A Year In The Ring of Fire

Well I am Home, I have sorted my job applications for the day and other menial tasks one has to do at home so I thought I'd get this finalised....  enjoy

I have been plotting and planning this blog post ever since I got to South East Asia as to me that signals the end of the trip, despite still being 3 months away at the time it feels like nothing. This was not to say I wasn't keen to carry on travelling, I was. In fact when Welshman decided to head home I seriously considered the same thing but it was never a viable option. I know I would have regretted it, there were still adventures to be had, people to meet and experiences to well, experience. Cambodia proved it was the right choice, the warmth of the people and everything coming together at New Year. (I'm actually writing this still in Cambodia with a solid 45 days to go before I even finish my travels but what I can recall about the year starts now). Being the cynical grumpy bastard I pretend to be, this is actually quite hard, recollecting on everything that has happened, from the amazing scenery to the wonderful people I have met. It has been such an amazing year that I can't understand what I ever did to deserve it. In travelling around the World you learn that despite everything it isn't that big (anymore) and we are all the same. Despite this it is big enough that I have come nowhere near seeing everything and there is still so much more to see. I have seen the worlds highest mountain and sailed under the stars, slept in a temple, a farmers house and many other locations (including an airport). I crossed the international date line twice as well as making it to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. At every step and turn, sometimes just when you began to lose faith you would meet or find something that made it all worthwhile. So, A year in the ring of fire, Sauntering 'Vaguely' Downwards the year that was.

The Very Beginning, Night One - Hong Kong.

I couldn't quite figure out how to mention everything so I will do brief recaps/highlights of countries, you can find the whole adventure in the previous blogs. Starting in China I fell in love all over again, the people, culture, food and everything. I did all the things I meant to and had time left for some new things. I slept in a temple on a mountain, saw the Li River and even made it to Tibet where I met people who had never seen the Sea. I have since met people who've never seen snow. China was a good reintroduction to the travel lifestyle as it is fairly familiar to me. I'll chuck Korea in here as I was only there a week, seeing Clare who I hadn't seen in a while which is always nice.

Stupa in Zhongdian

Japan came next, a complete culture shock from China. I drank too much sake and ate raw horse. I slept in traditional Ryokans with Tatami mats with sliding doors. I saw the illustrious snowcapped Mt.Fuji, got lost on the Tokyo metro and spent a majority of my time in the 'Onsen'. Arriving 2 months after the Fukushima disaster I saw a country in mourning and repair, yet still very upbeat. It is this pragmatism and cheer that teaches you obstacles can be overcome even with the threat of nuclear oblivion hovering over you.

Nara, Japan

Canada was once again completely different(obviously) to Asia. I watched Ice hockey, predicted a riot and was impressed with the clean up effort afterwards; the best and worst of humanity in 24 hours. It was apparent it wasn't the Vancouvans who had really rioted as they spoke out against it. I saw a humpback whale with Mercedes and saw the most beautiful lake in the world, before walking on a glacier and witnessing bears in the wild(an everyday occurrence for Canadians). Canada was a land of natural wonder and odd food (Poutine)

Lake Louise

Continuing South I walked across Niagara falls where I learnt how incompetent bus companies in America are. I met my friend Welshie for some well needed companionship. We joked with police officers and visited most of the 'great american cities'. In America I was amazed at how generous Welshie's friends were with putting not just him up, but me a stranger too on the logic 'any friend of yours'. They not only put us up but often took us on tours or arranged them for us when they couldn't. It really made me address my half assed attitude to the same thing back home. They repeatedly went the extra mile at every turn. We met Savage and drove up the west coast witnessing beautiful nature and having hilarious adventures (the stripper, the lesbian and the transgender). I returned to Yosemite and it truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We saw both man and natures dark sides again, forest fires in Nevada and gambling addiction in Reno.

Lake Victoria

I parted ways with Welshman as me and Savage headed to Panama. We practised our Spanish with the hostel staff and had drunken conversations at 3am in the pool with lightning flashing above us. My naivety kicked in here as a I realised there is no land route from Panama to Colombia in order to get to Peru(the plan). In one of those amazing coincidences I learnt to you could sail to Colombia and so I ended up spending five days at sea sailing to Colombia which was one of the best experiences of the whole trip, and true to the subtitle I hadn't intended to visit Colombia but in the end I did, and I think I needed to. I fell in love with the way Colombian women move on the dancefloor and made it to Peru.

