#Japan16 Kawaii Monster cafe on my last day

I woke early, remembering to switch my alarm off quickly to avoid waking the rest of the dorm, checked out, and was in Starbucks having breakfast by 7.30. They were out of granola today, so I just had cake. Amazing delicious chocolate cake! Definitely not a valid breakfast, even with a green tea to try and balance out the healthiness.

I took the subway to Kyoto station, and tried to reserve a seat on the Shinkansen. I asked in 100% Japanese. The lady replied in English that it was fully booked, and so was the next one, but I could ride in the unreserved carriage (they split the carriages in Japan. There's no special difference except that reserved carriages are more numerous - about 70% of the train- and less crowded. Locals have to pay extra to use them) I was doubtful that there would be room in unreserved, but thanked her anyway and gave it a try.

I was in luck. An older Japanese lady and I had three seats to ourselves and our luggage, and after she left I was able to take the window seat and charge my phone as we travelled. As with all Shinkansen trips where there are no children in the seat behind you, the journey was painless, and as I got off the bullet train for the last time, I received a bow from the cleaning staff whom I had seen preparing the train only little over a week ago.

I dropped my stuff which I didn't need immediately at another capsule hotel, and  got the train into Tokyo's Harajuku district. It felt good to be back. The public transportation was much easier as I could use my JR pass, and I didn't get lost at all after finding the hotel.

Just off Harajuku's Takeshita Dori (that's Japanese for street) on the fourth floor of an innkcuous tower was the themed pop-up restaurant Kawaii Monster Cafe. I knew I was in the right place, both from the lurid pink and purple walls, and the twenty minute queue.

This was the main reason I'd returned to Tokyo early though, so I was in no rush, and eventually I came to the front of the queue. Luckily I had picked up this useful voucher from another blog. It meant they waived the 500y table charge!

You're welcome!

The waitress was wearing a bold black and white striped dress with a bright pink half-Apron that was shaped to look like it was dripping gunge. In the wall behind her two glowing eyeballs rotated underneath the welcome sign. She asked if I was ready. I nodded "hai!" And she opened the doors into the gaudiest plastic paradise you have ever seen. A giant roundabout with ponies and bananas and candles on it like a cake was slowly spinning around. In one corner the wall was plastered in giant lips. In another giant rainbow mushrooms sheltered diners. In a third a giant bunny and a unicorn with glowing eyes drink milk from baby bottles through tubes. It was bizarre. I got seated in a section near the creepy milk drinking unicorn, where the wall was covered in shards of glass like a crazy mirror at a circus. I ordered the salad (because it was vegetarian, and also the cheapest item - bonus! - at a mere 700y) and a cup of hot tea. In Japan it is essential that you specify I you want your tea hot or iced, because both are equally acceptable. I've also been offered milk for my green tea. Eww!

As I waited, I snapped photos of the Harajuku paradise. I spied two Harajuku girls among the waiting staff (I assume they were girls, the second was too androgynous to tell, and by the time I left I was convinced it was a guy) The first had an enormous mauve wig, and a pink skirt- bandeau top combo, the skirt seemed to be made out of fluffy tails stolen off cuddly toys, and a lilac veil hanging off the back. Around her left wrist she wore a bracelet made of baby shoes, and her makeup seemed to be 60% glitter. She delivered my salad, speaking to me rapidly in Japanese with a high pitched child-like voice, and posed cutely for a photo, although it came out blurry in the low light. I believe her character name is Baby.

Really take your time to absorb everyhting that's going on with this outfit.

All of this was to a soundtrack of pulsing J-pop, it was like having lunch in a night club, utterly surreal.
The other character, Candy I think, wore leggings with a print of lips and French fries (as in, chips) and a fishnet top with a translucent neon plastic safety vest over it. They had an alligator backpack, all manner of facial piercings, and the sides of their hair cropped short with hearts painted on it. The long portion of their hair and the fringe was dyed lurid neon colours and they wore thick black eyeliner and day-glo makeup. Are you able to picture how bizarre this is yet?



After my 'Candy salad' (which was actually delicious and quite healthy feeling), I had a small 'Poison cake'. I don't know whether this name was due to a bad translation, or part of the monster theme. Either way, the base of it was a chocolate cupcake which reminded me of my own baking (it was dry and flavourless) with a blueberry sauce core, and piled high buttercream orange and blue icing. Typically of the Monster cafe the orange and blue were very vibrant clashing shades, but it didn't really taste of anything.

and of course, it came in a bell jar

Shortly after I had polished off my cake as slowly as I could (and I did enjoy it ultimately), the reason I had been taking my time paid off. The lights dimmed, and the pink-black and white waitresses summoned all of the diners to gather around the roundabout. Baby walked out in a spotlight with an LED tambourine to an even louder soundtrack. She danced a circle around the roundabout before being joined by Candy who did the same. They got up on the roundabout striking poses and wiggling their hips, which was a bit weird in Candy's case as they had no hips to speak of. They alternated dancing on and off the roundabout, sometimes riding on the little creatures on the roundabout, sometimes making monster claws like in the Michael Jackson thriller video. The regular waitresses joined in with the latter. There was also some orchestrated clapping to the beat (Yes I joined in!) and then some blonde girl got pulled up on the roundabout and given a tambourine. She was completely ordinary looking and appeared so out of place (and uncomfortable) there I felt quite sorry for her. It was bizarre, I think the whole performance lasted about five minutes and then everyone went back to their tables. I paid my bill and got a photo of Candy and Baby who were still posing on the roundabout (Candy was riding a banana but I think it was innocent). I emerged into the daylight feeling utterly bemused. It was awesome!

Like five-year-old Sophie's dream come true

It's no less weird than I decribed, is it? This is the famous
roundabout, and yes s/he is straddling a banana

 Next I got the train out to the quiet Tokyo suburb of Gotoku Ji, where I promptly got lost and wondered into a quiet Buddhist shrine where the locals looked confused to see me. I got my old friend Google Maps on the case (by now a permanent fixture in my internet tabs on my phone ) and soon made my way to Gotoku Jis biggest tourist attraction - a cat temple!

The wrong temple

I wanted to visit this temple so that I could better understand the significance of that famous Japanese Icon - the beckoning white cat. Unfortunately there was no English signage, nor any tourist guides there, but the story behind it is (roughly) thus: Many centuries ago, a shogun was travelling across Japan one evening when a storm broke. He took shelter under a tree from the rain, when he saw a white cat beckoning him to a temple. He followed the cat, and as soon as he left the tree, it was struck by lightning and fell down. The beckoning cat had saved his life, and has ever since been a symbol of good luck.

I took a few photos of the cats, the attractive pavilion in the temple grounds, and the by now ubiquitous beautiful cherry blossom (I was right about the timing when I first started my visit!) and got the local train back to Shinjuku, collecting a station stamp featuring the cat on my way.

High five... no?

