Going down to Chinatown
Hello, it's Lucinda writing today's blog post now that we're back in Tokyo for the final week of our Japanese adventures!
We're having the best time so far and it's been amazing to explore all over Japan together. We've had a busy itinerary and managed to see so much of the country that we love.
When planning the trip, we thought out of all the places we were going to visit that Osaka would be most suited to us, but in actual fact we were both blown away by Kyoto and would say it was the highlight of our week.
Today's blog will be fairly short and sweet as we've spent most of the day on trains and walking the streets to get back to Tokyo - along with eating lots of nice food of course!
This morning we had a fairly early start and bid farewell to the fabulous Hotel Intergate in Kyoto, which we'd highly recommend for anyone planning on visiting. We had a half hour walk from the hotel (with all of our luggage) to Kyoto station, where we picked up a fried chicken bento box lunch, six pork shotei dumplings and a can of sweetcorn soup for our last journey on the bullet train.
Whilst waiting for the train we met a man from Kyoto who chatted away to us about our holiday so far, told us how he would like to go to Loch Lomond and informed us that it was meant to snow. Thankfully it didn't, as today was the only day that I've chosen to wear a dress with no tights - always prepared for the weather!
Our final stop before heading back to Tokyo was Yokohama, Japan's second largest city. We'd visited last year for the day but hadn't got round to seeing a lot of the place, as I hadn't been well. The train journey lasted around two hours and we were lucky enough to see Mount Fuji at one point very clearly from the window.
The main purpose of visiting Yokohama was to go to Chinatown and sample some of the well known delicacies. We watched plenty of YouTube videos on this area when planning the holiday, so already had some places that we wanted to try and foods listed on our itinerary.
The first tasty thing that we tried was something that they seemed to sell on most stalls which looked tasty. It was a sweet sesame dumpling with a red bean paste and only cost 100 yen each.
Next up, we tried some fried chicken from a stall called Edosei which was recommended by YouTube travel vlogger Paolo From Tokyo. It was really delicious - the chicken was nice and crispy on the outside and just a bit on the spicy side.
Our feet were aching from carrying our luggage around, so we had a quick stop off at the cafe within Yokohama Chocolate Factory and enjoyed a tasting selection of single origin hot chocolate, which was just what we needed.
We felt a bit sorry for the staff there, as we were only in for about half an hour and they seemed to have just two Christmas songs on loop! I love Christmas but working a shift in there would turn anyone into a grinch.
We walked another half an hour to the train station, caught a train to Akihabara district and then jumped on a short metro to Asakusa, where it was just a few minutes walk to our hotel.
We are staying in the same hotel that we did the first night that we arrived in Japan and handily they kept our big cases for us. It was just the best feeling knowing that we'll be in one place for the rest of the trip, so we took the opportunity to kick our shoes off and chill out for a bit before heading out for dinner.
There's a coffee machine at the entrance of our hotel which is for guest use and makes very nice espresso and drip coffees. I've already had two of these since arriving this evening and they were both great.
Finally tonight, in true Capaldi fashion we have had not just one but THREE dinners!
After enjoying last night's dinner so much, we looked up the best okonomayaki restaurants in the area and found one called Tsurujiro, which was fabulous and only a very short walk from the hotel.
There was an option to cook it yourself or get the chefs to do it for you. To save any hassle and ensure the perfect dinner, we allowed the chef to do the honours! It was very interesting to watch what he was doing and George is now set on buying all the equipment and ingredients so that we can try this when we get home.
Next stop was to McDonalds which is a must in my opinion for people visiting Japan. The food is just so much fresher and tastier than their menu back in the UK and really cheap for a snack.
I was unsure when George insisted I tried a McDonalds last year as I know you can get them back home but was so impressed. This time he ordered a beef and macaroni croquette burger, I picked the teriyaki chicken and we shared both.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Don Quijote megastore to have a quick look around and George took a picture of the strange looking aquatic creature in a tank at the front.
