Hostel from Hell (Narita)

(This story should have been posted whilst we were in Japan but with our flight to China and this country not allowing access to most  websites it has been delayed)

Imagine an American phyco thriller film set in the outback where people are a rare sighting, the buildings around look like military bunkers and the atmosphere is eery. All we could think about was the horror film 'the outback', which is about backpackers travelling too far into the middle of no where in outback Australia. They ran into a phyco killer and that's basically the film, it's shit but we related to this film a lot whilst on our 42 hour stay in Narita.

So, once we arrived back in Tokyo from Kyoto on our amazing night bus we then had the joys of navugating ourselves to Narita airport. We weren't getting a flight but our only directions to our next hostel were from the airport. (It was in the middle of no where so we didn't want to risk finding our way there on our own accord). From the airport we had to get the local shuttle bus (we are amazed we managed to figure this out) and it drove into the Japanese countryside and eventually stopped outside a 7/11 shop - all we knew was that we had to get off at a 7/11. All that was here was that, a police station, a fire station, a gas station, a laundrette and a hair dresses. The buildings were all metal bunkers that looked neglegted.  It was a strange place. Then we arrived outside our hostel...

This too was a metal bunker that looked like it could fall apart. We stepped into the front door and couldn't see anybody but a man hanging up washing on the decking through the lounge (this makes it sound plush but the doors to the decking were a series of dirty windows and is was covered with a mosquito net) we said hello and recieved an odd responce so we just waited until he finished his washing. 15 mins later he decided to acknowledge us but he was very cold, he then walked off and left us in the living room wondering what the hell is going on (turns out he's the owner and lives there too). The time hit 4pm and we were eventually invited up the stairs (which are outdoors) to our dorm room. Sam thought it was okay but Cj wasn't a fan of the bed being on the floor, so much so, after 5 mins he had accidently put his foot through the paper door. Now we are proper shit scared of the hostel owner.

We wanted to get out of that hostel fast before we pissed him off even more so we explored the local area in search of food. We learnt somethings;
1. Every bunker that looks like a r restaurant is in fact a laundrette
2. When you do eventually find a restaurant it is empty with only a few locals (good atmosphere though)
3. Do not end dinner past 8pm,  we ended up walking back to our hostel in the dark in the small eery town and we didn't have a clue where we were going
4. Always have a torch on you

Eventually we made it to our hostel, only to find that the owner had disappeared somewhere and all the lights were off. We were a little on edge when we sorted our bed out and kept seeing lights outside. It was a long night but we made it to the morning ready for our bike ride round the village.

We are now in Beijing and have a host of photos to add. Watch out for Cj's post on the Chinese, highly entertaining. .

Down the Japanese paths.

Hey, it's Sam. Ive been busy reading maps and planning our itinerary for kyoto so I've been pretty rubbish at posting on this blog. But,  Japan so far has been amazing. My fav part of Tokyo was our day in Harajuku and Cj running afer the harajuku girls to get a pic of them (he wasn't discreet). Harajuku was quirky and hip. We looked very unfashionable and a bit out of place in my bum bag, Cj's flip flops and his paper fan he is so adamant to take with him everywhere, lol. 

We are in Kyoto at the moment and its exactly how I imagined Japan to look. We have to walk down cute 'lil streets and over mini bridges to get to our hostel. Pretty much all the architecture looks like traditional paper houses and we have bumped into many geisha's, some are not too keen on getting their photo taken so they shy away from the camera. 

On Friday we went to a place called Arashiyama which is an adorable little town. Figuring out the train to get there was eventful but when we got there we saw picturesque mountains, temples and scenic hill top views. Sounds like a girly day out!

The Tenryuji temple is here and it's a zen place. The garden around this temple tops kew gardens. Luckily it wasn't too busy here so we got some amazing pics for the album. 

Behind the temple is the famous path of bamboo. Apart from it being nice to get out the boiling hot sun, this path was really cool to walk.

Today (sunday), we visited another cool path. This time, the path was up a zillion steps to another famous shrine at the top of a mountain. Luckily it rained so it made this hike more bearable. The path was at the Fushimi-inari taisha shrine and the path we had to walk was through a tunnel of red Torii gates. Deffo a path worth the sweaty look once you've made it to the top. Just for a cheesy couple pic we marked our names on a torii gate. Haha!

In terms of eating in Japan, I am in my element. Rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tomorrow we are planning to walk another path called 'Philosopher's road'. Our legs are going to be mega toned with all this walking we are doing. 

Xxx

Help I'm a tourist, get me out of here: Kyoto Edition

Evening all Cj here, with my round up of Kyoto so far...

So we finally arrived in Kyoto city after 8 hours on our glamorous night bus from Tokyo. Fully rested, on what felt like a few hours sleep, we headed to our hostel.

A cracking location in the heart of the city was our first stop in 'Ayado Inn'. A fully stocked fridge of beer at only 100yen a can is right up my street! Hostel is strange as each bunkbed has a hospital curtain around it, very secluded. My bunk is opposite a geisha house and I can see them eating as they witness me putting on my shorts every morning! Lovely.

So I've heard a lot of good things about Kyoto and I wasn't dissapointed. Culture staring you in the face around every corner. Our first stop was in Arashiyama where we hit up the Tenryui Temple; set in the mountains and along a river this small part of town looked like something out of "crouching tiger hidden dragon" especially on the bamboo walk, with bamboo shoots in every direction creating an arch of parellel lines as far as the eye could see. To finish the day off we swung by a monkey temple up in the hills to take in the view of Kyoto. A cracking view across the summer haze. Today had been the hottest on the trip so far, so i was looking suitably Western with my sweat patches and trusty Japenese fan!

