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When I got back to Tokyo, I walked to the same hotel I stayed at before in Ginza. I dropped off my case and went back out and walked to Hama Rikyu Gardens just around the corner from the hotel.

Hama Rikyu Gardens

300 Year Old Pine at Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

This large gardens has a 300 year old Pine tree at the entrance. There are paths leading off in multiple directions. Unfortunately I was too early for the autumn colours in the trees, I think normally the trees would be starting to go golden by now. Japan has had a long summer like the UK has had and autumn has come later than usual. The gardens were still beautiful though.

Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

After spending a little bit of time here, I went back to the hotel to check in.

Shibuya

I headed to Shibuya by train with my Leica M6 loaded with a roll of Cinestill 800T and a tripod to try and capture the lights of the streets at night. I’ll have to wait until my scans come back from the lab to see how they turned out. After finishing the roll I got the train back to Ginza to get some dinner. I went to the a Ginza Lion and after dinner tried Sake for the first time. I don’t have much to say about Sake really, it didn’t taste of much at all. I will try it again one day when I get home. I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Going Home

The next day I woke up at 7.00, got ready and packed my case. I checked out, walked to Tokyo station and got the Narita Express to the airport. 15 hours or so later I was back home, having had an amazing time. I loved Japan so much, I don’t think I even scratched the surface there really. I hope someday to go back again and see more of Japan. I missed my wife and kids though, nearly 10 days away from them is a long time and not something I would want to do all the time. According to my fitbit, during my 8 days in Japan I walked 117 miles, 250000 steps. My feet need a good long rest after that.

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Fushimi Inari

Fushimi Inari, Kyoto

Fushimi Inari is popular because of the approximately 10000 torii gates that line the trails up and down Mount Inari and the 1000s of shrines. After walking around the main shrines at the entrance, I started to ascend through the Torii gates. At some point I left the main trail following a sign to another shrine and ended up walking up Mount Inari what appeared to be the long way around. I only saw one other person taking the same route as me. I’m glad I took the route I did though because I came upon a spot where there was a waterfall. There was a Japanese man here who told me a little bit about the waterfall and how it was used by Shinto worshipers to cleanse themselves. It was so quiet here, it made me feel like if I were to be religious in anyway (I’m not, I’m an atheist), I think I would choose Shinto.

Torii Gates, Fushimi Inari, Kyoto

Waterfall, Fushimi Inari, Kyoto

It took about an hour to reach the top of the mountain and the shrine that was there. There was also a shop at the top that stopped me from being able to see anything from there. It was a bit disappointing really. On the way back down though there was somewhere where I could get a good view of Kyoto.

View of Kyoto from Mount Inari

I walked all the way back down to the base, the whole walk took a couple of hours and it was amazing. The weather was warm and the sky was blue. When I got back to the entrance it was heaving with people. I’m so glad once again that I got up early.

Torii gates going down

You would think after all the walking I’d done since arriving in Japan and after walking up a mountain I’d want to get the train back to Kyoto station, but no, I walked it. It took another 30 minutes or so to get back there and I rewarded my self with some lunch and a beer.

It was only 12.00 so I walked to the Nishiki Market area again to have a look around all the different streets lined with shops and restaurants.

Nishiki Market, Kyoto

I spent a few hours around here before heading back to the hotel to drop off my M6 and other stuff. The plan for tonight was some street photography with just the Ricoh GRII, high contrast black and white Daido Moriyama style.

I went back to the same area shopping area I had left earlier, but with just the Ricoh.

Street Photography, Kyoto

Street Photography, Kyoto

Street Photography, Kyoto

Street Photography, Kyoto

Street Photography, Kyoto

Street Photography, Kyoto

I went back to the bar from last night, it was different people this time, but I still had a good evening. I had a few beers before calling it a night and going back to the hotel.

37832 steps, 17.5 miles walked today.

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Gion and Maruyama Park

My plan for today was to visit the Gion area of Kyoto and the nearby Maruyama Park. There was hardly anybody about at this time of the morning, it was a 30 minute walk from my hotel to Gion. The difference between Tokyo and Kyoto is plain. Tokyo feels like a place people come to visit, Kyoto a place where people live. In almost any direction you look you can see low hill and mountains in between the buildings.

On the walk to Gion, Kyoto

I got to Maruyama Park about 7.00 and it was wonderfully peaceful, I’m pleased I’d got there that early. The first thing I saw when getting to the park is the entrance to the Yasaka Shrine.

Entrance to the Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto

I walked around the shrines and the rest of the lovely park here. I stopped by a pond to eat the breakfast I’d bought from a convenience store earlier and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the park.

