Japan London

Green tea roll cake at the wonderful Necco in Exmouth Market, London.  ^___^

To a T

The Christmas madness continues, this time with super pretty Christmas Hello Kitty at the local supermarket.

The trend for bath products still seems to be for them to look as much like food as possible.

One of my reasons for taking a day trip from Kyoto to Fukuoka this time (the main reason was to meet someone doing one of my courses!) was to stop in to the amazing Kurenai-ya branch in Fukuoka's Canal City shopping centre (which is otherwise depressingly full of Western shops). I discovered the shop a few years ago, and bought some t-shirts there for himself and myself that are about to fall apart from loving regular use. I excited wandered around the shop looking at all the stuff that I would happily buy given half an excuse, then went to find the t-shirts. Except there weren't any. After going around the (small) shop twice, I asked the staff and it turns out they were switching from their short sleeve to long sleeve range and didn't have anything in stock. Noooo!

But I remembered that I'd found one of their t-shirts at Narita a few years ago, so I made a note to look there on the way back, and got lucky! I got one for himself, a Mount Sakura one for me (the active volcano in the bay of Kagoshima City, I nearly got it two years ago but they didn't have it in my size), and an amazing "Hiroshige Project" one from another manufacturer that I hadn't seen before. The embroidered back is just amazing. ^_^ I also splashed out on a top made from modern materials but with traditional kimono designs, made by a small Kyoto company who had a temporary stand at the airport.

The back of the Sakura-jima t-shirt on the left, the front of the Hiroshige Project one in the middle, and the kimono-inspired one on the right.

The back of the gorgeous Hiroshige project t-shirt. It's a bit hard to see, but there's also red embroidery around the cranes.

And we're back

Arrived back in Zurich last night, picked up some food at the airport and came home to call parents, have a long bath and triage my email. Today was 3°C with some desultory snow, it wasn't even close to sticking when I was out earlier but is getting heaving and starting to gather on the ground now that the light has gone and the temperature is dropping. (The forecast for tomorrow is 0-2°C with 2-5 cm of snow. Next Wednesday, 10-20 cm...) Spent the day clearing emails, catching up with things that need to be done in the next week or so, chasing overdue invoices, catching up with bills that arrived while I was away, food shopping (there are still pumpkins!) so I wouldn't have to go out again, and having the very interesting experience of a Doppler ultrasound.

The truth is out in Sihlcity - Santa belongs to Coke.

Interesting light fittings.

Horse is still on the menu.

And Christmas is most definitely here. Workmen all over the airport, Sihlcity and Adliswil putting up decorations.

Just a little bit longer

Check in systems seem to have crashed. Tea time!

Even more so

Fuji was always popular, but now it's been made a world heritage site it's everywhere.

Time to check in and send the phone back. See you on the other side of the globe.

Last meal

I know, I know, it's a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with coffee. I'm not great with Japanese food first thing in the morning.

Siphon coffee?

Great fun to watch and tastes pretty good too.

Taxiing

Just managed to catch the 7:30 am shuttle bus to terminal 2, so I'll have plenty of time to check in in person (haven't done that for a while), get some breakfast and wander around the shops. There was actually a very nice-looking gift shop with Kyoto goods at the hotel, but I only noticed it from the bus window when leaving.

Turns out the Finnair counter doesn't open until 9:00 (7:40 now) so I think it's time for a locker and breakfast.

Last bus

I didn't fancy going for the last hotel shuttle bus from Narita station - I've never been there before and it's not that near the airport - so I paid a paltry 1,000 yen for the pleasure of having the Heiwa Kotsu "The Access" coach service drop me at the hotel door. Includes free night views of Tokyo from the highway.

Biscuit-in-biscuit

Yatsuhashi biscuit Kit-Kats. Nice, but I wish they hadn't used white chocolate.

One last time

Hikari 532, bound for Tokyo. I didn't have time to get a reserved seat, but got lucky when a young couple on their way back from Universal Studios moved teir bags out of a seat. Treated myself to another special Makunouchi bento, and pulled out my postcards.

Goodnight, Kyoto

Illustrations at an exhibition

The Kyoto International Manga Museum was hosting its second exhibition of "eshi", or illustrators, on the theme of the Japanese seasons. (Which are the same four you get anywhere else, as far as I can tell.) Some were generic, some were anatomically improbable (especially in the T&A department), some were sexualised children, but a good few were exuberant, startling, charming, eerie, clever and well worth a visit.

Infinite gates

I even managed to find a path I hadn't been up yet. I must give it a full day and get to the top of the mountain sometime.

Deja vu

Last day, side trip to Kyoto and Fushimi Inari Taisha. Didn't I do this last year?

Cute and delicious

Chocolate crisp biscuits from my friend Tokuno - great as a snack on the train!

Finally!

I've taken the Tokaido Shinkansen I don't know how many times and never seen Mount Fuji from the window - today was beautifully clear and I looked out at just the right time! Wow. It really is beautiful, and impressive to boot.

Gaoh!

For reasons best known to themselves, the manufacturers of the "Tokyo Banana" cake/souvenir decided that it goes roar when you add caramel. It makes a cute poster.

I chose the unreasonable option. I wasn't early enough to take a picture, but I'm back with my friend Hikari and on my way to Kyoto for the day to do a few things I didn't get to do when I was there last week. Feel the burn, rail pass!

Seasonal sweet

Amazing traditional ddssert enjoyed with my friend Tokuno near Ueno station.

The newly restored lantern at Sensoji, Asakusa