By this Author: cfleet

Konnichiwa

We're off on our travels again and this time we're heading for Japan! Our loose framework of an itinerary is as follows:

26 July - fly to Tokyo
27- July - 2 August- Tokyo
3 August - 5 August - Kyoto
6 August - 10 August, Osaka , including a day at Hiroshima
10 August - fly to Heathrow

We'll be posting details of what we get up to in this blog, and hope you enjoy reading it.

Arrived at the airport and through security in good time. It's 7.00 in the morning and the airport is packed, always amazes me how many people are flying off to all corners of the world. at all times of the day. Flight is on time at the moment so fingers crossed it stays that way, looking like it's a thirteen and a half hour journey, and when we land in Tokyo it'll be 7.30 in the morning and we'll be 8 hours ahead.

Nothing else to be done other than breakfast with holiday cocktails and beers- this might be the only ones for Carys as the legal drinking age in Japan is 20! 😕

We've arrived in Tokyo after a long flight. All good on the flight with Japan Airlines and after a little wait to get through border control, we were met at the airport by a Trailfinders rep who handed over lots of tickets for ongoing train journeys, and then pointed us in the direction of the monorail off we went into the city centre. A few moments of uncertainty about where we were going, stops to get off etc but we made it to Ginza, where we'll be based for the next seven days.

The trouble is with arriving early in the morning is that hotel rooms aren't ready until 2.00pm, and by then I think we've been up for around 24 hours!! We've dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out to try and find a coffee shop,and set up our portable wi fi pack. It seems that lots of places don't open until 10.00 / 11.00 am so we've had to rely on good old Starbucks for a drink and sit down!! As soon as we get into the hotel room we'll be having a nap!!

Oh, and it's hot- very hot!!

We were up and out early today to meet a guide we had hired for the morning to show us around a couple of places and to help us get our bearings in getting around. Our guide was called Hiromi and was the most wonderful, kind, considerate person who did a lot of bowing , thanking us for our patience and making sure we were okay and getting what we wanted from the tour. We first headed to the Meiji Shrine a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife.

Meiji Shrine is in a forest made up of over 100,000 trees which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established. The forest is visited by many as a recreation and relaxation, and a visit to the shrine is meant to bring peace and calmness. Romy was very kind and bought Carys an oracle, a poem based on Shinto ethics which is hoped to have some meaning for the individual. We also bought Carys an amulet, they are aimed to represent something positive for the individual. We chose one to hang in the car which is meant for safe driving and protection from traffic accidents 😂

After this we went to Asakusa, where Romy left us and we wandered around on our own. - a complete contrast. Whilst it's main attraction is Sensoji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century, the approach to the temple is via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries. It was very a busy, offers of Rickshaw tours (pulled by humans and the temperatures hit around 38 degrees today!) , and lots of places where you can hire kimonos , if you wish. There were a lot of people wandering around in them. Chris and Carys also got stopped by a random Japanese gentleman who wanted to practice speaking some English!

Today we went for tea in a robot cafe. Originally I was going to book another robot cafe , as featured in Jane Macdonald visits Japan. When doing a search though, I came across this alternative so we headed there for our booking at 5.00 pm.

The cafe has mini robots on each table. Each robot is controlled remotely by an individual, and they take your order , and chat to you and interact with you for the time you are there. All robot ' pilots' are individuals who, for various reasons, are unable to leave their home and physically go to a place of work. This arrangement means that they can be employed , and also not isolated from having no opportunity to interact with others in a work place setting. Our 'pilot' lives 600 km from Tokyo and is a full time carer for her adult daughter who had a debilitating condition..Unable to physically attend a workplace she has secured employment with the company and interacts with customers as the robot's mouthpiece . In addition her daughter is also employed and does the same role for one or two hours a day. We had a good chat, and then our meal arrived and she returned once we'd finished. In the meantime our drinks were brought to the table by a full sized robot who also stops by for a chat. And you are greeted on entry by a robot 'maitre de.'

What a fantastic idea , and a blueprint that is such a hit with customers and so inspiring to try and end isolation and barriers to work for individuals facing double circumstances. Pilot for Welsh Government.....???

Back to the hotel, (still have some jet lag effects) , a few beers for Chris and I and hoping that we're not wide awake at 2.30 pm tonight. 🤞