Next on the list was Nijojo Castle and Imperial Palace, hugely impressive buildings built from wood and stone to house and protect  royalty and visitors. The Nijojo castle had an impressive moat the colour of lime green. Both these sites and almost every temple has a cracking garden. Titmarsh eat you heart out, these gardens were hand groomed with the ultimate presicion. From the trees being cut and trimmed to the waterfalls and ponds being crisp and clear with huge Carp swimming amongst the surfacing turtles.

Not one to do on a hangover is the Nishik food markets. Set in several  industrial sized alleys is a host of local food stalls selling everything from your local tuna to a mini octopus on a stick. Not being one to turn down free food means the tasters are a gamble. I generally don't have a clue if I'm eating meat or veg, cooked or raw. What I have mastered is the poker face of "mmmm thanks, gag, smile" One thing I am proud of is the size of the fruit here. Oranges and apples the size of small melons definately a bargin.

One of the huge attractions here, and I'm sure you've all seen the pics, is the Fushimi-inari taisha Shrine which is home to the Tunnel of Torii Gates. The large red wooden arches paint a red brick road past 15 shrines up a hill encompassed in a dense forest. Quite a trek in the humidity and flip flops.  Safe to say I looked a right state once I got to the top! Watch out for the monkeys a rare sight!

Right that's the culture done, now onto the important bit...
The food and drink is pretty good here. I've found the prices cheaper and the local brew of beers impressive, more importantly it is served at breakfast. Great way to start the day, when a lot of walking is involved.  I can also safely say I've had the best Yakisoba of my life in this town, so good I've gone back again, twice.

In the evenings a beer down by the river is pretty chilled, people set off sparklers and a random dj brings his decks down, as you do.

Only a few more days in Kyoto before we head back up to Tokyo for a flight to China. Need to get planning the next part of our trip, any recommendations for Beijing do let me know!

The good, the bad and the ugly pics are too follow of Japan in the next few days. I will send out a dropbox link.

Cheers
Cj

Arrivederrci Tokyo...

Evening all, Cj here. I'm writing this post as I lay horizontal on a Kyoto bound night bus.  My lounger seat consists of a funky "sleeper" head screen that wouldn't look out of place in a 60's hair salon, uber amounts leg room and a recliner that takes the mick. (Soz for the invasion of privacy to the lady behind)

So that's Tokyo done. We smashed all the main hotpots in what seemed like a whistle stop tour of the city. I'm pretty shattered as we crammed 4 districts and 2 hostel changes into a 5 day week; that coupled with the heat means I'm shredding the pounds, both on the stomach and the wallet!  

Our first post mentions our Asakusa story which when looking back on it seems the quietest part of the week so far; much more traditional and less hustle and bustle. Our days around Shinkuju and Roppongi were filled with bright lights,  huge electric banners, massive crowds and high pitched Japenese tunes!

My favourite things to write home about are Shibuya's "scramble crossing". It's the crossing you see in the films with the huge advertising and 4 way zebra crossing. Carnage errupts when the lights go green and people swarm from all angles on to the road.

We visited "electric city" which must have the biggest electricty bill on the planet. Huge electronic bill boards advertising the latest craze of Sonic the Hedgehog games ran up the sides of buildings keeping the night sky at bay. On the ground huge hi-tech gaming casinos blasted out fast paced techno music keping the locals entertained. Girls dressed in a Harajuku style dresses (think Gwen Stafarni)  littered the streets selling their maid style restaurants and bars.

Away from modern day Japan we went in search of some traditional photo opportunities.  We found the Meji shrine, Tokyo's largest and walked around the Bonzi forest. That night we also checked into the much talked about Japenese sleeping capsules; basically sleeping in a coffin with hundreds of other people, however much more spacious that i first thought.

So what are my opinions of Tokyo; great city, with loads to offer. Very modern so hard to feel like your backpacking with all these 21st century comforts. Rich in culture, but you have to dig deep to find it. The people here are the nicest I've met abroad so far, always willing to help! All in all a great city to start the adventure in, the Ashi beer gets a thumbs up from me too.

The first few days in Tokyo...

So, turns out the Japanese have their own language, eating utensils, no shoes rule and a unique way of flushing the loo. 

We arrived at our first hostel Asakusa Smile a few days ago after successfully navigating our way in circles in the Japanese heat and with our heavy backpacks. 

Our room was a nice lil' shoe box. Our shared toilet was an experience for both of us. Their loos are high tech Panasonic or Toyota branded with many buttons. Neither of us wanted to get our hair wet, so FYI don't hit the blue button.

Our first morning was spent walking into what we call 'town' (just the local high street) to get some breakfast then we walked to Tokyo skytree to purchase tickets for the sky hop bus. On this open top, very touristy bus we ventured to Odaibo where we had the pleasure of seeing a famous japanese girl group, think spice girls on steroids! Actually we pretty much thought this whole area was on steroids. This place called Fuji TV and venture fort was full of over enthusiastic animations, high pitched singing, and was generally a really strange place. It was like a theme park but its an actual place with shops, restaurants, a professional TV studio and a big ferris wheel (yes we went on this).

After this experience we went to the more sophisticated, high end Ginza. This is just like Oxford street. From Ginza we then went onto the Electric town for dinner and to see this part of Tokyo lit up in the evening. This place was also very different, it was full of arcades and Japanese girls standing on the streets in tiny maid costumes promoting restaurants but actually, they looked like they were promoting Anne Summers. It felt like their red light district so we have a feeling these restaurants were not the norm inside.

And this is where this first post ends. We are writing this nearly a week into our trip so when we next have our spare hour we will post about our visit to Roppongi and pics of our new hostel (we are in cool traditional capsules).

Cj and Sam