Running out of steam with the blog writing, but we’re also relaxing a bit more.

We’re staying in a hip area of Tokyo called Shimokitazawa which is like Newtown but 6000 times better. Marthese has done some new and second hand clothing stores, while I perused the record stores and looked out for anything geeky. Shimokitazawa provides with funky cafes (including a place that does “Melbourne coffee” which is fantastic), excellent ramen and our favourite bar in the world, Petit Garden.

We did make a brief visit to Shinjuku but only stayed for a brief snack and a drink, before retiring to our comfy Shimo.

Today has been more touristy. We started the day in Omotosando, grabbing a delicious cold coffee at Lattest, a cafe that promotes female baristas and is the workplace of Mizuki, our favourite member of Terrace House, a Japanese reality TV show. YES I AM FREELY ADMITTING THIS WE LOVE HER AND WE LOVED LATTEST. Sadly, she wasn’t there but a very friendly and inquisitive barista was.

We walked through the popular Harajuku shopping strip, and took a few trains to Odaiba, a weird seaside town constructed in the 90s as a vision of the future, but is starkly lifeless, cold and empty compared to the rest of the country. But it does have a few attractions including the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, a cool interactive space that posed questions about the future of our world and how we might utilise technology to further our development without harming the planet any further. They also put on a robot demonstration with the charming ASIMO strutting their stuff with great aplomb, speaking fluent Japanese and walking around like a boss. Good robot.

Tez and I split for a bit – she visited Oedo Onsen Monogatari, a kind of onsen theme park where you can try out multiple baths (as long as you aren’t tattood), while I visited the Joypolis, a Sega amusement park inside a building. I also visited a few weird shops and sights in the area before reuniting with Marthese for a trip home via Shibuya.

Shibuya, in contrast with Odaiba, is loud, lively and intoxicating. It has a warmth and charm that Shinjuku lacks, even though it’s busier and flashier. We strolled around some shops and checked out a cool bar before heading home.

Arashiyama brought us closer to the Western mountains of Kyoto (which is a city surrounded by mountain) and a 20 minute uphill walk brought us to the infamous Monkey Park. Here the monkeys roam free and if you want to feed them, YOU get in the cage, and feed them through the fencing. All the monkeys were the native Japanese macaque species, and it was very very cool to hang out with them, but also slightly intimidating (lots of rules like not gettting too close, avoiding eye contact, etc).

We returned to town and took the scenic path through a gorgeous bamboo forest, before visiting Okochi Sanso, an elaborate private garden built by a famous silent Japanese film star (who also appeared in a few early Akira Kurosawa films). The narrow path guides you from garden to garden, and it felt like a greatest hits of Japanese gardens, complete with remarkable moss, a lookout for the mountain, and positioned right at the entrance of the bamboo forest.

Lunch was fun – a quaint traditional Japanese place that on the surface seemed to be totally vegetarian, but we realised a little late featured plenty of fish stock. When the staff realised our dietary needs, they quickly made some substitutions, but it’s so clear that the notion of someone not eating fish is so foreign to most people here. The tofu, veggies and tempura were delicious though, and it was memorable to sit on the floor and to boil our own tofu on a hotplate.

We started our time in Kyoto eating falafel in a cute little place called the Falafel Garden, where we met with an online friend of mine (yes, we chat about videogames) named Kyle. Afterwards he took us to a lovely little bar where we sampled a few delicious sakes and got to know each other in real life. A splendid time was had!

Our accommodation is so comfortable we totally slept in this morning, so our day started uncharacteristically late. Once we worked out how to get bus tickets and navigate the bus system, we were on our way to Southern Higashiyami for a Lonely Planet recommended city walk.

We weaved through shrines and temples ranging from loud and crowded to empty and tranquil. We marched down stunning old roads lined with stores and hundreds of people, as well as ducking down famous but hidden side streets all alone. One of the temples featured a pitch black tunnel you could enter, where you have to feel your way along a single beaded railing or get totally lost in the dark. At the end of the passage is a stark, beautifully lit engraved stone that you touch to make a wish. Quite amazing!

