pearl murphy

KUMANO KODO – Yunomine Onsen

At the orientation meeting at Tanabe we were given a wide variety of information. Maps, accommodation information, bus timetables, …. Today’s hike was relatively simple, a warm up for the next couple of days. The bus took us to the shrine at Hongu Taisha And we had a trek from there along the KUMANO KODOContinue reading “KUMANO KODO – Yunomine Onsen”

Leaving Kyoto…. and leaving Denis

We were in need of a rest when we got back from the guided tour, having been on our feet all day. So we took advantage of the communal bath which once again was most relaxing. I then needed to sort out some packing – what did I need to take on the hiking trip?Continue reading “Leaving Kyoto…. and leaving Denis”

Kyoto – a guided tour

The communal bath was very nice – I only spent about 20 minutes there but it left me feeling quite relaxed. The washing machine on the other hand was very stressful not least because someone beat me to it every time the previous load finished and in the end I didn’t get the laundry inContinue reading “Kyoto – a guided tour”

Tokyo to Kyoto

And so we finished our last day in Tokyo with a food tour. We were joined on the tour by a family of four Americans who were good company. The tour started with a stop for ramen. You can get variations on this noodle based dish all over Tokyo but this was easily the bestContinue reading “Tokyo to Kyoto”

Tokyo Day 3 – more sightseeing

The jazz bar was great and we had an hour there before setting off to watch the football. And what a disaster that was. After a dreadful performance we lost 3-2 to Fulham. Not the end of the world but still leaves us needing 11 points from the remaining 7 games. Before breakfast we didContinue reading “Tokyo Day 3 – more sightseeing”

Tokyo Day 2 – a guided tour

Arsenal only managed a 1-1 draw against Everton, thus losing more points in the title race. Liverpool now need 11 points from their remaining 8 matches for victory. Today (well tonight Japan time) they play Fulham at Craven Cottage. We had breakfast in the hotel and then I organised our luggage transfer to Kyoto. ItContinue reading “Tokyo Day 2 – a guided tour”

Tokyo Day 1 – settling in

Having left our luggage at the hotel we then went out to explore. The hotel is a mid-range hotel in a wonderful location in the heart of Tokyo’s historic Asukasa district and is very close to the Senso-ji Temple. The area is heaving with tourists, probably made worse by it being a. Saturday We foundContinue reading “Tokyo Day 1 – settling in”

Tokyo arrival

The flight took off about on time and was uneventful. Which of course is just how one would like flights to be. Flying time was just over 13 hours. We had lunch soon after take off once we’d settled down and then – because of the 8 hour time difference – we had breakfast aContinue reading “Tokyo arrival”

And off we go!

The train journey down went very smoothly although getting from Kings Cross to the Thistle Hotel at Terminal 5 with a load of luggage was hard work At Heathrow we used the driverless pods to do the final part of the journey. They were novel and easy to use. (Tip though – don’t sit tooContinue reading “And off we go!”

Heading for Heathrow

The M62 was not too bad yesterday, apart from a short stretch where there were three separate stranded vehicles which resulted in a bit of a delay. Nevertheless we got to the ground in time to say hello to a few friends and have a pint With so much at stake everyone was understandably nervousContinue reading “Heading for Heathrow”