Cyn + Dave Travel Blog

Why would two 70+ year olds choose this type of accommodation you may well ask? To be honest it was a mistake when choosing a hotel online, being in a hurry and distracted. We tried to cancel the booking the next day however there was a 'no cancellation' policy so we had to make the most of it for one night and wear the cost for the other 2 nights, putting it down as a learning experience. Luckily it was very cheap per night. The name Millenials one would think would indicate a youthful environment however we noticed a few people our age and older. Check in was quite simple and quick with the help of a 3 minute video so guests know what to do. Staff were really friendly and efficient. Issuing each person a small black bag of goodies to take to one's pod. Inside there are slippers, towels, toothpaste and a toothbrush set (sealed) tissues and an iphone as a remote control  to electronically change the sofa into a bed, change the lights to dim or bright and even a setti...

A new experience for us in Japan. Our accommodation (hotel in Osaka) has it's own Onsen taking up much of the 16th floor. The advertising states that the water is pumped from a hot spring just under the building where the natural mineral laden water comes from 1050 meters below the surface of the earth. Half of the bathing facility is for women and the other side for men. We felt a little trepidation not knowing the procedure or system. Signage in Engish helped a little with some mistakes along the way. First step included being yelled at for approaching the Onsen reception with shoes on!  The sign on the floor indicated taking shoes off  however  our attention was concentrated on the reception desk not on the floor!! The arrangement includes a locker (for shoes) with a key.  Once we had individually locked our shoes away, that key was taken back by a staff member and replaced with another locker key. This key had an expandable band to wear on our wrists. This...

Kappabashi Street in Tokyo where you can find lots of different kitchen items including plastic food samples. Specialist stoes display dishes, pots, pans, cooking utensils, stoves, tables, chairs, signs, lanterns and something quite fascinating... A knife store. Knives of every shape and purpose especially for professional chefs.  We priced blue carbon steel handmade for A$1000.00   https://tokyocheapo.com/shopping-2/kappabashi-knife-shopping-tokyo/

Yanaka is a brewer and restaurant (mainly for snacks to go with the beer) in an old wooden house, called a ryoken. Japanese green tea Coffee Baumkuchen 918yen made with matcha powder We enjoyed the lovely atmosphere and service so much we went back for lunch.  Lunch: Golden ale Sausages 2 and smoked cheese with fresh beans in pods, went well with the beer Fried chicken on rice 3400yen

The reason for our trip to Kyoto was because we wanted to visit and experience the Gion Festival. It is Summer here and today the  weather was perfect for this cultural  event. The floats begin the parade at 9:00 am so we left our hotel at 8:00. We arrived to find crowds already lining the streets and many of the best view points taken. However we were lucky to find an opening in the barricades at a bus stop (no busses would be running during the "parade"). The origin of the Gion Matsuri goes back to the 9th century when people suffered from the plague. Portable shrines were carried through the streets of Kyoto and the plague disappeared. Later in the 10th century people started having processions to celebrate their health and good fortune. The procession serves as protection and purification. The belief is that evil forces can be gathered by the floats through the attraction of glittering objects, music and ritualistic dancing. Immediately after each procession the floats ...

A nice walk to Ginza this morning.  Nothing for us, only Bvlgari, Chanel, Tiffany, Cartier, Dunhill etc. and other "luxury" fashion brands including lots of shops selling wedding dresses, diamonds etc etc all very upmarket. The Tokyo Police museum was actually very interesting, a quick background to the founding of a police service based on the French model. After the Satsuma rebellion, all history we had never known. Pork and ramen soup for lunch in a cellar restaurant near the Kibuki theatre for under 1800 yen for two of us with too much food. Strange system of prepurchasing the meal from an intelligible board with Japanese characters, luckily the waitress could speak a little Engish and showed us how to  put coins in a slot, tickets popped out which were whisked away efficiently to the kitchen. We lso looked at a couple of camera shops selling vintage Leica and Hasselblad cameras at amazing prices. We left the lovely Intergate hotel for a hotel in Bakurocho Ekimae, ...

We are frantically planning a quick trip to Japan. We are meeting friends there who have traveled there often: bookings etc. are much easier with recommendations of where to stay and what to do. We purchased JR rail passes and are looking forward to traveling on fast trains. A rail enthusiast friend met us in town and described the astonishing and incredible rail services including the famous Shinkansen bullet trains..it is going to be really great experience.