Puerto Lindo

Peru was easily one of my favourite places.Culturally I saw ancient lines, in a hilariously dangerous plane(now its hilarious), climbed Machu Picchu and hung out with monkeys in the Jungle. I cut short Chile just to adventure more in Peru. I met some truly amazing people and was invited to Peruvian birthday parties left right and centre. It wasn't all gravy in Peru there were times I questioned what I was doing and for a few days became unmotivated, but I think this was largely due to not having a proper coversation with anyone for about a week.  However everything transpired to turn the last couple of weeks in Peru in to another amazing time, returning to a hostel 1 month and a half later to still be recognised is a fantastic feeling. This continued in the few days I had in Chile, once again peoples generosity shone through. I met a girl who despite not having ever met agreed to meet and give me tips for Santiago(her mum works with my mum, so in typical mum meddling she passed on the details)

Local Peruvians

In New Zealand it was once again time to meet the Welshman, with a new companion the Stonelake. Old hockey boys from the Plymouth days. New Zealand is again a country of natural beauty. Driving around was a great way to see it as we could stop where and whenever. Once again the Welshmans contacts sorted us out with incredible hospitality, sometimes turning up no less than half an hour before and being lavished with wine. I popped in on my cousin Doug who has a house with a stunning view over South Wellington and the sea. I became frustrated with the New Zealand hostel system, a moniker of "for backpackers by backpackers" is clearly crap when every little thing is charged extra (and it isn't cheap to begin with). Despite this we had a great time in New Zealand, partied with Orlando Bloom (not really) and marvelled at the sites. Visiting Christchurch we saw the destruction from the Earthquake and it was sad to see that the centre has been ruined and the mood in town was rather solemn, while in Thailand we learnt that it had been hit with yet another Earthquake which is never good news. Australia was a write off because I can not afford to spend 3 weeks there.

Some River

Looking forward to returning to Asia, Thailand was both welcome but a bit of a disappointment at times. The rampant over commercialisation found in parts is almost exactly why one wants to leave England. I also found the backpackers weren't so much here to see things, experience culture but more get as drunk as possible. Despite this we met some incredible people, some stunning sites and amazing experiences. It is often when I became disheartened that the best things happen, there are definitely places in Thailand I would return to. I spent my first Christmas away from home, which was a quiet time for reflexion of the previous year and what was to come. Although I spent Christmas eve and Christmas day alone (apart from Kevin)  it never really felt depressing to be alone at this time due to being surrounded by beautiful beaches and relaxed beach bars with fireworks. I wondered if people were thinking "What kind of decisions do you have to make to end up alone at Christmas?"; in my case pretty good ones. However I shared a thought for those whose Christmasses weren't so good, and recounted some of the sights/stories I've seen or heard that were not so uplifting. The second half of Thailand made me think I had been a little too harsh on it as first as I discovered the other, nicer quieter side to it. The Welshman decided to go home midway through and three months early and I can understand why. Either way I eventually re-found my zest and headed to Cambodia.

Rai Leh, Ao Son Tai beach

I almost instantly fell in love with Cambodia. I celebrated an amazing New Year on the beach with new and (new) old friends with fireworks galore. I finally got my sailing fix on and enjoyed some incredible seafood before I left beaches behind for good. I witnessed the dark history of Cambodia and then the incredible sight that is Angkor Wat. The people in Cambodia were amazing and some of the friendliest on the whole trip. With time running out I had to leave Cambodia, rather reluctantly and it is an almost definite return location.

Fishing at Sunset in Cambodia

With time running out the next stop was Vietnam. I started by taking a boat trip down this part of the worlds most important/famous river the Mekong to the Delta area. I acclimatised to the hustle of Saigon and learn't more about the Vietnam war than I had really previously looked in to and learnt the horrors of Napalm and Agent Orange. I headed north in to what was a cold and wet climate. Tet got in the way of a lot of my plans but I met friends from home and made many new ones, which is what its all about. I visited the scenic sights of  Halong bay and the Hai Van Pass before finishing Vietnam in the  UNESCO heritage town of Hoi An, I enjoyed my time in Vietnam but I had met others who had not had such a great time, being scammed as such it reminded one to always be aware and how different experiences shape your opinions.

