4/8/2025 - 31/8/25 August in Japan

It’s been a summer full of adventures over here in Japan and I definitely feel like I have made the most of my time off. Immediately after I posted the last blog post, one of Chloe’s friends from home came and visited us here in Japan and it honestly feels like I haven’t stopped since. Hence, the massive delay in getting this post out there. I’m back at work now and as much as I wasn’t looking forward to it, it hasn’t been too bad. It’s super lovely to see all of the students again and I’m making the most of my time here before I switch schools in October. 

Having a visitor from home was really nice and we definitely made the most of our time with Sophie. We started off the week with a short trip to Tokyo to show her the sights and we definitely packed a lot into the time. On the first day, Chloe and I took Sophie to see Tokyo Tower before going to an immersive art gallery called TeamLab Borderless. TeamLab is a popular gallery chain here in Japan who specialise in making interactive, and immersive galleries based on differing themes. At Borderless, multiple different artworks are projected onto the walls in different rooms and as guests walk around, the artwork is made to adapt and change based on external factors. There were artworks that floated through different rooms, ones that changed based on the amount of people in the room, and some that developed after you touched certain parts of the wall. It was an awesome, somewhat futuristic place that went spent hours exploring - if you ever find yourself in Japan, I definitely recommend checking it out. 

The next day (after a rough sleep in a janky 5 floor airbnb that only cost £18 a night) we headed out to a district of Tokyo called Jimbocho. Known as the antique book district of Tokyo, Jimbocho is a quiet area made up of little side streets that are filled with second hand books. There are shops that sell thousands of antique books covering every topic under the sun, and there are others that specialise in niche subcultures or interests; in typical Japan fashion, one of the most famous shops is one that is all about cats! If you have ever read the book ‘Days at the Morisaki Bookshop’, then Jimbocho is where the Morisaki Bookshop is! Obviously, pretty much all of the shops only sell Japanese books, but it doesn’t take away from the atmosphere there. For those wishing for a quieter spot in Tokyo, away from the blazing neon lights, then Jimbocho is somewhere to go. 

We didn’t stay there for too long, instead choosing to head to a street in Tokyo called Kappabashi for the afternoon. Kappabashi street is commonly known as the kitchen street in Tokyo as the street is lined with shops selling all kinds ofJapanese kitchenware, from chopstick rests to large Japanese knives. It’s a cool street to visit and it gave Sophie the chance to pick up some traditional souvenirs for back home. 

When we finished up at Kappabashi, we traveled to Ginza, a high end shopping district of Tokyo known for its many flagship stores. I think the best way to describe Ginza is if you put Oxford Street on steroids and added about 7 floors to each shop. The main streets were quite busy with tourists but as always with Tokyo, the side streets were full of little gems and a few off the wall cafes. One of Sophie’s friends, Honor, took us to a little cafe and then we spent the rest of the day doing some shopping! After dinner, we finished off the day at a karaoke place: we definitely tried to give Sophie the full Japan experience. 

The next day we spent the morning at the Imperial Palace Gardens. The gardens are quite large and made up of a few different areas, some were more traditional Japanese style while others were more similar to an English garden. I enjoyed walking around the gardens and every visit I take to Tokyo surprises me with how much green space there is in the middle of such a bustling city. 

To finish off Sophie’s whistle stop tour of Tokyo, we took her to Harajuku in the afternoon and I showed her round Meiji Jingu shrine before we explored Takeshita street! Harajuku is very popular with tourists but I think it might be one of my favourite places to go in Tokyo. While Takeshita street is massively busy, I still find cool new side alleys to explore every time I visit! On the way back to Mobara, we took a quick stop at Shibuya so that Sophie could cross the iconic Shibuya Scramble crossing before we all crashed out on the train home. It was a jam packed visit to Tokyo but we definitely made the most out of the time to make sure Sophie could see everything. 

After a couple days of rest, we all packed up our bags again and headed into Tokyo to catch the Shinkansen down to Osaka! Riding the shinkansen (bullet train) for the first time was pretty cool and it was awesome to get across the country in such a short amount of time. After arriving in Osaka, we went to the Osaka Aquarium for the evening which was loads of fun. The aquarium was massive and it even had my favourite marine animal housed there: the whale shark! It was a super fun evening and I definitely recommend the aquarium, especially if you want some respite from the blazing summer heat. 