At Shinjuku I wandered around for a little while, deciding it was not a very touristy area due to a) the way the locals looked at me and b) the lack of English menus. I was determined that my last meal would be Japanese and eventually found a tempura place. The guy sat next to me was probably younger than me, some kind of skater dude, but he had tattoos! I hadn't seen this before in Japan, and my only contextual knowledge of tattoos was that the wearers (owners?) were banned from most Onsen due to their connection to Japanese gang culture. I gave him sidelong looks as he slurped his Miso soup. He looked pretty harmless to me... He paid his bill and left almost as soon as my food arrived, so I guess I'll never know, but I doubt it somehow!

The tempura was very nice. I had the set meal with Miso soup (I was too scarred by the clam experience to drink any more than was the minimum to be polite), rice, pickles (my favourite!) and a nice green salad of unknown vegetables. I suspect it was garnished with dried fish flakes but what could I do? My diet in Japan was appalling enough as it was!

I returned to the capsule inn around 19:30, planning an early night. I was told my pod number but wasn't given a key. There was no locker! There were tiny shoe lockers, and my boots got locked away, but the reception desk kept the key for that. I was really uncomfortable with the arrangement, but dragged my bags up to my locker and crammed us all in. Again I unpacked everything, prepared the next morning's clothes, and re-packed. Once the noise in the dorm tailed off, I went to sleep. At 11.30 I woke up when the girl in the pod below me unpacked. She took absolutely ages unpacking and repacking a large suitcase. I fell back asleep at thirty minutes past midnight, only to be re-awoken half an hour later by two more girls moving in.
Finally 5am came, and I got up for my flight. I took the monorail to the airport, and that was the end of my adventures in Japan!

#Japan16 Arashiyama and the Cat Cafe

I had been planning an early start today, but, I suppose unsurprisingly, I overslept. In the shower I had the dilemma that epitomised my trip. I wanted to soak and relax, after all I was on holiday, but also there was an amazing place out there calling to me! I hurried to the station, and got a JR local train to Arashiyama. The day was overcast and gloomy. The problem with capsule hotels is that there is no daylight: You have no idea what the weather is doing outside, so it was only by chance that I had brought a raincoat!

From the station, I walked directly to Arashiyama monkey park. I had looked for Monkeys in Minoo in Osaka, up Mount Misen in Miyajima, and now this was my last chance to see some of Japan's famous snow monkeys!

I paid 550y admission and trekked up the mountain. It wasn't a tough climb, but as ever the footpaths left something to be desired, and I regretted taking my comfy slip on shoes instead of hiking boots. As I neared the top, I finally saw my first monkey, and there were half a dozen of them sitting in a tree! Their thick fluffy fur matched the bark almost exactly, and as they turned to watch me I saw their ugly pink faces. I was under strict instructions from the visitor centre not too stare, but I was enchanted!

Creepy red eyed monkey (I think it just had its eyes closed)

I arrived at the viewing platform just in time for a feed, where two park rangers sprinkled monkey nuts (of course) and about thirty or forty monkeys descended from the sakura trees, nonchalantly waving their pink backsides in the air as they scooped up nuts, peeled them, and stuffed them into their mouths. The view alone made the climb worth it. With a misty panorama of Kyoto, I again found myself resenting my visit to the sky tower, the atmosphere here was much better. I got some great photos of monkeys perched on the rope fence with Kyoto spread out between the hills behind them. Some of the monkeys got very close and I even saw a couple of babies!

I didn't linger too long however, as the weather had finally broken and it had began to rain. I was worried for my backpack, and skidded back down the mountain in my inappropriate shoes.

Just as in Hakone, the rain did lend a fantastic atmosphere to the place. I got some romantic photos of river boats waiting under dripping Sakura trees, a wedding couple sat on a bench overlooking the misty river, and even a woman painted up as a Meika - trainee geisha sheltering under a decorative umbrella. I actually thought she looked quite unattractive, but I suppose all that face paint is a difficult look to pull off.

The bride mourning her soggy wedding dress

The boat trips were not selling well that day

Apprentice Geisha

I wandered into a Unesco World Heritage site temple gardens, searching for Arashiyama's famous bamboo grove. The gardens were beautiful, Zen gardens like those at the silver temple and honen-in yesterday, with carefully raked stones and mossy mounds topped with crooked Japanese fir trees. There was also a feast of Sakura blossom here, and the dim lighting and drizzling rain really made the colours contrast.

Zen garden in the rain

Finally I entered the bamboo grove. I had read about a majesty and grandeur here which couldn't be conveyed in photos, and though I did enjoy it and the bamboo was spectacular, and absolutely enormous, it was too crowded to really feel spiritual, besides I was concerned about all my essentials in my (now thoroughly soggy) backpack. I was underwhelmed. I hope that at least some of my photos do it some justice. A lot of them came out blurry because it was so dark I had to use a slow shutter speed, but so damp and crowded I didn't have the liberty to take my time. I would still recommend a visit though - it was in anticipation of these crowds that I had tried to get up early!

Arashiyama Bamboo Garden

I decided that under such conditions I was unlikely to get much pleasure from the 'romance car' scenic railway, river cruise or water gardens which I had planned, and so left Arashiyama shortly after midday.

I returned to the hostel and finally had a really long hot shower, before returning to the under-cover shopping centre for a leisurely wander. I purchased the most adorable donut/doughnut that looked like a little cat, before visiting one of Japan's famous cat cafés. This was a Bengal cat cafe (the first in the world apparently, and I don't doubt that!) and the cafe involved no food (hence my doughnut), but guests were invited into a small jungle themed room in small groups, whereupon we paid 600y each to play with these tiny leopard patterned cats for half an hour.

Cat donut, followed by cat cafe! I definitely
felt I needed some cheering up after my rainy morning!

Sat on the floor, three young Japanese couples cooed over tiny cats, most of whom had fallen asleep in their attendee's lap. I was given a small cat who let me stroke it for maybe 40 seconds before scurrying off, much to the amusement of the nearest couple. There seemed to be a big (relatively speaking) daddy cat who watched over proceedings from a perch up in the man-made tree (a series of real branches stapled together and decorated with fake ivy) and I took a few photos of him before a couple took pity on me and invited me to join them stroking the tiny feline curled up in the girls lap. It was so soft and quite adorable, its eyes rolled back in its head as she rubbed its chin, and I could see how this could be therapeutic. When the couples' time ran out, they passed me the sleeping creature, who found an uncomfortable looking position in my lap. They took a photo of me on mh phone, they were very kind, but they had been gone about two minutes when the cat woke up and ran away from me.

I realised cat cafés were a lost cause for me. That kitten was like it'd been drugged. If I'd managed to repel him, I had no chance of finding another, so I left a little before my time was up. It was still a good and interesting experience though, I was glad I tried it!