At Halong Bay

Laos was the next and last new country I would visit on the trip making it country number 15. For a period of time in Nam I had considered skipping Laos due to time constraints but in the end after everyone I know who had been telling me I had to I found the time to include it and was glad I did. Half of all travelling is relying on word of mouth for places and you get an opinion that even the best guide book would fail to provide. I skipped Vientiane and headed to party capital Vang Vieng where I randomly met people I had met all around South East Asia, once again ramming home the 'it's a small world' theory. After leaving Vang Vieng it was time for cultural time in another UNESCO heritage city where I took in temples and met lots of elephants. Laos was a stunning country and I am disappointed I had so little time to explore, there are many sights I would have liked to get in but this is the nature and inevitably when time has become short. The last few months in Asia were almost a contrast to the first three where I had plenty of time and I operated at a slower pace but still managed to take (almost) everything in.

Temple, Laos

Returning to Thailand almost felt like a home coming, not just because it is the only country I revisited on the trip, and nor because I was returning to a familiar location (I was not, Chiang Mai was totally new to me) it was because it was the end, I had the prospect of seeing old faces with little agenda except to prepare for heading back to rainy England. I needn't say a lot here because it is all covered in the previous blog post. What I can say is that obviously being so close to returning home I spent a lot of time thinking about what I will do when back home and seeing If I have come any closer on figuring out what to do with myself. So far the answer is no. I was ready to return not because I am bored/sick of travelling but just because I am looking forward to familiarity and staying in the same place for a while. This is what I came to crave towards the end, stability.

Elephants by the river

People will probably ask me if I've changed or if I learnt anything on my travels. I am not sure if I have changed, I feel my perspective has slightly changed and I hope I am a bit more welcoming and can repay some of the hospitality I have experienced on my travels. Before I finally round up this year long review I thought I'd include some statistics/figures ranging from countries visited, books read to items lost/stolen;

Total countries visited: 15
Books read: over 30

I have taken over 20,0000 pictures.
I have gone through; 3 pairs of shoes, 2 side bags, 3 pairs of flip flops, 1 pair of shorts and 3 pairs of swim shorts.
I have lost; 2 phones, 1 towel and wash bag, a padlock and chain, 1 speaker, 2 t-shirts and most of my socks (Seriously I started with about 7 pairs, bought more along the way and I have about 3 left) :/
I have broken; 2 pairs of headphones, a pair of chopsticks.

On top of this I have mailed two boxes home and sent more stuff home with Welshie.


So to finish, I wrote the majority of this in Cambodia while I waited for a bus, it was an emotional recollection from the lows to the highs, but mostly due to the highs I got emotional. Setting out alone I could never have envisioned what was to come, before I set out I was apprehensive and wondered if I could actually make it a year. Some people think I'm brave for heading out on my own for a year, often I will hear "alone, wow I couldn't..." etc. Truth is, I am little fish in a big ocean with no direction and it was often other peoples faith in me that when stranded in a little village in Panama or in Peru in a tiny town at 3am for instance, that I didn't panic or throw it to the wall and carried on. I've met people who've been through much more hardship than I have ever had to endure and these people are inspiration, at home and abroad. They know who they are and if I tried to name them I'd feel bad if I forgot someone. At New Year in Cambodia we were asked, if there was one thing in 2011 we would have changed about the year, my answer "absolutely nothing" So as I wrote this in a bar in Cambodia back in January getting teary and not really caring who knew, thinking about it all, I'd do it all again in an instant (after a couple of months rest :P).

"You live and learn. At any rate, you live" - Douglas Adams
"Some things never change...some things do. .." Morpheus - The Matrix

My longest travel companion, Kevin & me in Vietnam at Hai Van Pass

The Would do again list

The ‘Would do again or recommend to a friend’ list

The idea of this list is simple, things that have stood out at being particularly good or memorable that aren’t completely re-creatable so without further ado in no particular order :

1.      Everest at 3am in the moonlight.
2.       Lake Louise and the Colombian Ice field & Glacier
3.       Whistler Zip Lining & Biking (even adults can do the zip, I did it with a group of retirees)
4.       Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China (the walk no cheating)
5.       Pandaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas, Chengdu
6.       Mt Fuji, cycling around the lakes.
7.       Osaka Aquarium (absolutely huge whale shark)
8.       Roppongi Tower, Tokyo  at night (not actually sure its called that)
9.       CN Tower, Toronto.
10.   Cape Cod Road trippin’
11.   Lake Michigan swimming
12.   Songpan, Horse Trekking – China (cold as fuck but totally worth it)
13.   Floating the ‘San Marcos’
14.   Yangshuo River cruise and getting lost in the karsts
15.   Hiro’s parents getting you wasted on expensive whiskey (and basically being a westerner in China)

Ninjas, Magic, 10 Course Dinners, Maids, Spaghetti Metro and Love Hotels

The indeterminable adventure that was the first few days in Tokyo and then some more weirdness of the Japanese variety. Excited? Well I was too…

