It's been a while hey!

So after Hiroshima I went back to Wakayama and was so happy to be back home with Helen! I got in and Helen made us a lovely quiche and we had a nice chilled out evening together, was definitely needed. The following day Helen and I both felt pretty awful with what was now named Helen flu, but dragged ourselves out for some lunch. We ate at a Buddhist restaurant which was really great healthy veggie food, and didn't have to worry about any fishy surprise!

After lunch we headed to a crazy shop that sold literally EVERYTHING. I nearly got a leopard print hello kitty kigu and Helen nearly bought a crazy fish. Probably a good thing we didn't..

Helen headed to work and Amy came over, so we got on our bikes and went to the 100 yen store and the supermarket before heading back to Helen's and hanging out with a few drinks. When Helen returned we all went out for dinner along with Claire, another English teacher for their company. We took advantage of all you can drink and had many mango sours, which I don't think I want again for a while… After this we headed to a bar, where there was an exchange of explicit vocab via pictures. Not quite the Japanese I should be learning but was funny none the less!

When it was time to go home it occurred to me I was going to have to ride a bike slightly the worse for wear. I was glad that you ride your bikes on the pavement in Japan otherwise I would have been in real trouble I think, much to the amusement of Helen watching me attempt drunk cycling.

After a quiet day of chilling out with Helen, the next day she had work and her friend Jen arrived as they were flying to China the following day. Jen and I went out for some lunch and got some supplies in from the crazy shop, and chilled out until Helen came back from work. We had a few drinks and Claire and Amy came round and we then all headed to an Indian restaurant. The food was surprisingly amazing; despite the fact the Indian woman that worked there was staring at us for the entire meal.

From here we headed to a bar that was hosting 'international night' that the girls needed to make an appearance at, which involved English speakers helping out Japanese with their conversational skills. After a few interesting conversations, Helen's boyfriend arrived and we headed to karaoke. I'd been told I hadn't experienced Japan until I'd experienced Karaoke so willingly went to give it a shot. We arrived and were told we could have the booth until 5am, which we laughed at. After all you can drink and singing every song imaginable, low and behold it was 5am.

The next morning we all wished we had packed the day before, hindsight hey. Helen's boyfriend came and picked us up and dropped me at the station (also gave me treats for the train, he's a keeper!) and I had to say farewell to Helen. It's been so nice being able to spend time with her and see where she lives.

In my rush to get the train, I managed to get on the wrong one. Once I realised I got off but discovered I was quite literally in the middle of nowhere with nothing at all written in English. My survival skills kicked in and I managed to figure out the Japanese symbols for Osaka, and then matched it to the train timetable. What should have been a 1 ½ journey on 2 trains became a 3 ½ hour journey and 4 trains. But hey it's all a learning experience right? Either way I ended up in Kyoto safe and sound.

I went for a walk around the city and then headed back to the hostel for an early night. This didn't last long when once again my roommates felt the need to turn the lights on and do god knows what at all hours. The wonders of dorm life!

The next day I ventured out the hostel into a downpour, luckily they have umbrellas to borrow everywhere in Japan! I did a big walking tour of temples and shrines which Kyoto is famous for and has plenty of. The temples were beautiful and interesting to wander around, even in the rain, but after many hours I was a bit templed out. I kept walking round and went to the shopping areas, experiencing the fish market which wasn't my favourite thing… I ended up buying gifts for people in some shops and headed back to the hostel after being on my feet for about 8 hours. I actually slipped over in the rain at one point which was pretty embarrassing when by yourself but I think I brushed it off.. at least I hope I did! I had dinner in the bar in the hostel and a Japanese guy took pity on me and sat and chatted with me for a while before I headed to bed hoping for a better night than the night before.

The next day after another not great nights sleep I got the train back to Tokyo. The right train this time I might add. I even navigated the Tokyo subway system and headed to my next hostel. I then headed to Shinjuku and had a look around the shops before going to Harijuku to meet my friend Mark and his friend Kam who were there on holiday. I took them to the lockup (can't believe I went there again!) for the horror dining experience. After dinner we went to the arcade and played in the photo booth and watched the kids play dance dance revolution and all the other arcade games.

I bid them farewell and we made plans to meet early the next morning to go to Mt Fuji. So bright and early I ventured to the bus station, except I got directed to the wrong one and then had to mission to find the boys in time for the bus. I eventually found them to find the buses were all sold out for the day. We made new plans and headed to the imperial palace. It was beautiful but it was SO hot, we were melting it was practically unbearable. In the afternoon we went up the sky tree, which is the 2nd tallest tower in the world. The views of Tokyo were amazing, it was a shame it was a bit smoggy but we got to watch the sunset over the city which was pretty spectacular.

After this we headed to the electronics district which was a little disappointing, but it was very late so it might have been better earlier in the day when more was open. I said goodbye to the boys and headed back to the hostel to attempt to stuff all my things in my backpack. Was not an easy task.

The next day I checked out the hostel and went to the National museum (needed to get out the heat!) and saw some amazing things including swords that were from the 12th and 13th century that were still razor sharp. There was also old kimonos and lots of artefacts from Japanese history. I explored the park that was by the museum and the street markets as the heavens opened and the rain came. I went back to the hostel to get my bags and ventured to the airport, in the pouring rain. Way to end my time in Japan!

My whole experience in Japan was amazing, I saw and experienced so many things and learnt a lot about their culture as well as getting to see Helen at the same time. I'm now in Australia for a whole new adventure!!!

Love to everyone at home xxx