The start of the 2019 backpacking trip - Japan

So in preparation for this trip, I decided it was a good idea to completely shave my head a couple days before leaving. At the time I thought it was a good idea, and then my fringe started to grow back about a month into the trip and I realised it was not the best. But there was nothing I could do about it. So with that said, here's a couple photos of bald me.

Our trip starts May 2nd. Caroline and I left Melbourne Tullamarine airport in the afternoon and landed in Bangkok 6.5 hours later, and boarded our connecting flight at 11:30pm, landing nice and early in Kansai Osaka Airport, Japan at 7:00am May 3rd.

The last time we were here in Osaka was May 11th 2017! Almost 2 years ago to the date. On this trip, we were here in this beautiful country till May 29th (26 days), so lets get into it!

We had booked a place called Hostel Q for 6 nights, and made our way there. If you have not been to Kansai airport, it is a fair journey into the city as the airport is literally detached from land and you have to get a train over the bridge of water.

Once we did that we were on our way through the Subways to where our accommodation was located, Nishishinsaibashi. Back in 2017, we stayed in the same area but at a different hostel, so when we came up out of the subway, we were overwhelmed with the feeling of deja vu. All the memories coming back. It was nice.

Hostel Q is located near Dotonbori, Alice On Wednesday store and all the awesome small streets over run with clothing stores, cafes and restaurants. It was a really 'happening' area.

We arrived at our hostel which was this small building out the front, but when you go in it seems to stretch and lead further down. Our room was on the 2nd floor. It was nothing special but it was private, so we were able to watch movies with the sound up, and we ended up watching Netflix every night. It became a bit of a routine on this trip.

The first thing on our list to do here in Osaka, was to collect the photo of our friend that we had printed out and brought with us back in 2017. Our friend was travelling to Osaka a couple days after we returned to Australia so we thought it would be funny to bring a photo of him and hide it for him to find, but he never found it! even with the location given to him. Somehow he went up to the wrong building roof it was hidden on and didn't get the chance to find it since he was leaving for Tokyo that same day, so it stayed hidden.

We remembered where we had placed it and went back. The building was a bowling alley called Sun Bowl which you will see videos of on my Japan video up on my YouTube channel. We were so surprised it was still there. We had wrapped it up in some old plastic and shoved it in a pipe. 2 years later and it was still there! So now I have it with me back in Melbourne.

We filmed the sunset that night and then went and got dinner to cook back at the hostel.

We spent most of our time exploring the street food and culture as Osaka is the food capital of Japan. Such an amazing choice of places in such a small part of the city. The tiny alleyways, the bustling streets of Dotonbori, the style of street clothing and fashion. It really is something to indulge in. I also went to the gym here as my membership was still active till the end of May, and found that their tattoo policy is very strict in gyms. I had to cover them up and I did not bring any gym pants with me so I had to wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Not the comfiest clothes to work out in.

The weather was great here too, everyone was riding their bikes around and always out in Instagram worthy cafes with their friends snapping away their sweets and drinks onto the cloud. Such a good vibe. Another thing to mention is everyone was so friendly and open, our hostel staff would always start up a conversation with us, even if they only knew a handful of English words. If you ever go to Osaka, definitely look at Hostel Q as an option for accommodation. Great area and great staff.

On May 9th we took a Bullet Train to Tokyo and we were lucky enough to see Mount Fuji on our window side as it passed. It was a super cloudy day but the top of the mountain was sticking out which gave it such a surreal look.

The Bullet Train reached Tokyo in just over 3 hours, reaching a speed of 400km.

We booked the accommodation a couple of days before leaving Osaka and when we arrived it was not like it said it would be. It was attached on the side of a Family Mart (which wasn't so bad. Late night snack runs) but to get up 2 flights of stairs to a narrow door was a bit of a problem. Caroline had a suitcase with her filled with 2 years worth of belongings so it weighed around 25kg. Then once inside. There was no kitchen which meant more money spent on takeout. The beds were also narrow and made sounds with movement. They were single bunk beds in the style of capsule beds. The window was right next to the beds, and right outside the window was the train station, so constant noise. It was always warm too as no aircon was in the room. The room was super large because there was around 32 other bunk beds in the room, and no luggage space so all the suitcases and bags were laid on the floor.

So instead of staying for the straight 2 weeks there, we only paid for 4 nights and booked another hostel to stay at for the rest of our time in Tokyo. The next 4 days was spent watching movies on Netflix and having Family Mart coffee and sweet breads for breakfast. We got out most of the days and went to Shinjuku and the surrounding area which was sweet. Very busy but also a really nice area. We also took a trip to the Cup Noodle Museum and got to make our own flavoured cup of noodles and design them. (Not to brag but I'm a natural artist)

So after the 4 days in this hostel we packed up and moved to a better one, with a kitchen!

We were at this new hostel until the 25th May. It was much nicer and larger, and came with a bonus rooftop terrace which we utilised quite often. Even had a movie night up there.

Now in a better environment, we went out more often. Checked out a hedgehog cafe (didn't top the 2017 trip to a Pug Dog Cafe in Kyoto), Found our way onto rooftops to get some sick drone shots (One of the Godzilla head), watched Detective Pikachu in cinemas, saw in person the Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift street in Shibuya (Shibuya Crossing), got interviewed by a YouTube vlogger and witnessed his Koala impersonation (was not disappointed) and of course went to the infamous Robot Restaurant!

If you don't know what the Robot Restaurant is, in short it is a show held underground that is performed live with robots and performers singing, dancing, fighting, and lots of lasers and music. Not a restaurant with robots serving you food. I did some filming of it which you can also check out on my YouTube channel Killow Productions.

On the 25th we moved locations to Mount Fuji!

We stayed at a hostel called Fuji View, and yes, you could see Mount Fuji from the window of the hostel. The hostel was honestly THE best hostel I have ever stayed at. It was a large property with a massive chill area, a large kitchen, lovely design and furniture. It was super clean, awesome staff worked there, large beds which were also comfy which is saying a lot about hostel beds. Luggage space, free breakfast, a terrace you access by climbing a ladder and an amazing view of Mount Fuji and the surrounding area. The store was about a 15/20 minute walk but it had everything. Only downside to the location was how far the station was. A bus was the only access to the area and to walk there took 30/40 minutes, add the luggage we had and the HEAT. It was up in the high 30's low 40's most days. Nonetheless a lovely place to stay in. This was the view we would wake up to.

We didn't do much for the 4 nights we were there. Mostly walked around the area which had a school, a big lake which had great views, and the shopping centre. To be honest though it felt like a getaway from our getaway. Tokyo was so busy and constant moving around, trying to fit in as much as we could with our time there, that when we got here, it was just spent taking it easy. Enjoying the quiet.

Our time was up here in Japan and we took a bus back to Tokyo and spent our last night in an old capsule hostel that was completely trash, but was right next to the train station we had to take in the morning to the airport. We flew to London where we spent the week catching up with old friends and drinking every night. I'll be getting into that in the next blog.

Until then. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the last few pictures from Japan.