I Think I'm Turning Japanese.

Where did that holiday go? Seems like only a few days ago I was preparing to go and here we are back four days already.

This post is mainly going to be about Japan, no apologies, but if you're ever thinking of going this blog might be useful. Starting off in Tokyo, we covered eleven cities/towns in seventeen days. I'm going to give you a summary on each relevant aspect from my point of view. If you want to see more, head to my TikTok profile for videos of all the places etc. 
First off, travel. Japan has four separate, distinct rail lines. The fastest the Bullet Train, speeds at 200 miles per hour. You need to reserve seats for this train. Next they have the Express train line, a bit like our high speed trains. Third, the local train service system stopping at every single station. It takes forever to get anywhere but time to enjoy the views. Lastly, the underground system, or subway as they call it. 
Each of these services have their own railways, their own tickets, platforms and destinations. Imagine you  arrive at the station, in say Tokyo. In front of you are all four systems, each colour coded, each with set numbers and directions and each with platforms.  Think London underground times four on entry. Add to that several thousand Japanese people, who know where they are going heading in all directions. Its terrifying.  It got better by the end, but I'm so glad my hubby and son managed this part of the holiday.

Next, Food.  Some of you will have seen my comments and photos on FB. It was traumatic. Unfortunately my hubby only told the travel company about his food dislikes, forgetting us two. He doesn't eat fish or seafood, neither does my son. I don't eat fruit or veg, neither does my son. I also have a Sulphite allergy.
First night we decided to play it safe. Tokyo had loads of chain restaurants and we went Italian so our boy could eat. Then Spanish, then Italian again 3rd night!
Following the city, we headed for Kiso Valley and a stay in a traditional Japanese Ryokan hotel. Beds on the floor, chairs without legs, Kimonos and public (naked) Onsen baths. No I didn't! This had been set half-board.  I now know what I'm A Celebrity Food Trials are like.  Seven courses of Japanese food the likes of which we had never seen and had no clue what anything was.
1st course five tiny white bowls each with some unidentifiable object in it. Honestly camel eyeballs wouldn't have been out of place here.
2nd course bowl of water over a candle for you to 'cook' your own food. The lowest type of Wagu beef I have seen. Think bad streaky bacon which we were meant to boil and eat. Yuk!
3rd course; luke-warm bowl of water with something floating in it. Supposed to be soup. 
We all gave up at that point, requesting dessert instead. The lump of putty that arrived wasn't awe-inspiring, though my hubby liked it. The size of a testicle covered in a few blueberries. Reminded me of stretchy cheese and chewing gum when I tried to swallow it - gave up.  
We were going to cancel breakfast but they advised we could have 'Western style' so agreed. Not good. Scrambled eggs raw, more like porridge. Another Yuk from me. 
At this point, my son and I were starting to lose weight. I raided a supermarket for salted crisps and chocolate bars. These became my go-to foods. 
After this we stayed away from Japanese food, which was difficult for despite there being some Western fast-food chains they'd been 'Japanized.' The Wendy's cheeseburger I so longed for had some kind of jelly in it and sauce like gravy but by day five I was so hungry I ate it. Day four I'd had a cup of French fries.
In Kanazawa and  Kyoto we finally discovered Western Fast foods that hadn't been bastardized. These included KFC and MacDonalds. Also a Japanese chain called Y's burger, my first normal cheese burger I almost licked the wrapper clean. 
I stocked our room with a good load of rubbishy snacks and this kept us going. We finished the holiday with another lovely Italian meal.
Check out my Trip Adviser reviews on good places to eat.
Ryokan's are a great experience, but if you have family with 'fussy' members I recommend only booking bed and breakfast.
I almost forgot, the lack of normal tea in some hotels, only green, forced me to purchased our own English breakfast tea, sugar and cream milk pods. This was a life saver so we could have more than one cup a day. Also there is very little tea etc. in rooms, its all in reception and you have to take this and toiletries  to your room yourself.

Overall, beautiful places, stunning scenery, great history. Lots of hills, valleys and mountains. We both agreed the countryside was our kind of place. A bit like how rural England used to look before all the housing. Well worth the lack of food. The people were polite and they followed rules. No one stepped on to the road if the crossing light wasn't green. Everyone waited in line. Not a piece of rubbish anywhere. Clean, shiny place with great attention and love to plants and trees. 

We also had five personal guides during our stay. The first, met us at the airport and provided us with the 29 tickets for rail travel. She ordered a coach to take us to our first hotel too. Then, a couple of days later two women, introduced us to a Fire Ceremony in a Buddhist Temple, followed by a private meditation session with our very own Buddhist Monk. Next, an Evening of Japanese food tasting. Not one we were looking forward to, but we told her all our problems and she managed to find two restaurants where we could eat something. The fourth was an event rather than a guide. We arrived at a place and were helped into traditional Japanese kimonos. We were guided through a tea ceremony and its history then tried out Origami, my heron had a bit of a stubby beak. The fifth guide we had for a whole day, she took us around everything, lunch and more sightseeing. All lovely people and a pleasure to spend time with.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Trail Finders for putting our holiday together so well. We told them the locations we wanted to see, style of hotel, times we wanted to fly  and they did the lot. Okay next time, no Ryokans for us. Also the Gracey chain of hotel was the better one and provided Western style breakfasts.


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