The Land of the Rising Sun: Japan (1)

So we thought we'd share a few of our travel experiences on this blog too i.e. places to stay, things to see and do, things to eat and not eat but all from our perspective because everyone knows that four eyes are better than two! Keep your eyes peeled for posts on the following: Cancun (Mexico), Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Rome (Italy), Seville (Spain) and Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan (India). 

We'll start with our most recent trip to Japan. 

Sometimes we can plan so much to the tiniest detail and it doesn't always work out, so it's best to just go with the flow and do something random. That is exactly what our trip to the Far East was; totally random and totally spontaneous because we literally booked it two nights before we flew out and landed ourselves a very good flight deal too!

Spontaneity really does give you such a buzz because you literally are doing something unplanned. That in itself is a risk but sometimes that's what life is about, because doing something risky can really just make you feel alive. After all, how many of us are actually living and how many of us are just making a living...(that's one to think about!)

Our journey to Japan was a short one but we covered a lot of ground, did a lot of funky things (like ride the Shinkansen aka Bullet Train!) and ate a few funky things along the way too.

So what is Japan about? Sushi, funky toilets and Hello Kitty?  That sums up modern Japan very well but we were lucky enough to have visited Kamakura, famous for the big Buddha and the ancient city of Kyoto as well which is known for its temples and gardens, Samurai and Geisha!

Here are the highlights of our trip to Japan based on our visit to the best places to eat and hang out  and things to see and do. First stop, Tokyo!

Touchdown in Tokyo

1.  Cosplay restaurants (Maid Cafe)

This is definitely the most funkiest and cutest place we have ever been to. Ever. These are themed cafes that you'll find dotted around all over the town of Akihabara (the famous Electric Town) and you'll find the Maids dotted around all over Akihabara too handing out little invites to their cafe.  All you gotta do is pick a maid and she takes you to her cafe for the most cutest experience of your life. (I just read that out aloud and it sounds like this could be going somewhere dodgy...)

Anyway, we went to the 'Moe Maid Heaven' cafe. It's a cool little place to eat and have a drink or two and you're served by these really really cute little Japanese waitresses who are dressed up in maid outfits and speak in a baby voice. But here is the cutest part. As soon as you sit down at your table, you have a little inauguration ceremony thing where your own personal maid will light a LED candle and have you say some Japanese words in a cute voice with her and she won't serve you until you say the phrase  'moi moi koo!' in a baby voice, all while stroking your face like a kitten! Super cute mate.

You can have pictures taken with the maids but you have to pay a ridiculous price so instead we opted to sneakily take a picture of a guy who paid something like £10 to have his picture taken with the maids (sucker)

You can order anything from burger, fries and crepes. We ordered ice cream but since we were in Japan, it wasn't going to just be any ordinary ice cream. Oh no. Check.it.out...

Animated ice cream- A turtle and two bears! Too cute!

The best part of this cafe experience is that every hour, all the little maids come together and bust out into a little song and dance, and if only we could have recorded the dance!!! Aaah man! Loool! And they're singing in these cute high pitched voices swinging their arms around! Too cute - you just want to take one home and put them on your shelf.

At the end just before you leave, they give you your own little passport and stamp it to say that you've had the Maid Cafe experience. The time in the Maid Cafe is limited to an hour and the seating charge starts at 500 Yen, so it is a little expensive but it's one of the things to do in Tokyo. We give it a 12 out of 10 for the cute factor. 

2. Akihabara 

This is the famous electric district of Tokyo aka 'a nerds paradise'. This is where you will find all the comics, video games, latest gadgets and gismos and even people dressed up as animated characters. It's the place where we thought we could buy a hard drive for peanuts. We were wrong.

Cosplay girls don't usually like having pictures taken of them. If they see you trying to take one, they hide their face! This one obviously isn't the sharpest tool in the shed...

Maid handing out invites

As soon as you step out of the station you feel like you've walked into a futuristic world. Extension cables, plugs, fuses, batteries, cameras, TV's, phones, memory cards and other electrical goods is all you will see as you walk around this town. It's like a really big PC world or Currys. Power cut in this place...? No chance mate!

Cats. That's it. 

Akihabara aka 'Electric Town' at Night

3. Tokyo Tower

This is basically like the London Eye but shaped like the Eiffel Tower (see below)

Eiffel Tower of the Far East

and gives you panoramic views of the whole of Tokyo (see below again).

So friggin crazy and this isn't even half of it! As our host dad said 'you ain't seen nothing yet!'

This is a must because you get to see how vast (and busy) the city of Tokyo really is. It just stretches for miles and miles with no horizon line. You can see Mount Fuji (located in the Honshu district of Japan and of which we could only see the outline because it was a cloudy day) Disneyland, Hitachi HQ and other impressive buildings that I forget the name of. As with most things in Japan, this isn't cheap either and for each floor you visit you pay a higher price (!)

4. Disneyland Tokyo

Disneyland never needs an introduction so all I'm gonna say about this is that Disneyland Tokyo kicks Disneyland Paris and Florida's ass! Not because of the rides because Florida takes that hands down, but having been to all three, Disneyland Tokyo really brings the magic of Disney alive. He would feel so proud.

We actually look like little mice. 

All the staff dress up in the costume of the characters (I want to work here). But check this - the theme park goers dress up in costume too! We felt just a little bit stupid wearing our shorts and T-shirt when all the kids and even adults (!) were dressed up as Jack Sparrow, Mickie Mouse and Cinderella! In fact, they think you are stupid if you don't get into character. At the very least you gotta wear the Mickie/Minnie Mouse ears, so we did (see picture above). They really take it seriously out there but I think it adds to the magic and fun so much more that everyone is in character. Groups of 20 year old girls dressed up as Sleeping Beauty, Minnie Mouse and Tinkerbell and guys dressed up as Donald Duck and Pinocchio! Is there any other place in the world where you can be old and still act like a kid and get away with it? It's the norm out there! I'm moving to Disneyland Tokyo people. 

The 3 came dressed up as the Disney Princesses (Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty)...how did they get their dresses in the ride?!!

Snow White meets Lightning McQueen

Look! It's Woody from Toy Story!

We were there just before Halloween time so the whole theme park was decked out with pumpkins and ghosts. Spooky! We rode on every ride twice because their queue system is just so efficient and everyone actually waits in line in single file. So organised! I don't even need to say anymore.

Imagine the Pumpkin Pie they made from that!

5. Haraijuku and Shibuya

These are Tokyo's most fashionable and trendy districts. Haraijuku is a lot like Camden (London) and is where you'll find young teens experimenting with their fashion in eccentric ways. Lolita is the term used to describe the Japanese street style that you'll see here and it really is something that's unique to Japan. 

I wouldn't stroll down my local high street with a suitcase but this is Japan; I could have been walking down in my PJ's and it really wouldn't have mattered. 

You'll also find loads of yummy crepe places like this one...

If you're looking to paint the town red then Shibuya is the place to go. It's one of the most busiest and trendiest places in Tokyo famous for it's shops, entertainment and nightlife. But we didn't do any of that. We took pictures instead.

There's just too much to say about this place. I could just keep writing and writing but like with most things, it's one of those things you just have to experience.

Part 2 features our visit to Kamakura and Kyoto, so look out for that one peeps! For more about our trip to Japan and for some more images, check out Sukhman's facebook page

www.facebook.com/sukhmangrewalphotography

In the mean time...

Don't just be Inspired. Be Twinspired!

Noorie