We boldly powered north, down the supposed “Philosophers Path”, a lovely stroll along a narrow canal that has some historical significance, but is mostly an exercise in clever marketing. Supposedly stunning in Cherry Blossom season though!

Before we knew it, we’d walked 15km and were standing out front of the Kyoto University of Art & Design, waiting for Emi who would collect us for a cooking course. She took us to her house and put us through the motions, showing us 4 Vegan dishes (a sesame seed dressing green veggie salad, sesame tofu balls, lotus root burger patties and a tofu wrap in a soup) and ending with macha balls for dessert. The recipes tended towards traditional Japanese home cooking, which Emi learnt from her mother, as well as some innovative dishes of her own. Information overload, but an absolutely delicious and informative way to spend the evening.

Emi was extremely friendly and generous, and that has been our experience with many people in Kyoto. When we looked lost at the train station, a lovely woman came right up to us and physically led us in the right direction. A cashier at a convenience store helped us find bus tickets despite having no English. When we were enjoying the view at a temple, a lovely older gentleman offered to take photos to us and warmly welcomed us to Kyoto, before shuffling away, wanting nothing in return. All over Kyoto we’re meeting lovely, warm people, and we couldn’t feel more welcome. (Kyle was lovely too, but he’s Canadian, so it doesn’t count.)

On our last night in Osaka, we took a final stroll down our local electric avenue and stopped in at a sashimi and tempura joint packed with locals. These more popular local hangouts rarely have veggie options, but we got lucky here and there was enough tofu & tempura veggies for Tez and fried chicken for me to guarantee a great meal.

A little further on we went into the tiny bar whose only signs read “Coffee. Whiskey. Dogs.” Turns out that’s just what they did, have a coffee or a whiskey while playing with one of the three dogs in the narrow but cool space. We did a dog cafe!

On our walk home we witnessed the only argument or altercation we’ve seen on this trip, with an older man berating a younger man on a bike riding through the avenue. He wouldn’t let up, and onlookers were so stunned at the outburst they froze and stared at the angry man. A far cry from what we’d expect in our own city, where people tend to put their head down and pretend like nothing is happening.

Today is our travel day to Kyoto, and we’ll be meeting up with a friend of mine in the evening, but our train isn’t until the afternoon so we stashed our bags at the train station and took a trip to the Osaka Aquarium. While I was wary at first (I kinda wanted to go see a castle I’d visited 8 years ago) the aquarium totally blew us away – easily the best we’ve visited. A huge building with tanks arranged by region, and a single spiralling path downwards that leads us to the ocean floor, taking in the gorgeous marine life as we descend. Otters, capybaras and dolphins inhabit the upper levels, hammerhead sharks and sting rays the lower, while tropical fish, giant crabs and luminescent jellyfish fill out the rest – everything was gorgeously presented. A stunning farewell to Osaka.

Today we did a daytrip out to Nara, just one hour from Osaka. A sprawling complex of temples and shrines that include a giant Buddha that dates back to the 8th century.

It also has a lot of deer. They roam around, bugging the humans for treats. Despite their cuteness there are multiple signs warning of deer attacks. The signs are quite explicit as to how a deer may attack you.

We also explored an Edo period garden that was stunning, and got us psyched for more Japanese style gardens in Kyoto. Yes, I’m excited about gardens. What have I become?

Nara is also littered with groups of schoolkids on excursion, and we had three separate groups approach us to try out their English, get a photo with us, and even give us gifts. Super fun!

Marthese here. Today I fulfilled a lifelong dream and went to Hogwarts!

We set off early this morning for Universal Studios Japan, as part of our cunning plan to`beat the crowd’. The plan failed, and we were met at the ticket booth by hordes of visitors! So, eyes on the prize (the Hogwarts turrets we could see in the distance), as soon as the gates opened we ran straight for Harry Potter world – and it was well worth the wait!

