Spymon

It definitely was. More high quality ice cream coming up in the next part!

flapland

What are you trying to do to me, first Monk and next the lovely looking tempura. Christmas/New Year trip.is going to be very expensive at this rate :-)

Spymon

Train: Limited Express Thunderbird 29 Kyoto to Kanazawa
Depart Kyoto Station: 16:10
Arrive Kanazawa Station: 18:26
Seats: Car 11, Seats 5C and 5D
Train: 683-4000 series Top Speed: 100 mph (160 km/h)

We finally hauled, harried, pulled and dragged our way to the platform and unlike the perfect organisation of every other train we took in Japan it felt like chaos. As per usual the platform was littered with stickers and numbers telling us where to stand, normally one quick look at the departures board and you can work out where you need to be. However, ours was giving away nothing. We took a guess and hoped for the best, thankfully as our train pulled in it turned out we'd chosen the right option.



We entered the train and let's say first impressions were poor. Compared to the spacious shinkansen's this Thunderbird was not designed for us or our luggage. Eventually we got settled and just hoped the train wouldn't get busy or we'd have to have contorted into our seats with our luggage. Thankfully we never had more than 4-5 other passengers in our carriage the entire trip and rather than a crush of legs we developed our increasing crush on Japan.







As the train sped a long we were treated to a beautiful lakeside view, wonderful mountain ranges, lush green trees and plants with the occasional urban jungle or two on the way. Hands down this trip from Kyoto to Kanazawa was the best of all our travels in Japan. Between the majesty of nature and the occasional station stop I spent some time complaining and working on this TR.



















Before long we pulled into Kanazawa and as we entered the station we could see the progress being made on the new shinkansen tracks heading back the way we'd come.





Feeling a lot better it was time to exit the station and find our hotel.

Hotel: My Stays Premier
Room: 1017 Standard King (Non-Smoking)

After the opulence of a suite at the Ritz almost anything was going to be a come down. That said, check in was friendly, our room was spacious and had a nice view of the station area. We briefly unpacked and settled in. It was a nice room and great value for money. The only downside was the bathroom, it was tiny and cramped but it had a nice deep soaking tub and bath salts.











We were pretty tired but decided to head out for a simple meal and our guide book suggested the department store, Forus right next to the station and its top floor food court. This location also had the added bonus of allowing us to check where we needed to get the bus to Ogimachi two days after. We headed out into the night and quickly got our bearings and had a browse at the various concessions in Forus before heading upstairs for dinner. After having a good look around and finding a reason to not eat at any of the options we settled on Fukigami Pig (Pork) (At least that's how the Forus website translates it - putting into my search engine of choice came up with a few NSFW looking search results).

Fukigami Pig was a popular looking tonkatsu place and I decided to order the speciality Noto cutlet which came with a huge portion of shredded cabbage as well as the usual miso soup, rice and pickles. As per usual our drinks were beer and ginger ale. I enjoyed my meal along with the various sauces from the table. Ms. Spymon was less impressed.





We trudged back to the hotel for a good night's sleep and hopefully not too many toilet trips. Still can't believe how often we got sick on this trip. The bed was comfortable and we slept well. The next day was going to be busy as we wanted to get as much of the sightseeing done before the forecast rain came down.

We aimed to start the day with Omi-Cho Market followed by some of the amazing gardens that Kanazawa is famous for. We then planned to visit some museums in the afternoon when it was raining. It was a short walk past the station towards the market. Our day got off to a good start with breakfast at Curio Espresso and Vintage Design, a popular tourist haunt run by an American/Japanese couple serving good coffee and tasty breakfast items. Ms. Spymon didn't enjoy herself but I really liked it.





After breakfast we had a quick wander through Omi-cho Market, with its fresh vegetables, seafood and meat as well as a few restaurants that were setting up for the day. We enjoyed some people watching as much as looking at all the food. Ms. Spymon was particularly taken with the fresh lotus root.











After we were done with the market we continued on our way towards Kanazawa Castle Park. As per usual in Japan the buildings were reconstructions of reconstructions as the originals had long since burnt down. There were also some brutally honest signs as to what may or may not have been present in the past.