I seemed out my favourite vegetarian cafe for the third day in a row, but to my dismay it had closed down! The tables had been pushed up against the windows and the board which had previously said 'open' or 'closed' outside had now gone altogether. I went to Starbucks and spent the previous day's voucher on a scone and a hot chocolate, toying with the idea of visiting one last temple at dusk as I knew it was illuminated well and looked out over the city. Ultimately though I was too intimidated by the maze of streets (unable to find my way to the appropriate bus stop), and decided to continue shopping and get an early night.
Lush, one of my favourite shops back home, had a cool store on the main outdoor shopping street (a fancy street, that plays elevator music to you as you walk along) so I visited there. I was caught off guard by a very friendly shop assistant with near-perfect English, and when she asked what I was looking for, I said a massage bar, as it was the first thing to come into my head. She showed me the display, and out of awkwardness, I asked what was her favourite product. She seemed quite taken aback by my question and showed me a massage bar called 'shades of earl grey'. I was a little fazed by the connotations but she was so sweet, asking me about how hot it was in Scotland (she was the second Japanese person I had met this trip who thought Scotland was a hot country!) so I bought it. She was hugely complimented that I had chosen based on her advice and thanked me many, many times. It was cuter than the cat cafe and the doughnut put together!

Next I stopped off at the Kyoto Pokemon Center (this one IN Kyoto as opposed to Osaka!) where I sent one of my friends back home about a dozen photos of all the different variations of pikachu (and then, by request, charmander) and bought some special edition Kyoto Pikach stickers for my car. I was on a spending spree it seemed, but at least managed not to buy anything from the Kyoto Disney Store!
It was approaching 8pm when I returned to the hotel again. I spent just under an hour packing and repacking my backpack to make all my new purchases and the booklets and tickets I had picked up along the way fit. After three days of having the luxury of two backpacks, I was now struggling to downsize. Luckily I had lost a hoodie along the way (I think I left it in Osaka) so I managed to pack down to just my Pokemon Store
shopping bag and my backpack, hoping that would be little enough to sneak onto the plane.

I dressed in my complimentary prison-uniform nightshirt for the last time, and fell asleep in my capsule by half past nine.

#Japan16 Temple Run in Kyoto

Arkansas was hiring a kimono today, and I had agreed to photograph her in it (as it was prohibitively expensive to get a professional to do it, although we did see a number of people had forked out for them)
I had agreed to meet Arkansas from the Kimono hire shop at ten, so when I got out of the hostel at 8.30, I walked over to the Gion district, where I sat on a stone bench overlooking a Sakura lined canal, and ate another Japanese convenience store breakfast of Sakura rice patty cake (I was curious to see what cherry blossom tasted like, and it was nice!) and green tea icecream as the morning was already hot, and I was curious to try that too!

For the next hour and a half I strolled round Gion. I must have visited four or five beautiful temples. Some were displayed in parks, some hidden down back streets, some squeezed between shopping outlets. Kyoto has over 1500 temples, so it wasn't much of a challenge but I wish I'd kept a tally!

temple gates squeezed in between some houses

I met Arkansas as promised and she did look very pretty in her Kimono. We first went to Ginkakuji, Kyoto's famous silver temple. The temple wasn't actually silver (unlike the golden pavillion, which is covered in gold leaf) but it had a beautiful Zen garden, and I took some photos of Arkansas in the garden, carefully timing it so that you couldn't see that it was thronging with tourists! It was a beautiful sunny day and I was very happy with my photos. It was nice to have a human subject for scale and also to make my photos look like my own, as opposed to postcards!

Next we strolled (or in Arkansas' case, shuffled in her three layers of kimono and little Geta shoes) down to the beginning of the Philosopher's walk. It was more crowded yesterday, and the sun being higher meant that the lighting wasn't as good. We had been lucky to catch it when we did. I still got some nice photos though, and we continued up the slope to Honen-in temple. On the way, we saw a quiet graveyard bordered in beautiful Sakura, so we stopped for some photos there too (experimenting with some amusingly posed photos!) and I had a chance to try on my Kimono too which I'd brought along for the ride, and Arkansas took some pictures of me with my big camera. That was really nice of her, I told her it will make my grandparents happy!

there's me. Hahaha

Finally we made it to Honen-in. The temple was beautifully quiet, and shrouded in forest up on the hill. We got yet more photos, took a moment to enjoy the serenity of a temple that felt genuinely spiritual (as opposed to some of the previous crowded tourist traps) and got the bus back to our favourite veggie restaurant in town for lunch. We had vegan burgers, which I absolutely devoured, shamefully delighted to have such normal food. Arkansas said she had preferred her pizza the previous evening, but I thought it was terrific.
our final stop for the day's photo shoot was Fushimi-Inari shrine. This was very important to Arkansas, who had visited once before but hadn't had enough time to complete it. I took lots of photos of her as we walked through the hundreds of red Tori gates (all much smaller than the one af Miyajima for the record. Some of them were so small I didn't even think they were that impressive, but I guess I'd been spoilt!) and at the end of the line of double gates, I searched for somewhere private to put on my own kimono. It was going over my clothes, but still I didn't think it was appropriate to dress myself in public.

This is what all the fuss was about! Fushimi Inari

 I wandered down some steps, past a couple who were changing their naked toddler's clothes, around a corner, and there was another shrine under a tunnel of gates, completely abandoned! I was so excited I leapt back up the stairs to get Arkansas. We posed in our kimonos, firstly just smiling, then in silly poses (although nothing too disrespectful) we had a great time, and as we returned to the crowd, we passed a photographer taking photos of the mossy wall, completely oblivious to the abandoned shrine just out of sight.
After walking through more gates, we took another path away from the queue, finding  a temple for fortunes. An American girl had just been told she had a bad fortune ahead but should make the best of it, and seemed quite worried! We got some more photos of our kimonos here, also with the low sun shining through the petals of a huge sakura tree. We returned to the main path and headed out of the complex, even though there was another (popular) detour available, tonight I was determined to leave in time to see the final light show of the year, and it was already 16:30.
 
Arkansas and I parted company at the main temple building, a magnificent spectacle of red and gold. Arkansas produced a poloroid camera, and a lady took two photos of us. Arkansas gave me one of the prints. They were both still white, and by the time the photo came out of the two of us smiling together in front of the temple, she was already out of sight.

I rode the local train to Kyoto, then changed to the Shinlansen for Nagoya (I nearly got on the expensive super-express train not permitted by my JR Pass, which very much upset the train guard) and then, as the blog I was reading instructed, I changed to another local train to Kuwana, from where I could get a bus.
The blog told me that the light show ended at 9pm. It was now ten past seven (Nagoya is a long way from Kyoto!) and the bus station had no English signage. I asked a pair of Japanese women (mother and daughter I think) and they asked a bus driver, who mimed wheels going around on a train and shook his head, so the ladies took me back to the station and oversaw me buying a train ticket to Nagashima (the island on which the lightshow park was based). At 7.45 I caught what transpired to be a JR local train (I.e. One that was free to me) to Nagashjma island, half convinced that it was a lost cause and I should just ride all the way back tk Nagoya (where this train terminated) however, at Nagashima station I could see lights, and I just jumped off the train at the station impulsively.