We had a wonderful time strolling the streets of Diagon Alley/Hogsmeade, perusing toys in Zonko’s, chocolate frogs in Honeydukes, and owls in the Owl Emporium. We even got to watch Ollivander choose a wand for a young visitor (or did the wand choose her?), right inside his shop. It was made even more wonderful because we were in Japan, and friendly staff stood waving and greeting us outside every shop. We felt like celebrities!

We had lunch at the Hogs Head, which had a vegetarian meal and allocated a staff member specifically to me to make sure I got my meal. Nothing beats this country’s customer service! That notion was not shared by the gentleman from Utah who sat next to us during our meal and said ‘It sure is good to hear some British accents after all this Japanese’. I’m sure you can imagine how impressed we both were.

Back to happier thoughts, the highlight of the day was the Harry Potter 4D roller coaster ride.  I’m not normally a theme park/ride kind of person but this one was brand new and we both found it absolutely exhilarating zooming around after Harry on his broomstick, and coming face to face with dementors and dragons! And the queue for the ride involved a walk through a spectacular recreation of Hogwarts – complete with chatty sorting hat and moving, argumentative paintings (all in Japanese of course!)

We topped the day off by grabbing a surprisingly delicious butterbeer. We checked out a bunch of other sights and rides but honestly, they’re not worth mentioning compared to Harry Potter world. Absolutely worth a visit.

Spending two weeks in Japan on the way home seemed like a great idea for us to get closer to our timezone and sleep schedule before getting back to work. It’ll be great in 2 weeks, but right now we feel very much like the zombie.

Staying awake with our luggage in lockers while waiting for our apartment to be ready was a fun time. We were in the middle of Osaka, sun beating down, with nowhere to rest. We eventually found comfort in a huge shopping tower thay included a Coca Cola happiness lab and an enormous Muji that took up almost an entire floor.

We did well to stay awake and spent the evening exploring Nakazakicho, our home for the next few nights. Marthese has done a great job this trip finding Airbnb accommodation in funky areas, and this is no exception. While a seemingly standard Japanese city on the surface, travel down one of Nakazicho’s side alleys and you’ll discover a great little bar, a funky Cafe or an adorable dog enticing you to enter some ambiguous establishment. The shopping arcades are seemingly endless and totally full of character. Our poor mobile photos don’t do it justice. We had a surprisingly good Italian dinner and then a few Japanese whiskeys at a tiny whiskey bar near our house for a nightcap. We already love Osaka.

Marthese started the second day with a Zumba class which was led by our Airbnb host. It’s day two, and we’re still adjusting to the time difference, but we’re getting there.

Sinshaibashi was our first stop, with its towering department stores and long shopping arcades. The day got up to 30 degrees so thankfully much of our day was indoors. Lovely lunch at a noodle house after losing Marthese in a 5 level Uni Qlo. The Tokyu Hands department store never disappoints and today we actually bought things! We next found ourselves in Amerikamura, a funky district with great second hand clothes and record stores.

Next stop on the shopping trip was Den Den Town, the nerd district of Osaka, and the return to my spiritual home, Super Potato. Tez and I split up for a while as we explored seperately, me the nerd world and Marthese some department stores. But we reunited for an extremely successful dinner of Okonomiyaki (a big Japanese omelette/pancake and one of my favourite dishes of this whole trip so far) at a lovely little restaurant, sitting at a bar right in front of the chef,  in a side alley off bustling Dotonbori. While we escaped the bustle during dinner, we rejoined it to see fancy Dotonbori lit up as the sun went down.

Next, Marthese humoured my fancies to a whole new level. We kept exploring the fascinating streets of Shinsaibashi, but also dropped into two gaming themed bars, where I showed her the roots of console gaming on the Atari 2600, dazzled her with my amazing Bloodborne skills on the PS4, and finally wore her down enough that she joined me in a game of Mario Kart over our night’s last drink. (For those interested, the bars were Vido Game Bar Space Station and Game Bar Continue, both within a 15 minute walk of each other and both allowing you play video games from multiple eras to your hearts content.)

We’re still awake but ready for bed – I reckon we might have kicked the jet lag! Also, please forgive any ramblings. The beer here is delicious.