Within the Castle Park lay the beautiful Gyokusen 'inmaru Garden which had been restored to its former glory just a few years ago. The pictures here really speak for themselves. This place seemed like a real highlight, up there with what we had seen in Kyoto. What we did not realise was that Kenrokuen Garden across the road was about to take things to a whole new level. What we also didn't realise was that somebody forgot to charge the camera the night before meaning we'd have to rely heavily on our phones for most of the day and what we should have realised was that one of us was going to feel ill. This time it was Ms. Spymon's turn. Thankfully there were plenty of public toilets throughout the gardens.











Anyway, back to Kenrokuen. The current garden dates from 1774 after the previous one burnt down… A wonderful combination of buildings, water, flowers and plants. Everything felt well balanced and we were truly blown away by it all. There was however one exception, the fountain, said to be the first in Japan which did not live up to the serene beauty of the rest of the gardens. Unfortunately Ms. Spymon was still not feeling serenely beautiful on the inside.



























After leaving the gardens we felt like food, but neither of us wanted anything heavy. Firing up Google Maps the gloriously named Patisserie Ofuku sprang up and we felt like high quality coffee and cake would make us feel better. I'm not going to lie, those cakes were amazing and cheered us up no end, though again, probably not the best things to have on a dodgy stomach.





We trundled along down the road thinking we'd stop in to the partially free of charge Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. We started outside with Florian Claar's Klangfeld Nr. 2 fur Alina, some of the giant speaking and listening instruments made for passable shelters for the rain that had begun to come down. Once again a rest room was required so we headed into the museum and whilst Ms. Spymon found her rest room, I found mine, James Turrell's quite glorious Blue Planet Sky which is basically a room with a hole in the ceiling but somehow it was just beautiful and calming and made me feel at peace.






Feeling it was time to move on we decided to head for the DT Suzuki Museum - Zen Buddhists reading this will know who I'm talking about and everyone else would have now guessed the man had something to do with Zen Buddhism. In short DT Suzuki is the man who made Zen famous in the west with his time spent working in the USA.



We arrived dripping wet from the now pouring rain and gladly put our soaked things in the provided lockers. The first part of the museum was the history and teachings of Daisetz Suzuki, we found it particularly interesting how challenging he found it to translate things into English but he left one memorable phrase in our heads, "Wonderful, wonderful and most wonderful, wonderful! And yet again wonderful…"



It was certainly how we felt when we experienced the beautiful Water Mirror Garden that still felt calm despite the rain lashing down outside and into the water feature and gutters. We just felt so calm and at peace with the world and each other.










We picked up a couple of post cards from the museum to take home with us as we knew that some of our friends would appreciate them.

Sadly the calm didn't last as we headed out into torrential rain and continued to walk and walk as Ms. Spymon wanted to see the sights of Kanazawa and we did. As the sun set the rain showed no signs of stopping as we walked to the riverside, through backstreets and shopping streets. The city was eerily deserted, shops were mostly closed and music was playing in the streets through speakers.



It wasn't all bad though, we finally found some Japanese whiskey to bring home for my brother-in-law, some Suntory Hibiki for half the price it sells for back here (yes in an ideal world we would have gone to Yamazaki whilst we were in Kyoto but it was too far out of the way in the time we had). Though I still think we should have spent a bit more on a bottle of Nikka that was hiding in the corner.

We kept on walking, it kept on raining, more and more and more. We went past the now closed "Samurai House" and kept on going. My North Face rain jacket had now managed to become soaked through, the rest of me had given up a long time before.





Eventually we made it back to the safety of the station and went back into Forus to dry off and get some food. I was so wet I could wring out my hands. We settled for steak at what I think was Oh! My Steak - the Forus website states the place had something to do with Paris and butterflies though the only thing we felt was dry! We ordered our meat, one wagyu and one regular and decided to split them. As per usual I took a beer and Ms. Spymon a ginger ale. The food wasn't great and the fact it was full of mostly tired looking western tourists should have been the giveaway. But like our dining companions we were too tired to care and were happy to be out of the rain.



