Day 21 July 8

So we reach the last day of our Japan trip. We are a very tired group of people and getting all our stuff from here to the airport looks daunting. Especially since we have to kill about 5 hours after we leave this apartment.
I get up early and go to the local station to check out if we can get to the station platform without using steps and luckily we can. Great news. We must avoid steps at all costs. The luggage is too awkward and heavy. I also go to 7-11 and pick up some cash from the 7 Bank and some super glue. The glue is for the zip on my suitcase which broke a few days before.
Pack up and wait until 11am when it's time to depart. We try to have showers but it's very hard in the world's worst shower ever. Water is either cold or boiling and you have to hold it all the time. Despite the great beds this place wasn't very appealing. Though we love Shimokitazawa.
Head to Shibuya to walk around before we leave. There are plenty of available storage lockers underneath Shibuya 109 just across from the station and we manage to get all our stuff in there. Then we walk around Shibuya for a few hours shopping and coffee. Last minute gifts for friends. That Japanese CD we heard when we first got here. It's fun and I reluctantly avoid record shops but still get a chance to browse toy stores with Remi. But we're so tired it's hard to get really excited.But what a great trip. What a special place. Loved it.
Then it's times up and we start to head to the airport. First on the Narita Express which takes us past the Tokyo Sky Tower which looks pretty amazing. To the airport and from there it all runs pretty smoothly until we're on the plane and heading back to Australia. Overnight so we know were going to be wrecked in the morning.

Day 20 July 7

Our last full day in Japan. The weather is extremely hot and our shower isn't working. Neither is the cooker. The rooms are small and this authentic Japanese living is not all it's cracked up to be. Seems the batteries are missing from the gas igniter. If I still smoked I could use a lighter.
The shower is another matter. You have to follow steps to shower one of which involves turning a crank. Can't get it to work though so we message the agents for help. But it's time to go out so step into furnace which is Tokyo. The plan is to take a leisurely stroll around the Imperial Palace Gardens but the sun is glaring down and we are really feeling it. We use wet rags to cool ourselves down. We stay just longer enough to take photos of corner of the palace.
Remake our way back to Shimokitazawa for the last bit of shopping. A great suburb with lots and I mean lots of vintage stores. Liz gets a few things but a lot of the stuff I like is either too small or overpriced. Still I found a few record stalls so I was happy. Remi came digging with me in one and picked out the Half Men Half Biscuit EP. He liked the name. The neighbourhood as so much going on you could spend days here. The rest of the family go back to the apartment while I look for this Japanese CD we first heard back when we started in Japan. Liz alls me that when she got back the apartment was like an oven. So we get 4 air conditioners going in an apartment a little bigger than my garage.
We have to wait around for the guy to fix the shower and he turns up around 6. Turns out we were doing it wrong. Shower is useless though. Two settings. Cold and scalding hot. Useless.
Have our last dinner at a great little pizza place during Happy Hour. We want to sit by the windows that overlook the shoppers on the street but that's reserved for smokers.
We take the kids home and Liz go out on a date to Poor Cow.  The rock and roll meeting place. I'm meeting Phill Calvert and his wife Julia. Phill was in the Birthday party with Nick Cave and the owner Fi Fi is excited to have him there. When I mention to him I know Bruce Milne and I'm in the band Little Murders he looks like he's going to have a heart attack. "My favourite band" and he grabs the Stop album plus photos of me when I was young for me to sign. Then we do the photos as he plays the record. It's all a bit surreal. The band Bits of Shit turn up and I have a chat to them too. It's a rock and roll meeting place alright.
A great night and a great end to the trip. Tomorrow is going to be a hard one.

Day 19 July 6

From Osaka to Tokyo for the last leg of our holiday. Full of stations to cross through it actually runs a lot smoother than I thought it would except when we get to the next apartment and we're confronted by stairs at the station and the residence.
Anyway is was cool gliding across Japan in a bullet train.
We arrived in Shimokitazawa around 3 pm just in time to check into our Air BnB. It's up a hill which is painful with all our bags. The place is so small it beggars belief. But the beds are the most comfortable we've had here. And real pillows! Most pillows over here are terrible and have a sense of nothingness. These are comfortable. We park our stuff and go for a wander around the neighbourhood which turns out to be pretty funky with lots of retro shops. Liz buys a few clothes here. It's very cool. We go to Freshness Burger for dinner. Burgers but not as we know them. But very tasty and I'm sure the bun is not bread. We all eat well except for Ruby who is not doing well out of the lack of vegetarian dishes in Japan and Liz whose wedges are eaten by Ruby.
More wandering and looking at shops before we drift home. We were thinking of having an early night but the trip is all over so we push ourselves to visit Shinjuku at night and I'm so glad we did. Just walking around the busiest train station in the world is something but then you get outside and there are so many people on the street at 9.30pm at night. And the place is lit up like Bladerunner. Fascinating. We stand there soaking it all in. Well Liz and I do. The kids not so much.They're not sure why we want to stand there for a while. We try to explain that we may never be back again and we're filling up our senses. I won't repeat some of the answers to that! But wait ! There's Godzilla above the buildings.

