The Art of London

Two weeks ago today, I had just returned from Japan the night before, but was up, at it, and off to London!

It might seem not-exactly-sensible to have committed to a weekend away immediately after returning from such a trip, but working life led to it really with that being my only three day weekend for the rest of the year, due my dad's birthday being during August Bank Holiday. For my birthday in April, Alex's parents kindly got me vouchers for theatre tickets that could be redeemed for most theatres in the country, in complete acceptance of my wish to collect memories not things. Now, despite me not being the biggest fan of London in the slightest, it must be admitted that London does have the best theatres with the widest range of shows. London is also home to the BFI, one of four places in the country showing Dunkirk in 70mm, the British Library that currently has an exhibition about the Russian Revolution running, one of my great friends from Keele, Georgia, and Cantina Laredo that makes your guacamole in front of you. Weekend: sorted.

The Ferryman
The Ferryman is the latest creation from Jez Butterworth, who is famed for 'Jerusalem'. Without wanting to give too much away, it is based on an Irish family in the 1980s. The vast majority of the play takes place in the kitchen in home of Quinn Carney, his wife and seven children, three older relatives, and his sister-in-law and her son. They appear to be based in the Republic of Ireland, but when cousins 'from the town' come to visit, the town referred to is Derry (where my dad's from incidentally), and that is in Northern Ireland, so they're probably very close to the border. You can see Donegal from Derry, so I imagine it is probably there.

The set is used very well, meaning that you aren't constantly staring at one point of the stage, even though there is only one set mainly used. The characters that come in and out also add great depth to what is being performed, and keep you alert throughout the three hours that the play lasts. All of the actors play their roles very well, and with great sincerity, that is including the children. The storyline is also very sincere, and as far as I can tell, accurate. The family are Catholic, and the IRA are involved in the plot, but it isn't overdone or farcical, there is something very genuine about the whole play.

It's an absolute must-see, and I'd love even more people to discuss it with!

DunkirkAs with 'The Hateful Eight' by Tarrantino, 'Dunkirk' was filmed in 70mm, with only four cinemas in the UK able to show it in exactly that. It was released more broadly, but the actual picture is somewhat skewed, eg. black lines needed at the top and bottom of the screen. It's a real film-nerd thing to specifically seek out to go and watch, but that's my Alex! And to be honest, I really appreciated it to.

The film was absolutely incredible!

With little dialogue it was a very serene experience, even though you were watching extremely emotional events. In general, I'm not the biggest fan of war films. I'm a massive history nerd, so appreciate them on that level absolutely, but I detest war and people killing each other so I usually end up angry and sad. (Side note: Desmond Doss recently became an absolute hero of mine, and 'Hacksaw Ridge' a film that has completely touched my because of this). I definitely did get angry and sad when watching 'Dunkirk', but I also felt sheer elation at the end.

Everyone in it played their parts very well, but with the lack of dialogue it wasn't possible for any brewing egos to emerge. I have to give props to Harry Styles, as I imagine it must have been ridiculously intimidating working with such greats as Kenneth Brannagh and Tom Hardy, but he performed his role admirably.

The Russian Revolution Exhibition 
I have always been interested in Russian history, but have only actually studied Peter the Great, so in terms of knowledge 'westernisation' is the phrase I know. Alex however, is far more knowledgeable about Russia, having studied it to the point of writing his undergraduate dissertation about it. That meant that going in to the exhibition we both in the same book, but on very different pages. Having said that, I feel with both were able to enjoy it. I think Alex's enjoyment was more of an appreciation for the artefacts that were available and what not, while for me, I enjoyed learning more about events that thoroughly interest me.

It was a very well but together exhibition, and made logical sense in the way that it was laid out. There wasn't a lot to it though, and even with reading pretty much everything readable, watching everything watchable, it only took about an hour for us to go around. This was fine in terms of 'value for money' as we had 2 for 1 tickets that were made available when we booked our train tickets, and we didn't have all afternoon due to getting the train home. If you are planning to go there without any other plans for the day though, I would make other plans, as it really doesn't take that long.

Hiroshima the Peaceful

I took the shinkansen from Kumamoto to Hiroshima which is where I spent two days before flying home. I stayed at the Hotel Sunroute which was perfectly placed for access to anything and everything you could want to see and do in Hiroshima. The transport links were really great, but I treated myself to a couple of taxis. Of the 9 currencies available on my trusty travelex money card, the Japanese yen isn't one of them. Having not figured this out until just before I went to Japan (not my most efficient moment), I was very panicked about how much money to take as it would be difficult to just add and subtract money from the card. I ended up getting 71,000 yen from Eurochange for about £500, and ended up with about 15,000 yen left at the end of my trip, so 'treat yoself' mentality kicked in, and I had taxied to the bus station on the way home, and took the river cruise to Mijiyama island.

I went to Mijiyama island the second day I was in Hiroshima, it was beautiful!

The shrine in the water was a popular spot on the island, but I still felt peaceful and calm near it. I felt those things pretty much the whole time I was in Japan to be honest, but particularly during my time in Hiroshima.
The river cruise I took there and back left from the Peace Park which was only 15 minutes walk from my hotel. It took 45 minutes each way, but watching the landscape change and having a little snooze on the boat was lovely.

