The Trip

Day 1

• My flight took me 9 hours to Beijing with a 5 hour layover before taking another 3 hour flight to Haneda, the timing meant I landed in Haneda about 4pm, which was probably the perfect time to land, enough time to explore a bit but also not so long that jet lag would be getting the best of me and I could sleep at a normal time.
  
• Once getting off the plane in Beijing I bumped into another traveller who was on his way to Thailand so we went for a few beers at the airport (seriously why does a Chinese Airport only sell American beers?).
  
• Once landing in Tokyo I went straight to the airbnb, dropped my stuff off and headed straight out to get a few more beers and to try and keep myself awake. My room being where it was meant walking to and from the train station would take me past Senso-ji which looks absolutely stunning at night.
  
• My first meal in Japan ended up being a Yoshinoya beef bowl which would be the meal I ate most in Japan besides Karaage, as I’m not really the biggest foodie so quick cheap food does me sound. It was then about checking out Ueno park at night (or more specifically the crowds, it was ridiculously busy) before grabbing another beer at a bar based on a London pub calling itself an Irish bar selling Czech Beer… yeah work that one out.
  

Day 2

• Due to the chance of Torres playing (he didn’t) I grabbed some tickets for the Yokohoma Merinos vs Sagan Tosu game, Friday night kick off at the Nissan Stadium, which gave me the full day in Yokohoma.
  
• I started off by grabbing a train all the way through to Negishi and then walking up through Sankeien Garden, which is beautiful when the cherry blossoms are in bloom and totally worth checking out.
  
• From there it was a case of heading towards Minatomirai and walking along the Promenade. Yokohoma is a really nice city so this is definitely a walk I’d recommend. From then it was a case of checking into my hotel (I’d hired a capsule hotel so I could stick around to drink after the game) before heading off to the stadium with time to spare.
  
• The game itself was a blast, a class atmosphere, awesome little pregame gambit where they reveal the home lineup. Being allowed the drink beer and get new beers while sat in the stand is a novelty I didn’t think existed anymore (literally you can’t even drink in the stands at Cheltenham for the horse racing). The game itself ended a pretty dull 0-0 but it had its moments, not exactly premier league quality but that’s a given.
  
• After the game I grabbed a couple of beers in a bar nearby getting involved in the home and away fans drinking together and having a laugh before heading back towards my hotel. I had planned to hit up Chinatown but while heading through Sakuragicho I stumbled upon a bar, not the one I intended to head to but once I’d paid my 400yen seat tax and saw drinks were all 150yen it became a no brainer place to chill out.
  
• It was here I made some friends, as I was about to leave this lad sparked up a conversation and that was that, we were chatting until 3am about everything from anime and games to cultural differences and what have you, it ended up being a proper laugh.
  
• Then it was a case of stumbling into my capsule hotel at 4am, which really aren’t built for tall people, and especially not for tall drunk people.
  

Day 3

• Once I’d finally got back, showered, changed and ingested enough Pocari Sweat to stop the next 5 hangovers (and to ensure I didn’t get a proper night sleep for the next 2 days) I headed out to Odaiba.
  
• Odaiba feels almost like a new university town, everything about looks like it was built in the last 5 years, with a beach with a view of the Tokyo skyline as well it’s definitely worth checking out. After posing with the giant Gundam and walking down the beach all the way to the end I had to head back. Initially I’d planned to hit up the imperial palace but I found myself drifting off on the train back and thought instead to head home for a nap.
  
• That nap sorted me right out and ensured I was fresh and ready to go out, I had bought tickets for the Tokyo Pub Crawl, and event I enjoyed last time I’d came even if I was a bit more nervous, this time I made the absolute most of it, had a great crack, made some travel buddies and strolled in at 7am. If you enjoy clubbing then it’s definitely something I’d recommend, you get your moneys worth out of the £20 you pay for the event.
  

Day 4

• After sleeping until 2pm I headed out to Yoyogi Park (I’d planned to hit up a bar close to there that I remembered enjoying but plans changed), experiencing those crowds with a hangover was a bit much, seeing the standard Yoyogi park sunday madness was pretty fun though.
  
• I had arranged to meet a lad from the night before at Golden Gai on the nighttime, it turns out he was looking to get there a lot earlier than anticipated, but as I wasn’t in the mood to be racing around while hungover (this was a free day tbf, I had planned for the hangover even if it ended up being nowhere near as bad as I was expecting) I went and met him at Golden Gai for about 5ish.
  