From Nagashima I got the direct shuttle bus (the one I had been searching for in Kuwana). There were two other girls on the bus. I wrote them a message "do you know what time the light show finishes?" Into my translator app and handed them my phone. There was a lot of giggling and they kept giving me awkward looks, and after a few minutes, handed my phone back with the answer "22:00close" I thanked them emphatically in my best Japanese. This meant I would get a little over two hours at the park after all!
The park itself cost 2000y (including 100y of park vouchers) and was totally worth it. Amazing LED illuminated blue forests, a church with two LED weirs pouring down into an LED river, awe-inspiring uplit Sakura trees, and two mind boggling light tunnels absolutely stunned me. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be there.

Magical fairy land. Absolutely worth all of the hassle.
I am sure I will never experience anything like this in my life again!

These faded through different colours, and they
were chaser lights, so they looked like flowing water...

 I used my vouchers for dinner. The only vegetarian food I could find was a stall selling potato croquettes (or chicken, or beef) I had two 500y vouchers, but couldn't get change. The lady manning the stall told me this and I replied that I knew but it was okay. I bought two, but she was so upset that I was being short changed, she gave me two more to make the value jp to 480y! It was very sweet of her. Then I went to a 'sweet' stall and bought a waffle based dessert.

I sat under a giant illuminated cherry blossom tree eating my dinner happily (until I realised I was ruining everyone's photos and moved seat) I seemed to be the only foreigner in the park which also made me very happy. I realised I had been jealously looking for a unique experience this whole time, and probably unfairly resenting other western tourists for this reason! I am also used to westerners making a bad name for ourselves and being culturally insensitive on holiday, but actuallyI hadn't seen anything significantly inappropriate all trip.

My dinner spot!

 
I decided I had time for one last walk around the park, to see if the second light tunnel changed colour (it faded through from white to deep blue but in the blog photos it was pink) but it hadn't, and at 9.50 I caught the bus back to the station. I had made a bad decision. The JR local train was a bit late, but picked me up and got me back to Nagoya for 10:40, and then I went to reserve a seat on the Shinkansen home.

The man at the till shook his head at me. The last Shinkansen was at 10:58, and it was a super-express. With no other choice, I coughed up 5070y, and boarded the train. That's about £40. The super-express was not noticably different to my usual shinkansen, it just missed both of the intermediate stations between Nagoya and Kyoto. I arrived in Kyoto shortly before 23:30.

Here I was in for another surprise. The city buses had all finished for the night. Despite being one of the biggest cities in Japan, there were no buses.

I took the subway (which appeared to also be just closing, and cost another 230y) and emerged onto the street to find I didn't know my way back. The subway system in Kyoto is much less comprehensive than Tokyo and I had to walk several blocks. Luckily I got google maps up, and avoiding any particularly dark streets (although of course, most of them were) I wound my way back to the hotel. I snuggled into my capsule just before 1am, but I am still resolute that it was absolutely worth it!

#Japan16 Hiroshima and Miyajima Island

When I woke up, it was so cold it took me half an hour to coax myself out from under my duvet, but the prospect of a pre-paid western breakfast gave me the incentive I needed.

Burnd and Maggie (our hosts who I had enjoyed dinner out with the previous evening) had prepared a decent spread. I was excited to see a bowl of fresh fruit, and also yogurts, a staple of my usual diet which I had been missing. There was also four kinds of cereal, and toast... Everyone staying at the WFC had breakfast together at 8, so I got to meet the other guests. One was from Europe (I think East Europe - she wasn't very chatty), two from New Zealand who were at the start of a three month cross-continental trip, an Asian lady (also not chatty), and an American guy from California. We all discussed where we had been and where we were going, it was nice to be able to talk.

After breakfast Burt spoke to me and the other European girl (who had also checked in only last night) about the mission of the WFC, to educate foreigners on the danger and evil of atomic warfare, to teach Japanese adults English, and to provide a support group for survivors of the atom bomb.

I packed my bag and brought it inside, just in time to meet Kasoka-san, a survivor of the bomb (The Japanese have a special word for it - a Hibakusha). Kasoka-san's niece was waiting at the table we had just had breakfast at to translate for her, and all of us gathered around to hear her story.

Kasoka-san was twelve years old on August 6th 1945. She, like many Japanese middle school children, had given up her schooling to help with the war effort, helping to pull down some of Hiroshima's tightly packed buildings to create fire breaks in case of fire bombing, which Tokyo had seen extensively. Hiroshima had received conspicuously little attention in the way of air raids, and many of the buildings were timber built, so the pulling down of houses was to prepare for the worst. That particular day was Kasoka-san's day off, and at 8.15 she had just put out the laundry and cleared away the breakfast dishes. Her parents had gone into town to help a friend, and so she was alone with her grandmother. Kasoka-san told us she was in front of a window when the bomb hit. Thee was a very bright "beautiful" flash of light, the window shattered into her face, and then she blacked out.

When Kasoka-san came around, she felt blood on her face, but feeling no pain, ran to the air raid shelter with her grandmother. She told us how none of the adults knew what had happened. When they came up from the shelter, many of their houses (3km from the bomb) had been knocked over by the force of the blast.

It is harrowing, and not my story to tell, but Kasoka-san told us of the black rain that fell, of a neighbour who returned from the city with skin pink from burns, of how she tried to nurse her dying father who had ben too close to the epicentre, and of the ghost like people she saw on their way to the military hospital by her house. Her mother never returned, and was cremated en mass.

Whilst we were given a good overview of that happened that day, Kasoka-san:s story was moving and personal, and I doubt I shall ever forget it. At one point I had tears in my eyes as she spoke. I asked her if she:d been scared, and she said yes, she ran and hid inside from the ghost people. With all the horrific things she had seen though, she had just dealt with them as they had happened. I cannot repeat how she described her father's condition, but she tried to cool him with grated vegetables, and broke the top off a bottle of beer so that he could drink it as it was his favourite thing, though he was unable to. She said her lasting regret was that at the time they had been told not to let burns victims drink water as it would kill them, and she still regretted not giving her father the drink he begged for. She was only twelve. Even at my age, I think I'd just run straight back inside that air-raid shelter and cry until it was over.

After the story, three of us (including Maggie's Japanese language teacher, who had turned up that morning) went to the Peace Park, where we took a guided tour. I had no idea that there were so many monuments in the park, and it was great to have someone with the knowledge to show us the significance of so many. We also stopped by the A-bomb dome, the closest building to the centre of the blast to have survived in any part, and also a plaque for the hypocentre, a hospital which has been rebuilt in the same place today.

The A-bomb dome. I'm not sure what my face is doing here
but it felt inappropriate to take many photos.

After the tour I couldn:t face the museum. I found it hard to imagine such devistation in such a bright, lively city as Hiroshima is today. It:s full of normal people going about their day-to-day business just like any city which hasn't been raised to the ground. 140,000 people died as a result of that single bomb. 70,000 died on the spot, and their ashes are held in a special mausoleum for unidentifiable victims, either because there was nobody left to identify them, or because they were too burnt to tell.

After that sombre morning, I took a speedboat directly from the park to Miyajima island, my first day in Japan where I haven't used a train!