We make our way back to Shimokitazawa for the most comfortable sleep of the trip.

Day 18 July 5th

No sightseeing today. Although there a few things left on our list it just can't be done in this heat and humidity. We're looking for somewhere cool to stroll around in and maybe a catch a film.
Namba Parks is a beautiful piece of architecture which is also a shopping mall. Complete with a 9th floor rooftop garden. We start off with a stroll around the gardens but it is way too hot to enjoy although it would be excellent in better weather. Then we stroll downward through the next 8 floors. It's kind of relaxing even though the shops don't appeal to me. Melody buys her second pair of trainers in Japan. We stop for a bite at Bagel & Bagel before going back upstairs to the cinemas to catch a film. The best of the bunch in English is Alice Through The Looking Glass and I overcome my reluctance to go in when I think of the heat  waiting outside. The film as got some pretty bad reviews but it works a family film. Something we haven't done for ages. Johnny Depp's Mad hatter is still painful but Helena Bonham Carter remains a treat and the kids laugh as soon as she starts barking from the big head.
After the movie we walk home and it's slightly cooler. We walk through Den Den Town again for Remi's sake and I find a Godzilla toy at Astro Zombies. There is way more cooler stuff there but some of the price tags are so high they are breathtaking. Oh well.
We stop for our last meal in Osaka at an Indian Restaurant which turns out to be fabulous. Generous portions, cheap food and the place is busy with Japanese which is always a good sign. The Garlic Nan was as big as the table.
Full of food and feeling more relaxed today than when we have dashed from landmark to landmark we go home and start packing for Tokyo tomorrow. We checked our train station. No lifts at Nipponbashi. How painful.

Day 16 July 3

I bought a new pair of shoes for walking in the other day and now my feet are killing me from wearing them in. Melody reckons you just have to swallow the pain.
MY turn to feel terrible this morning. It's hot all through the night and I get little sleep which leaves me feeling pretty bad. Gradually I get my self together and we're off to the Osaka Aquarium

. We're looking for the giant crab (not as giant as we thought) and the whale shark (we see it and don't realise what it is until we are leaving) which tells us we should read the signs more. Any way the Emperor Penguins are impressive and some of the fish look amazing but none more so than the jellyfish we are hypnotising. At the end we go to the fish petting zoo. We touch the fish. Huge stingrays and all. Strange experience.I feel odd patting them.
We decide to jump on the bullet train to Kobe to go and see the huge statue of Gigantor. Probably would have been easier to take the normal train because we have to catch a subway after we get to Shin-Osaka. The again the bullet only takes 13 minutes.
Gigantor is pretty spectacular. A huge statue built to ward off the evil of earthquakes after the huge one in Kobe in 1995. Gigantor was one of the cartoon series I grew up with in the sixties. That and a host of other Japanese cartoons and of course Shintaro the samurai.
A walk around Kobe doesn't reveal much so we head back to Osaka on a normal train and head back to Shinsebashi for dinner. For some reason we go for Burritos. Was not that great although Liz liked hers.
We're worn out so head back to the apartment. That old refrain "we're going to need a holiday to get over this holiday" comes up. And it's true. We've done a lot. But there is so much to do in Japan it's crazy.

Day 17 4th July

Getting up slowly then a quick excursion around the corner to find some souvenirs before we run out of time but nothing at all we like. Just a shopping arcade full of the Japanese $2 shops. It was close but not so close in this heat. It says 31 degrees but because if the humidity it seems a lot higher.
We get back with no presents for anyone and set off for another day exploring Osaka on foot. We've got the hang of the subway system and we almost experts. A lot of walking between lines though. It reminds me of London.