Wanting dessert I noticed there was a gelato place on the ground floor and we had been looking forward to trying some more of the Japanese ice cream flavours (Or in my case any excuse for chocolate ice cream!). Milkissimo was still open serving up fresh made gelato using the finest Hokkaido milk (that we couldn't try in Hokkaido as we were sick). I believe I went with a greedy portion of Chocolate, coffee and black sesame, Ms. Spymon swapped out the chocolate for tiramisu if I remember rightly. It was good gelato and we headed back to the hotel feeling a lot better than we had done an hour or so earlier.



Before bed I made time to enjoy the tub which I loaded up with bath salts and unwound. I was exhausted and as you've probably guessed we had another busy day ahead of us, one that we'd both been looking forward to. We would be visiting the villages of Shirakawa-go/Gokayama/Ogimachi (which all turned out to be one place!).

Spymon

Don't worry, other than a final splurge in Tokyo the rest of the food on the trip was very reasonably priced, we chose our blowout meals carefully. The cheap fast food on this trip was at times just as rewarding as the pricier spots, just not in the same way of course.

flapland

Certainly true there is lots of great reasonably priced food its just the special stuff is on a different level. Hard to get a bad meal unlike sadly London although of course exception at both ends of the scale.

nequine

Those gardens look so beautiful and very peaceful.

juakkers

Thanks so much for the effort you have put into this fantastic report!

Spymon

They were but you had to be patient to find a quiet spot. They were pretty busy.

Thank you. Hope you enjoy the final few parts. The next bit is coming soon.

Spymon

We started the day with breakfast at the station from the 'French' bakery DONQ we'd been eying up the night before. Whilst Ms. Spymon went for some classic French options with her coffee I went for a more colourful collection of Japanese buns. Both food and drink were rather good and we made a note to return the following day.



Before getting our coach I went and picked up some crisps, Pocky and drinks in case we needed them as it was supposed to be a gloriously warm and sunny day. After that it was a short wait at the bus station for our coach.

Hokutetsu/Nohi Bus to Shirakawa-go 1 hour 15 mins
Depart Kanazawa Bus Station at 09:10
Arrive : Shirakawa-go (Ogimachi) at 10:35

Our coach was clean, spacious and also completely full. The journey was just over an hour and once we'd left town we were treated to lush green hills and valleys intertwined with the occasional rice field.









Before long we got our first glimpse of the famous thatched houses we'd come to see.



A few minutes later we arrived in town at the bus station where we picked up our maps and decided on a plan. First up we walked up to the lookout point and grabbed some great views of the village with the snow-capped mountains in the far distance.







We headed down the trail and reached the edge of the village. What was great here was that many of the houses were lived in and used by their inhabitants, rather than just left empty for tourists to gawk at.





That being said there are a few properties that are used as museums. We visited the giant Wada house in the middle of town, where we learnt all about that family's place in the village as well as all the work that goes into maintaining these spectacular buildings. Unfortunately there was a large group of older British tourists who strutted around like it was their own private house, thankfully my fellow country folk departed fairly quickly and we were able to take some photos of the house.













After a jolly good stroll around the village we consulted our guide book for lunch options and surveyed the scene.

































After weighing up our somewhat limited options we decided upon a cute little husband and wife run curry rice place, Ochiudo set in one of the classic houses. The decor inside was great. A large fire place on one side and a huge collection of mugs, cups and tableware behind the counter.









The food was simple and tasty and I even got a top up of my curry sauce! The dessert of red bean soup was a little odd tasting for my palate but the service was great and the setting second to none.

After lunch we headed out across the river for the view then back to the bus station to take the World Heritage Bus see some of the lesser visited villages.







We arrived in Gokayama also known as Suganuma (everywhere here seemed to have multiple interchangeable names). Unlike Ogimachi there were almost no tourists, let alone crowds. The trade-off being a smaller range of houses and the only open ones were a shop and restaurant.