Miyajima island is a holy place within sight of Hiroshima city. It is also home to thousands of semi-tame deer. I met one pretty much straight on the boat. Remembering yesterday:s rabbits (was it really only yesterday?!) I took a quick photo before continuing on towards my hotel for the night. I had four hours left before sunset and I was on a mission!

Bambi and co.

As I arrived at the hotel, I realised why it had cost nearly twice as much as the WFC. It was another fancy hotel (with Onsen, yes!) and I dumped my bag and took my day-pack up to grab a cable car (or as they call them in Japan, Ropeway) up Mount Misen, the highest point on the mountain. The cable cars were crammed with eight people (and three of us were European size!) but luckily the windows opened so it wasn't too stuffy. We were all literally shoulder to shoulder.
At the top I had the option to climb to the summit, but I established from hikers returning the other way that there were no monkeys there, and that was my primary interest with the top of the mountain. So instead I took the reportedly scenic route down, heading towards Daisho-in temple.

My excuse for this selfie is that there wasn't enough room
in the car to get the camera further away from my face!

The route was indeed scenic. The sun was getting quite low, and the path was mostly stone steps, all made out of rough stone blocks, so I could never take my eyes off the ground for too long, but it looked wonderfully rustic! The island was very green and there were even a few waterfalls, and the occasional blossoming cherry tree too.

The temple itself was right at the bottom of the walk, an array of fantastic traditional buildings snuggled into the hillside and encircled with sakura. It was stunning, but the sun was too low for any spectacular photos. I resolved to return in the morning before I left for Kyoto.

In the main town, which was thronging with tourists, I found a pub with an English Menu offering vegetable tempura. I dove in and, dodging all the conger eel on the menu (tempura, sashimi, steamed or broiled) I ordered tempura, omelette, and rice. I even had a dessert, which was the typical japanese dessert of egg custard, but instead of caramel this had blueberry jam on top, and in the middle was a small random slice of yam. I left just in time to watch the sun go down.

Miyajima is famous for its Tori gate, which is part way out to sea. When the tide is low (as it was now) tourists flocked to it to take photos, and in the sunset it glowed bright orange. With its distinctive shape, it also looked amazing silhouetted against the sun setting between the distant mountains on the mainland.

The Miyajima Tori gate

I returned to the gate at night to photograph it lit up. The tide never came in but it looked great anyway. On the way back I saw some more Miyajima wildlife - a small racoon like creature snuffling throuh the undergrowth. It was kind of cute but I was wary of it. As I wandered back to the hotel in the dark, the stories of Kasoka-san's ghosts began to come back to me, I couldn't believe the horror she must have felt.

The steaming onsen soon relaxed me though. I had them to myself, and it was an unexpected bonus as I thought I had experienced onsen for the last time. The hotel was similar to the Ryokan in that I also had a yukata and slippers, but the bedrooms were in a western style.

#Japan16 Okunoshima

Easter Monday. After checking out of my hotel, I walked up to Fukuyama castle (less than 500m away) and took some photos of the castle. It was more like Wakayama castle than Hiroshima, although all three were pretty similar, and I didn't linger there long.

I had plans to go to the Belgian waffle shop in the station for breakfast, but it was closed, so I went to 'Mister Donut' and bought some snacks there instead. They were much lighter in texture than something you might bjy from Gregs, and therefore did almost nothing to quell my hunger. I then gook a train to Mihara, changing onto the coastal line for Tadanoumi.

One of the small Hiroshima prefecture coastal towns

It was another scenic journey, similar to that through Shikou in terms of rural villages and hills, but with additional bursts of seaside. I was impressed to see stretches of tropically sandy beaches under tall palm trees. I seemed to be a long way south of Tokyo!

The beautiful Sinto Sea

The queue for the rabbit island ferry was immense, and I didn't make it onto the first boat, but luckily there was a second a few minutes later, which wasn't mentioned in my timetable for whatever reason.

I had barely got off the ferry port when I saw my first rabbit. The island was swarming in tame rabbits, and the rabbits were swarming with children. I was gratified to see that 90% of the tourists were Japanese, but obviously the secret had got out further afield, as there were a number of Americans too.

The bunnies were very cute. They weren't shy either, and let me get really close to take lots and lots of photos.

  

I hired a bike from a hotel, the only inhabited building on the island, and cycled around, stopping every hundred or so metres for a photo of the rabbits, the scenery, or... the poison gas storage tanks.

Okunoshiwa Island had been taken off the maps for a time last century, as the Japanese military used it to manufacture thousands of tons of mustard (blistering) gas and tear gas. When America occupied Japan, the gas was disposed of, either through being burnt or dumped in containers in the pacific(...) some sources I have read say that this was to hide the extent of it from the allies. Others say that it was done under American orders.

The presence of the bunnies on the islands also has two possible reasons. Rabbits were used to test the gas manufactured on the island (It's upsetting to think about, but what isn:t upsetting about chemical weapons?) They may have been released after the factory closed. Alternatively, it has been suggested that all the experiment rabbits were killed, but some schoolchildren released their pet rabbits onto the island after it had been abandoned. Either way, these founding rabbits did what rabbits do best, and now the island is covered with cute rabbits of every colour, size and coat. I didn't see any lop-eared rabbits though.

Most of the tourists had brought whole lettuces to give to the
rabbits. I saw one woman with a lettuce the size of a basketball.

As I wandered around feeding and stroking the rabbits, I began to notice that a lot of them had eye infections. Some of them had a blind white eye. Some of them had uncomfortable looking weeping eyes, and some of them had eyes too gross for me to really look at. As soon as I noticed this, I avoided touching the rabbits and washed my hands. I noticed that there were a lot of no-go areas on the island with large metal cylinders behind fencing, but the rabbits had hopped through or dug under it. Maybe they were experiencing disease as any creature in the wild might, or maybe they were feeling some ill-effects from their sinister home.

I could also smell something alien and unpleasant in the air. As I climbed higher up the mountain, occassionally being approached by rabbits as I walked (they had learnt humans were not to be feared, and provided lettuce), I began to feel that this island was a bit creepy. Everywhere there was the decaying ruins of gun batteries and poison storage tanks, I began to notice more and more the disfigured rabbits, and that smell was making my imagination run wild. What if I was smelling traces of the gas?

As I neared the top of the island on foot, I began to feel the rare sensation of complete physical exhaustion. I couldn't walｋ as fast as I was trying to, it was all I could do to keep moving with my backpack on. I wasn't tired or hungry, just weary. I knew this fatigue was coming from having travelled and experienced so much in so few days, but I was determined to last at least until the end of the trip!

Sakura

I reached the top of the island for 365 beautiful views of the Sinto Sea. It was bright blue in the afternoon sunlight. I took it all in for a while before returning to my bike, planning to return it and get the next ferry off the island, despite originally planning to stay longer.

As I cycled the last stretch towards the hotel, I saw a number of bikes parked outside a tunnel, and pulled up to take a look. Through the tunnel was the burnt out shell of the poison gas factory. It was utterly haunting.

Here on the coast, the smell was less strong. I returned my bike and couldn:t resist going for a paddle in te beautiful blue water, trying not to think of all the containers full of toxic chemicals which had been dumped somewhere out there at sea!