Breakfast spot, Maruyama Park, Kyoto

By the time I exited the park a bus load of tourists had turned up, so I’m glad I got there when I did.

I walked back to Gion, the geisha district and there were a lot more people about now. Lots of women dressed in kimonos were walking about, there were also a few men dressed in traditional Japanese robes. I even found a Leica store in a wooden building.

Leica Store, Gion, Kyoto

While walking down the various narrow streets of Gion I came across another temple in another beautiful garden.

Kennin-ji Temple, Gion, Kyoto

Traditional Japanese Dress, Gion, Kyoto

I stopped for some lunch in a small Japanese restaurant in the back streets of Gion, I had beef and chicken tempura udon and it was lovely.

About 16.00 I headed back to the hotel for a rest, I sat in the lounge and updated my journal and wrote a blog post. On the way back to the hotel (another 30 minute walk) I really needed the toilet, so Google Maps to the rescue, I did a search for public toilets. It found one half way to the hotel. When I got there the toilet was in a garden/shrine. I had to pay 500 yen to get in and I had to walk all around the garden until I got to the toilet. I’m glad I did though as the gardens were beautiful.

Shosei-en Garden, Kyoto

I headed back out again about 17.30 to the Nishiki Market area to a bar that Martin Foot told me about called Ki Bar. I ended up having a very good evening there, I had a couple of Japanese beers and chatted with the people in the bar. These were the first people I’d spoken more than a few words too since arriving in Japan (other than speaking to my wife and kids on the phone). The woman behind the bar was from New Zealand, there were a couple of English speaking Japanese too. Later in the evening an American and an Australian came in too. I stayed for a little while before heading back to the hotel for bed.

33000 steps, 15 miles today.

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Shinkansen to Kyoto

After checking out I walked to Tokyo Station and went to the ticket desk to reserve my seat on the Hikari (second fastest service) Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. I got on the 11.03 train. I wish we had services like this in the UK. The seats were large and comfortable and the 2 hour 40 minute journey was smooth and fast. The train left and arrived exactly on time, amazing.

My reserved seat was a middle seat and even though when I got on at Tokyo, the seats either side of me were free I kept to my seat. I did use the power socket next to the window so I could write a blog post on my Surface Pro. At the next stop a Japanese man got on who had the window seat as I went to move and unplug he kindly let me have the window seat.

Before I knew it the train was pulling in to Kyoto station, it did not feel that long a journey at all. I got off the train and took the short walk from the station to my hotel and dropped of my bag.

Kyoto

As I was walking to my hotel from the station I noticed a Temple nearby, so after dropping off my bag I went to investigate it.

The Temple I’d seen was Higashihonganji Temple and the grounds had 4 or 5 buildings, all beautiful structures. The first thing I noticed about Kyoto is it seems much more traditional than Tokyo, you see lots of women walking around in Kimonos. I don’t think I saw anyone in a Kimono in Tokyo.

Higashihonganji Temple, Kyoto

Girls in Kimonos, Kyoto

Kyoto does seem to have a more gently pace to it than Tokyo. I spent the first evening walking the area around my hotel and shooting a little video.

I only did 18000 steps today, 8.5 miles.

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Plenty more walking was on the cards again for today. I set out at 8am for the Imperial Palace behind Tokyo Station. I only really got as far as the front gate, well the Nijubashi Bridge. Like Buckingham Palace it’s still a royal residence, so the only way to get any further is with a tour. I took a few photos of the bridge and walked back to Tokyo Station.

Harajuku

I got the train to Harajuku, where I’d read there’s a shopping street where all the trendy young people go. This is obviously the perfect place for me (just in case it’s not clear, this was sarcasm). I found Takeshita Street, a single long road packed with shops and people, you could barely move. This is a great spot for street photography. I walked up and down the street a couple of times.

Takeshita Street, Harajuku

Takeshita Street, Harajuku

Shibuya

Harajuku is quite close to Shibuya so I walked back there to a bar that I had been to yesterday that I knew wasn’t too busy. I had a dish of fried sea bass and shrimp in a skewer and a beer for lunch. I don’t drink beer only on very rare occasions back home, I’m not a big fan of it, but I quite like the Japanese beer and have been having a couple a day.

After lunch I had a walk around Shibuya to see if there was anything I missed yesterday. Every little back street in Tokyo can lead you to a whole new area you’ve not seen before, it’s fantastic. Having spent some time in Shibuya I walked back to Harajuku to see Takeshita Street at a different time of day. I walked up and down the street a few more times, attempting to do street photography with the Ricoh GRII. I’m not sure I was particularly successful. I do love street photography, but I don’t think I’m brave enough to get close enough for good street shots.