Hokutetsu Bus to Kanazawa
Departs Gokayama (Suganuma) 16:50
Arrive Kanazawa 17:50

We had a good walk around before heading back making use of the handily located lift to the bus stop where we arrived well ahead of schedule. Unfortunately they would not let us board the earlier bus so we waited around soaking up the sun and debating our dinner options. The journey back to Kanazawa was uneventful and As it was not too late we decided to try an age old place in one of the parts of town we'd yet to visit.

It was a good 30 minute plus walk as we headed towards the river and the old part of town. As we stumbled upon the beautiful machiya houses by the river the light had almost faded. Fortunately (In that we made it) unfortunately in that it was dark and most everything baring a frightfully expensive sushi restaurant was closed (at least to your average tourist) we just walked past and tried to imagine what was going on behind the walls, screens and shaded windows.











We found ourselves just a short walk from our dinner place, past a rather fun looking craft beer and cocktail place, down the deserted street filled with little old houses and their artistic wares.

We finally arrived at Restaurant Jiyuken which had apparently been in business for over 100 years. Safe to say first impressions were that the decor, other than the TVs had not been changed very often during that time. The cuisine was yoshoku, a Japanese take on western food. That meant, steak, omelettes and curry sauce washed down with beer.







We soon noticed that chef had three settings for the flame on his hob. Off, eyebrows and hair-raising much to the annoyance or whom we assumed was his wife. The only thing that was quicker than the potential for carnage was our meals. I had a pretty decent steak dish and Ms. Spymon went with our guidebook' s recommendation and got a mix of different things that ranged from the awful to the quite delicious. Portions were generous. Service was rustic.

We settled up and headed off into the night. Unfortunately I was caught a little short on the way home and we stopped off at a Sherlock Holmes themed coffee place which had excellent facilities and damn fine coffee.



The rest of the night was uneventful and we made it back to the hotel for a good sleep as the next day we were headed back for the final leg of our trip to experience the lights, sights and sounds of Tokyo!

nequine

Those houses look like we'd rewound back in time by several centuries!

Spymon

Thanks nequine. I'm sure you'll be glad that the next part of this trip report will be up soon.

Spymon

Check Out from My Stays was effortless and we made the short walk to the station stopping off at Donq to pick up some breakfast to take on to the shinkansen with us.

Train: Kagayaki 506 Kanazawa to Tokyo
Depart Kanazawa Station: 08:48
Arrive Tokyo Station: 11:20
Seats: Car 5, Seats 16D &16E
Train: E7 Series Shinkansen Maximum Speed 160mph (260 km/h)

It was a calm and straightforward two and a half hour journey to Tokyo Station. The scenery was great and I enjoyed my curry pan and sweet potato pan (not what I thought they would be - I was hoping for strawberry and chocolate), the coffee was not bad either.



















We arrived on time and took the Marunouchi Line to Akasaka-Mitsuke. From there it was a short walk to the impressive tower where our hotel for the night, Prince Gallery Tokyo was located.

Hotel: Prince Gallery, Tokyo
Room: Grand Deluxe Corner King (Club Room)
Status: SPG Gold



We sped up to the top floor lobby and whilst I was getting us checked in Ms Spymon was invited to take a seat in the lobby where she could enjoy the panoramic views across Tokyo. Check in was straightforward and took a little while as we were early and the hotel had kindly upgraded us from the Club Deluxe room we had booked to a corner room which was about 50% bigger and worth a fair bit more.



We were allowed to wait in the lounge and have a drink whilst the finishing touches were being applied to our room. Tired from the journey we opted for soft drinks on this occasion though we could have gone for champagne. Yet again the hotel staff were surprised that we'd already been all over Japan rather than just Tokyo/Kyoto. I commented that it was nice to have a view of the Tokyo Tower after our first hotel had great views of the Skytree. I was politely corrected and shown that I was looking out the wrong window as Prince Gallery also had excellent Skytree views.