I arrived into Tokyo from the kamukura express, I didn’t have any mony so my friend and I went to look for cash so I could buy a ticket to my hostels station. After several failed attempts, 711 as usual paved the way. I met Hiro, had lunch saw a typical temple, after this we went to Roppongi, saw some stuff and then had ice cream where as they made it they sang to us. We went off for dinner a bit later. This was at ‘Ninja’ a hideout for ninja’s where they cook fancy food. Ten courses in the ninja village served up by ninjas, including a ninja magician. The food was interesting and at times very tasty. Recommended for taste and experience though. We ended the night drinking with Emilie and Misaki, two girls I had met in kamukura.

Next day we went to Akihabara, electronic city to look at fancy gadgets. A techies dream, every bit of swish technology ever imagined. Hiro suggested we go to a ‘maid café’ then tried to back out. Here the waitresses dress as maids, an are supposed to act like the customer is their master. It’s pretty odd, aimed at Anime Otaku, but has become more popular. Basically its hooters for nerds. Hiro went for dinner and a concert and I got ready for the entertainment of the evening, a trip to Womb, nightclub extraordinaire (rated top 4 in the world’s top 100 clubs in 2009) Before this, I met Hiro and drank with him and his parents in a bar in Roppongi, I sang some Sinatra with the live band, badly I might add. Womb is a blur, but was awesome all the same.

The next day, the rain began. A typhoon was on its way and it was VERY wet. This theme would remain the next two days. I did little this first day after womb, except for Tempura dinner with Hiro and parents. Next day was a walking day of touring the young, fun and exciting areas. First stop, Shibuya. Home to shopping and the busiest pedestrian crossing. I watched everyone march across wielding their umbrellas. I walked to Harajuku, home of the weirder. People here cosplay dress up congregate here on the weekend. There were also some concert going on at Yoyogi stadium, maximizing the number of umbrellas around. I walked down shopping street, when I could, amongst a wall of umbrellas (common theme).

I am unsure as to which exact day some things happened in this order. I went up Mori Tower to see the view of Tokyo city spread out, I got there at dusk and waited till it was properly dark to see the lights of the city. I went to Ikebukuro, saw a mall called ‘Sunshine City’ and a Cat Café. This one, differs slightly to a normal café. After a small entrance/hourly fee, all drinks are free and you mingle and play with cats. After this, I went to Shinjuku and walked all the way back to Shibuya. This time with less rain. I woke up at 5am to go see the fish market in action. This the worlds biggest is the home of tuna. I saw the biggest tuna ever, fresh from the boat. Walking around was quite the experience. Later after breakfast I wandered around Hibuya park and the Imperial Palace gardens.
Later on, I had dinner with Hiros family again. This time tasty Kobe beef, It was sooooooooooo good. Three kinds of beef cooked to perfection, including fire. After drinks in his hotel bar, A set in the bond film ‘You Only Live Twice’ we went to Gonpacho, a Izayaka (basically a pub) that was the inspiration for a scene in Kill Bill.

This virtually brings me to the end of Tokyo time.
I haven’t mentioned the Spaghetti Metro. Like all train travel in Japan it is fast and efficient. However it resembles the image of spilt spaghetti on the floor. Another interesting (for me anyway) is that my traditional style Ryokan is surrounded by ‘Love Hotels’.
Im now in Canada, home of ice hockey. After two flights, the second of which was fairly interesting. A guy in front of me had a seizure, babies screamed almost constantly and there were epic views of Vancouver on the approach I arrived in Vancouver. The Canucks had just won the first play off, so with no sleep I went out and partied with the Canadians.
A time of firsts, first crossing of the dateline, first time in Canada/Japan etc. Thus begins the ‘second part’ of my trip. North America. I will miss Asia but it’s good to be back in the west.

Monkeys, Castles and early starts

I began writing this at 5am as I waited for the first subway to run on my way to the world’s biggest fish market, where tuna is sold whole for astronomical figures (think 5k plus). The streets are all empty and the metro has only now started to fill up. 

This on which is my last full day, is hopefully my earliest start. I’ve seen 4am before on my trip, but not from this side of sleep. Not that I ‘slept’ particularly well. My dreams are playing havoc with my perception (keep dreaming I'm at home, which is not particularly pleasant.) I don’t even think I probably nodded off until 2am. Giving me 2 hours of sleep, even though I went to bed at 11.

