May 14, 2025

Takayama

Takayama, famous for its nearby hot spring or onsen towns, stunning traditional residences, and as it turns out, its pristine canals and rivers which accommodate the towns koi fish during the warmer months, was a breath of fresh air after the albeit wondrous but fast paced and somewhat cramped Tokyo.

Now I can’t talk about Takayama without mentioning the journey to get there. The Limited Hida Express is a large windowed train, designed to show off one of the most beautiful parts of the country as it travels through it, boasting views of snow capped mountains, winding rivers and deep valleys as far as the eye can see. It was such a stark transition from Tokyo, where all that can be seen on a clear day is urban city for miles and miles. As experiences go, I would have been happy with just these sights alone. Saying that, i’m glad Takayama was at the end of the line, as it only added to the magic.

May 8, 2025

Day One.

To preface a little, I’m cheating here by not including our true first day, or Day 0 as i’ve been calling it in my head. But to sum it up nicely, after 48 sleepless hours, cars, planes and trains, experiencing our first time in the Tokyo Metro during rush hour which was an adventure in its own right! We finally made our way to our incredible hotel. I’ll share more details about it when we’ve moved on. After stumbling our way through Sensō-ji temple, introducing ourselves to the famous 7/11 konbini (convenience store, again, worth a whole blog post of its own!), we called it a night at the late hour of 2pm.

May 7, 2025

Yoi Ryōko O

Yoi Ryōko O, A warm message of farewell from my family, translating roughly to mean “Have a good trip!”, and just like that we’re off! After what feels like an eternity of waiting, i’m now 8 hours into a 14 hour flight, hoping my hour of free wifi lasts long enough to type this out!

As flights go, besides the slightly numb feeling after sitting for so long, it’s not been so bad! Complimentary moist towels, pillows and blankets, and more food and free sake than you can imagine! Japan Airlines is pulling out all the stops to give us a comfortable journey! We even managed to catch a few hours sleep. Considering the entire previous night we battled to stay awake, to better counter the jetlag, a few hous sleep was precious! Not to mention we’ll be arriving at 7am local time, ready to start a whole new day!

April 6, 2025

What on Earth Is DisneySea?

What on Earth is DisneySea? Well, as a massive Disney fan myself, I could argue that any Disney theme is worth the visit. However, what strikes out about DisneySea is that it is the only one of its kind in the world, and importantly, it is in Tokyo! The first place on our Itinerary! How could I not?

Disneysea has a theme of, you guessed it, the sea! It also features characters that haven’t yet been featured in any other park such as Rapunzel, as well as its own character Duffy, a bear character, just as popular as Mickey Mouse in Asia. The latest expansion of the park, Fantasy Springs, brings to life a Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Frozen, and Tangled rides which I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a major draw for me! I was at first concerned that Fantasy Springs would be a timed area and/or a priority line for all the rides, however it was recently announced that as of the 1st April 2025 that there will only be standby lines – the typical queue experience. I for one think this is a great decision because who doesn’t want to experience the wonder of the lantern festival from Tangled?

March 27, 2025

Check out our new Itinerary!

Just a quick update, our itinerary can now be found on our website or on our Instagram account! You can find it, or the link to the instagram page in the top right of the website!

January 12, 2025

Why Japan?

As I’m sat here in a cosy cottage in Wales nestled in the Wye Valley, admiring the wonder and natural beauty of the landscape around me, I can’t help but reflect on the similar wonders that attracted me to Japan in the first place. Now a question I’ve been asked more times than I can count, whenever I’ve mentioned over the years that I’m planning on travelling to Japan in the foreseeable future, “Why Japan? A simple question at first glance, and yet every time the question has been asked I’ve shrugged it off and mumbled some combination of “The landscape”, “The nerd culture”, “The crazy technology”, never really being able to concisely answer on the spot. So, with some time, thought and discussion with Hannah I’ve tried to pin down the answer and put it on paper.

January 2, 2025

Welcome to our adventure!

I remember it clearly, I sat in my desk chair in the bedroom of our university house, no doubt playing some kind of video game rather than completing any coursework. Sun beaming in through the white sheer curtains we’d put up for privacy at the beginning of the year. I was in my third year of University studying Geology, while Hannah was completing her Masters degree in Archaeological Science, the year was 2020 and Wales was still in a semi-lockdown. Hannah could leave the area for educational reasons, to attend Cardiff Uni, while I was bound to the local area, if not ideally the house itself. I remember hearing Hannah come home from morning lectures, calling up the stairs to say she was home, then after some time the bedroom door creaked open, Hannah stepped through the threshold with a smile on her face, saying one sentence that would set a course for the next five years of our lives. “Hey Eddie? What would you think of living in Japan?”