The club lounge was small and well-appointed with plenty of seating including some with the amazing city views, there was also a small food and drink area but at this hour only a small selection of snacks were out, including some rather addictive chocolates. We were soon advised that our room was ready and a few minutes later we headed off. Once again we were not disappointed. As we walked down the entry corridor the blinds were automatically rising to reveal a spectacular view of Tokyo. The room was huge and in other hotels could easily have passed for a junior suite thanks to a generous living area with lots of seating space to enjoy those wonderful views. The bathroom was well appointed, though had only one sink. Storage space in the room was also excellent. A small welcome amenity of some biscuits and Japanese sweets had been prepared for us.




















Our plan for the afternoon was to head to the Meiji shrine and Yoyogi park area, perhaps grab a spot of lunch and then spend some time in Harajuku. We left the hotel and got back on the metro, this time leaving via the shopping centre attached to the lower floors of the building where our hotel was housed, making a note of potential dining options for the evening. About half an hour later we arrived at the park that houses the shrine and surrounds.





Filled with tall shady trees it was a welcome relief from the heat. After a short walk we found the main shrine and lucked out as there was a wedding procession. There is always something nice about seeing two different cultures and backgrounds coming together and we enjoyed spying on the procession for a little while.









It was time to do a little something for ourselves and after a couple of attempts we finally managed to find some kindly souls to take our picture in front of the famous husband and wife trees.







After that we left some well wishes on an Ema at the shrine and picked up some omamori for our newly married friends for good luck. We loved the sense of calm that surrounded the shrine, even if the shrine area itself was quite busy.





We walked out of the park and almost immediately found ourselves at Takeshita Street which felt like the worst of Carnaby Street meets the worst of Camden Town. It was overflowing with tourists, tourist shops, tourist food and some dubious tourist attractions.











However, as we headed further along into Harajuku and in particular Omotesando we really enjoyed ourselves. Sadly today it was my turn to get the Tokyo tummy which did slightly ruin the buzz. This part of Harajuku reminded us of the best parts of San Francisco and New York and for me that also meant some amazing shopping opportunities without the awful lines you see in London. Sadly with the amount of money we had spent on the trip there was little left for purchasing which meant that most of the shopping was of the window variety. I was in need of a new hat and that would have to do. Having a slightly large head can make hat shopping a challenge but after trying just about everywhere the BAPE Store in Harajuku came to my rescue and I finally found something that fitted perfectly. Service was strictly excellent or awful depending on your likelihood to purchase an item, however big or small. Next Japan trip if I'm not too old and I will make a confession here, if I can't good a good deal on flights and hotels with miles and points which other than our two nights in Kyoto was the case here, I would sacrifice the difference in cash for the business class flights and 5 star hotels for food and clothes shopping. I think that rule might only apply in Japan!

















We enjoyed a leisurely evening walk back to the hotel past the Akasaka Palace and the Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin Shrine which put us in a really good mood which was just pefrect as it was a shrine to bring happiness.



We had originally planned to arrive back at the hotel to enjoy the cocktail hours at the club lounge but unfortunately I got the hours wrong! Despite the food having disappeared there was still a good selection of alcohol including some quite drinkable champagne so we poured a few glasses and enjoyed the glorious views of Tokyo and treated it as apero time instead of the substitute dinner time that I had planned in.



Feeling hungry, tired and not overly adventurous we decided to check out the mall downstairs and decided upon a soba joint, Koishikawa. Yes I had been complaining about not having ramen the entire trip and as soba are buckwheat noodles which are in theory gluten free Ms Spymon was happy to oblige. Yet again I'm still none the wiser as to how the gluten in a bowl of ramen noodles is so much worse than that in pastries, but as they say you live and learn.

We were offered a table in the corner and an English language menu. We also found the restaurant had put on complementary entertainment in the form of a table comprised entirely of blind drunk salarymen. We ordered two soba sets, one hot, one cold and some stunningly good fried chicken that was crisp on the outside whilst remaining soft on the inside. When I was first returning to a more varied diet after many years of being vegetarian, chicken was one of the few things I never really understood. People would get so excited and you'd try the item, usually roast or fried chicken and outside of a curry it just tasted really bland. In Japan they do chicken right with and without the curry sauce. I washed down my food with a highball (had to have at least one in Japan!) and most certainly even without photographic evidence Ms Spymon had a ginger ale. The food was good but the lasting memory would be of those salarymen, though no doubt they probably remember less of the evening then us. We headed back to our room to marvel at those views and to prepare for checkout the next day. We'd had an amazing day but we felt a little sad inside knowing that our adventure was not far from coming to an end.













