Nikko

Nikko, just outside Tokyo, is like a mini-Kyoto, with temples and shrines aplenty. If, like me, you're wondering what the difference between a temple and a shrine is, temples are for Buddha and shrines are for praying to the Shinto Gods.

Jamie's Rocky moment:

To keep this temple in good nick, they built a gigantic warehouse around it. Only in Japan...

Ravenous fish, nakedness and a cultural faux pas

With my tattoos all plastered up, we visited the hot springs of Oedo Onsen, the biggest of its kind in Tokyo. I managed to commit a sin before we even left the changing room, by tying my yukata gown the wrong way. Apparently, it signifies death as it's what happens to people when they are buried...oh well.

It's pretty touristy insdie, decked out like an old Japanese Edo era town, but it was worth a visit, if only for the experience of fish eating our feet!

Dinner time:

Tokyo Sky Tree

Some pictures from my recent trip up the Sky Tree, the tallest building in Japan at 634 metres. Interestingly, the building is 634 metres high because the traditional way of saying these individual digits (6,3 and 4) is pronounced in a similar way to 'musashi', a famous samurai known for his great strength.

It was a clear day and the views of the city seemed to go on forever, underlining just how mindbogglingly massive Tokyo is.