As mentioned, my hotel was only 15 minutes from the Peace Park in Hiroshima. That is where I spent my first day in the city mostly, the museum is right next to the park, as is the atomic bomb dome pictured. Having been to Ground Zero in New York, that is the place I first thought of when I went to both the museum and the park. There is certainly an eeriness, a calmness, and senses of pain and loss that both places share. However, perhaps due to it being more recent, there was an aggression and anger to Ground Zero I felt, that wasn't present in the Hiroshima museum or Peace Park. In Hiroshima, there was just a plea for worldwide peace so an atrocity such as the A-bomb they suffered could never happen again. 

Around the corner from the dome is the Orizuru Tower. Orizuru are origami cranes that are symbols of peace in Japanese culture. At the top of the Tower you can form your own crane, write your prayers on it, and then stand on a glass platform to drop it down a glass box attached to the mirror. My severe vertigo meant I did not last very long on that platform whatsoever.

Of all the places I visited on my whirlwind tour of Japan, Hiroshima was absolutely my favourite. It was incredibly peaceful around the whole city, you couldn't help but be calm, relaxed, and hopeful. I also found this really great little restaurant that was built around the importance of gyoza.

From Hiroshima I flew back to Birmingham via changes in Tokyo and Munich. I flew with Lufthansa and had a really great experience with them! My jetlag was also bearable enough that Alex and I enjoyed a lovely time in London last weekend, however, I have considerably crashed somewhat at the tail end of the week, and my dissertation is looking at me, and my motivation is waning... Until the next adventure!

Good Things Come in 3s: Kyoto, Kumamoto, and Caitlin

After a great introduction to Japan through two days in Tokyo, it was time for me to head to Kumamoto via a day in Kyoto. I took my first ever bullet train/shinkansen early in the morning to do the couple of hours travel from Tokyo to Kyoto.

The shinkansen's are pretty roomy, there are also plugs and a person who brings food and drink to buy. One thing I noticed with Japan is that they actively discourage eating while on the move, to the point where there aren't even bins on the pavement. It can be really annoying, but it also makes you really grateful when a person openly sells food to you whilst you're travelling.

I had a whistlestop tour of Kyoto. It started off in a department store buying Birkenstocks because the heat and walking in Japan had caused my feet to swell and blister like I don't know what. I am a UK woman's 7, and got the biggest size they had in the shop which was 25cm, but I feel I could have gone up a side. Jokes aside, shoes in Japan are small.

Next, I headed to Nishiki Market,

It felt very authentic there, with lots of traditional foods and crafts on offer for sale. The attention to detail in the ceiling was also lovely to see, and not a place I would have expected such architecture to be present in.

After that, and via a doughnut cafe, I headed up 500-something metres to Kiyomizu-dera Shrine.

It was a trek and a half to walk up the hill in the heat and humidity, but as you can see, the beauty of the shrine was absolutely worth it. There were also some really impressive views from the top, and lovely little shops on the way up. I particularly noticed the amount of people in traditional dress around this shrine, and Yasaka shrine which I also visited. It was really lovely to see individuals, couples, friends and families of all ages embracing the heritage of their country.

Kyoto Tower is situated opposite the train station, so I made the effort to stop off there for more magnificent views of the city before I got the first of two shinkansens that would take me Kumamoto and Caitlin!

Caitlin very kindly left an end of term party early to meet me at the station. We promptly returned to her flat and sat up until 2 in the morning catching up! A year's a long time to go without seeing one of your best friends, even though technology has been very useful.

Kumamoto is a fairly small city, but it was the perfect place to chill over the weekend and reconnect with my friend. We visited the absolutely stunning Suizenji park,

As you can just about see in this picture, Japan have mastered blending city living with beautiful greenery. Walking around their parks and extravagent shrines can make you feel like you're tucked away in one of nature's pretty secrets, when if you look over the trees, you might catch a skyscraper because you're actually still in the city. I very much appreciate places like that, they're my favourite types of places to be. You can also see the fake Mount Fuji of Suizenji park in this picture, over on the left, apparently every park in Japan has one.

That same day we also visited a British bakery which had the most authentic tasting scones I've ever had outside of Britain, and a Japanese owner with a very London accent! It was a lovely little shop.

For evening activities, Caitlin's boyfriend Kohei was very helpfully celebrating his birthday so we had even more of an excuse to go out to a restaurant, then have all the fun singing and dancing to karaoke in our own booth (seriously, they need these in England), before heading out to some bars and writing upside down on polaroids. We also tried raw horse meat for the first time which wasn't too horrendous (for me anyway), but definitely wasn't as delicious as the gyoza (dumplings) we ate!

The next day was a slightly hungover one, but we still had many a place to visit! We went and watched one of Caitlin's schools compete in a rugby competition. After lunch of more gyoza (seriously, those things are delicious as heck), doughnuts iced to look like animals, and a failed trip to an onsen because of road closures (though apparently my tattoos would have been frowned upon anyway), we ended up going back and watching the final of the rugby as well. It was really lovely to just chill and watch some rugby.