Still to come: more 5 star hotel action, more fine dining, more Tokyo and our trip home on QR and BA.

nequine

That guy's candy floss looks like it should have come with a radioactive sticker! LOL

Another great part

Spymon

The morning started with a swim and I was keen to check out the Prince Gallery pool to see how it compared to the Ritz in Kyoto. Whilst it was a nice pool with an amazing view (though you could not see any of it when you were actually in the pool) the finishes in both the pool and changing area were not as nice as that of the Ritz. Over the years we have been lucky enough to stay in many five star hotels at various price points and in different countries, whilst Prince Gallery was certainly very good it was not quite up there with the very best. Anyway, it was a good swim and it woke me up nicely for the day to come. Oh and it also made me feel not quite so guilty about the club lounge breakfast I was about to enjoy.

We arrived at the club lounge and after giving our room number were warmly welcomed as per our previous visits. We were encouraged to order a hot dish from the breakfast menu as well as make use of the self-service buffet. As per the suggestions on FT I decided to order the chef's egg, which is scrambled egg yolk, topped with a poached egg, with egg white foam on the top along with some Parma ham and a light grating of truffle. I also indulged in some pastries and other items from the buffet and a couple of coffees, all the while enjoying the view. To be honest it was a brilliant way to start the morning and if there wasn't so much to see in Tokyo we could have stayed a lot longer.











The plan for the morning and it was a plan that failed miserably, was to have a stroll around Daikenyama which was supposed to be filled with cute little shops, coffee houses, art galleries and so on. Maybe we went to the wrong part but it was not what we found. Heading back a minute what made it even more frustrating was that we spend more time getting lost trying to escape the surrounds of Shibuya station then we spent in Daikenyama. On a positive note we did find Hachiko the dog!



So in the end we headed back to the crowds of Shibuya and enjoyed a stroll through streets big and small, found some real life Mario Karters and did plenty of window shopping. After a few hours of walking around doing not much more than soak in the atmosphere we headed back to the Prince Gallery to check out and move on to our next hotel.











It was a short trip on the metro, at least in theory on the Marunouchi Line from the Prince Gallery to the Palace Hotel, but whilst the trip on the metro was short, escaping Otemachi Station was something else. It took almost the same time again to make it through the maze of the station into the depths of the Palace hotel and out the other side to the front desk.

Hotel: Palace Hotel
Room: Deluxe with Balcony (Room 2001)
Status: None (Booked through Virtuoso - Upgrade, breakfast and dining credit)

We were running a little late and made it to check in for 2pm, the same time as our reservation for lunch at Go Teppanyaki. Thankfully check in was quick and friendly with our Virtuoso benefits explained. Our bags were taken one way and we were taken the other as we were walked straight to the restaurant. The set up was similar to the tempura restaurant at the Ritz in Kyoto. There were two spotless grills and one other couple in the restaurant. As per usual drinks were beer and ginger ale. We had gone for the basic Ryokusui menu and once again the more you pay the more expensive the ingredients are, with a small increase in the volume of food served. In all honesty the amount of food was way more than it looked. Service was polite but functional, perhaps as our chef and our server were less confident in English than at some of the other high end places we had been to on this trip. Overall the meal was definitely lacking the personality and atmoshpere we had at Monk, Jiki Miyazawa and Tempura Mizuki.





Anyway, let's move onto the food. First up was some soup and then a small salad.





We were presented with our vegetables and meat before they was placed on the grill. Our condiments were also explained. The vegetables were nice but that marbled beef was something else, not necessarily better than a good old fashioned thick cut steak from home (France or UK) but it had a completely different flavour and texture profile, buttery, melt in the mouth and incredibly rich. If this was the cheap cut how good must the real prime cuts be? After that we had some deliciously fragrant garlic rice (yes, we got food envy and paid the supplement!), then the miso soup and pickles.


















