muttler.net

Category: travel

  • It’s a-me! Mario!

     

    14/12/2022

    A break from temples and castles and things today. Universal Studios! I’m not normally one for this theme park… I like the rides but that’s about it. However this was high up on the list of must-dos this trip. Why? SUPER NINTENDO WORLD!

    Yep, a whole section of the park dedicated to Nintendo. How awesome is that.

     

     

     

    So we jumped on the train to Osaka and embarked on our theme park day. Nintendo World was awesome. Not huge, and quite crowded, and also in some respects needs a tiny bit of pre-reading. Why? On face value there is a couple of rides and lots to look at, but what else? A ‘Power Band’ is what unlocks a bunch more. Obviously you need to buy it (an extra $40) but then it unlocks a bunch of mini-games, quests and things that make the area super fun. Could we find all the coin blocks to punch? Could we find all the power ups? Defeat Bowser Jr?

    What we thought would just end up being a couple of hours was half the day. The one downside is that it was focused only on the Mario property (no Donkey Kong, Zelda, etc) but it added to feeling immersed in the game.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    We also rode the Mario Kart ride which was so good. A bit confusing to start but then who doesn’t love real life Mario Kart?!?! There was also a Yoshi ride that was a sightseeing type thing. Queues for both were a bit long but thankfully our extra add on pass meant we got through as quickly as we could.

    The rest of the park was usual Universal Studios fun. There was Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and a big section dedicated to Jaws of all things!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    We had ace fun spending the day there and left just after close. If you have even a passing interest in Nintendo, then you definitely need to visit.

  • Action Packed

     

    13/12/2022

    Phew! An action packed day. Nice and early we headed off to Himeji to see what is easily one of my most favourite things in all Japan… Himeji Castle. It never ceases to take the breath away… exiting the train station to see it looking back at you down the main street.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    We spent a couple of hours exploring the castle ourselves, just ahead of the school groups. I never grow tired of visiting.

    It was then back to Kyoto to visit a couple of iconic locations…

    First up was the Golden Pavilion. A bit of a pain to get to, but there is no denying how stunning it looks, especially when bathed in sun. It is odd to visit a temple and simply walk around it, but this is SO iconic, it is worth the visit.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    From there we caught a sneaky bus and then train to Arashiyama. This is a lovely place to visit. Always a little crowded but usually pretty chill. Lots of street food to eat and of course the bamboo forest. Impossible to get a photo by yourself, but still always mesmerising.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    A relatively early dinner at 5pm, and some resting before a busy day tomorrow, when we head of to Osaka for some very particular adventures…

  • Okonomyaki… Hiroshima Style

     

    12/12/2022

    Today was a long day, but a fun one. It was an early morning on to the Shinkansen heading further south to Hiroshima.

    After arriving at Hiroshima Station it was on to another train and then down to the ferry terminal, to head across to Miyajima Island. We were keen to go back an introduce Madeline to more deer, cookies, oysters, and floating torii gates.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    After spending quite a few hours there wandering, eating, ropeways up the mountain, we headed back on the ferry and went into the centre of Hiroshima. We visited wandered past the castle, and made our way to the Peace Park, which always has a sombre air about it. But after that it was okonomyaki time! Hiroshima style is the best, with less batter, and noodles in there, which makes for even next level deliciousness.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    A smooth run home and we were back in town to wind down for the night.

    Oh, you are probably noticing a lack of Kit Kat mentions. Weird given the name of the blog right? Well, alas dear readers, there are VERY FEW Kit Kats around, let alone weird flavours. I will keep looking but I think does days are numbered…. 🙁

  • Wandering Kyoto

     

    11/12/2022

    Today was about having a bit of a settle in day as well as getting Madeline familiar with Kyoto, so we headed off to Kiyomizu-Dera to introduce her to one of the major temple complexes, to get used to both the temples and the crowds. Thankfully things still seem a bit on the quieter side.

    I won’t go on too much about our day… it was a combination of temples, snacks, and then just some wandering in the city. I also had something else on the agenda for the evening in Nagoya which meant I had to run off mid afternoon. More of that in another post….

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Back In Japan!!

     

    Konnichiwa everyone!

    We’re back in Japan!!! Third times a charm so they say, and this is the case for this trip. After the disappointment of not being able to go for the Olympics in 2020 and 2021, we finally made it back. Back at the start of the year Kate and I booked our flights assuming we would be able to enter the country imminently. We booked for December as a nice end of year treat. Lucky we waited so long as the borders in Japan only opened late October, but that is fine with us as come December, we were all go!

    For this trip we are joined by Madeline, Kate’s sister, which makes a nice change as we get to play tour guides for a couple of weeks, exploring Kyoto and Surrounds, Hakone, and Tokyo. So follow us on this 2 week adventure 🙂

    Our Friday was a long day of travel. Flight changes meant we flew over through the day, and then had to try and get through immigration as quick as possible, get our rail passes, and then on a train to Kyoto. There was a chance we would miss the last train, but thankfully (teething issues with their new requirements aside) we got through reasonably smoothly, and made our way to Kyoto.

     

     

    We arrived at about 10pm, and thankfully we could self check in to our apartment home we had for the week. A gorgeous and spacious traditional style home was waiting for us, which made a lovely change from the small rooms we were used to here in the past. It even had a lovely courtyard for some additional serenity. The night was just winding down after a big day of travel and getting some rest.

    Being the early morning person I am, I was up at about 6:30am so headed off for a walk. I wanted to try and secure some tickets for things that I couldn’t do from outside Japan. First was the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, and sadly, I had to be a Japan resident with local mobile phone. Foiled. But I was successful on the second, tickets to a gig in Nagoya for Sunday night. Yassss! Finally I would get to see my current favourite Japanese punk band, Otoboke Beaver! But that will tomorrow’s post.

    Once the girls were up, we got ourselves organised and decided to jump on the train to Nara. We thought it would be a fairly relaxing way to settle in, get fresh air and stretch the legs without being too much travel. So we headed back to the station, on the train, and off we went.

    Nara is basically wandering to temples and being chased by deer. That makes it sound not that interesting, but it really is a delightful place. It has an air of calm and peace, even when there are hordes of people. Thankfully, not that many there, so our wandering was pretty relaxed.

    We did the ‘typical’ circuit visiting the main temples and sights. So here is a bunch of pics of temples, deer, and Japanese maples. Oh, with some food thrown in obviously!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Back in the apartment and I get to finish the night with a boozy version of one of my favourite Japanese sodas. Yassss! Tomorrow a day exploring Kyoto and then off to Nagoya for some rockin’ out.