Eating in Japan-Ekiben

The exterior of an ekiben (station bento) shop in Japan. There are various lunch boxes displayed and the display window is surrounded by descriptions in Japanese on wooden tablets, hung vertically.

I love trains. I particularly love Japanese trains. Shinkansen, or bullet trains, are my favourite. Travelling on shinkansen is like flying. You have allocated seats with fold down tables and you can buy drinks and snacks from an onboard trolley. One of the most wonderful parts about travelling on shinkansen is ekiben. Ekiben is a … Continue reading Eating in Japan-Ekiben

Headed for Kyushu

Monday morning we were booked to take three shinkansen from Kyoto to Nagasaki. I woke up feeling very less than average and had been coughing and spluttering all night. I always feel sad about leaving Kyoto, but this time I was feeling so unwell, it was overpowering my impending dread. I got up early and … Continue reading Headed for Kyushu

From the Eastern Capital to the Old Capital

On Friday morning we got up and had sort of planned a day in Asakusa, at Senso-Ji and then taking an afternoon shinkansen to Kyoto. We decided to drop our bags for storage in Shinagawa station, as our shinkansen was leaving from there at 3:30. Only problem was we had not for even a moment … Continue reading From the Eastern Capital to the Old Capital

Five Crazy Days in Tokyo with Four Kids…. Part 1

At the end of our last trip we spent five days in Tokyo. I didn't blog at all during that time as we were crazy busy, exhausted and trying to squeeze a lot into a few days. Tokyo is busy at the best of times, and when you are trying to cater to everyone's wishes, … Continue reading Five Crazy Days in Tokyo with Four Kids…. Part 1

Japanese trains ❤️

the front of a Japan Rail Pass

Trains The first time I flew into Tokyo I was quite nervous about the Tokyo train system.... It is very extensive. Greater Tokyo, in fact, has the most extensive urban rail network in the world. According to Wikipedia, it has 158 different lines, 48 operators, 4,715km of track and 2,210 stations.... Slightly overwhelming. I needn't … Continue reading Japanese trains ❤️

From Tokyo to Osaka

Originally published on 22nd March 2015 on Blogger Well, moving 2 kids on many trains with shitloads of baggage proved to be not very fun at all..... Go figure. The Shinkansen (bullet train) itself was only three hours, but from door to door was nearly seven. With very heavy bags, and way to many steps … Continue reading From Tokyo to Osaka