After a good night’s rest we meet Yukio at 9.30am and started our second day of exploring. Today we took the train to Kamakura which is about an hour or so outside of Tokyo. This region has many temples and shrines which date back to about 1000 years ago. Our first stop was in Mase where we visited a famous Temple with a big gold Budda whilst there we tried a hot rice wine. It was like a watery ambrosia creamed rice - not unpleasant but I couldn’t drink a lot of it.

We then moved on to see the Great Budda. This was a huge Budda and we were able to go inside it. It was constructed hundreds of years ago and the techniques used were really quite fascinating and quite before their time.

We then went back to Kamakura for some lunch. We had a traditional Japanese lunch which was served by these lovely woman. When they found out I was Scottish they kept asking me about the “skirt”. I had some chicken, egg rice dish and Paul had a Pork dish.
It wasn’t bad but I don’t think I could eat it everyday.

After lunch we walked to some temples and shrines in the area. They really are very beautiful and very peaceful places too.
This area is also famous for the intricate wood carvings and we went to a shop which was selling beautiful items but they were very expensive.

We also visited a temple which was exclusively for woman and was nicknamed the Divorce Temple. Up until last century women could not divorce their husbands but men could divorce their wives very easily. So this temple was a place where woman could seek refuge from their husband and after 3 years they would be granted a divorce. Woman would often run to the Temple as their husbands would chase them They had to make into the Temple to be safe. I found this place rather moving and makes you realise how far woman’s rights have really come.

We then got the train back to Tokyo and went up the Tokyo Tower. This tower is higher than the Eiffel Tower but the highest viewing area is 250 metres. We went up just as the sun was setting behind Mount Fuji and it was an amazing sight. The city then started to light up down below. Awesome views of all the city but I think Yukio wasn’t keen on the height of it!

So we were going back to our hotel during rush hour. Now I have never seen anything like this before. There are literally thousands of people and they all cram into the train cars like sardines. I honestly will never forget the sight of people squeezing themselves in. I asked Yukio why they don’t just wait for the next train (they are honestly every few minutes) and he said that every train would be like that until well after midnight! It was the most mental sight I have ever seen!

We then just went for dinner and again drinks on the 39th floor. Regular bars just won’t feel the same anymore!