Last stop of the day was Life supermarket where we picked up our third and final dinner of some gyoza and a pork curry bun along with some water, ice cream and chocolate to help me along with the blog writing.
We're going to have an earlier night tonight as we have a busier day planned tomorrow which George will update you all on!
Goodnight for now from Tokyo!
お好み焼き
Lucinda
We're having the best time so far and it's been amazing to explore all over Japan together. We've had a busy itinerary and managed to see so much of the country that we love.
When planning the trip, we thought out of all the places we were going to visit that Osaka would be most suited to us, but in actual fact we were both blown away by Kyoto and would say it was the highlight of our week.
Today's blog will be fairly short and sweet as we've spent most of the day on trains and walking the streets to get back to Tokyo - along with eating lots of nice food of course!
This morning we had a fairly early start and bid farewell to the fabulous Hotel Intergate in Kyoto, which we'd highly recommend for anyone planning on visiting. We had a half hour walk from the hotel (with all of our luggage) to Kyoto station, where we picked up a fried chicken bento box lunch, six pork shotei dumplings and a can of sweetcorn soup for our last journey on the bullet train.
Whilst waiting for the train we met a man from Kyoto who chatted away to us about our holiday so far, told us how he would like to go to Loch Lomond and informed us that it was meant to snow. Thankfully it didn't, as today was the only day that I've chosen to wear a dress with no tights - always prepared for the weather!
Our final stop before heading back to Tokyo was Yokohama, Japan's second largest city. We'd visited last year for the day but hadn't got round to seeing a lot of the place, as I hadn't been well. The train journey lasted around two hours and we were lucky enough to see Mount Fuji at one point very clearly from the window.
The main purpose of visiting Yokohama was to go to Chinatown and sample some of the well known delicacies. We watched plenty of YouTube videos on this area when planning the holiday, so already had some places that we wanted to try and foods listed on our itinerary.
Our feet were aching from carrying our luggage around, so we had a quick stop off at the cafe within Yokohama Chocolate Factory and enjoyed a tasting selection of single origin hot chocolate, which was just what we needed.
We felt a bit sorry for the staff there, as we were only in for about half an hour and they seemed to have just two Christmas songs on loop! I love Christmas but working a shift in there would turn anyone into a grinch.
We walked another half an hour to the train station, caught a train to Akihabara district and then jumped on a short metro to Asakusa, where it was just a few minutes walk to our hotel.
We are staying in the same hotel that we did the first night that we arrived in Japan and handily they kept our big cases for us. It was just the best feeling knowing that we'll be in one place for the rest of the trip, so we took the opportunity to kick our shoes off and chill out for a bit before heading out for dinner.
There's a coffee machine at the entrance of our hotel which is for guest use and makes very nice espresso and drip coffees. I've already had two of these since arriving this evening and they were both great.
Finally tonight, in true Capaldi fashion we have had not just one but THREE dinners!
After enjoying last night's dinner so much, we looked up the best okonomayaki restaurants in the area and found one called Tsurujiro, which was fabulous and only a very short walk from the hotel.
There was an option to cook it yourself or get the chefs to do it for you. To save any hassle and ensure the perfect dinner, we allowed the chef to do the honours! It was very interesting to watch what he was doing and George is now set on buying all the equipment and ingredients so that we can try this when we get home.
Next stop was to McDonalds which is a must in my opinion for people visiting Japan. The food is just so much fresher and tastier than their menu back in the UK and really cheap for a snack.
I was unsure when George insisted I tried a McDonalds last year as I know you can get them back home but was so impressed. This time he ordered a beef and macaroni croquette burger, I picked the teriyaki chicken and we shared both.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Don Quijote megastore to have a quick look around and George took a picture of the strange looking aquatic creature in a tank at the front.
Last stop of the day was Life supermarket where we picked up our third and final dinner of some gyoza and a pork curry bun along with some water, ice cream and chocolate to help me along with the blog writing.
We're going to have an earlier night tonight as we have a busier day planned tomorrow which George will update you all on!
Goodnight for now from Tokyo!
お好み焼き
Lucinda
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