You can see why I was tempted by the water!

I didn't paddle for long though because despite the beautiful weather, it was still March, and the water was turning my feet numb with cold! I got on the ferry back to Tadanoumi, the train back to Mihara, and then eventually rode another Shinkhansen to Hiroshima, where I would be spending the night.

It was raining lightly when I got to Hiroshima. The station waｓ packed full of baseball fans - I:d just missed a game at the Hiroshima stadium　Not that I'd　have　gone　if　I　could　-　I　don:t　know　the　first　thing　about　baseball　in　my　own　language,　let　alone　Japanese!)

I took　a　local　train　and　then,　when　I　stared　at　my　map　for　too　long,　a　local　lady　kindly　guided　me　to　a streetcar (tram)　to get to　where I was staying. I found it quite poignant to ride a streetcar, as I could recall from a documentary I had seen about the atomic bomb, that a survivor interviewed had been driving a streetcar for the first time when the bomb exploded. I recalled that she said her first concern was that she'd done something wrong.

It was an easy walk from my stop to the World Friendship Centre (WFC from hereon), and I was greeted by a German man who looked so perplexed that I momentarily wondered if (despite the glowing signs outside, and having exchanged emails with his wife earlier that afternoon) I:d got the wrong place. They soon warmed up though, and after I had put my bags in my room (a whole room to myself again, but this time with Tatami mats and Futon, and a shared bathroom with the man across the hall) we all went out to dinner together at a tiny local eatery run by two brothers.

One of the brothers spoke pretty good english, and both were very smiley to the only guests in their restaurant, and I drank some Japanese spirit (not Sake, but I don't think it was Whisky either. All I know is that it came from a sweet potato) with warm water, then ate a large amount of vegetables, some cold, and some battered as tempura.

Yummy Tempura (holiday calories don't count)

We chatted happily about travel, life in Japan, touching only briefly on Hiroshima's history, nuclear weapons and prospects for world peace. I enjoyed the meal and got an early night on my mat.

#Japan16 Osaka etcetera

Waking ag 7.30, I realised I had missed my alarm (it was a buzz from my FitBit) but I had packed the night before so as not to wake the other girls when I left. I put on the like of clothes I had prepared and grabbed my day pack for the short walk to Osaka Castle. The morning was bright and cold, perfect for photography.

Osaka Castle in all its restored glory.

I was gratified to see that the 'Sakura' was much more populous here, and I wandered around the large, star shaped castle grounds, snapping photos of the castle and buildings with cherry blossoms in the foreground. I came across a small monument, where the Priest Rennyo laid his clothes.
Many years before Osaka's first castle, Rennyo was the head priest of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism. He started a small temple on this site, and over the years it grew and grew. Rennyo hung his clothes on a tree by the temple as a token, to help his temple grow. There is now no trace of the temple, and a cat was curled in the roots of the stump that was all that was left of the tree.
Osaka castle itself is now in its third iteration. The first was burnt down by a war. The second was burnt down when struck by lightening. This one has only ever been a tourist attraction, and apparently has escalators inside. (and hopefully fire extinguishers!)

I returned to the hostel, collected my backpack and checked out. Next stop was Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the largest in the world, which is particularly proud of its pacific ring of fire exhibit, which features two fully grown whale sharks.

The aquarium was more humane than Ueno zoo. I saw one small dead fish, and an obese seal, but seals are fat anyway so maybe it was supposed to look like that! The whale sharks were even more impressive than I'd hoped, one coming right against the glass as I stood there. There was an adorable sea otter and a number of cute fighting river otters in a separate enclosure, but perhaps my favourite exhibit was the jellyfish, which were absolutely spectacular as they pulsed against the side of their tanks, stunningly delicate and yet probably pretty dangerous - I was reminded of the movie Seven Pounds.

  

Osaka aquarium also gave me lots of stamps! At one stamp point, a Japanese boy was playing with the stamper, he seemed confused by it, so I let him stamp my book, which made him very happy. His mother thanked me and smiled.

 I walked from the aquarium to the Tenzopan Ferris Wheel, another 'one of the worlds largest...' Large clouds had come in whilst I was in the aquarium, but as my Ferris car rose from the platform, the clouds broke and I was able to get some photos of the city in sunshine. It was a nice relaxing break, and (because it's Japan) I had an uncomfortably upbeat musical accompaniment the whole way around. I had the car to myself, in fact I may have been the only person on the whole wheel, I couldn't understand it!

The impressive view from the wheel, looking back toward Osaka city.

From the wheel I spied a vegetarian cafe, so after a quick stop in a shop for 'kawaii' where I bought presents for my sisters, I treated myself to a vegetarian lunch buffet. The staff all welcomed me as I entered which was nice. They spoke no English but the sign said Y850 all you can eat. That's about £5, and I ate my fill for once! I was pleased to find Osaka living up to its reputation for good food.

After bowing my way out of the vegetarian cafe, I took a subway back to Umeda (quite different in daylight) and rode up to the thirteenth floor of a department store for Kyoto(?!) Pokemon Center! I was very excited. The store was a lot like Debenhams or John Lewis, so I felt a bit silly in my backpack, but I considered this a pilgrimage! I was disappointed however, to find it was just a merchandise shop, but I bought a few more gifts, and hurried downstairs to the station, for my train to Koya San.

My Pokemon Center shopping bag. Pikachu looking even more Japanese than usual!

I asked a lady queuing on the platform if it was going to the station I needed (there were three trains between Osaka and Koya San). The lady told me I was fine, and asked me where I was from, and how I was liking Japan. Japanese people speak very quietly so at times it was hard to hear her, but we chatted on the train all the way to my station. She had lived in Australia for a year, and was now on her way to meet her mother to go shopping. I was sad to say goodbye, but went into the station and purchased my (non rail-pass eligible) ticket to Koya San, for Y1200.
On the way, I realised I had got my dates out by one day, and as I hadn't turned up the previous night, the temple had cancelled my entire booking.

To cut a long story short, I booked the Wakayama 'Dormy Inn' hotel, because it was the nearest hotel with rooms for that evening, and boarded the train for Wakayama. As the train chugged through rural landscapes highlighted in the late afternoon sun, I was approached by a Japanese High School student. he was sat next to me and asked me about my travels. We spoke about Japan, Scotland, Scottish food (I tried and, I think, failed to explain what a haggis was!), and British vs American English (I told him that yes, we can understand each other!) he told me he was a fan of Glee!

Presently he left the train, and I eventually arrived in Wakayama. I was surprised to see lots of signs in English - more so than Osaka. I found out later this was because being a port and airport town, Wakayama sees a lot of tourists coming from Shikoku to Koya San to complete the 88-temple buddhist pilgrimage.

The Dormy Inn hotel was bizarrely smart and well ordered compared to the kooky hostels and run-down Ryokan I was used to. There were two onsen for each gender, and when I got to my room on the seventh floor, I almost cried with happiness. It had all the mod-cons. A bathroom to myself, a double bed, a TV, and pajamas included! I had to tear myself away to photograph Wakayama castle at sunset.