Start off at Osaka Castle. Which is impressive. Though I'm a bit used to European castles so to me it looks like a huge fancy house with a moat. We don't go inside because it has quite a few poor reviews on the net. Seems the inside is just modern.
From Osaka castle we hop the tube to Shin
sekai for a walk around the "New World" It's supposed to be modelled on Paris and New York but to me it looks like a Japanese version of Blackpool complete with the first homeless people we've seen in Japan and tacky stores. Still it's bright and colourful and it has a tower (like Blackpool) It's the Tsutenkaku Tower. It's small but it's funky. We go to the top to get a view of the surrounding area. There's a zoo close by it but it doesn't look much from up here. We can all see the bridge over the Osaka Bay which does look great. On the way down they have a Pocky Exhibition. A salute to chocolate on a stick!. That was wacky. But Liz buys a super large pack. There are also lots and lots of capsule machines. Toys in a capsule which are a massive fad here.
From there we walk to Den Den Town. This is Remi's choice because the place is full of discount electronics and anime shops (and as it turns out 3 great record shops in a row) Lots of crane stores too. Amusement arcades at high volumes. Whole department stores dedicated to anime. A bit of a geek paradise. Japan is a sensory overload.
We grab dinner to take home from the local supermarket. Fried rice.The food everywhere is great and we are completely worn out so this makes it easy to relax after a full days walking. I think we watched a film after that on Netflix but we were so tired I can't remember.

Day 15 July 2

Election day in OZ. Which is fine because we voted before we left.
We started off with me cooking some bacon and eggs which was a nice change. A little bit hard because they don't have knives or a toaster but we muddle through.
Today we're going on a day trip to Nara. It's terribly hot as soon as we walk out the door. I don't know how long we're going to last out there especially at Nara park. Nara Park is where the deer run free. It's pretty amazing. You can buy biscuits to feed the deer. Unfortunately at times the deer areas times like a bunch of seagulls and all later around you but much closer than birds. We learn to move away from groups of them. We also learn that if you hold the biscuit high they will actually bow to you before they receive the biscuit. Great stuff.
We move from there to the temple which contains the Big Buddha. I wasn't ready for the sheer largeness of the temple. It was massive. And wooden. Like a huge ark. Very impressive. Inside the temple is a huge Buddha. Again we are pretty much knocked out by the size. We wander around the temple. There is a beam holding up the roof with a small hole in it that if you can climb through you will reach enlightenment. Only Remi does it.
Coming outside it's got even hotter. One of the deer has gone into one of the shops and they are trying to get it out. There is other things to do here but the heat is a bit much and another shrine might be pushing it. So we take the bus into town and have a bite to eat.
It doesn't sound lie we've done much but it's getting on and we're all tired and decide we'll make some fried rice rice at home and I'll get the VPN working on the computer so the kids can watch Netflix. Free VPN gives us access to Japanese Netflix which as even less content the Australia. And it's funny to hear English on the screen.
The rice we buy for our meal looks a little different. But it's rice! But no. It turns into mush. So the fried rice is like fried rice soup. I eat because I'm starving. And you can wash it down with a little whisky,

Day 14 July 1

Osaka. No big sightseeing trips today. Time to wander around the shops and buy a few things. Not that we haven't already bought a few things. Shops are endlessly fascinating from the main drag in Shisaibashi to the small ducky shops in Amerakamura. The endless food shops in Namba where people are lined up along the street to buy fried squid. The Alice in Wonderland shop where you have to duck under a little doorway. Endless. And you know there are so many shops you will never find. I had to get a new pair of walking shoes because I've kind of worn out the ones I dad. It's really hot outside so a chance to try on shoes under air conditioning is a relief.

We stop and have a large pizza. Actually too large but very tasty. And very American style. From there we split up as the others go home and I go and check out King Kong where I pick up a couple of record bargains. Because our dollar is not very high at the moment it's quite hard get any bargains. And i think it's dropped at bit because of the UK decision to leave the European Union.
 Walking home at least 8 fire engines burn along the tiny street where we live. There must be some kind of fire going on. Back home half the crew are asleep.
When it gets dark we head back to Dotonbori and wall of neon. We stay there a bit just soaking up the atmosphere. And taking photos. Then we wander around Dotonbori. It's packed with tourists and locals. Remi, Rubu and Liz have a go at indoor fishing for half a hour. Sadly they catch nothing. But Liz appreciates the serenity.
They give us some Claw tokens. Many amusement arcades have these claw machines and Remi is addicted to them. We have to keep control of him are he would spend all his money trying to win prizes with the claw!
We wander down little lanes and find ourselves in Namba realising we are a little lost. Luckily we have google maps and a pocket wifi! Wandering home we get back around 11pm. Again we are exhausted.

