Japan (Day 226 - 242)

Day 226 Osaka

We landed in Osaka shortly after 9:00 AM. First, we had to pass through border control, which was very quick, and we didn't need to show a visa. At the baggage claim, we picked up our backpacks and had to go through another check, where our backpacks were opened and inspected again. At the exit, we bought SIM cards and then made our way to the accommodation by train. On the train, I dozed off for a bit since I was really exhausted from the long day. From the train station, we took a taxi to the hostel. There, we dropped off our backpacks and went out to eat something. After our meal, we were lucky enough to check into our room and had a little more sleep. In the evening, we went to Dotonbori Street, a very crowded and popular street. We found a vegan spot to eat and wandered a bit through the surrounding streets. On a bridge, a Korean man approached us and asked where we were from. He also asked if we were married and was surprised when I said I was only 20 years old. He also told us about various football players. On the way back, we came to a street filled with karaoke bars, and a couple approached us to ask where we were from as well. The man told us that he was a German rapper and rapped a little for us. The only thing we understood was 'Beer!'.

Day 227 Osaka

Our day started at 11:00 AM this time, as I had a headache in the morning, and we had slept a bit longer. After breakfast, we went to the Tsutenkaku Tower and explored the area there a little.

Then we took the train to Namba Osaka Shrine. However, we got on the wrong train on the way there and had to transfer a few times and go back. After looking at the statue or shrine, we made our way to Osaka Castle and viewed it from the outside. After that, we went to 7/11 for lunch and then to a shopping street. Since there weren't many cool shops, we decided to sit in a café. Then we walked to the UMEDA Skybuilding, which you could enter for free and had a really good view of the city. After that, we went back to the accommodation and picked up something for dinner at 7/11.

Day 228 Nara

Unfortunately, the night was not very restful, as our neighbor was extremely loud all night. In the morning, I was woken up by an email from Australia. I was told that I needed another X-ray. Jan meanwhile received his confirmation for the Australian visa. This meant that I now had to make an extra appointment in Japan. I didn't realize how difficult that would turn out to be until later. So, my day started off quite badly! Since I couldn't make phone calls in Japan, I asked my friend Nagisa for help. She called a hospital in Osaka for me and got the information that the earliest appointment would be on August 8th. Since that would be too late, she called another hospital in Tokyo in the afternoon.

After the whole stress, we had breakfast at the hostel and later took the train to Nara. We planned to visit the city and especially the parks. In the parks, deer were wandering around everywhere, completely tame. If you bowed in front of them, they bowed back. That was interesting, although once again some tourists didn't recognize the boundaries of the animals. For example, one woman kept trying to touch the antlers, and it was clear that the animal did not like it. Generally, I wasn't sure how well those animals were doing, as it was clearly not a suitable environment for them.

On the way back to the station, we stopped by a mochi stand and got some mochis.

Back in Osaka, we went for a coffee. Nagisa contacted me again and said that I would have to call the hospital in Tokyo myself. After finding a payphone, I called the clinic. It became even more complicated because the clinic in Tokyo couldn't access my file from Laos and therefore couldn't give me an appointment right away. I contacted the clinic in Laos again, but they didn’t help me further either. My last option was to send an email to the appropriate Australian authority. Now it was just a waiting game, hoping that the matter would be resolved as quickly as possible, as the flights were already booked, and Jan would have to fly to Australia alone.

In the evening, after a long search, we found a restaurant that was really interesting, and we were the only guests. While we waited, we managed to play a bit of Mario Bros on an old console.

Day 229 Trip to Kyoto

In the morning, we made porridge again at the accommodation, packed our things, and waited a bit at the hostel. At 12:30 PM, we made our way to 7/11 for some lunch. Many restaurants were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, making it not so easy to find vegan food. Then we took the train to Kyoto. Upon arrival in Kyoto, we took a taxi to our accommodation and were lucky enough to check in right away. I first tried my luck again at the clinic in Laos, but unfortunately, that didn’t work out again. In the end, I even called Australia and purchased an app just to be able to make international calls. After a long wait, I finally reached someone. However, the man couldn't help me either and told me to send an email to the responsible authority, which I had already done! After that, I called the clinic in Tokyo again, but they replied that they would call me back tomorrow.

Now I could only hope that the Australian authority would get back to me quickly.

