk media. But more than that, as a child of the 80s, Akihabara also represented the centre of technological advancement. As a life-long geek Akihabara (aka Akiba) is my Graceland. But (while) I've reason to believe we all will be received in Graceland, as a family, I needed everyone awake to do so and Bella wasn’t stirring. Appreciating she needed her rest I set off to source breakfast from the local bakery and 7-11.  Breakfast mission: croissants, melon pan and onigiri The local bakery, called Tomtom , smelt wonderful. Being a self-serve setup, I picked up a tray and pair of tongs,  quickly sourcing croissants and melon pan. The friendly staff on hand ensured I had all I wished for and once I'd paid, I headed next-door to the local 7-11. Here I bought onigiri and bananas. Once back at the hotel everyone was now up and ever...