Toyko last part 東京

I took the Bullet train from Osaka back to Tokyo and its crazy to think that it only took me 3 1/2h hours compared to the 7 hour bus ride from Tokyo to Kyoto. Although the price is a bit hefty I can only recommand taking it. It was not only a very nice experience having my delicate bento box and seeing mount fuji during that journey, it was also much smoother compared to the bus. After I arrived in Tokyo I felt the urge to see all the things that I missed due to my illness at the beginning. Therefore I started with the colorful and crazy Harajuku with all of these people dressed in Cosplay, went to the Meiji Shrine and followed by Roppongi where I saw the beautiful Illuminations and the different artwork on the Roppongi Hills such as the huge spider scuptlure, Maman by Louise Bourgeois.

On the last day of the year which was also the last day in Japan, me and my friend Anja went to Odaiba, an aritficial island at Tokyo bay. It was great to spend my last day in Japan walking around Odaiba, seeing the Rainbow bridge, the replica of the statue of Liberty and the giant robot named Gundam. We ended the year with sushi and went to the very crowded Meiji Shrine for the countdown of the new year. All in all I had a very nice trip to Japan-さようなら!

Gundam, the huge robot 

Statue of Liberty and the Rainbow bridge

Celine, Anja and me

Sake barrels at the Meiji Shrine

Roppongi with the Tokyo Tower in the back 

ありがとうございました

Osaka part 2 大板

For my second day (28th of December) I had two sights on my list; the first one was the Osaka Castle and the second one was the Osaka Aquarium. After more than 10 days of sightseeing I was getting a bit lazy and tired. So I only picked out two main attractions that I wanted to see. I fulfilled one of my childhood dreams by going to the Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium and therefore the Osaka Aquarium is ideal for being known as one of the largest aquariums in the world. The last day before heading back to Tokyo I just spend shopping and strolling around Osaka. Osaka is a great duty-free paradise, they have multiple-floor duty-free shops full with different Japanese products. I was even able to purchase a small Japanese rice cooker that my mum wished for. A good tip therefore is to always bring along your passport!

Shinsekai area just around the corner of my hotel

Tsutenkaku Tower

Osaka castle

Selfie time!

Another thing on my 'to eat list'-Okonomiyaki which is a cabbage egg omelette 

I spent half of my day in the aquarium, seeing all kinds of sharks, fish and they even had a tank where you could touch sharks and stingrays!

The main attraction the whale shark- the fish tank was up to 4 level.s

Osaka part 1 大板

It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get to Osaka from Kyoto by train. Although it is so close to each other distance wise it couldn't be more different from their atmosphere. Kyoto had a very calm and historic vibe, Osaka on the other hand is very alive, colorful and loud. After checking in my hotel I went to see Namba which is the city centre and one of the main tourist attractions. From there I just strolled around the street, walked through dotonbori and tried the famous Osaka street food. It was a nice contrast to the historic Kyoto and on top of that I almost recovered fully from my flu. Therefore I could really appreciate the noisy and colorful Japanese vibe. 

The famous Osaka Tako-yaki, the line was quite long but it is a really exciting view to see how fast they cook these little balls  

Tako-yaki, round balls in a wheat batter with minced octopus inside

Tako-yaki, round balls in a wheat batter with minced octopus inside 

The Dontonbori Canal

The famous billboards from Namba-there is a huge lane coming from it with hundreds of shopping possibilities. I went back almost every day that I stayed in Osaka to do all my shopping

The famous billboards from Namba-there is a huge lane coming from it with hundreds of shopping possibilities. I went back almost every day that I stayed in Osaka to do all my shopping

Kyoto day 3 京都

The third and last day in Kyoto we just strolled through a few temples in the morning and went to see a traditional tea ceremony at noon. Most people know me as a huge tea lover so it was a really interesting and special experience to see Camellia explaining and showing us the traditional matcha tea ceremony. She was really helpful with all the questions we had not only regarding the tea ceremony but also about Kyoto in general. After the tee ceremony me and Megan parted ways because I had to head back to the hostel and check out, to catch my train to Osaka in the afternoon. I had a great time in Kyoto not only seeing all the beautiful temples and shrines; learning more about the historical side of Japan but also having the experience to stay in a beautiful renovated Japanese house with the two loveliest owner of the hostel Oki's Inn. Yuka even gave me a hot pack whilst I was leaving, telling me that Osaka will be cold the next days (my heart melted!). One of the most significant memories of Japan are by far the cute, helpful, polite and lovely people I have encountered on this trip! 

Entrance gate of Chion-in 

One of the very interesting things I've encountered in Asia are the restaurants with the plastic food on display. Showing customers the 3D menu

Camellia showing us the individual steps of the tea ceremony 

The utensils for the Matcha tea ceremony 

There is no sugar added into the Matcha tea therefore we had to eat this kind of candy in the beginning before drinking the tea

The kanji; meaning harmony, respect, purity and tranquility; the four most important elements of the tea ceremony 

After being showed how to make Matcha it was our turn of making it ourselves

Seeing the tea ceremony really made me appreciate this kind of tradition. Every move was very stable and calm just how you imagine Zen to be. Of course I had to purchase a matcha set for myself to include this type of Zen into my daily life 

Strolling around the little lanes in Kyoto 

Beautiful hand painted tea bowls 

The Hokanji Temple also known as the Yasaka Pagoda with tourists dresses as Geishas

My last meal in Kyoto- delicious abura soba which are a type of dry oily noodles with karaage as a side dish (fried chicken)

さようなら京都!

Kyoto day 2

On the second day in Kyoto I already felt more like myself-not fully recovered but I was getting there. In my hostel I met the really lovely Megan who was also traveling through Japan. So we joined forces and did the sightseeing together. The first stop of the day was Kinkakuji also known as the Golden Pavilion. The top floors are covered in gold leaf which in my opinion definitely makes it a one of a kind sight. After that we took the bus to see Fushimi Inari-taisha which is a shrine dedicated to the Kami Inari. Apart from being very touristy it was one of my favorite sights whilst being in Japan. It was just incredible to see these thousands of torii gates in their bright red color lined up. The last stop for the day was the Kiyomizu Temple which caught my eye because of its wooden pillars that juts over the hillside. This day showed me how Kyoto is overflown with beautiful shrines and temples. The sad part about it is that after seeing all these beautiful shrines and temples one starts to less appreciate the others because the brain is just overflown with temples. So the key is to have less temples packed in one day to fully appreciate the beauty of them. 

The fascinating Kinkakju Temple 

Whilst being in Kyoto we saw so many tourists dressed in traditional Kimonos

At the shrine people were lighting up incense and candles for their wishes

Before entering the Fushimi Inari-taisha you could cleanse your hands and mouth with this holy water

I was trying my luck by ringing the bell with the Kami Inari which is the fox goddess 

The numerous torii gates at Fushimi Inari-taisha

We saw this man's beautiful drawing of the torii gates 

We landed at this huge bamboo forest just a few steps into the Fushimi Inari-taisha

The entrance of the Kiyomizu-dera

This temple was constructed in 1633 because of its material-it has to be renovated quite often