After all that stress, we went back to the supermarket to buy water and a few other items. Then we jogged to clear our heads.

In the evening, we went out again in search of something to eat and accidentally found a fast-food place with vegan udon noodles.

Day 230 Kyoto

After we had slept a bit longer again, we made porridge in the hotel room. We then traveled to the Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple, which had many of the red gates. However, it was quite hot and filled with tourists. So, we didn’t stay very long and continued on to get ramen. We were lucky and didn't have to wait long. After eating, we wandered through a few shops and then made our way to the Kiyomizu Temple Amidado. Here, we had to walk up a small hill first, but then we had a great view of the city. After visiting the temple, we went to a well-known matcha shop and got a matcha latte.

Next, we took the bus back to our accommodation and rested a bit. In the evening, we then got something to eat at the supermarket.

Day 231 Kyoto

After breakfast, we went jogging first. Jan wanted to go back to the first temple to buy a souvenir. Jan’s tour took a bit longer than expected, as the bus was delayed. We didn’t leave the hotel until around 12:30 PM and immediately got something to eat.

Then we took the bus to the bamboo forest. We walked a bit through the forest and then checked out the shops near the forest.

Afterward, we returned to the city to a food market. Here, Jan tried the famous Wagyu steak. I just got a mochi since there wasn't much for me. After that, we went out for Indian food.

Day 232 Trip to Tokyo

Our day started very early at 5 AM, and we had breakfast at the hotel. After that, we made our way to the train station to take the Shinkansen to Tokyo. The ride took about 2 hours, so we arrived in Tokyo just after 8:00 AM. After that, we had to walk through what felt like the entire city, which was quite exhausting with backpacks. Our destination was a hospital in Tokyo where I had miraculously secured an appointment for the X-ray of my chest.

The appointment was scheduled for 10:45 AM, but I was taken earlier. The doctor examined me and asked a few questions. However, he also found it strange that the hospital in Laos hadn’t informed me that something was notable on my X-ray. He told me that we would take a new X-ray, and he would contact me only when everything was alright. He would send the image directly to the respective authority.

I was just relieved that everything worked out and hoped to get my visa as fast as possible. It was also frustrating that I had to pay another €130.

After the appointment, we went back to 7/11 for lunch and then made our way back to the accommodation. Again, it felt like we were walking through the whole city. When we reached the accommodation, we were able to check in earlier after some minor difficulties. Resting was the first order of business, and in the evening, we picked up some food at the supermarket.

Day 233 Tokyo

In the morning, we had breakfast at our accommodation and then went to a flea market where you could find everything from clothes to consoles or antlers.

After the flea market, we went to Shibuya, an area in Tokyo. Here, we first looked at the statue of Hachiko. Right next to it was the famous crossing known from movies and social media. However, it was not as big as I expected. After that, we wandered around a bit in the city and got something to eat again at 7/11. Afterwards, we went to the Mega Don (a kind of shopping mall) and each bought a t-shirt.

By chance, we passed an Ikea and discovered they had vegan soft serve, which I naturally had to try. Then we went to a café and took a little break.

At 6:30 PM, we finally had a dinner date with Nagisa in a restaurant. The reunion was really nice, and we both found it amazing that we hadn’t seen each other for over 2 years. After dinner, we strolled a bit around the city.

Day 234 Tokyo

After breakfast, Jan had a haircut appointment, and I continued reading my book.

However, it rained all day, so we only went next door to the mall. Jan bought a cap there.

After that, we went shopping and cooked lunch at our accommodation.

In the late afternoon, we were scheduled to meet Nagisa in a park for a summer festival. We walked through the park to find the festival and ended up at a Pakistani-Japanese festival.

When we finally found the summer festival, it started raining again, and unfortunately, the stands closed down. We wandered around the city for a bit and went into a restaurant.

After that, we made our way back since it was still raining.

Day 235 Tokyo

After breakfast, we slowly made our way to the bus stop. Since it was still raining, we sat in a café for a while.

With the bus, we went to the first stop, a temple, which was completely overrun. Afterward, we squeezed through the streets and happened upon a sushi restaurant. On a whim, we decided to eat there.

Then we continued through the city and did a bit of shopping. I even bought a new pair of pants.

Afterward, we made our way back to the accommodation.

In the afternoon, we went for another jog, and in the evening, we cooked again at the accommodation.

