After a stopover in Manila I made my way on a red eye to Bangkok. Very sleepy I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 2 in the night trying to find my way around the A/B Grab stations to hop on a car to my hotel near Sukhumvit road.
The next day was spent walking around the immediate neighborhood and checking out the local stores. But to be honest I was still exhausted from the night lost in the flight. The spicy curry for lunch only woke me up for a couple of hours. After that I relaxed most of the day. It’s a chaotic place and I might want to try to find something a little more quiet soon.
Anyway, it seems like Bangkok is a convenient place to stay. It is a major hub that offers plenty of flights to Europe. I might need them for example to attend apartment showings or sort some stuff out in Germany. My tourist visa for Thailand is valid until early August so that gives me some time to organize things.
Narita town is 15-minute train ride from the airport of Narita – who would have thought? But seriously, it’s a cute town with an awesome temple and a street to the temple with lots of local products. Highly recommended if you want to stay the last night before your flight close to the airport. I was able to catch a real impressing firing ceremony and got lost in the temple grounds for a couple of hours. For lunch, I finally tried a Japanese McDonalds. Happy to try their edamame with corn and one the chicken sandwich had the best presentation I have ever seen. I went to the local Soba shop for dinner to get some cold Soba with Duck. Simply delicious.
This marks the end of my Japan trip. It felt like a vacation from traveling. Everything was so comfortable, new, and interesting to me. I am left with a sizable hole in my travel budget and a backpack full of souvenirs. Next up will be Thailand while I try to sort out my future. I’ll be honest: I’m drawn home to Germany and will slowly start to make my return but it might a few months until I have an apartment and the job situation has been addressed. For now: flying from Narita has been a delight. I felt safe in Japan not only because of this SecBot. Bye Japan. I am sure I will come back as there is lots that I want to see still.
Walked all the way from Asakusa to Jimbocho to see the book stores there. The 50-minute trek took me once again through the backstreets of Akihabara. Most of the books were in Japanese but it was still interesting to see so many specialized shops in one place.
The somber silence in the shops and the smell of paper made for a unique atmosphere. My feet were hurting but my book loving heart was happy. I didn’t buy anything because of the usual reasons — luggage space and keeping additional weight of my poor back. Next time I’ll come with an additional bag to Japan for sure.
My last days in Tokyo are spent relaxed wandering around, enjoying the city as much as possible and soaking in the vibe. I went to Roppongi but wasn’t too into it but I liked the walk to and around Tokyo Tower.
It’s an excellent but also immense museum. With only about 10% seen of it I got lost in the museums grounds between the old trees and the small tea houses. The weather was cozy, warm, and sunny. All the right ingredients for a relaxed day at the museum. I don’t want to leave Japan. But I have to. Soon.
Through the jungle of lo-fi Japanese website I managed to book tickets from Shinjuku Station to Otsuki with the express train and a seat on a train back to Shinjuku from Kawaguchiko. Since I had to get from Asakusa to Shinjuku first I woke up at 5 to get the Yamanote train at 7, no need to reserve that one.
The trains were neat, tidy and on time – as always in Japan. I arrived in Otsuki after only a short 50-minute ride from Shinjuku and couldn’t wait to get on the local train to Shimoyoshida that would take another ~40 minutes. I was warned that in Summer the view could be pretty obscured, but I monitored when to see mt fuji to select the best day. It was a real good idea to reserve those seats back from Kawaguchiko because a lot of people had to stand for 1.75h after a day of walking and more walking.
The stairs up to Arakurayama Sengen Park to the Chureito Pagoda had me out of breath. Luckily there was the Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine at the bottom of the stairs and the view at the top was more than a reward for my huffing and puffing. I thought I’d be fit from my running, but maybe I should train more stairs.
The rest of the day was spent around Lake Kawaguchiko with Fujisan looming in the back. The sun tried to kill me and shade was in high demand. It’s crowded for sure. The red bus that runs every 15 minutes was often too full, and you had to wait another 15 minutes in the sun. With plenty of time to spare I arrived back at Kawaguchiko Station and finally found a restaurant to my liking. After a late lunch consisting of Hoto Noodles and a Coke Zero I enjoyed the view of the mountain and lake until my train brought me back to Shinjuku. I arrived in Asakusa around 8 – all tired but very happy about the trip out of the city.
Actually the Senso-ji
Buddhist Temple is right around the corner of where I stay. That made it easy for me to go there and explore it bit by bit. First was Nakamise Shopping Street, then the Temple and finally all the surrounding area.
There are plenty of muscular buddhas in the temple but also this one.
My last week in Tokyo has started and I will stay in Asakusa. The area is not far from Ueno so I can go back there to check out more Museums. Also there is an astonishing amount of tourists here. Even more than I am used to. But I enjoy being in Tokyo and I am happy I extended my stay here.
Nothing like some filter coffee served from a cute car
Kaminari Mon Gate that leads to Sesoji
There are plenty of muscular buddhas in the temple but also this one.
Smaller structures on the temple grounds
Bright may sun with the Skytree in the background.
A rainy night in Asakusa