We were in Korea from April 28th until the 4th of May. It gave us another chance to see friends and family and have one more meal of naengmyun and samgyeopsal. After a week in and around Seoul it was time to move on again.
We flew to Narita, Japan, on Thursday May 4th. The next day we got up bright and early and took a train to Tokyo. Japan’s busy capital somehow manages to mix the super modern with traditional historic temples.
Our first stop was Nakamise Shopping Street in Asakusa. It is said that this is one of the oldest shopping areas in Japan. These days various products are sold here, including Japanese-style goods that are popular with tourists from abroad.
After we walked along this famous street we made our way to Sensoji Temple. This temple is one of Tokyo's most colourful and popular temples and is considered to be one of the most significant in Japan.
We wandered around here until we stopped for a rest and ate tacoyaki, which is bite sized Japanese waffles with pieces of octopus.
After this we made our way to Shinjuku which is often compared to Piccadilly Circus in London or Times Square in New York.
Shinjuku is a massive entertainment and shopping area and a dazzling spectacle of neon-lit skyscrapers. Shinjuku Station is the world's busiest railway station and the area is home to many of Tokyo's tallest buildings.
After taking in these big city sights, we squeezed our way through the crowded streets and stopped to have lunch. We placed our order through some kind of fancy automated ordering machine. It was a challenge that we actually tried to avoid but we soon discovered that these ordering machines were in all the restaurants. Anyway, it was a new experience for us and having had to work for our ramen noodles somehow made them taste even better.
We then moved on to Harajuku and the famous Takeshita Street which is known for its crowds and fashion. The street was certainly full of people and energy and after a quick look we were ready to move on.
By then we were more than ready to escape the crowds as we headed to Meiji Jingu. This shrine is surrounded by a huge forest.
It felt good to take a little break from the city streets and the spacious grounds offered beautiful walking paths that were great for a relaxing stroll.
We then walked along a large road that reminded me of the Champs-Élysées in Paris, as we made our way to Shibuya. At Shibuya we took a walk across the famous intersection outside Shibuya Station.
When the lights turn red at this busy junction, they all turn red at the same time in every direction. Traffic stops completely and pedestrians surge into the intersection from all sides. It was really a sight to see. By the end of the day we had covered a lot of ground and were completely exhausted.
On Saturday, May 6th, we took a train from Narita to Kawaguchiko to see Mt. Fuji.
At 3776 metres, Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped mountain has been considered sacred and has always been very popular among artists and common people throughout the centuries.
At 3776 metres, Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped mountain has been considered sacred and has always been very popular among artists and common people throughout the centuries.
Kawaguchiko is supposed to have some of the best views of Fuji in Japan. After the train arrived at the station we headed towards the lake. We walked around It, and ate our lunch, as we enjoyed the view of Japan’s most famous mountain from the other side.
On Sunday, May 7th, we made our way to the port of Yokohama where we found the beautiful Celebrity Millennium. It was the ship that would take us to Sapporo, Kamchatka, the Bering Sea and finally on to Vancouver.
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