Day 236 Tokyo

Before breakfast, I started my day with a jog. Afterwards, we headed to Shinjuku (a district of Tokyo), walked through a park, and looked at a temple.

The way back took almost 2 km through the city, and we visited various attractions such as the 3-D billboard and the Godzilla head one after the other. At lunchtime, we got a bowl to eat, and Jan also tried the fluffy Japanese pancakes. In the afternoon, we had coffee, and I treated myself to some banana bread. In the evening, we strolled to the Metropolitan Building. It’s a high-rise building you can enter for free, offering a great view of the city. Afterwards, we returned to the accommodation and had dinner.

Day 237 Tokyo

After another breakfast of porridge with banana, we went to the city. We needed to get a Japanese translation of our driving licenses done. However, we had to do this online on-site, which cost another €20.

From there, we walked to a nearby park with a good view of the Tokyo Tower. We also checked out a temple in the park and went to 7/11 for lunch.

Next, we walked further through the city to a park that would have charged an entry fee. So we walked back to our accommodation.

There, we rested for a bit and did our laundry. In the evening, we went shopping again and cooked something.

Then we went back to Akihabara. Here, some sports cars were driving around, and we spent some time in an arcade.

Day 238 Tokyo

After breakfast, we had to start packing again since we were moving again. So, we set out through the city with our backpacks once more. Upon arriving at the hotel, we met Jan’s family. We chatted in the lobby and checked into our new room.

For lunch, we grabbed a few snacks at Lawson.

Afterward, everyone went for a swim. In the evening, we all walked to the city together because Jan had booked a pub crawl. In the first place, we got some food, and in the next bar, we had a sake tasting. There, we connected more with the rest of the group and got along better. The last bar was a karaoke bar where we sang loudly together. After the pub crawl, some went to another bar where we met a few Austrians and a Norwegian. To end the night, we had a late-night snack at an Indian restaurant. We finally returned to the hotel just after 3 AM.

Day 239 Tokyo Mount Fuji

Once again, shortly after 9 AM, we set off for a car rental in the city. There, we picked up a car and drove to Mount Fuji. Jan had to drive the entire way back and forth, being the only one with a valid driver's license. After 2 hours, we arrived at Mount Fuji and couldn’t see anything at all, as the mountain was hidden behind thick clouds. After a short walk through the park, we drove back to Tokyo. Once at the hotel, I took a short break and then went for a little run. Later, we went out to eat.

Day 240 Tokyo

After the others had a sushi breakfast at the hotel (there was unfortunately only fish), we made our way into the city. We actually wanted to go to the digital museum, but unfortunately, we should have purchased tickets online in advance. So we continued to the fish market. There, I got a mochi since there was not much selection for me. We happened to run into a friend and headed to a sushi restaurant. After that, we visited the Imperial Palace, but it wasn't visible much, and we weren't allowed to enter the grounds.

Then we went to a temple and afterwards got a matcha latte.

Next, we went to a sky bar since it offered a fantastic view of Tokyo.

In the evening, we met up with an acquaintance who had been with us in the bar the previous night.

Day 241 Tokyo

We had one last breakfast with Jan’s family before they headed home. After that, we laid back in our bed and continued to rest. Around noon, we went for a run, and it was quite hot in the sun.

At 4 PM, we met Nagisa in the city in a vintage district. We strolled through the shops, and Nagisa was busy shopping.

Afterwards, we went out to dinner together. For 7 PM, Jan and I had booked go-kart racing through the city. We drove the go-karts while wearing costumes.

That was really hilarious, and we even drove over the famous crossing.

Day 242 Tokyo

After taking a short run, I had to pack my things since our flight to Shanghai was that evening.

We checked out at 11:00 AM and grabbed breakfast at a bakery.

Afterwards, we went to the city and ended up at a tuna auction, but all the fish had already been sold. After that, we headed to the Harry Potter train station and shop.

Then we got ramen one last time.

After that, we started to head back and sat down in the hotel lobby. I laid down again, but a staff member asked if everything was okay with me. We then got dinner, sat by the water, and watched the sunset. At around 8 PM, we took the bus to the train station and from there directly to the airport. We had to wait a bit since check-in didn’t start until 10:15 PM.

Then we had to walk through the entire airport to our gate. There we had a little time before our flight, which departed punctually at 1:05 AM for China.