I had the castle to myself, and it was surrounded by cherry blossom. I took close up photos of it and of the (uninspiring) cityscape under the colourful sky. I smugly felt that this hiccup had worked out for the best.

You wait all week for a castle, and then two come in one day!

 All of the eateries in town had no room for one person, so instead I went back to the hotel to console myself in the Onsen.

The onsen here was on the second floor. It was not cloudy, and lacked the mineral scent of Hakone. I doubted it was a hot spring at all, but it was none the less soothingly hot. Presently a Japanese lady and her daughter entered the room and washed themselves (onsen procedure is to clean and rinse yourself before you get in). The daughter got into the same onsen as me, but her mother went outside, so she left too. I felt a bit put out, as part of the onsen experience is that it's communal. I moved to the Sauna, and then to the cold bath (not as bad as I expected) and then, as I left, they moved to the bath I was in originally. I decided not to take it personally!

I used the facilities to wash and dry my clothes, pre-packed my bag as I had the night before, and bought and drank a strange fruit juice-cum-milkshake from an over-engineered vending machine before returning to the Onsen again! This time it was absolutely packed. This was it! Group naked bathing time! ...I know it's weird. I didn't actually feel self conscious at all, and it was nice for us all to calmly soak together. Afterwards I treated myself to a foot massage that included my legs. It was nice, and I felt very relaxed.

#Japan16 Hakone to Osaka

After the best night's sleep I'd had in a week, I went straight downstairs for an early morning dip in the Onsen. It was just as relaxing as I'd remembered, and again I had it to myself. I pinched another ice lolly on the way back to my room, admiring the view out over the valley from my balcony. The steam from the hot springs was rising up to merge into the clouds. It was beautiful.
I had breakfast arranged, and I had my own vegetarian breakfast of tofu, rice, pickles, omelette, beans, miso soup and steamed vegetables (cooked in a little heater on my table). It was all good excel for some weird mushrooms in my soup. I thought my soup was a bit fishy, but I know it is common to use fish stock in food over here. The mushroom I ate seemed to be the sauce of the fishiness though, and the texture was... Odd. I carefully finished my mouthful before inspecting another one. No, it was definitely some deformed sea creature! I felt quite unwell, but I finished everything except the soup, knowing my next meal was uncertain. I left the hostel, boycotting the funicular (now I knew the route) to enjoy an atmosphere walk through misty Goya. I took this time to appreciate that I was really in Japan, and it looked just as mysterious and beautiful as I'd hoped. The weather was cool and damp, perfect for hiking, but Osaka was calling, so I got on the train!

The offending 'mushroom'. Just looking at
it makes me feel queasy!

It was a long journey to Osaka, but on the way I befriended a young Chinese -American man, who waas telling me of his love for Akihabara (Tokyo), where he had bought a suitcase, and a suitcase worth of video games! He was studying to become a composer of music for video games, and we exchanged soundtracks, which made the journey much more pleasant, and we exchanged details before we parted company at Osaka station.

I didn't linger in the city but got a local train straight out to the suburb of Mono -o/Minoo/Minoh (depending on who you ask). There I bought a Japanese sweet, a green putty made of rice, with a core of sweet beancurd. The ladies at the cafe who had enticed me in were very friendly and also gave me a sort of gelatious bean sweet, and a cup of bean tea. Now that is exotic even for my kind of teas! I can't say I enjoyed it but it was interesting!

Bean cake, bean sweet, and bean tea. Yummy...

From the cafe I walked into Minoo park, a serene place tracking a clear, shallow river for nearly three kilometres. Signs warned me of wild monkeys, but sadly I didn't see any. The walk culminated in a beautiful red bridge over the river, begin which stood a tall waterfall. Three boys were filming each other boxing on the bridge, but they left after a while and I got some photos. Unfortunately the foliage was still a bit barren from winter, but it was nonetheless worth the trip.
By the time I got back to the city centre, dusk was falling. The buildings we passed looked spectacular in the lowlight with their rainbow signage, so I impulsively decided to take my camera for a wander around the Umeda area of the city.


Setting my camera down on any stable surfaces I could find, and playing with the shutter speed, I got some fantastic photos of neon Osaka. I stumbled into my new Hostel, Guesthouse Morizou, at 7.45. It was a tiny place, cosy and very cute, covered in handwritten notes secured with Washi tape saying things like "please mind your head! :)", and plastic figurines. The beds had curtains with friendship bracelet tie-backs, and the staff were very friendly, the girls even called me "kawaii"!

So much neon. And so many bikes!

 I ditched my bag there and messaged my new friend from the train. He was staying with a friend, and the three of us agreed to meet for dinner, so I hopped on the Japan Railways train to Namba station, where I came across several young people dancing in the street. Literally. It was like a scene from one of the Step Up movies - some cool break dancing street gang. I wanted to stop and watch, but didn't want to put them off, as I was a lot more conspicuous in Osaka than in Tokyo (Osaka is less touristy) and I had people to meet! I walked "Namba walk" which was a strange underground shopping and food arcade, and also an art gallery! At the other end was the station where my new friends were waiting, and we went to Dotomburi. Dotombori was recommended in my guidebook as one of the best places to eat in Osaka, a city renowned for its food, but we were limited by my vegetarianism. Finally we found a place with a number of meat free small dishes, and to my delight we ordered by vending machine! I entered all of my small change, selected the numbers of the items I wanted, and received three tickets, which I then presented to the waitress inside the restaurant.

My first vending machine dinner. Not sure how I missed the cat!

I had rice, Kimchi, and beansprouts. Although rice is rarely exceptional, the Kimchi was quite nice and the beansprouts and seaweed which came with it was absolutely delicious! After that we wandered down to see the famous Glici "running man". I thought he was a poster but it:s actually an enormous neon sign. Of course it:s neon - this is Osaka. Osaka was such a vibrant, happy city, I liked it much more than I expected. The guys dropped me at the nearest subway station and I made it back to my stop just in time for curfew. As I hurrid back to the hostel, someone came up behind me and made me jump. It was one of my room mates, a Korean girl who I had chatted briefly to as I unpacked.

She was lovely to talk to as we strolled back. She had discovered that he two Japanese girls in opur dorm were in Osaka for the same reason as her - to watch a Japan Idol concert live in Osaka Castle Park the next day! Unfortunately I didn:t have the spae time to join them, but we laughed at the thought. She asked what I:d had for dinner, and when I told her about my Kimchi, she explained that Japanese Kimchi is different to the original -  less salty, less spicy, and sweeter apparently. Personally I thought Japanese sounded better, but I wasn't going to tell her that! She also identified my strange breakfast sea creature as a clam!!

#Japan16 Lost in Hakone

I left Khaosan Kabuki Hostel with a heart almost as heavy as my backpack (which, believe me, is less comfortable than it looks!) . I could happily have spent another day in Tokyo, it is an enormous city, which unlike London or Glasgow which seem to shrink, it only seemed to get bigger the more you explored it.