• There isn’t too much to say about Golden Gai, it’s expensive, it can be intimidating and it damn near impossible to actually meet someone there because all the streets look the same, but I fucking love it. We drank some beer, chatted with locals and other foreigners, had some sake, had some snake marinated sake, played some music, had some Yakiniku and failed to understand that the ice is meant to quell the flames while you cook, it was a cracking night.
  
• Then it came to leave to get back before the final train and this is where the touts come out to play, lucky they were easy to dodge with a simple ‘yeah mate I need to catch the last train’.
  

Day 5

• This is where the Pocari Sweat addiction did its damage as I got a whole 30 minutes of sleep on the sunday night, but as I’m on holiday I made sure to carry on regardless, aslong as I was walking it’d keep me awake (and I did a fuck ton of walking, literally 22 miles).
  
• I also checked the weather report before heading out, rain was forecast but only after 5 which I’d be finished with my walk by then, having planned to do the Hiking route around Kamakura. Spoiler… the weather report was wrong
  
• My train led me to a changover near Chiyoda so I took the opportunity to visit the area around the imperial palace, Coolish in hand. Not the most exciting of trip and I don’t think it added too much to the day besides extra footache.
  
• After that I headed to Kamakura and started the hiking route, visiting Tsurugoaka and Hokokuji temples before entering the Ten’en hiking trail. The trail itself is pretty fun and not too challenging, not at least until half way through the walk (literally half way through) it not only started to rain but also threw some thunder and lightning into the mix, it right pissed it down as well, not just a little shower. Lucky I bought a waterproof coat, unluckily I was wearing shorts.
  
• Also about halfway through the walk there’s a sort of rest stop run by an old couple with an incredibly friendly lady who was more than happy to talk to me. I’d recommend grabbing a beer and some food from there if it isn’t starting to rain as you arrive.
  
• After getting royally drench I made it out of the Ten’en trail to Kenchoji temple, which I would have appreciated more if not completely soaked through. I tried to use the opportunity of cover to wait for the rain to pass, but I’m too impatient for that so I said fuck it, braved the Japanese Flu that the rain apparently comes with and headed back to town for some food and a much deserved beer.
  
• Luckily this was enough for the rain to stop, and although I skipped out the Daibutsu hiking trail, I did find time to go see the Daibutsu itself and honestly if that’s what you’re coming to Kamakura for I’d like to recommend Mt. Nokogiri (Nokogiriyama) instead but more on that later.
  
• On the way back I stopped off at a little bar called DRINK A GOGO which is a bloody cool bar, the guys got hundreds of records he plays of Japanese artists of vastly different genres, from old school hip hop to light rock, he also speaks a bit of English. Definitely check it out if you’re in the area.
  
• After that it was a train back and some much needed sleep. With having walked 22 miles that day, my feet definitely felt that one, still dealing with a sprained toe didn’t exactly help matters either.
  

Day 6

• I ended up having this as a free day as the next set of days would be a bit crazy, and as I’d overslept a bit I took a late stroll into Shinjuku hitting up the batting cages for a bit then heading to the Shinjuku National Park for a chill out beneath the cherry blossoms. This is my second time going to the park and I can’t recommend it enough, just whatever you do DO NOT GO ON A WEEKEND, I walked past it on the Saturday afternoon later in the week and the queue was insane.
  
• After that I headed to the bar I enjoyed the most last time I came to Tokyo but only got chance to visit the once, a little Irish bar just 10 minutes walk from the park called An Solas. Now I’ve got multiple stories from this trip alone as to why this bar is pure class, I did end up going on the Saturday as well but I’ll put them all here.
  

1. Even though I had only been once some 3 years ago the first thing the bar owner (an Irish guy btw) says is “I remember you” then proceeds to recall things I’d said about myself 3 years ago, like my reasons for travelling and what have you.
   
2. When I exclaimed this glass is awesome the Japanese girl who part owns the bar instantly says do you want one? And before I can even respond she’s already getting one out, cleaning it, getting a half pint one as well, bubblewrapping them and bagging them for me.
   
3. While chatting to a local who had travelled the UK among other places and a girl who was heading to Australia for a year (who I still talk to Instagram since coming home, seriously if you want to connect with Japanese people when you’re over there instagram is your friend) another lad walks in who had just returned from Mexico and buys everyone at the bar a shot of tequila. Pretty much everyone I met in there had either travelled or was from a foreign country which just meant there was a lot of stories to hear, met some great people in that place.
   