We spent the next day in Kyoto and as it was the only day we were spending there, we tried to fit in as many of the main sites as possible. We started off by going to Fushimi Inari shrine, a beautiful shrine complex that has around a thousand red Torii gates to walk through as you hike up the mountain. We spent the morning hiking up through the beautiful gates and collecting Goshuin (temple seals painted into a book) until we reached a stunning viewpoint that looked out over Kyoto! The mountain was much bigger than we expected and unfortunately we didn’t reach the top, instead choosing to head back after the viewpoint (mainly because it was about 33 degrees and we were dripping in sweat). 

Then, we caught a train to the Goji district of Kyoto, an area filled with cobbled streets and traditional Japanese buildings. The streets are lined with shops selling classic Japanese goods and I could easily spend all day wandering around the area. It felt like I had gone back in time. 

We finished off the day by heading over to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and whilst we were worried as the sun started setting, it actually worked out better that we got there later. Usually, the area is overrun with tourists but we managed to catch it at an extremely quiet time meaning we could take in the scenery without the crowds. It was a really atmospheric place, with the bamboo blocking out a lot of the light. The actual area isn’t too large but it’s easy to spend a lot of time walking through the foresty areas, taking in the scenery. It was a mega busy day in Kyoto but we managed to fit the three top sights in! I definitely want to go back, it is an extremely beautiful place. 

We spent the next day at Universal Studios Japan and whilst 34 degrees at a theme park isn’t the best combination, we managed to make the most of the day. There was no way to escape the heat, so instead we loaded up with fans, wet towels, and cooling sprays to try and curb the heat a little bit. The theme park is really cool, especially the Super Nintendo World, and as much as it was mega busy, we were able to get on nearly every single ride. ‘Donkey Kong Minecart Madness’ was definitely a highlight, as well as the mega ‘Flying Dinosaur’ coaster with hung me face down massively high into the air. In typical Japanese style though, I saw some of the most intense queuing experiences ever, with the flying dinosaur ride making every rider go through a security sensor like at the airport, crazy stuff!! By the time of writing this, I have now been to Tokyo Disneyland, Disneysea, and Universal, and I think Universal might be my favourite! 

We started off our last full day in Nara visiting the famous deer park where hundreds of wild deer roam free. The animals are very friendly though and will let you stroke them and feed them crackers. Lots of the deer have worked out how to bow for the food, but some are definitely more aggressive. If the wrong deer smells some food on you be prepared for a little nibble or a kick when you’re not looking! It was a beautiful day and we spent hours feeding the deer and enjoying the pretty park. 

Afterwards, we headed over to Osaka Castle and watched a sunset over the Osaka skyline before heading to Dohtonbori, a neon lit stretch of river in the city centre. The energy was crazy here with restaurants spilling out onto the street, and it felt like the mood was constantly up high here. We grabbed some dinner and walked around the streets, taking in some of the crazy buildings (like Camden) and insane sights like a man walking his pet ferrets. 

Like Kyoto, it was a massively busy day but we managed to fit in most of the top sights!

The tiredness levels were pretty crazy by the time we got back to Mobara but we had a great time showing Sophie the main sights of Japan! 

Things definitely calmed down after Sophie left and I ended up spending most days at the beach! There is a local beach called ‘Onjuku’ that has beautiful golden sand and clear water that I frequent a lot with my friends. It’s super nice being so close to the beach and it definitely helps with the crazy summer heat. Most days were spent relaxing but there were quite a few fun days mixed in, I celebrated quite a few friends birthdays: we had a chill movie night for Erin, we spent the day in Tokyo for Jesus’ birthday, and we went out for a yummy meal for Luke’s day. Alongside the fun days, I also had a few days of work training to ease us back into the working mindset and as much as they weren’t the most exciting, I’ve met quite a few new people because of it! 

By the time I post this I still won’t be up to date with everything I have done, but at least this is a start! The summer break in Japan has been amazing and I feel like I made the most of the time. The time feels like it’s flying by now and it feels bittersweet to be back at work but I need to remind myself that I have still got 6 months here to continue making the most of it. 

I’ll no doubt be writing again soon as I try to make up for all of the missed time! 

See ya soon :)