Me and my baggage leaving Khaosan Kabuki Hostel

I journeyed to Tokyo station, from which I grabbed a bento box brunch, and had the pleasure of seeing the train cleaners bowing to a shinkhansen as it pulled into the station, before boarding it, turning the seats, and thoroughly cleaning it within ten minutes. They moved fast, and looked fantastic in their pink uniform with a Sakura print. I'd seen a video of this on youtube beforehand, so I was quite excited by it. All the more so because I then boarded the shinkhansen myself and settled down in one of the newly clean seats!

My pickled vegetable brunch, mm-mm!

Despite being able to travel at more than 200 mph, the shinkhansen didn't feel any faster than a normal train. It was a bit smoother though, and much brighter and more comfortable. As the train left the city, I caught my first glimpse of a misty Mount Fuji. I was so excited!

Shortly after, we stopped at Odawara station, where I collected four stamps in black, red, and purple, and I bought my misleadingly named Hakone Free Pass for 4000y. This allowed me to board the local train into Hakone-Yumuto station, from where I got a mountain railway up into the hills for Gora. The mountain railway is apparently the only full size one of its kind in Japan, and features three switchbacks up the hill, which is cool but takes absolutely ages. Everyone on the train was dozing, myself included, luckily my destination was the terminal.

A brief flicker of the fantastic mountain scenery

from Gora (where I got another stamp!) I took the 'cable car' (funicular railway) directly up the mountain, stopping at Naka-Gora for my Ryokan. There were a lot of lost tourists wandering around consulting maps and smartphones, but I happily made my way directly to my destination, thanks to the numerous maps they had sent me, besides the fact it was a straight walk down the road directly out of the station.

Suirinso Ryokan has a deceptively modern exterior, but inside was not only traditional, but old and worn in a less romantic sense too. Regardless, I was very impressed, not only by the array of slippers available, the fast food vending machine, and the free ice lollies, but also the traditional style rooms with Tatami mat floors and kneeling chairs, which I peeked at through paper doors on my way to the toilet.

Having used the facilities, decanted my sightseeing essentials into my day-pack, and stolen a yogurt flavour ice-lolly, I boarded the funicular again and visited the Hakone Open-Air Museum, an art gallery (predominantly sculptural) set into the beautiful hillside. I was very happy here. I saw no less than three Henry Moore statues (I had studied his work at school, but I got a much better understanding of it in person) besides an impressive number of fascinating and thought provoking artworks, the symphonic sculpture (a cylindrical tower of stained glass with a spiral staircase inside, which illuminated beautifully in the afternoon sunshine, and a large gallery dedicated entirely to original Picassos!

A lot of the art was very easy to enjoy

My plan had been next to get the ropeway (an actual cable car) down to Lake Ashi, so that I could get a cruise as included in my free pass. However, the ropeway was closed due to heightened volcanic activity in the area (don't worry Mum!) so I had to get a bus. "no problem" I thought, clambering onto a tourist bus (also included in mh pass) which was going the right direction. The scenery was spectacular, and once I got a seat, (most people got off at the same stop, about half way through the journey) I really enjoyed the ride. The bus driver was a character, announcing to all his passengers as he checked each mirror every time before he pulled off. He too wore a smart peaked cap, shirt and tie, and little white gloves.

Finally the board at the front of the bus showed that we were approaching our final stop. To our dismay, we arrived at Gotemba outlet centre. I spoke to the bus driver as I got off. "Togenda?" I asked him. He told me I should have changed where everyone else got off. I gesticulated to ask if I could stay on the bus "next bus four" he told me. I hopped off and thanked him, and settled down for my four minute wait. I made several bad assumptions here.
1) this is not Tokyo, therefore public transport would be not as frequent and prompt
2) the queue of four schoolgirls at the stop did nor mean a bus was due
3) "four" did not mean four hours, but 4pm. It was ten past three.
I realised this with only five minutes until the bus was due, when the queue was forty or more people long, and my lack of sleep had started to catch up with me in the form of shivering cold. If I had realised earlier I could at least have walked around the outlet, although from what I saw it was just a disappointing version of the Swindon designer outlet.

At 4pm, I rode the bus to Sengoku, hopped off, and waited for the Togenda bus, shivering with exhaustion and feeling pretty miserable. When the bus finally arrived (10 minutes late. Where do they think this is? England?!) I cheered up at the prospect of potentially getting some good sunset shots of Lake Ashi and Mt Fuji. I had given up on getting traditional dinner delivered to my room at the Ryokan, but found that if I got off the cruise at Hal way point, there was a restaurant in the information guide, which offered vegetarian adjustments to the dishes. As my bus pulled in at the lake, I was dismayed to see that the last boat had just left the dock. It was pulling away as the bus halted, and the gate to the jetty had closed. The last ferry was supposed to be at 5pm, but it was 4.35.

I was freezing and feeling very miserable. My day had not turned out at all as planned, almost entirely consumed with travelling. I got on the next bus, even though it would only take me to Hakone-Yamote station (at the foot of the long mountain railway) but the bus was stuck in terrible traffic. At the station I grabbed a plastic pot dinner and a cream cake just like the night before, and sat jn the cafe watching trains rumble in and out of the station. It was surprisingly pleasant until they started playing One Direction background music!

I rode the mountain railway up to Goya, but the funicular had closed for the night. The station master advised me to wait for a taxi, but I was in a bit of a fluster, and knew I could almost see my station from here, so I decided to walk it. As I started up the hill, a Japanese lady called up to me "No, stop, you can't walk! Too far!" I thanked her but insisted that I wanted to. I only had my light backpack, and these shoes didn't hurt, so I determinedly scrambled up the steep road. I got to my station easily, but there was no bridge or underpass. I looked down at the cable track. I had seen someone jump across it earlier in the afternoon, and it seemed to be the only way across, but I have a strange fear (and recurring nightmares) about train tracks, and I know that I wasn't supposed to... I walked back and forth along the platform to make my mind up, then walked back down the hill to the nearest underpass. With google maps leading the way, I began to walk along the block to my Ryokan, when I heard a car approaching. As it slowed down, my heart began to race, but I turned to recognise the lady from the station. She wound her window down "I worry about you." She told me, beckoning for me to get in. Her daughter watched me with interest from the back seat. I got into the car. She introduced herself, as did I, and asked me where I was staying. It was a very short drive to the Ryokan and I thanked her repeatedly. I know it isn't appropriate to tip in Japanese culture, but they do like gifts. I wish I'd thought on my feet but I was too exhausted.

Luckily when I entered the Ryokan, a little old Japanese lady was just tidying the reception area. She gave me a tour and then I headed straight down to the onsen bath, just as three Japanese ladies were leaving. In a way this was good because I didn't feel self conscious. The water was cloudy and smelt of rocks and minerals. It was naturally hot from the spring so the effect was like a bath that never gets cold. It was the best thing all day. I got an early night, sleeping on the futon I prepared myself with a pillow of sand(?), and slept in my Yukata robe.

My Japanese room, complete with tatami mats, kneeling chair, and paper door.