My final full day in Kumamoto unfortunately was a day Caitlin had to spend in work. Therefore, it was up to me to get myself up to and around the castle that is currently being reconstructed due to a really bad earthquake in April, and then to potter around the city centre.

I made it! And workers there very kindly told me that if I went up to the 14th floor of the city offices I'd get a great view of the whole site, so I did! That's where I took that panoramic shot from. Their helpfulness was a continuation of all of the kindness I had shown to me by every Japanese person I came across, but particularly Caitlin's neighbour. While I was waiting for the bus, it began to absolutely throw it down with rain - if you like extreme weather, head to Japan. Her neighbour came out and offered to drive me to where I was going, I cautiously accepted, and whilst in the car it became clear he knew about 3 words of English, which could only be countered by my 2 words of Japanese. After it became clear that he thought I was going to the nearby university, which I wasn't, but that he also did not understand the word castle, only station, I ended up being driven to the station, to then catch a train to the centre. He also gave me his umbrella. A wonderfully kind man.

You can read Caitlin's version of events here: http://gotmeunderaspell.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/scousers-reunited.html, and catch up on her other amazing Japanese adventures! Seriously, she's smashing life out there, you should check it out.

The next day took me to Hiroshima, which will take you to my next post...

Taking on Tokyo

I do my best to aim for at least 2 posts a month, but July was insane! The whole month completely ran away with me. Now, however, I am (still!!) a little jetlagged, and suddenly it's a been 9 days since I returned from one of the best adventures of my life (so far)!

One of my very good friends at Keele, Caitlin, moved to Japan last year to teach English. Cue me promising to go and visit her! Initially, it was going to be mine and Alex's trip this year after the fabulousness of California last year, but unfortunately it didn't work out like that. He had too much occurring and what not which meant that half of this trip was a solo adventure! It was actually really refreshing to go and do something like this for myself, and by myself. As much as I've struggled with this year being so focused on doing things for me, myself and I, but this trip really was the icing on top of the cake that has been the most difficult but worthwhile 12 months I've had in a long time.

Caitlin lives in Kumamoto, a smaller city in Japan, and as a teacher she works solidly Monday to Friday. Therefore, we both agreed I'd be best off seeing some other places as well. My plan then became Tokyo -> Kyoto -> Kumamoto -> Hiroshima, and I'm going to do multiple blog posts to fully detail the fantasticness that was all of these places. To get everywhere, I used the JR Pass, which was ridiculously cheap for the amount that I used it, and compared to what those trips would have cost individually.

After 24 hours of travel, a highlight of which was the old Japanese man next to me watched Godzilla as we approached Japan, and my first experience of Japanese toilets that thankfully play music so no one hears you wee, I picked up my JR Pass from Tokyo's airport. It allowed me to use the monorail that took me right into Tokyo's main train station. From there, my Pass also worked on the local train so I could get to my hotel.

I stayed at the APA Shintomicho-Ekikita which was only 10 minutes walk from the local train station, and 25 minutes walk from Tokyo station itself. The hotel was lovely, and the staff couldn't do more to help me, even though English wasn't a strong point for them, and my Japanese extends to hi and thank you.

Across the two days I spent in Tokyo, I walked 25,000 steps, sweated in 30 odd degree heat with about 40% humidity, got lost repeatedly (seriously, Tokyo Tower can be seen, but not approached easily), embarrassed myself with the Englishness of my food choices because I was so scared of ordering fish by accident, and said 'God help me' more times in 48 hours than ever before. BUT, at no point did I feel scared, or unsafe, or completely out of my depth.

I got to see stunning sights from the top of Tokyo Tower at night,

And even more during the day from the top of Mount Takao,

I would encourage everyone visiting to Tokyo spending time out of the city, as well as in it. If you have the time, absolutely go to Mount Fuji, which is what I would have done if I had had the time. As I didn't, I chose Mount Takao, and got to ride the steepest cable car in Japan a quarter of the way up! It was a really peaceful place, even though I constantly ran in to other people - they all said 'konichiwa' in the way English walkers say 'good morning/afternoon', I loved it. On my way back from Mount Takao, I ended up in Shinjuku station, which Caitlin later informed me is one of the busiest in the world. It certainly was hectic and a bit confusing, I ended up on a bus that literally just did a circle around the station...but I got back eventually! And headed to the Hard Rock Cafe via Harajuku. Harajuku absolutely was quirky, but not as vast in its quirkiness as I was expecting.

I also think everyone should visit the Imperial Palace, the gardens are absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, there isn't a set timetable for being able to enter the palace, tours can only take place on sporadic days as it is all at the discretion of the Emperor and the royal family, but hey ho, you don't feel like your missing out. I went there my first evening, and it seems that is where all Tokyo residents go running! I was a bit worried as it was getting dark, and I was alone, but I found myself in amongst tens of runners the whole way around the site!

After Tokyo, it was up, at it and onto Kyoto! Which will bring you on to my next post...