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Had bid to go to Tokyo for this month as I hadn't been for a while, however I had not realised it is their wet season! Have never seen rain like it - torrential. No worries though, as my gran says,'your skin's waterproof!' Didn't let it stop from heading out and about. Got there quite early on the Thursday morning, had a nap then forced myself up early afternoon. Few of us just had a wander locally in the area where we stay in Yokohama. There is quite a lot to do here with restaurants, Chinatown and there's even a pot noodle museum which is a hoot! You get to create and design your own cup noodle. We just had a wander to the high street and went to the 100 yen store. You can actually get anything in these shops from kitchen appliances, food, an abundance of Hello Kitty and beauty products, and even shoes for the shower! We had to buy some big plastic umbrellas too as I hadn't packed very appropriately for this trip – skirts, dresses and a bikini were not the best attire for this rain! After here we met more of the crew at a
pub near hotel that does happy hour from 4 til 7pm. I was on the Bloody Mary's, again, which only cost about £1.30. Cheers! Went for dinner after to a place, that I have wrote about in a previous blog, where on the hour on the clock they flash all the lights, a horn plays and water comes flowing out a big pipe in the wall and flows down the middle of restaurant. Standard, everything here is such an experience. Had one my faves - a ramen noodle soup with pork and sesame oil. Need to find out the recipe for this to make it!
After doing some research back home before this trip I had my heart set on going an outting to an area near Mount Fuji called Hakone. Just as Iv done most of the attractions in the city and been to Kamakura. So I got up in the morning and the rain was still pouring but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I had my new umbrella to use anyways! The concierge lady at the hotel had been so helpful when I asked her how to get there and gave me loads of
printouts with info. They are just the nicest people here, and I wouldn't think twice about going out myself, even at 3am, as Japan is such a safe and honest place. They don't even lock up their bicycles when going in somewhere. Had to get train at Yokohama to Odawara then from here I got on a bus to Hakone-Yomoto Station. I thought I was to get off here and must have looked completely lost as a couple of the Japanese tour guides came to help me, so nice. Then they sorted me out and got me on the right bus up to the main area of Hakone. Usually you are able to see amazing views of Mount Fuji but the weather just kept getting worse and could hardly see a thing which was such a shame. The bus journeyed on for ages up a mountain. There are loads of attractions and places to get off. For instance they have cable cars, and boat rides but I don't even think these were running due to weather. I got off at Lake Ashi to have a wander. So glad that I had my umbrella, and had brought a poncho - I
was absolutely soaked. Just managed a walk by the lake and in a wander in the little town area. They have pirate ship here that takes you on a trip around the lake but just wouldn't really have been worth the money as literally couldn't see anything. There are also hot springs that you can bathe in, not sure if you need to be naked though. I didn't have enough money with me to go to them but would definitely like to come back here again. Hopefully with a bit of sunshine and views next time! So I got back on the bus and headed back down the mountain, and got train back to a Yokohama. Once here I went to my favourite little restaurant for gyoza and edame beans. You can see the chefs making the gyoza fresh and it's always full with locals which is a good sign. Back to my room to dry off and warm up then met some of the crew for dinner. We went to a curry place nearby that is so good! You choose the amount of rice that you would like, the meat or veg and then the level of spice for
the sauce. The spice scale goes upto to 10, and to have a level 6 they have to have witnessed you eating whole plate of level 5. Hot stuff! I went a level higher this time and got a 3. Was really spicy but I like it like that. They do have some bizarre options on the menu aswell such as cheese curry, or scrambled egg curry. Kept it safe with some chicken. When we came out the rain had just gotten so wild, never seen anything like it. Ran back to hotel for a bath, got my kimono on that we get in the room and got all cosy. Then it was back to London early the next morning.
Despite the rain it was still a nice trip!
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