Street Photography in Harajuku

Shinjuku

It was getting close to evening and I fancied the bright lights of Shinjuku for my evenings photography, so I walked from Harajuku to Shinjuku which took about 20 minutes. I walked and shot around here for a while stopping for another beer too.

Hello Kitty, Shinjuku

Shinjuku

When it was time to go back to the hotel I got on the Yamanote line train to Shimbashi, unfortunately I got on the train going in the wrong direction. I didn’t notice for about 3 stops, but luckily the Yamanote line is circular and would still get me to where I wanted to go, just a bit slower than expected.

When I got back to the hotel, my feet were killing me. Over the past 4 days I’ve walked about 60 miles. The hotel has a foot bath, so I soaked my feet in there for awhile. I think it definitely helped.

That was my last full day in Tokyo, tomorrow I go to Kyoto. Today’s step count is 34660, roughly 16 miles.

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The weather today was overcast but not cold, no need for a jacket.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Not far from my hotel is Tsukiji Fish Market, I took the short walk down there and had a wander around it. There were hundreds of stall selling not just fish, but all sorts of other foods I’ve never even seen before. This is a great place for street photography (if only I was any good at it), I gave it a try anyway.

Tsukiji Fish Market

I stopped at a small restaurant and had my first taste of real Japanese food, I was sat down at a small counter in between two couples and given a cup of green tea. I can’t say I’m a fan of green tea to be honest, but I drank it anyway. I ordered a bowl of two types of Tuna, some other minced fish, egg and rice. It came with a bowl if Miso soup, which I’d tried to make cuppa soup style at home before I came, which was horrible. This soup was really nice though. The main dish was lovely, but it seems like an odd thing to be eating at 8.30 in the morning though.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Yoyogi

After this interesting, but tasty breakfast I got the train to Yoyogi to take a look at a shrine there. In retrospect it would have been quicker if I’d got off a stop earlier, but getting to the right place at all is quite a feat. I walked through the park and found the Meiji Shrine, a beautiful structure. As you would expect I took plenty of pictures, just like everyone else there. Up to this point this is the place that I’ve seen the most non Japanese people.

Meiji Shrine

Shinjuku

After this I walked to Harajuku station (the station I should have got off at earlier) and got the train to Shinjuku. I’ve heard this is the place to go for cameras and they weren’t wrong. I had a look around the various camera stores. One of them, Used Camera Box, a small room in a basement had so many cameras. Imagine Mr Cad’s in London, but smaller and more cameras. There was lots of great stuff on offer, but nothing that either I wanted or could afford or at least justify spending the money on. I had a look in Map Camera and got my hands on a Leica M10, wow that thing is heavy, much heavier than my M6. It’s a lovely camera though and something I’d love to buy if it wasn’t so expensive (maybe I can trade in all my cameras for 5% off one).

Shinjuku

At first I thought Shinjuku was quite a small area. Until walked to the other side of the station and found an even larger area, full of crazy looking shops and restaurants all lit up in bright colours. One of the restaurants I walked past was the Robot Restaurant, the most colourful, brightly lit place I’ve ever seen, it looked mental.

Robot Restaurant, Shinjuku

I spent a couple of hours walking around Shinjuku into the early evening. I’d asked on twitter about places I could go tomorrow and Asakusa was mentioned, it was supposed to be good for night photography. Instead of waiting for tomorrow I went this evening, I got on a train again to Asakusa.

Asakusa

I thought Shibuya and Shinjuku were good, but I loved Asakusa. As soon as you come out of the station there little streets lines with shops, cafes and restaurants, no matter which direction you go there is another side street with more to see. Then you come across Senso-ji Temple and five storey pagoda. This place was wonderful, it was dark by this time and the temple and shrine were lit up beautifully. I spent hours just walking around the crisscrossing streets shooting with both my Leica M6 and Ricoh GRII. At night the GRII is amazing, I can just point and shoot, without worrying about focussing or anything. I shot a lot of digital pictures today.

Senso-ji Temple

Five Story Pagoda

34000 steps today and just under 16 miles walked, my feet are killing me.

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I started the day around Ginza before walking the 3.5 miles to Shibuya (I’m really getting my step count up), this is another great area of Tokyo. I’m a city type of person, so I love big buildings and lights, so this was great. I spent about 5 hours walking around Shibuya with my Leica M6, Ricoh GRII and Polaroid SX-70.

Shibuya

I got the Tokyo Metro back to Ginza and went out with my tripod to try and get some long exposure shots with the M6 and some Ektar and the Ricoh. I think I got some ok shots.

Long Exposure in Ginza

I recorded some video but the sound was terrible, so I’ve put some music over the top of it instead.

By the time I went to bed I’d walked over 16 miles, 35000 steps.

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