4. They do the absolute best Shepherds Pie, cheddar gouda and mozzarella on top, absolutely banging.
   
5. They are one of the few places in Tokyo to do Sapporo on tap which is objectively the best Japanese beer.
   
6. They were always willing to put the Football on for me so I could watch the Liverpool games I missed because they were on at 2/4am.
   

• After drinking a hearty amount, eating some deep fried Pasta (because yeah that’s a thing apparently) I then headed to Ginza to see if I could get a booking for all you can eat a5 wagyu at Ginza Steak, which I got a slot for the next night. Then it was a case of heading home for some sleep, which having detoxed off the Pocari Sweat by this point I was able to get.

Day 7

• This day I had planned to go to Nikko but when I woke up I found out the weather was a measly one degree with snow, so I decided to switch some stuff around and suddenly found myself with nothing to do. So a quick 6am google search led me to Mt. Nokogiri, and it was an absolutely worthwhile trip.
  
• A lot of the trains were stopped due to ‘passenger injury’ which if it is what I think it means then it’s a real shame and my sincere condolences go out to the family . This led to me getting a bus instead, which dropped me in the quietest town I’ve been to, Kazusaminato, with a view of Mt. Fuji in the far distance, and some very friendly locals.
  
• My method of traversing Mt. Nokogiri was to get the ropeway up to the peak and then hike down. The Peak of Nokogiri is awesome, as you get off the ropeway you get an absolutely stunning view, cool shit carved into the rocks, loads of little buddha statues, a sawed off cliff face and a giant buddha carved into the mountain which I personally think is a lot cooler than the one in Kamakura.
  
• The walk down the mountain was also really cool, seeing the underside of the mountain where they quarried it out making it look like something out of Minecraft. A lovely walk down, although the day did give me a bit of sunburn.
  
• After heading back I went straight to my booking at Ginza Steak. Now I thought an 8:30 booking would give me enough time to get my fill of all you can eat… it did not. Not to say I didn’t get a lot of steak, but I could have gone for at least another 2 or 3 steaks, but as the place was closing I had to call it a day.
  
• Even so the steak itself was amazing, I paid including beer and everything else about £90 and got this set course meal, the steak itself was cooked very much on the rare side but it was damn good. You got 3 dips to use with pepper and soy sauce being my favourite combination. I did not like the garlic rice and beef soup, but a big part of that is I generally just don’t garlic as main flavouring, while I appreciate it as a hinted flavour when it’s at the forefront, yeah not for me.
  
• After that it was across the road for a quick beer and some german football on the tele then off to bed.
  

Day 8

• My initial plan was to rent a car and hit up mt. Fuji followed by Shosenkyo Gorge, but once I hit the countryside I decided to just stick close to Fuji driving around the five lakes.
  
• I got very lucky with the weather because it was Absolutely fucking perfect. The first point of call after some Konbini lunch was to hit up Churieto Pagoda for that iconic Japan shot, after chilling there for a while and going a bit mad with the selfies I head to the first of the five lakes, Lake Kawaguchi. From there I drove out hitting the edge of 3 of the other lakes (Saiko, Motosu and Shoji) Saiko being especially great if you just want to chill in almost silence with Fuji overlooking you while locals fish below you.
  
• The last section of the drive was over the mountain into the Yamanashi prefecture to a quiet little park that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years, before heading back and experiencing driving in Japan at its absolute worst… fucking trying to get through Ueno at 7-8pm, City driving at night with full rush hour is my worst nightmare. I eventually made it back on time with no fines to pay and then headed back, bumping into a bar in Asakusa that did Jazz Karaoke which was a very surreal experience but also an enjoyable one.
  

Day 9

• It was time for the 3rd day trip in a row, the weather being a huge improvement over what it would have been, going from snowcoat weather to t-shirt weather in a matter of days. I headed to Nikko early doors having bought the Nikko day pass the day before, I also paid the extra for the limited express on the way there because local trains confuse the fuck out of google maps and I’d rather deal with that when I’ve woken up.
  
• Once getting to Nikko I got on the first bus to Kegon Waterfall, first stopping off at the observatory for a pretty cracking view, before getting back on the bus and heading to the waterfall itself. After a beer and some lunch I head back down into the Nikko forest.
  
• Nikko’s mix between the mountain and forest makes for a really cool experience, while the mountain area provides some wonderful views the forest provides temples and shrines hidden away amongst the trees. It doesn’t stop there either, upon exiting the forest you get this traditional bridge that makes for a very cool photo op.