Japan week 1

If you read these, or have been reading mum's shorter and funnier ones you may want to get a nice drink and strap in for a long read. Or skim read the highlights! 

Our first day was travel, because of the time difference that was all it was and we got to Tokyo on Sunday. We'll of course gain hours on the return. I managed to get some sleep, A, BigA and mum only about 15 minutes each, perhaps a little more. We easily got our taxi transfer to the first hotel of the trip and dumped our bags.i like mums style is travel! 

Once slightly refreshed (it's true what the say about the toilets) we headed out on a mild evening as the sun was setting for a wander and some food. Although we are so very privileged to have quite a lot translated for us, it is hard to realise you know so very little and have the crippling embarrassment of not being able to ask in the most polite way possible. This translated to us having a less than satisfying first meal out where mum unwittingly ate tuna and I was grateful for the sweet potato tempura. Using modern technology to translate only got us so far but has proven very useful this week. 

A and mum headed to the hotel while BigA and I had a wander around the dark but safe feeling area before we too went to get what we hoped would be a good night's sleep. 

Despite the time difference I got a very healthy amount of sleep and BigA had to wake me up or I'd have had even more. Off we went to have a really lovely little breakfast, tea and toast with egg mayo, before getting ourselves ready for a full day of sight seeing and our introduction to an oddly simple yet complicated underground network. You can get so far but then it transpires that you can't actually go that far on that ticket. But everyone was kind and understanding and we usually just paid a bit more. 

We managed to do a cat temple, the white waving cat that you might be familiar with that we got a tram type train to. This day we had good food, went to an art gallery where we met the artists and mum showed of A's work, then to the Tokyo equivalent to Leicester Square to go up a viewing tower for food and rest before a walk to our final treat for A and tolerance for my mother by going to a cat cafe. Before heading back to the hotel we grabbed a beer at a street side bar and we ended up at the world famous 7/11 which didn't disappoint for snacks and milk. (Yes, I've bought my own teabags!) A card game or two in our hotel room before bed. 

The next day in Tokyo was a little disappointingly rainy, at first a very light drizzle that got heavier and more windy as the day went on. Still - rain coats on we faced the day and it wasn't cold, plus we were doing a few inside things. Temple first, which was a popular tourist spot, and then a less packed art/craft museum, then snack in a restaurant that was full of curiosities from all over the world, followed by a contemporary art museum, vegan noodles and a trip to Kabuki theatre, matcha snacks, and up to an art fish exhibition (A really did do a good job of finding the weird and wonderful) and then to finish the day - BigAs specialty - a bar that did food. He tried something called cabbage and tears. And it was certainly interesting to see the colour of his face change. Mum stuck to wine and chicken wings this time, although I think it's the first time she has had a Matcha drink that day. 

What's fascinating about it all is the difference in scale. Such a huge and tall place with small things in it. Like the snub-nosed cars and vans. Little streets and portions, that are towered over my 40 story buildings. The gentle way of movement, no rush but not lazy. The intrinsic politeness and careful helpfulness when you clearly don't know where or what is going on. The singsong of the metro Jingles that announce your arrival and then the real quiet of the journey. It's a city that's beauty comes through more at night and it quickly helps you feel safe. 

Our third full day was a tale of two cities. Having had breakfast during a mild earthquake which mum noticed (no one sounded the alarm so we kept eating) and after a pleasant morning walk before we got a taxi to our first bullet train. We transferred to Kyoto. The trains are roomy and warm. And with all our experiences, the announcements in English serve to reassure we're in the right places. 

Japan was grey that day, and I realised that most of the buildings are grey, cream or white, with a few dots of colour in trees and flowers and the occasional pink building. The cherry blossom certainly brightens the walks and roads. The buildings feel middle aged, but new but not old, some bits looking a bit tired but clean and respectable. Occasionally you'll spot a much more traditional roof snuck and tucked in between the tall ones around them. The seem to be very few private gardens and so the flowers and greenery is provided by pots and window boxes. Colour often finds it's way with the colourful shop fronts or the people walking around in traditional Japanese kimonos. 

Our next hotel was in the train station we arrived at, so that was simple enough to reach and then, bags and tin sorted we went for a walk in the rain to a craft beer place that was well off the beaten track. A slightly odd experience there when a local resident came in and shouted at us, all the tourists, that we stank and other unkind things. It all got a bit unpleasant and he was forcibly removed, the police arrived and took care of it! But once over we ate and drank happily until home time. Apparently this not no gentleman regularly comes to criticise and make a nuisance. 

For our full day in Kyoto we had a very peaceful day. That is once A and BidA had navigated how to get bus tickets. After the packed bus we walked through white cherry blossom along a beautiful street to a temple and then got some treats at the local shops. The best was toffee strawberries. A light and tasty lunch, mum sampling yet another dish she's never had, fried dumplings before we took a gentle walk along the river front, with more blossoms, occasionally hearing traditional music before going to the Murin-an garden. There we saw the traditional landscape and home of the designer and had drink and snack sitting on the rush mat floor.

A's next recommended stop was an extremely long and busy market street with a huge range of treats, fried foods and more. Our little legs starting to feel the steps we once again were expertly taken to the train to get back to the hotel by the Js. We had mainly fried food on sticks for our evening meal, cheese and vegetables in cheese all in bread crumbs or batter. 

The next morning the sun was shining again and we set off to another picturesque and much larger garden. Then BigA found a nice coffee place, I had a strawberry iced latte. Lush. 

We'd prebooked tickets for an exhibition called Team lab. I knew it was an interactive art experience, it didn't disappoint. Each room and area using lights, shapes and mirrors to make you feel childlike in your discovery. The two highlights of this were a room that had a giant bubble cloud that moved around the space and into the people in it. The second was an area with skate park like ramps that splatted the geckos under you feet and drawing on walls with lights that then responded to your movement and each other and a trampoline race where you jumped on stars and planets. All in mostly darkness. 

We had a big lunch - the biggest portions so far and then picked up our suitcases for the two trains to Hiroshima. On our second train we spun the seat around to make a little cluster of 4. The thought that goes into design making travel so pleasant. As we left one city the scenery outside changed a fair amount, much more mountainous covered in green trees and shorter buildings. 

So far the hotel rooms have all been compact and well formed. When space is a premium efficiency is key. Where the has been breakfast we have, between us, sampled a healthy range of foods. We could have been more continental but have each tried something unusual for us. 

The tone of the trip shifted for Hiroshima. As we walked to our hotel Asher plotted a route across the bridges where the bomb was supposed to be dropped, so that must people could see it. Then onto the promenade of peace, where the are children's swings and people happily eating a picnic together. In these troubled times it reminded me that humans can do such awful things but also survive them and find hope. This all on Good Friday. 

We ate at a place that did vegetarian and vegan okonomiyaki just next door last night, mum observing no meat on a Friday rule, we were all quite knackered. A decided to stay in but it's old folk decided on a longer night out. 

We have a few days left in Japan where we will no doubt squeeze in as much as our feet will allow. This email arrives a little earlier than your Saturday because it's mine already!