Guide to Japan // Basic Travel Tips 101 ヾ(๑’౪`๑)ﾉﾞ

In 2015 I got the opportunity to travel to Japan twice and the experiences from my earlier Winter trip have made it so much easier to get around Japan when I went again, for their Summer. 

Throughout both trips there are a few basic tips and tricks that I picked up along the way to make a more smooth sailing adventure, so below I've put together my guidelines which hopefully you will find helpful when you plan a trip to Japan. Also read my generalised [Travelling the World //Preparation] guide. 

Travelling the World // Preparation o(*≧□≦)o

I've travelled. I can't say I've travelled a lot, but I am in a happy place where I do get to travel as much as I can within my capabilities. Throughout my trips overseas, there are a few advice's, tips and tricks that I picked up along the way to make sure I was going to have an amazing journey and adventure. I have put together some notes which I always consider whenever I plan a trip overseas. In this case I'll be using my Japan 2015 Winter & Summer trip as an example for the below topics. 

Shinkansen to Kyoto // Night Illumination ☆ﾐ

After breakfast it was time for us to take the shinkansen, also known as the bullet trains, to Kyoto!!! 

The bullet trains are super fast, clean and smooth, so no bumps along the way. It is about 3 hours to get to Kyoto station from Shibuya on the fastest shinkansen (Hikari). 

Keep your ticket with you at all times as there will be ticket inspectors walking up and down the aisle to ensure you are not sitting in someone else's seat or on the wrong train. 

Our luggage's takes up so much space but since there isn't many people on the train we used the spare seating's around us too. 

Before we boarded our train we bought ourselves an obento (lunch box) so we could have lunch on the way to Kyoto. I really wanted the eel lunch box set but was all sold out so I got this mixed onigiri set instead. 

3 hours later we finally arrive in Kyoto and my amazing friend, Ryota, came to pick us up to take us on our first adventure away from the main city.

We ditched our luggage's in the back of Ryota's car and set off to see the Night Illumination which is popular for tourist and local's to visit during the winter season. We pasted by a scenery of hills which apparently use to be the land of ninja's were born and breed! 

We finally arrived at the Night Illumination and it was absolutely stunning but the photo's does not justify the place at all!

While walking along to the attraction ride we saw an onsen which you can soak your feet! Instantly our shoes and socks came off and we felt bliss! Earlier that day Max and I had been walking so much and once it was time for a soak in the hot waters our feet instantly swelled up!!

Just a snap of us enjoying the foot soak before heading off to the attraction ride.

The attraction ride was this UFO disk which takes you up, high above the ground to get that bird view of the whole place when it is light up. 

As we were going up we had to be seated until they announced that it was safe to stand up and take a look at the view. 

So...yeahh....it was slow as it headed up which is why Max and I took a funny face photo. It's good to still be hanging out with high school mates! 

We finally made it to the top and we started to rotate slowly for that 360 degree view! It was absolutely breathtaking. 

Once we landed back onto ground level, we continued exploring the area. I really loved how the lights are captures in the reflection of the lake surface. 

The illumination tunnel is quite popular and you will see heaps of people trying to take the perfect shot! 

Here's our perfect-enough group shot!!! 

Once we came out of the starry-like tunnel we encountered a light show section which replicated Nigeria Falls. 

We then entered another tunnel of lights but this one would change in colour, from green-orange-yellow. These were replicating the changing colours of leaves I guess. 

Another shot which looked so much better in person than in photo's!

After all that walking and photo taking we were getting hungry, so Ryota took us to his favorite restaurant which is located inside the night illumination itself! We quickly placed our orders as we were super hungry

What I loved about this restaurant was they offer all-you-can-eat bread rolls in different flavors!! You can only have 3 breads at a time but the waitress comes along every so often so you can keep getting some delicious breads! My favorite was the Houcha (roasted tea) flavored croissant 

While we were choosing which bread to try first our complimentary soup came. At first glance I thought it was pumpkin soup but once I tasted it, it was actually carrot soup with the pumpkin soup-like texture!! It was incredibly delicious!!!

For the main, I ordered the hamburg steak and it was super moist, tender and flavorsome. (drooooooooools)

Ryota ordered the crab meat cream croquette, which I took a bite of too. It was piping hot and it was generously stuffed with crab meat. The tomato salsa-like sauce went very well with the croquette. 

As for Max, he ordered the Winter Illumination recommended 3 course meal. The entree was very delicate and I managed to try the pâté and it was soooooooo good!!

The main was a beef dish which was presented very beautifully. 

Last but not least coffee and desserts was the last items of the course meal. 

All the desserts were incredibly delicious, but my favorite was the sorbet as it was really refreshing! 

After dinner we had about 30 minutes left until the place closed for the day, so we took the opportunity to take more photo's!! 

A shoutout to my dear friend Ryota for driving us around that day and taking us to places where we wouldn't have been able to get to without his help!!

♥♥♥♥♥

DAILY UPDATES
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All this night illumination talk reminds me of Sydney's VIVID festival which is ending on the 8th June! If you've never been to VIVID go out and have a look! I took Ryota to his first VIVID earlier last week when he was in Sydney for a short visit. 

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-LAZYPANDAH