The hotel where we stayed is in an area on the edge of Roppongi called Tokyo Midtown – and the hotel is on floors 48 to 53 of a commercial building so the views are amazing. Here’s a few shots from our room, and in the immediate area.
Some shots from our food tour day, including lighting the fugu-infused sake, the lovely ladies at the rice cracker maker, the miso shop owner, the boys grilling the chicken at the izakaya and Shibuya crossing – not at peak hour! We were there at peak at the end of our tour and it’s madness!
I never wrote a post here about Tokyo. There are photos on Facebook and Instagram (lynne2724) but nothing here!!
So, we’ve been back in Wellington for a month and I’m back at uni but I’ll round out the story. Clearly we made it home in one piece despite slow progress through some very big airports. The officials at Tokyo Narita were great when we arrived, opening a counter so we could be processed with no delay which meant no standing around for John with his gammy knee.
John had a very quiet time in Tokyo, enjoying the superb service on the business floor of the Ritz Carlton (where snacks and drinks are free) while I used the Tokyo metro to visit Tomato (two buildings of multiple floors of sewing notions, fabric and all the crafty stuff you can imagine) at Shinjuku. Shinjuku Railway Station is enormous and confusing – and while I managed to get out of it and find Tomato, finding my way back to the right metro line platforms was another thing entirely and I wound up walking underground as far as a connecting metro station and was guided by a very friendly metro helper to the right platform.
We did do our pre-booked Tokyo food tour – beginning at another enormous station – Shibuya – and guided by an expat kiwi who was a long term Tokyo resident. Despite John’s knee we had a great time and ate some very challeging (for us) food including very fresh and authentic (read raw) sushi, raw fugu fish in a specialist restaurant (chefs train for years in how to prepare it as parts of it kill you!), multiple different kinds of miso pastes, freshly made rice crackers from a traditional artisan maker, and beers and char-grilled chicken at a traditional izakaya in the Tokyo ‘burbs. It was a great experience and given we didn’t know a lot about japanese foods, very enlightening. And as there were only the two of us we could take our time.
On our final day the temperature was mid 30s but felt hotter as it was humid too – I took myself off to the National Art Centre to see an exhibition of paitings on loan from the Lourve – and while it was very close to our hotel I was melting by the time I’d got there and queued outside for my ticket. After that I took the metro to a nearby suburb in search of traditional japanese textiles. Thank goodness for Google maps – even obscure shops are findable!
So, it wasn’t what we planned but between the food tour, a meal at Longrain Tokyo – the japanese outpost of a well regarded Australian asian restaurant which was amazing, the care taken of John by the folk at the hotel and my solo explorations, we managed to have a good time.
John is recuperating – the initial diagnosis was a meniscus tear but now it seems more likely it was a hamstring tear, damage to the lateral ligament in the knee and a sprained ankle. He’s on the mend and has been off the foldable walking stick we got in Dollar for a few weeks. We are off to the Barossa Valley for a trip on a restored paddle steamer with friends in two weeks and are hoping he’s more confident on stairs by then.
I’ll do a separate post with some Tokyo photos.
Our last full day in Copenhagen we did a food walking tour we had organised from NZ. Fie, our enthusiastic young danish guide took us on a walk which began in the area immediately around our hotel, starting with trying what we call Danish pastries and the Danes call wienerbrød, and then moving on to a very smart place (Aamanns 1921) for a very different take on smørrebrød (open sandwiches), and house-made snaps. They mill their own rye flour to make their own bread, infuse their own snaps (ours was infused with rye bread – tastier than it sounds), grow their own herbs and even make the soap for the bathroom. The snaps wasn’t quite my thing but the sandwiches – a chicken salad and a potato (surprisingly light for something thats got lots of carbohydrates) were quite original and tasty.
From there we went to the Torvehallerne markets to taste cheese, and pick up coffee kombucha for later – spoiler alert – we weren’t fans! From there we headed to the suburb of Nørrebro, a trendy area with interesting cafes and bars. Here we visited a craft brewery cafe for rhubarb beer (like a sour), and several vege plates. These were interesting and featured fresh peas and asparagus – the growing season is really short in Denmark so when things are in season they appear everywhere. Folk were even snacking on fresh peas from the pod.
After that it was liquorice, ‘porridge’ – more like a risotto – with more fresh peas, caramels and a traditional Danish chocolate treat to finish – think of a very superior mallowpuff!
John managed really well, but was very tired by the end of the day.
So here are a few pictures of our day. Yet again, it was fine and warm.
Had a very quiet time in Dollar as John took a tumble off my Aunty Liz’s narrow front steps. Lots of rest, anti inflammatory drugs and a folding walking stick from the Dollar pharmacy have allowed him to keep going – albeit slowly.
