Guest Blog: Tom & Damo's adventures (Part 3)

Customs finally catch up with Tom

Lastly we headed to Matsumoto, close to the Japanese Alps. Although not a big city like Tokyo or Osaka, it holds many things to do and is situated in a great location. Even in May you can see the snow capped mountains in the distance. I really enjoyed the visit to the castle and even got a photo with a Samurai. With admission to the castle you can also visit the nearby museum for free. Although information written in English was limited inside the museum it still held some interesting artefacts from both the castle and Japanese history.

Majestic as ever

 On my final day me and Damo headed out up into the hills. After getting a little lost and taking a detour, we made our way to Utsukushigahara Open Air Museum. It holds a bizarre collection of art, with what seems like hundreds of unique and crazy sculptures. Some pieces I thought were incredible, thought provoking and of interest, whereas others were just plain weird and I had no idea what they were. The weather wasn't great, but on a nicer day, the viewpoint at the museum would provide a great view of the whole region and definitely worth the hour and half drive from Matsumoto. After this it was time for me to head back home from my visit and leave Damo to get back on with his English teaching.

One of the more bizarre works at Utsukushigahara

After 3 flights, 22 hours of flying and a very tired Tom, I made it home back to the UK. I really enjoyed my time in Japan and will definitely make sure I come back in the future!!

Time for goodbyes and the end of our adventures

Guest Blog: Tom & Damo's adventures (Part 2)

Making friends

On next to Nara. Having not heard of Nara before my visit, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount it had to offer in such a small town. We visited the park and fed the deer some deer crackers. Once the deer realised you had food, 4 or 5 would surround you in seconds and nudge you in the hope that you fed them. I have never seen deer so tame and relaxed with humans. Although it was very funny to see one of the deer sneakily steal a pack of crackers out of a lady's hand when she wasn't watching. We also visited some more temples in the area, including the Big Buddha at Toudai-ji. Standing at 15metres this Buddha was enormous! And surrounding him the temple itself was also huge. A very impressive sight and a must see. 

We saw Jim on our travels

Along our stays we also camped. Damo brought along a tent and sleeping bags, and so we ended up building the tent each evening. Although slow at first by the end we got pretty quick at building it. Trying to find a spot to camp at 11 o'clock on the evening was not so much fun though, especially when really tired from the sightseeing in the day. However, this was all worthwhile when we found a perfect spot at the top of a hill overlooking the town. This had a shrine, and a viewpoint which gave an awesome view.

Enjoying the view from Umeda Sky Building

Next onto Osaka. I knew the city was big, but didn't realise the size it would be. We drove through the hills and mountains then suddenly appeared on the outskirts of Osaka, with buildings as far as you can see. After finding a hotel to stay in what I would call, a 'rougher' part of town, we planned our days and set out on the city. We went up the Umeda Sky Building which was awesome. I recommend to any visitor, the view was amazing and you can see across all of Osaka in all directions. Any couples, make sure you look for the lovers seats at the top for a photo. You can also buy a heart shaped keyring to lock on the wall at the top to ensure your love is everlasting. In the evening a trip to Dotonburi was required. After getting off the subway, we ended up walking the wrong way by mistake for 20 minutes! This meant we had to work backwards, oops! We walked down the famous street and took a photos of the Glico man, the big crab, and the great bright lights outside of every bar and restaurant. After a few drinks at the foreigner friendly Zerro and Murphy's bars we headed out to the clubs until the early hours. Dotonburi definitely provides a good night out. 

Guest Blog: Tom & Damo's adventures (Part 1)

Skytree selfie

Hello all!

Just to introduce myself, my name’s Tom and I am Damo's friend from England. We became friends at university in the UK, and now although Damo is living 5713 miles away we still keep in touch!

I have been travelling in Asia the last couple of months including stops in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, all of which I had a fantastic time seeing some amazing things. Whilst I was in Asia I had to take the opportunity to go and see Japan, having never visited before.

I flew into Narita Airport, Tokyo, and was welcomed by Damo and his family. After being treated to a very traditional British beef roast dinner in the evening we made our way the following day on our adventures. First stop was Tokyo, and having only seen pictures of it on television, I was amazed by how busy it was and all the amazingly colourful lights everywhere. We stayed in a capsule hotel (something I think is unique to Japan!) which was a strange experience. We almost felt like cattle, having so many people staying in such a small space. We visited some temples in the city and went to the base of Tokyo Skytree. The evening was filled with good traditional Japanese food and many, many beers!

"Let's nick it!"

After a very hungover morning, we made our way to Tokyo station to get the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. I was amazed how quickly they travel and how smooth the ride was. Trains in the UK are slow and always late, so this was a complete contrast! Arriving in Kyoto we picked up a rental car and after attempting to get used to an automatic (in the UK all cars are manual) we made out way around Kyoto. Visits included going to Kiyomizu-dera and Chion-in amongst others.

An okay view from Kiyomizu

On the outskirts of Kyoto we also visited one of the Onsens. This was to be my first of many Onsen visits during my stay. I loved the hot spring water, and after a long hard day visiting Kyoto's sights, was well needed. Sitting outside with a slight cool breeze, but with lovely hot water was the perfect balance.