So, I woke up at 5am. I packed my bag, I left behind my new friends Zoe from Scotland and Dan from Brazil (potentially the love of my life) and hit the dead streets of Tokyo at 6am. As I confidentally walked out the door, hiking backpack on my back, backpack on my front and bag of goodies to declare at customs attached. No sooner had I walked 200m did it start to rain torentially. Having been happy for the first time that my hair was in place and my shoes and fee...

Where do I even start? Well, today I went out to Nikko National Park. Saw some more shrines and lots more cedar forest which was lovely, the shrines were chinese inspired shinto and buddhist themed which made them all kinds of beautiful. Then we headed off, away from the tiny town, to another crater lake followed by a beautiful waterfall and then head back into the city to Ginza. I chose to walk back to my hostel from Ginza, about an hour through Tokyo as the su...

Well, I can see what all the fuss is about! After facing Tokyo peak hour traffic at 7am this morning, I got to the bus station and hoped on our 'luxury coach' that had less leg room than a darn plane. Our tour guide was nice, Michio, but kept talking away from the microphone. The drive out of Tokyo made me realise I had swapped tall trees for towering skyscrapers, everywhere. I miss the trees! Then suddendly, Mt Fuji showed up in the distance and I forgot about ...

Ah, one of the last days of travel. My pack would weigh well over 20kg now I believe, as I have accumulated a lot but sacrificed nothing. That will not be the case when I leave, there's a lot I can leave behind and I'm looking forward to it! I left my hostel, and waited an hour for the next Shinkansen to Tokyo and got myself a coffee - they do excellent iced coffees here! After 2 hours on the train, I stepped off into 32 degree sun heat and 90% humidty and after...

Every day I have been travelling, I think "it can't get better than this, this is it - this is the peak" but today was on a whole new level. With the wise words of John Muir in my backpack, I endured 6 hours of public transport, a random 5000 yen bus and train fee and the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. It all started at 7am with a train ride through the mountains, overlooking the cities as I passed. Then I got on a bus at Shi-Shimagyama for 1....