Day 1 (Sept. 15th): Departure from Trondheim, and quick stop in Amsterdam. I had time to go to the city, and walk around, before I had two
beers and ran off to the train station again. My Japan Airlines plane was waiting...Nice! Great airline, and I had 11 hours to kill on the plane.
Day 2 (Sept. 16th): Arrival Narita airport. Finally! Robin met me 20 minutes later, and we headed for Tokyo by train. Checked in to Andon and left for Ginza to do our first walks
in the big city. After this, we went back and changed, had a couple of Asahi beer, and got ready for a big night out in Tokyo! The subway took us directly to Roppongi, the party area
with a reputation of being popular by visitors. Therefore, we were a little sceptical about going there...but we had a great time, went to several bars, and found So-Ryu-Tougyokudo, our
favorite restaurant! We enjoyed excellent food, sake and beer. (We went back to Andon in the morning...).
Day 3 (Sept. 17th): Our first meeting with Shibuya, where we walked directly into a festival! Very cool. And we bought super-lenses for our cameras. We found Shibuya
a great place, watching the youth in all their color. At night, we went out late heading for Shinjuku. After a nice meal, we ended up in different bars/clubs. And at some point we
got split up, and I found myself alone back at Andon - without Robin! He came back the next day, after having spent a few hours sleeping in a restaurant:-)...
Day 4 (Sept. 18th): We got out late this day, and headed for an evening in Ginza, just shopping a bit, and then went back to pack for our departure to Kyoto.
Day 5 (Sept. 19th): After a nice and quick trip on the train to Kyoto by Shinkansen (bullet train), we easily found our way to Crossroads.
We wanted one cultural experience on this first day in Japan's Heartland, and got a bus to one of the starting points of "The Path of Philosophy". Our first temple on this
trip was Ginkaku-ji - good start! - and then we continued walking until darkness. We made sure we got back to Crossroads before curfew time on the first day.
Day 6 (Sept. 20th): An early start! Arashiyama - Sagano walking tour. This was absolutely fantastic, taking us to many temples and shrines as well as the great
bamboo forest. On the way we met a nice American couple, who joined us on the rest of this walk. Drenched in sweat, we returned to Crossroads in the afternoon, and changed for
nighttime in Downtown Kyoto. Here we had our first sushi at Munishi Sushi, a conveyorbelt sushi restaurant. Cheap and nice! Then we located the indoor shopping arcades, where
they seemed to have everything! Later on, we found Bar Rosso for a drink or two.
Day 7 (Sept. 21st): In a "temple hunting" mood, we went to Ryoan-ji (with the zen garden), Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion) and To-ji where there was a monthly market. No problem finding some shopping opportunities there!
In the afternoon, we did some necessary admin work, before heading to Crossroads again. We made a deal with the landlady at Crossroads to leave door unlocked, so we didn't have
to worry about curfew, and had a late night in Kyoto. Again, we went to bar Rosso, and then Rub-a-Dub.
Day 8 (Sept. 22nd): Some necessary washing needed to be done, before we visited the beautiful Nijo-jo (Kyoto castle), in which we spent a long time! On the way back, we found
a swords shop, and I was tempted...very tempted. I wanted one of those samurai swords, but they were expensive! It was the real deal...I resisted the temptation, which in
retrospect was a good thing. After all, it would only be hanging on the wall.
Day 9 (Sept. 23rd): We started early going to Nanzen-ji, a spectacular place, and spent as long time here as possible before our appointment at Saiho-ji, the moss garden.
We barely made it, but got there on time by taxi, and were led directly inside the temple where we started writing the sutra. This demanded every single aspect of our attention, and
was a real challenge! Good fun. Then we walked around the moss garden. Nice! Tired, we went to Crossroads afterwards for a change and went shopping again, and ate some good sushi.
Day 10 (Sept. 24th): Departure to Takayama early in the morning, and found a town with very little to offer! At least compared to what Lonely Planet wrote... We ended
up relaxing, eating some very good food, and going out. We actually found a couple of really cool bars here, especially junkyard.
Day 11 (Sept. 25th): Another day in Takayama. We decided to relax here, and walk around the old part of town, as well as the park with the old ruins of a castle.
Day 12 (Sept. 26th): Early departure by bus to Shin Hotaka Onsen. Here we soon found ourselves at our ryokan, Takazawa, which was the starting point of our long walk.
We did the Shin Hotaka Ropeway to 2200 meters altitude, and walked from there to 2500 meters, through the clouds. We had planned to walk down on the other side, down to Kamikochi.
But it was getting dark soon, and we headed back, sweaty and tired...and then found our way into a hot spring with two beers. FANTASTIC! After we dried up, we found food, and arranged
Suntory time in our room, mixing drinks. But we were tired...
Day 13 (Sept. 27th): Departure for Matsumoto. We saw Matsumoto castle, which was very nice, but not comparable to Kyoto castle. Interesting inside though!! We walked the streets
and played pool at night, before getting ready for Tokyo part II.
Day 14 (Sept. 28th): Back in Tokyo, we had a couple of nice days ahead! Today, it was Shibuya for some people watching and shopping again. At
night, we decided it was Suntory time at Park Hyatt hotel. We got into the New York bar at 52nd floor, and had a smashing time! Later, it was karaoke time, finding a
karaoke room and singing our hearts out, and ordering beer on the phone during short breaks. A great night!
Day 15 (Sept. 29th): Again, a day in Shibuya, changing a camera I had bought during Tokyo I. And Harajuku as well,. At night, we couldn't resist going back to Park Hyatt, where a good band played jazz, while we
enjoyed nice red wine and drinks. Yummy! Later, almost giving up, we stumbled across a bar (Naked Loft) and made friends with some cool Japanese people.
Day 16 (Sept. 30th): Quite day in Ginza and Harajuku for some shopping. I finally found a dolphin to bring home for my daughter - happy now!!! We tried visiting the Imperial
Palace, but is was closed...On the way back, I stopped in Ueno, and found an excellent market. At night, we revisited Roppongi with one goal: To find our favorite restaurant. And,
after a few flashbacks, we were suddenly there, and got the best meal of our trip! A nice finish!!!
Day 17 (Oct. 1st): Departure for Norway/London. Robin left one hour before me. And that was that! It was done. I killed the long flight back with four films.
We thank Japan for a great journey!