We arrived in Copenhagen late Saturday night – without my bag. We generally carry a change of clothes on international flights but this was a simple hop from Edinburgh to Copenhagen, no plane changes – what could go wrong? 🤔
Anyway, after finally finding the right counter and filling out forms (make sure you always keep the boarding pass with the baggage tags on – one day you will need it!), we got to our hotel. And I woke up next morning to the ‘ping’ of a text telling me that my bag would be delivered sometime that day.😀
So we set out to explore. We’ve been here before so once we were orientated we were fine. Danes don’t appear to do early in the city centre so it was a quiet stroll through the main shopping area but by the time we got to Nyhavn, the historic port area, for lunch, it was mad – folk everywhere out enjoying the sun, lunch, or just a beer down by the water. After lunch I went for a bit of an explore around Nyhavn and the Amalienborg Palace square, before I met John at the restaurant floor of the Illum department store which overlooks the shopping area. Then we headed back for a break at the hotel.
Had a lovely dinner at a place just around the corner from the hotel that John had found. Then I went for another explore to find The Little Mermaid statue – where everyman and his family were taking selfies! It was a nice walk along the water though.
So here are a few pics of our first day. On a food walk today. John is going to test if he can keep up.
Yesterday we took the ferry to Westray, north of Mainland Orkney to do a nature tour – focusing around seeing birds. It was a chance to see a different piece of Orkney, and for John not to have to drive – and there was the promise of more puffins!
We caught the 7am ferry which took around an hour and a half across calm water and passing several other, smaller islands. Don, our guide met us off the ferry and then we spent six hours driving around, chasing seals and birds. First up was the Castle o’ Burrian (a stone stack, not an actual castle) for puffin spotting (successful!), as well as guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and bonxies (skuas). Our attempt at seals was not as successful, none basking but quite a few in the water, staring at the sky (UFO spotting?🤔).
From there we went to the Noup Cliffs – and you can smell the nesting birds well before you see them. Spectacular views and heaps of sea birds including gannets which are a relatively recent arrival. Again we marvelled at the birds riding the thermals and then coming into land on the tightly packed cliffs.
After a short stop at Noltland Castle, now a ruin but built by a contemporary of Mary Queen of Scots as a defensive bolthole, we went to various sites around the island spotting more birds until it was time for the ferry back to Mainland. After a cloudy start the day fined up and the colours of the sea and sky, with no pollution or river run-off, were amazing. It was also a bonus to be able to find out more about the birds we’d been seeing on our various walks for the last few days, and to just chat about life in Orkney in general.
Then it was back to Mainland. We ate out last night – there’s not a lot of choice here (probably the only downside) and the restaurants are mostly in hotels so being in able to self cater has been useful and the local produce good. We found a farmer’s market the day we arrived and bought some lamb, and some smoked fish soup, and with two delis and two supermarkets there’s no shortage of choice. But last night my vegan haggis was tasty, if not authentic, and John’s steak was tasty.
So here’s Westray…
And here’s a repost of the photos I thought were here but I can’t see them so I’m assuming you can’t either!
Another driving day today, this time to the north west coast and some of the higher profile tourist sites – Stenness Standing Stones, Ring of Brodgar (more standing stones), Yesnaby coast, Skara Brae pre historic village and Skaill House, Marwick Head Kitchener Memorial and bird nesting site, and the a circuit back around the north coast to Kirkness.
The weather was kind again, we managed to avoid the worst of the congestion from two cruise boats in port busing folk to various places, the coastal views were spectacular and the countryside was interesting…and amongst the other sea birds nesting at the sites we visited were more puffins😀 Below is a slightly ungainly landing.
Tomorrow it’s off to Westray on an early ferry for a nature tour.
A driving adventure today, south of Kirkwall to explore the southern islands after negotiating the one way system to find our route 🙄. Nowhere is very far so in around half an hour we were over the first of the Churchill barriers (causeways built during WWII) to the island of Lamb Holm and the Italian Chapel, built from two nissen huts and beautifully decorated by Italian POWs.
Then over the other barriers which connect another 3 islands for our first Orkney archaeological site – The Tomb of the Eagles, a Bronze Age tomb and other sites on a farm overlooking cliffs where various seabirds nest. The talk on what has been found in the tomb was interesting – it included eagle talons hence the name. The tomb itself is quite small inside and you haul yourself in through a short, low tunnel. The walk back along the cliffs was pleasant – and we spent a while watching the sea birds ride the thermals.
From there we headed for the furthest southern point of Orkney – Burwick, 40 minutes or so by ferry from John O’Groats on the Scottish mainland. There we had another pleasant cliff top walk birdspotting and succeeded in finding the puffins that had eluded us at Mull. Only a few but definitely puffins, as well as shags, oyster catchers, a range of other sea birds and a seal.
We turned back towards Kirkwall from there, calling into the WWII gun positions at Hoxa Head and visiting the studio of a tapestry artist. No room in the bag ☹️ but did get some lovely hand dyed wool.
Early start yesterday morning to fly from Inverness to Kirkwall on the Mainland of Orkney. Cloudy for the flight but by the time we got here the sun was shining and it’s supposed to stay like that for most of our stay.
Kirkwall is small – the big things here seem to be fishing and tourism and there were two cruise ships in yesterday – neither very large. We spent the day having a wander around the town, checking out the various local products (gin, beer), and setting ourselves up to be able to self-cater for a few nights as we are in an apartment. Nice to be able to unpack, wash and have really simple food. There are a lot of places for lunch around Kirkwall but there’s not much choice at night.
Looking forward to a day on the road today exploring Mainland more broadly.
mywalkingbootsarered 