However, as its best to do things chronologically... says who? Here we go - Reeeeeeeeeeeeewind.

Ito as foretold last time, led to Nagano-Ken. My base for this area would be Nagano itself, home of the winter Olympics 1998. A few monuments/signs still hint at this and is Naganos main claim to faim. On my first day, the weather was still lovely and I went walking around Nagano. The main attraction is a temple called Zenko-Ji. As I arrived just before closing time it was quite quiet, this gave a nice feel, a more temple esque feel actually. The other thing to note about temples in Japan is that they are all very spacious, and have lots of greenery surrounding in the gardens.

Sights of Nagano itself done for the day, I had dinner, I think this was either noodle soup or pre-made sashimi due to being in ultra-cheap mode. These quick/easy/cheap dinners are actually pretty tasty.

The second day of Nagano involved taking a bus up towards the hills for a walk to Yudanaka to visit the ‘snow monkeys’ (Please note there was no snow at the moment). Despite the lack of snow, there were plenty of monkeys. Unlike the monkeys in China, these ones were pretty docile and indifferent to the presence of the humans. This is probably in a large part to the banning of feeding them. Before venturing to visit the monkeys I had a bath in the local hut. After all this I had some local style ‘soba’ Noodles. I thought these were dull and bland (They are however gluten free for all you food allergy people).

Third day was Matsumoto castle day, the temperature rocked up to 30 degrees. Matsumoto is a city southwest of Nagano and home to an original wooden style castle. This was one of my favourite castles/sights, it overlooked mountains, of which snow could still be visible. You could go inside the castle and visit the top.
In the evening of this day we had a Sake party, all of which came from Fukushima, in a sort of solidarity movement. We also had various snacks, including but not only Grasshoppers, Sea Urchin and Jellyfish – not all tasty.

Day four it rained, so I did nothing. Day five I went to Kamakura. Not a lot happened in Kamukura, I walked about 16km, saw another big Buddha (this makes four at least) and some more temples as per the usual. The real highlight of kamukura was the guesthouse. Another traditional style with all the walls being removal doors. We had family cooked dinners of bbq fish and Takoyaki (a sort of octopus dumpling) both were excellent and the atmosphere perfect.

Time for Tokyo, I almost feel as if Tokyo should be its whole own post, so why not? Coming tomorrow I reckon, when you’ll hear about Ninja’s, spaghetti metros, maid & cat cafes and a whole host of other weirdness.

As always more pictures on the picasa, and even more tomorrow. Enjoy.

The sun may rise in the east....

I have now been in Japan for a few weeks. First impressions were, in contrast to China, Clean, modern, efficient and expensive. Exactly what I was expecting. Its harder to go 'native' than in China because western comforts far from being a rarity (as in China) are more common. Before I delve into what I have been doing, I shall point out some Japanese quirks...

1. Food, Although relatively normal they have some right proper odd foods, ie whole strawberries with cream in bread. This is just bizarre...

They also eat poisonous fish, raw horse etc. I will go into this in more detail at the relevant time.
They do have eating sorted, whether you are in a group or alone. Alone you sit at the bar/cooking area and watch them. This is great for loners like me, no longer do I feel a social outcast at meal times.

2. Fashion - (as expected) people here dress quite ridiculously from time to time. People my age often dress like 8 year olds, in princess costumes etc or just odd clothes. There are plenty of people who dress normally too, but when its weird its extreme.

3. Toilets - Almost the same except for all the fun gadgetry on the side. The seats are often heated, has a French style bidet squirter that can be adjusted for strength of water splash and temperature.

4. Automatic doors - More a pet peeve than a quirk. The automatic slidy doors open too slowly. They don't start opening until you are inches from the door. I've had some close instances where I almost walked in to the door.

5. Umberellas - Whether its raining or sunny you will see about a 1000 umberellas.

6. Shoes - Shoes come off almost everytime you enter a building, from the Temples to Restaurants and Hostels/Hotels.

7. Lastly, Onsen/Sento (baths) These are dotted around everywhere. Due to Japans volcanicity plenty of rich mineral water seaps out of the ground, where a bath house will spring up. Unlike a swimming pool in England, you enter naked and most baths are segregated, although some communal ones do exist.

(They also drive on the correct side of the road [left] and obey traffic laws, oh my days)
If I think of anymore I'll add them when I need to.
___

Onwards to travel times. After leaving Korea, I got my boat and slept on the floor overnight. Ariving in Shimonoseki I saw all it had to offer, it was nice but boring. I saw some clowns, the aquarium and climbed a hill to see it and Kyushu Island.

