Tōkyō

Tokyo was the final station on our trip. We met up with friends, saw some amazing shrines, and generally had a great time. If only we had been able to prolong it!

Matsumoto and Mt. Yarigatake

From Kyoto we took at train to Matsumoto in the Nagano prefecture, in the area known as the Japanese Alps. We chose Matsumoto because it's the ideal jumping off place for getting to Kamikochi and Mt. Yarigatake.

We spent just one day in Matsumoto before taking an early train then bus to Kamikochi to start the ascent up Mt. Yarigatake. We slept in a lodge near the summit, rose early the next morning to hike the peak, then all the way back down with enough time to make it to Tokyo the same evening. Quite a lot in two days!

Matsumoto Castle with a ninja

Samurai armour

We accidentally encountered an Oktoberfest celebration. Strange combination of Japanese people eating German sausages with chopsticks.

The start up Mt. Yarigatake on the Azusa River

The extremely sharp peak of Mt. Yari coming into view in the distance

Closer to the peak

Snow sheets

The lodge at the peak. Such a relief and elation to make it up to the top! The lodge is only accessibly on foot or by helicopter, so there is a real sense of camaraderie with your fellow lodgers. It sleeps 500 people but when we were there it was at low capacity, maybe 100 people. As far as we could tell, we were 2 of 4 non-Japanese people so it felt like a true Japanese experience.

Bunk-style sleeping

Dinner was served promptly at 5pm. Japanese food never tasted so good!

At the peak the next morning (3180m). Most of the other hikers at the lodge had arisen and hiked the summit much earlier than us (4am) so we had more space at the top, good considering the very little space and sheer cliffs on all sides.

View of the lodge from above

The chains and ladders leading to the top

Richard making up the final ladder

Scaling back down

Kyoto, Japan

After five days in Seoul we flew to Osaka and took a train directly to Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan. We spent three days this easy-to-get-to-know city and have a first glimpse of Japanese style and culture. 

The first thing we did on arrival was order sushi to eat on the train; immediately providing entertainment for passengers watching me struggle!

We stayed in a traditional Japanese inn in Kyoto. Complete with futon beds and chairs without legs.

This hotel, and all others we stayed on while on our trip, provide Japanese robes and slippers which are meant to be worn in the public baths. 

Instructions to help foreigners navigate the robe and public bath etiquette. The gist of the public baths is: always wash before going into the bath, never wash standing up, don't wear your robe in the bath!

Decorations on the roof at the Imperial Palace

Silver Temple (Ginkaku-ji)

Torrential downpour at Ginkaku-ji

Kimonos braving the rain

Nanzen-ji temple

Golden temple (Kinkaku-ji)

Japanese omelette

Picturesque Pontocho Street at night

Sake collection in the convenience store

Sushi

Seoul

In August we took our first trip to Asia, starting in Seoul, South Korea and continuing to Japan.

Our first taste of Korea was on our Asiana flight from Heathrow to Seoul, where we were served the best airplane food I've ever had-- Korean bibimbap. If the airplane food was this good, we knew we were in for a treat once we arrived.

We were in Seoul for five days and spent most of our time wandering around discovering the chaotic yet charming city.

Gyeongbokgung, main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty (14th century)

We stayed at Anna's apartment near Seoul Station

We had fun buying Korean pastries for breakfast from the Lotte market

Traditional Korean architecture viewed from Insadong, the cultural district of Seoul

Cheonggyecheon-ro stream provided a bit of quiet from the craziness of the city (the plum wine didn't hurt, either)

Walking the Seoul defence fortress city wall, built in the 14th century to prevent the city from invaders.  These days, it's a tourist attraction that's fiercely guarded; visitors are required to wear a badge and there are guards stationed along the length of the wall ensuring that you don't misbehave.

At a hip coffee shop in Gangnam. We were told this was a good place to people watch, and it definitely was. It seemed to be the very vain section of Seoul, with billboards and posters advertising plastic surgery and facial reconstruction, and most of the customers seemingly very fashion and beauty conscious. We drank black bean lattes!

Many of the restaurants had bi-lingual photo menus which made ordering easy.  As you can see, the Koreans are carnivores!

But we found plenty of vegetarian items too, like this  chive pancake

Most of the meals we ordered came with numerous small side dishes, with kimchi, radishes, hot sauces and rice. In this case we ordered pork chops which were grilled at the individual grills at each table. All eaten with metal chopsticks. 

Traditional tea and rice cakes in Insadong

One of the late-night food markets that seemed to be busy at all hours. I read that most Seoulites eat their evening meals out either because they don't have time to cook or don't have a proper kitchen.