There was a dairy based dessert (can't remember exactly what it was now) and we finished up with the usual green tea and some much needed coffee. It was an expensive lunch, but with the Virtuoso dining credit making a significant dent towards the bill it was quite reasonable for the quantity and quality of the food as well as the exclusivity of the location and essentially having our own private chef cook for us.







We were pretty stuffed and thought we better check out our room before heading out for the afternoon.

We were happy to see we had been given room 2001 which had a special meaning for us. I was happier still that we'd been upgraded to a balcony room which had quite spectacular views of the Imperial Palace Gardens, Tokyo Station and all those lovely sky scrapers with Tokyo Tower in the distance. The room itself was large, not as big as Prince Gallery or the Ritz but we had loads of space. The fixtures and fittings although not as high tech as Prince Gallery felt significantly more luxurious. This felt like a really high end luxury hotel and for the nightly room rate that was the very least we were expecting! We briefly unpacked and then headed out for one crazy afternoon and evening of sightseeing.

































First up for the afternoon was the Imperial Palace. Sadly we had to rush this visit due to the late arrival at the hotel, longer than planned lunch and me taking too long in the room taking photos and unpacking. The grounds were pleasant enough but compared to what we had seen elsewhere there was nothing worth dwelling over. The fact that it was rather overcast didn't help. We left at closing time as the guards were politely ushering us and the other stragglers out.













Next up headed for Akihabara to see the lights, obsolete gadgets, geeks and so forth. When I think of Tokyo Akihabara was what I always had in mind. It was also nice to really stretch our legs after all that food. In an ideal world we would have arrived a little later and caught the illuminations in their full glory rather than at dusk. We saw lots of fun things, old gadgets, geeky dolls, some rather strange singing with even stranger dance moves (sorry, we were enjoying it too much to take a video), more Mario Karts, backpacker bars and restaurants under the railway arches and ladies playing dress up.





















Oh and the amazing Yamashiroya toy store, the only toy store I can think of that was almost entirely devoid of children. It had everything we could ever dream of from high end Ghibli merch to plastic musical cats and dogs, dancing Star Wars figures and fancy mecha kits. So much fun. Oh and I won't talk about how a certain person got over excited at the floor filled with every Sylvanian Family you could imagine. We really loved this place and were quite glad that our cases were already full to bursting.












It was still earlyish (well not for sightseeing) and one of the joys of Tokyo is how late the museums open at the weekend so we headed off towards Ueno park and the Tokyo National Museum.









It was dark by the time we got there but still pretty busy. We had about 90 minutes to enjoy the museum before closing which included time to pick up some of the gifts that we'd struggled to find. I have to confess we probably could have spent the day here and in the end we managed to rush through one of the wings. Despite the rush we saw some amazing art, ceramics, furniture, swords, screens. It was a really great museum. We finished up trawling the gift shop and thankfully found some nice items to bring home to our families that didn't take up a lot of room in our cases.

We weren't super hungry after a huge hotel breakfast and a good sized lunch. So rather than dinner we headed back to the hotel for cocktails and dessert. However, on the way back through the park we stumbled on what looked like some kind of bonsai competition. Another wow moment on what was turning into one heck of a fun day. We took the metro back from Ueno to Tokyo Station (could the day get any better?) and I even got to enjoy a rather fun photo opportunity!











Knowing we had a few fine hotels, with equally fine hotel bars we wanted to dress up for at least one evening and enjoy some drinks. For some reason I was terribly bloated and just about managed to fit into my clothes. Ms Spymon had no such problem. We ended up in the main bar and caught the end of the jazz band over a couple of cocktails and some desserts.











It was very relaxing and we were happily overdressed. It had been a great day and we couldn't believe we had less than 24 hours left in Japan.

Spymon

Yes, I meant to start a day with a swim and compare the Palace to the Prince and the Ritz but I was exhausted and knew we had a busy day ahead of us. So instead we started with a high quality luxury hotel breakfast buffet. It had been a while and we had no choice but to overdo it! I had a perfectly cooked eggs benedict with some pastries all washed down with a never-ending supply of coffee and juice. The quality was as good as expected.