I also went to the fish market, which was fun seeing all the fresh food being made into Sashimi. Shimonoseki is also famous for its 'Fugu' Puffer fish to you and me. It is the poisonous kind that if prepared wrong, you die. You will most likely know of this fish from the Simpsons episode where Homer eats it and thinks he is going to die. I of course ate it too. It was nice... and I have lived to tell the tale.

Next stop on the tour was Hiroshima. I don't think I need to point out quite why Hiroshima is most famous. I visited peace park and the A-bomb history museum. I was impressed by the unbiased portrayal of the events leading up to the A-bomb, as a historian who has studied this I felt it was quite a balanced report and gave both sides. The Museum itself housed roof tiles, pieces of clothing and other artefacts from the aftermath of the blast, including pictures and written records. It was quite a harrowing experience seeing the damage and suffering caused. Hiroshima itself as can be expected for a city rebuilt is quite modern and clean. Despite the sadness of the museum I liked Hiroshima. I also ate the 'speciality'* food here which is called Okonomiyaki, a sort of sandwich dish made up of a pancake on one side and a omelette on the other with noodles/seafood inbetween.

* I say Speciality food here because many places also claim Okonomiyaki as a speciality. (There is a photo on picasa)

Continuing the whistle stop tour, I moved on to Osaka. Osaka has been my favourite place so far in Japan. Bigger than Hiroshima, it has a sense of excitement/fun that Hiroshima lacked. In fact I liked Osaka so much I went back after Kyoto. Its more bright than Hiroshima, with neon everywhere. The station is huge, comprises about 3 massive department stores and an underground maze of shops and restaurants. It is topped in ridiculousness only by Kyoto's architectually interesting station (more on this later)
In aspects of sites to see, I saw Umeda Sky Building, The Castle, museum of housing, Ebisu Bridge and Amerika Kure. I also went to the aquarium, this hosts a massive tank depicting the pacific, it houses a Whale Shark and a giant Manta.

Amerika Kure and Ebisu Bridge are two spots where the cool kids hang out. Amerika Kure so named because it replicates american culture; musically and fashion wise. Ebisu bridge is smack bang in the middle of Dotombori, the 'nightlife' area and a massively long arcaded shopping street. I just stood in these areas for a few hours watching people, silly fashions and restaurant staff trying to entice customers while I waited for the sun to go down and the neon lights to take full effect.

Kyoto is next. This the old imperial city for quite a long time. It is host to mostly Temples, Shrines and Palaces. It also rained heavily. I saw some temples on the first full day but gave up halfway through as I was soaked to the bone.

(this shows rain pouring off the top of a temple)

The next day I got wet, saw the Imperial Palace gardens, Saw a market which was dull compared to others I have seen. I gave up for lunch, had a hot Caramel Chocolate at starbucks and thankfully the rain stopped. This allowed me to complete the 5km walking trek of Temples/Shrines in the eastern part of Kyoto. (I skipped a few cause once you've seen one temple you've seen them all)

I have forgotten to add that on this second day, I also explored Kyoto's train station. This is another grand looking building surrounded by shops and restaurants. It is 11 stories high, has a skywalk running above the concourse and has steps leading all the way to the top floor.

After Kyoto as noted, I went back to Osaka. From Osaka I made a day trip to visit Nara, specifically to see the largest wooden building in the world. (2/3rds the size of the original!) Here I am in front of it...

There were lots of deer around, who were amazingly tame and friendly despite the warning signs depicting otherwise...

After Nara and a night out in Osaka it was time to venture to Kawaguchiko, at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Lucky with the weather (as with Everest) although cloudy it was clear to see my second iconic mountain of the trip.
On day two I cycled around the area, seeing Bat Cave, Lake Saiko and Lake Kawaguchi with views of Mt. Fuji.

Kawaguchiko's famed dish is raw horse, or 'Basashi', in my haste to try it, I forgot to take a picture. It was very tasty, not chewy in the slightest and distinct. The other famous dish is Hoto noodles, thick noodles like tagliatelle, but thicker and wider.

After Kawaguchi I headed to Ito, on the peninsula to relax for a few days. It is a spring town and my hostel itself is a traditional 100 year old building with a 'Onsen' in the basement. My room also smells of Salt 'n' Vinegar crisps oddly enough.

Thats all for now, Hope you enjoyed this mammoth post of Japan. Nagano, Kamakura and Tokyo still to do. Less than 2 weeks of asia left :(. More Photos on the Picassa/facebook pages.