Day 13 June 30

And it's farewell Hiroshima. We leave our unremarkable but very cheap hotel and go to have breakfast at the station. Mel isn't feeling well and there is no room for us at the cafe and Starbucks isn't open til 10. We park ourselves on the pavement with all our baggage waiting for our train.
When we get to the bullet train it seems the electric lines are down and we are allowed to jump on the Norzomi express. Express but not really faster than the Hakari. Stops less stations.
Touchdown Osaka but we are really early as Air BNB check ins are 3pm. So we have a bit of lunch and just take our time. We'll get there early and hope the cleaners are gone. We forget the read the first instruction on the direction sheet so we come out the wrong exit at Nippombashi. Damn it. Can't go back in so we look a bit lost until a local comes and helps us. Soon we're walking the streets again. I do mean streets. No pavements here.
We get to the place and it looks alright. Plenty of room with 6  double beds!We're all a bit exhausted but I'm a bit excited so Liz and I leave the kids to rest while we walk to Shinsibashi. Have a look at Time Bomb records and know I'm going to need to come here by myself. So many great records. Walk around the shops and see a lot of American stuff and vintage clothes shops and more and more shops which we will look at tomorrow. Go to the supermarket and grab some food to cook tonight.
At night Remi and I go for a walk to Dotonbori to see the wall of neon. Pretty amazing and looks sharp above the river. So many people about and we'll have to bring the others here tomorrow night.
The shops have giant moving crabs and dragons and all sorts going on. Slightly mind blowing.

Day 12 June 28

On our way to Hiroshima today. We have a last  wander around Fuji before hopping on the bus to Hiroshima. Well the bus to the bullet train. Our JR Pass doesn't allow us to ride the Norzomi which is direct and super fast but we get a ticket on the Hatari instead,
It takes a couple of hours and we reach Hiroshima around lunchtime. Briefly checking in to our first and only hotel on the trip and we're confronted with the ingrained smell off cigarettes. It's hard to escape the smell in Japan because every one is at it. Makes me want to take it up again but of course I won't.
Walk to Peace Park where we look at the different memorials to where they first dropped the atomic bomb. It's pretty amazing and full of history. Hard to believe that they actually did it. Kids are full of questions. The museum is particularly thought provoking as we see the personal effects and stories of young children who died. This includes the story of Sadaka and the thousand paper cranes which I have read a few times to pupils.There is a big display of paper cranes around the children' memorial. The Peace Dome is pretty impressive too if that's the right wording. is We spend a few hours in the park then go for a walk around Hiroshima.
On the way we had seen a robot shop and Remi and I go and have a look. It's full of robots and arcade games. Remi plays Pac Man. I talk to the shop keeper about robots and buy another one for my collection. The shops are just so interesting here I could look for days and probably will.
We have dinner in a restaurant full of locals. The food is delicious and includes Miso soup. Lots of stuff I don't know the name of but all tasty. We wander slowly back to the hotel. It's halfway through the holiday and we are getting a bit tired.

Day 11 June 29

Taking the ferry to Miyajimi to see the Torii gates today and it all runs smoothly and very quick. However the weather is really bad and at first it's hard to even see the gates through the rain. But it comes into view and they look magnificent. Just walking on to the island our feet get completely soaked although that's quickly forgotten as we find ourselves surrounded by deer. I've never been this close to one and they are quite beautiful. Especially when they raise on their hind legs to eat from the trees. Ruby is in her element and Remi is loving it too. But still the rain pours down.



Liz finds the  antique Japanese dolls she's been looking for in a small shop. I find myself some Studio Giblet trinkets. After which we wander around the temple there which gives us a different view. Usually tourists go up the mountain but hundreds of steps in the rain does not appeal to us neither does the cable car so we make our way back to the ferry and from there back to the hotel to get out of  our soaking wet things.
We take a short break at the the hotel to get our strength up. All through the trio we have been going at it from 10am in the morning until late at night but that was proving relentless. So we're finding time to relax.
For dinner we're choosing between Okonomiyaki and Ramon noodles thanks to recommendations on Facebooks. The Okonomiyaki wins out and it's delicious. It's like a savoury pancake but so much more. It's kinda cooked on our table too.  Before that we had one last wander around Hiroshima. Lovely place.