The plan for the morning was to see the spectacle of Fukagawa Fudo-do with its mirror room and fire ritual. It was a short hop on the Tozai Line from Otemachi to Monzen-nakacho and from there just a short walk past some interesting antique shops or perhaps junk stores (we couldn't tell) to the temple.



As we approached the gates we heard the temple before we saw it and hurried in to catch the end of the fire ritual. Wow, they really go for it and it's quite the spectacle of noise with each beat of the drums shaking your insides (we must have missed the bulk of the fire).





After some exploring we found the mirrored corridor filled with tiny little buddha statues on a mirrored background. It was an interesting experience but not anywhere near as exciting as our guidebook suggested.

We then spotted another temple down the road and headed off to explore. The grounds were taken up by a huge flea market, we really enjoyed ourselves and had a great walk around picking up some sake cups and bottles. I'm sure we overpaid but we had gotten some nice souvenirs and had a great time in the process. We then headed back to the hotel for lunch.







Checkout was easy enough and the hotel kept hold of our cases for the rest of the day. We were then escorted up to the hotel's Michelin starred Amber Fort restaurant where we'd booked a table for lunch. The place was a bit of a maze to find and we were glad to have someone walk us up. No expense had been spared with the setting and we were quickly acknowledged by the staff with our reservation was confirmed. There was a short wait whilst a party was leaving and we were given a nice spot by the windows with views outside.





As alluded to earlier in the TR we'd not spent all that we'd budgeted for and decided to have a bit of a blowout lunch going for the Amethyst Menu at around Ł70 per person including service but excluding drinks (and this was by no means the most expensive lunch menu on offer). In a change from the usual I went with a glass of white wine. Ms Spymon stuck to ginger ale. As a reminder, you pay as much for the quality of the ingredients in Japan as for the volume of food. The presentation, quality and taste of all our courses were up there with anything I'd ever eaten. I would also say this is probably the most refined and tastiest Chinese food I have ever tasted. Unfortunately there were a couple of things that got in the way. It was very expensive, the portion of duck was not as generous as we would have liked and the server did not explain the different ways we could have the duck - the fact that it was the best crispy duck roll we'd ever had only added to the disappointment. The service did not feel overly polished, the courses did not come in the order they were printed on the menu and half the courses did not come with a full explanation.



Our courses were: Selected appetisers (the pork belly and chicken were amazing), Beijing Duck, Dim sum (some of the best we've ever had), Hot and Sour soup with Abalone, Pork with BBQ sauce, Vegetables (broccoli, good to help cleanse the palate), some rather excellent fried rice (I could get hooked on premium fried rice very easily) and a coconut milk based dessert.

















At half the price we would have forgiven all of these complaints. In many ways we finished the trip as we started it food wise with a delicious but expensive meal. As is the custom we finished with green tea.

As was becoming the norm after another long meal it was getting late and we decided to change our plans. It was a glorious afternoon and rather than spend it inside a museum we decided to do the historic Tokyo walk we meant to do earlier in our trip which we postponed due to rain. We headed off towards Ueno Park and began our walk through the Yanesen area of Tokyo.









For me, any good big city should be full of contrasts and surprises. On show that afternoon were low rise buildings, quiet streets, tourist free temples and shrines.






































The walking route saved the best to last and as the sun was setting we enjoyed the calm of the Yanaka-reien cemetary and the climb down through Yuyake Dandan and Yanaka Ginza, too bad we didn't have the time to really take in that sunset or stop for a beer.

Our last stop of the trip was supposed to be the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi. We both like art and it was open late. However, at this point we were so far behind schedule by the time we arrived in Roppongi that we'd given up on the museum. On the plus side we got a great view of the Tokyo Tower, some great people watching and finished off our trip with the most romantic stroll and a huge desire to return to Japan. We saw so much and yet so little during our two weeks of travels.













We got the metro back to the hotel and picked up our bags, it was finally time to head home and face the world.