Tokyo - Japan #83

Over 7 months after Morocco #82 I finally bring up a new country Japan #83. I've been on a second career break for 10 months and really should have taken the opportunity to pick up the remaining of the low hanging fruit left in Europe (San Marino, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Cyprus, Monaco).

What's gone has gone, I've got a new job when I return home from travelling so opportunities will be more limited in the future. 

Japan has always been very high on my bucket list and top for many years. During my first career break 10 years ago when I covered lots of Asia, I really wanted to go to Japan but couldn't justify the cost so opted for Taiwan and South Korea, both of which I really liked. 

The pound is now stronger, my savings account healthier, the fact the UK prices have gone through the roof mean Japan is well within budget. 

Been based in Vietnam (with the in-laws) for the summer meant the flights were plentiful and reasonable, I had the opportunity of flying into Tokyo and out of Osaka.

Not working meant I had plenty of time for research and planning, to much so to be honest. Consequently the first few days we're a bit of a come down. The weather wasn't great, I was tired (an overnight flight with no sleep) and I couldn't figure out the transport system in Tokyo.

There is some paperwork to do to enter Japan, this can be done online (https://www.visitjapan.digital.go.jp/Web/) and you get a QR code, I knew about this but forgot so I had to complete 2 forms (immigration and customs) by pen and paper.

Getting around Tokyo by train/metro is a lot harder than it should be. Every day I made mistakes, often it was a case of jumping on a train and watching that the blue dot on Google maps was moving in the right direction (or not). 

I know more now than I did before - there seems to be 2 or 3 different companies operating the transport. The lines starting J in square boxes are JR Railway, to get to these at large stations you follow the signs to JR Railways rather than JJ than you need. Once you get through the JR gates you see the individual lines. To transfer to the other lines usually a letter in a circle you need to pass through an exit and an entry barrier.

Tips

1. Get a Suica card - non iPhone users need a physical Suica Welcome card, top it up and use it on trains, I couldn't imagine having to deal with individual tickets each time. Get this from the train station at the airport. The machine to buy this did eat my credit card which wasn't a great start, but the bloke opened it up and fished it back out for me. 

2. Never guess, if it looks just 80% correct it will probably be wrong

3. Don't expect the opposite train on the platform to be the same line in a different direction ( I fell for this when I'd initially boarded a train in the wrong direction, jumped off at the next stop and straight on the opposite train which took me even further away).

4. Use Google maps, it tells you the entry and exit gates to use, the platform to find and the end destination of the train

5. Watch out some lines have Normal, Rapid and Super Rapid versions, check your destination station is a stop on the train

6. Google maps usually gives you about 10 minutes for the first option, often when I get to a platform there is an earlier train which I usually hop on, however sometimes for reasons unknown to me the train may not go to your destination, so better to wait for the Google maps option.

7. Use the bus if it is an option, I hate buses but never had any bother with them (except for a breakdown/mystery stoppage on the way to Mount Fuji)

8. Expect the unexpected and stay cool when it happens, I made several errors some of which I have no idea what I did wrong, everything gets sorted in the end, there is a bloke near each barrier gate, he becomes your friend.

9. Leave plenty of time, like I mean plenty. 

Onto Tokyo itself, there isn't the massive tourist ticks you get in many capital cities, part of it is just been here, eating the food and interacting with locals. 

In the tourist areas there are people selling food for people to photograph and petting cafes of animals (so far seen dog, cat, pygmy pigs, capibara, otters (yes really), I saw on Google maps Owl cafe - it couldn't be can it?

Attractions include people crossing a road at Subaya Scramble Crossing (I wasn't impressed tired on day one but gave it another go on the last day and it had improved with my mood).

Eating out, breakfast was a famous Egg Sando from 7-11 and a smoothie which quite novel you make yourself. Lunch was taken in a locals restaurant and dinner I went to Izakaya bar for BBQ grills and beers sat around a tiny table.

A highlight for me was the Government Metropolitan Building Staff Canteen where you can self register as a guest and use the staff canteen which had great views, delicious, plentiful and cheap food (a massive bowl of Ramen was just over £3). You can also go to the observation deck for great views of the massive city FOR FREE. It had an athletics museum on the ground floor for the upcoming World Athletics Championships. 

I was in Tokyo for 5 days, I didn't see everything, the place is massive. Day by day Tokyo grew on me, the more I tried local food, local bars it just got better and better. 

Golden-Gai bars down little alleyways is somewhere I would not hurry back to. It felt like it was a scam with places charging cover charges to get in. Thinking about it, most of these were only a fiver, but it does make bar hopping an expensive night out. 

Teamlab Planets was good, but I went to Aya in Dubai with my family the week before and this was similar. I enjoyed the Dubai experience better as we got to do that as a family.

Skytree was decent but crowded. I got a late afternoon ticket so I could see Tokyo in both daylight and dark. Unfortunately I wasn't alone with this thinking and it was absolute bedlam trying to get down. Handy that they had a beer festival on at the bottom however.

I went on a self guided cycling trip to Lake Kawaguchi which offers stunning views of Mount Fuji (when it's not cloudy). The bus was massively delayed (problem unknown) - we stopped on the hard shoulder engine running for about an hour until the driver picked me out at the back of the bus (only non Japanese on-board), asked my destination then started to drive again. The delay meant it had to be a fast cycle around one lake only (20km) rather than my planned multi lake experience as I needed to be back for the baseball. As I was enjoying a post ride ice-cream Fuji almost came into view. 

