On this day, we said goodbye to Kyoto and took a bullet train for the last time in our trip, as we headed back to Tokyo.
Continue reading “16th May 2019: back to Tokyo, a hidden coffee parlour, music, stationery, and beer and snacks in Shibuya”14th May 2019: a fancy izakaya, a visit to the sake district, okonomiyaki and more sake in Kyoto
On this day, we took another bullet train: the Thunderbird from Kanazawa to Kyoto.
Continue reading “14th May 2019: a fancy izakaya, a visit to the sake district, okonomiyaki and more sake in Kyoto”12th May 2019: from Matsumoto to Kanazawa
On this day, we took a train from Matsumoto to Nagano, then to Kanazawa.
Continue reading “12th May 2019: from Matsumoto to Kanazawa”11th May 2019: Narai
On this day, we took a cute two-car train to Narai.
Narai is a former post town: a place where travellers would stop for a break in their journey along one of the routes connecting Kyoto with Tokyo.
It is also exceptionally well preserved, with the appearance that a Westerner expects from “old Japan”: a quiet high street, low wooden houses, panels, and archetypal Japanese implements and ornaments everywhere you look at.
Continue reading “11th May 2019: Narai”9th May 2019: jetlagged in Tokyo
On this day, a year ago: we landed in Tokyo.
We had just enough energy to queue to pick up our Japan Rail Passes and portable Wi-Fi hotspot in the airport, and make our way to the city without falling asleep on the train (although there were a bunch of really close calls đŽ).
Continue reading “9th May 2019: jetlagged in Tokyo”