We took the Shinkansen (Bullet train) to Kyoto – an amazing experience with this huge sci-fi inspired train. White paneling, airlock doors, airplane style windows and the seemingly obligatory vending machines.

Kyoto was a lot colder than Tokyo, despite being further south. It was like Tokyo, but on a smaller scale with the same web of backstreets, just slightly narrower. The market here is fantastic too. Oh, and the bike situation was the same… Nutty riders, charging in hordes of people. I’m still amazed there weren’t more coming togethers.

There’s a curious thing in Japan when you’re looking for a bar. It’s not usually on the ground floor! In fact, one of our favourite bars – ING – was located on the second floor at the back of an office building. I recommend this bar for any rock fans as the owner is some sort of 60s/70s throwback, playing his collection of vinyl and CDs.

Kyoto is an awesome place, it has to be said. You can visit one temple a day, and it’d take you 2 years to see them all. We had a week, and I think managed to squeeze in a good selection of them. There’s so many, but thankfully they’re generally close together. One of the most impressive was the golden temple, clad in gold leaf – apparently it was built as a retirement house. But, they’re all amazing, and just so awesome. Our jaws dropped when we saw some of them, words fail me. Just come and see them yourselves!

Around Kyoto there’s some great day trips too, including Nara, a former capital. It’s also home to the largest indoor Buddah (16m), the largest wooden structure, and lots of deer that you can feed (they’re sacred animals in Japan).

We also did a trip to Kibune and Kurama – I treked over the mountain in a foot of snow, Dan got the train. After that, we visited the Onsen (natural hot spring baths) in Kurama to relax and recover. The size 6 sandles and snow put me off using the outdoor pool as it was a bit of a walk.

Another place we felt we had to do an overnight trip to was Osaka, described as a scene from Bladerunner. It’s not far off the mark. The streets don’t seem to have lights, they have neon signs. In the main market area, you have open front market stalls. The skyscrapers look quite futuristic. And, we decided to visit an arcade to see what they’re like.. Not what we expected! The ground floor was mainly those games with the grab hand, then the second floor greeted us with a huge TV showing virtual horse racing. Then there was the games you bought cards for, then used on tables to move pieces around, be they football players, robots, armies, you get the idea.

Our final night, we returned to Japan and had dinner with Rei and Jun (my next door neighbours 15 years ago), in a Korean restaurant in Roppongi.

A few things of note in Japan:

• Beer isn’t cheap – assuming you can find hte bars
• Just about anyone here is more than willing to help you, and often can’t do enough
• Take a jacket in winter if you’re going to Kyoto
• Fresh fruit is expensive – everyone seems to prefer sweets
• A lot of people queue to get into the gambling arcades – we saw people there an hour before it opened
• If you like shopping,be warned, there’s a lot of amazing shops and markets here
• If you like food, you’re in for a treat! And make sure you try the Shabu Shabu restaurants!
• It’s amazing and everyone has to go there!

As you can tell, we had an amazing time in this wonderful country, and I was very sad to leave! I’m now counting down the days till I cango back there!

Hong Kong next, but it has a lot to live upto after Japan!

Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Tokyo

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