I also went to the football and baseball which I really enjoyed both having sell out enthusiastic crowds (the football had 80,000 fans).

Lastly the people, Japanese people are so kind and polite, not many speak English but it didn't cause any embarrassment to either side. 

After my 5 days in Tokyo I'd rate Japan 8/10, which was a let down from my 10/10 expectations. However as the trip continues my opinion becomes increasingly positive.

Dubai revisited

I travelled to Dubai in 2012 and if I'm honest I really didn't like the place. This time I was worried it would be overrun with influencers, posers and wannabes. Fast forward to 2025 my priorities have changed, and I've seen Dubai in a different light. 

Where on my first visit i searched for the cheapest beer, I'm now more interested in clean, safe, child friendly places, which Dubai ticks all those boxes. 

13 years ago I struggled will unfriendly locals, however it's not a surprise if I was not respecting their culture. This trip I found them very warm people, especially to our little girl Sienna. There are many many Indians whom after working with them for years I really enjoy their company. 

Dubai in August, yeah it's hot, very very hot. Yes it's expensive for attractions (however deals are to be had in August) but there is a myriad of choices.

This trip I managed to achieve the objectives of:

1) Activities out of the day time heat

2) Child friendly activities that didn't break the bank 

3) Eating well, but on a budget

Dubai can be expensive, but it can also be done on a reasonable budget. We used the metro to get around as much as possible. Rather than staying in 5* luxury resorts (>£200pn) we stayed in a 4* at £40 including breakfast. I was attracted to this hotel as it was the 'highest hotel in the world' until last year. Another key criteria was the proximity to a Metro station (6 minutes walk - or 4 min if the heat was ultra intense).

Eating we predominantly ate in the Malls food court, which allowed us as a family to get something that catered to everyone's tastes. For example one lunchtime I tucked into Bosnian Sausages, my wife had Pad Thai and put daughter had chicken nuggets. 

We did a couple of tours, a boat trip around the marina (at night so it wasnt too roasting). There was a buffet and entertainment so was excellent value for the 3 of us at £88. We also did a desert safari (dune bashing, camel ride, sand boarding, BBQ and entertainment) which again was good value at £98.

I have a good reliable bloke with a nice car that will do bespoke tours, message me for details. 

In general having a 4 year old we were paying for 3 adults. Where possible we pushed Sienna through ticket counters as a 3 year old (some places treat 3 year old as adult so we had to bite the bullet).

One day we did try the souks of old Dubai, however we did have to abandon it as it was simply far too hot (the phone was saying mid 40's feels like high 50's).

Back into deals and value. During August you could show your Emirates boarding pass and get decent discount from restaurants and attractions (we got 30% discount from Aya Universe - which by the way was quality).

Many restaurants/cafes put on 10 Dirham dishes (£2) such as Chocolate Brownie and Ice Cream (pictured). In general it's too hot in August so less people travel, which does open the door for value. 

Another August initiative is the Dubai Mallathon which is held every morning throughout August at 9 Shopping Malls. Think of Parkrun but indoors with air conditioning! During the first 4 days I did a different one each day, they weren't that popular but we're a great way to meet up with expats. 

Dubai has changed a lot in the last 13 years, as have I. The changes have brought us closer together. I'd come back. Maybe again as part of a layover rather than a specific holiday. It has rekindled my appetite for this region, I'll definitely buy looking at layovers in Oman, Saudi or Bahrain (new countries) on future long haul trips

The road to 100

With 5 new countries in the last calendar year I'm well on the way to getting to 100 different countries, count as at Jul 2025 is #82.

Let's air a few potential controversial inclusions. I count England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as 4 rather than 1 United Kingdom.  Also in my 82 I count Jersey as it is in most lists as a separate country.

Less controversial I also include day trips (rather than overnight stays) to Countries, excluding day trips would rule out Uruguay, Brazil, Gibraltar (twice) and Luxembourg. I never include airplane stop overs, 

Those 5 new countries were relatively low hanging fruit. 

#78 Gibraltar Dec 2023

#79 Turkey Jun 2024

#80 Faroe Islands Jul 2024

#81 Tunisia Nov 2024

#82 Morocco Dec 2024

So plotting the rest of my route to 100 is difficult. Some obvious European countries to fill in the gaps are, Andorra, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Cyprus and Monaco. I could possibly include other channel islands and Isle of Man?

Further afield into Africa, we have Cape Verde, Egypt. If I had the chance I like to tick off Mauritius (COVID cancellation) and / or Seychelles. Namibia and Tanzania have always been on my bucket list.

If like to complete Asia, Japan (planned Aug 2025) Nepal, Brunei, East Timor, North Korea (not doable but have been in the DMZ), Bhutan. Pakistan and Afghanistan (again tough one to get in). 

I fancy the Stans such as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan. 

I'd hope to add in Oman, Saudi and the likes as part of a layover.

I'd love the chance to get some Pacific Ocean countries in such as Fiji and Samoa but this is unlikely.

Obvious omissions from the Americas are Mexico, Costa Rica, Caribbean islands such as Grenada, Dominican Republic. Then I'd also love to get Canada in one day.

Plenty to go at. The route to 100 is still very much definitely on, I'll not do it before I'm 50 (next year) but maybe I'll have it in the bag before I'm 60.