MM4.Travel

Sunday 24 May This was first day of looking around Kyoto, our goal was to explore Higashiyama. Bukkō-ji Temple We had walked past this temple the previous night, we decided to pop in and check it out. The name of temple translates as The Buddha’s Light Temple and dates to 1324. It was at one…

Saturday 23 May We left the madness of Akihabara behind for Kyoto the old capital of Japan. Shinkansen This was our first Shinkansen or Bullet Train trip in Japan. We hadn’t realised how long the Shinkansen have been running in Japan, turns out they have had them since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which shows how…

Friday 22 May It was another wet & cold day in Tokyo, we decided to catch the train to check out Shibuya, which is a major shopping hub. Shibuya Shibuya Train Station is even more hectic than Tokyo Station, we ended up getting ejected into quite a nice (read wildly expensive) department store, where we…

Thursday 21 May And like that, it went from super hot 28C degrees, to a cold & wet 14C, which is a tad limiting on getting around. To avoid the damp we decided to head to the Museum of Western Art in Ueno. Ueno / National Museum of Western Art The museum was a couple…

Wednesday 20 May The weather has been exceedingly hot since we arrived in Japan with highs in the early 30s, in an attempt to avoid melting in the sun & maximise seeing Tokyo we caught a tourist bus. The first bus was a failure in this regard, it was open topped & had little to…

Tuesday 19 May Akihabara We are staying in Akihabara or “Electric Town”, which is a ten minute tube ride from Tokyo Station. It’s known for electronics & anime. Imperial Palace Gardens We walked from Akihabara through Kanda to the Palace Gardens in Chiyoda. The Palace grounds are massive with most of it still being used…

Monday May 18 2026 Haere Ra Tāmaki Makaurau Massive thanks to all friends & family whose generosity makes this trip a reality. We really can’t thank you enough. Auckland really put in its finest Autumn morning for us, not only that our flight was super calm and early. Konnichiwa Tokyo We arrived at Narita Airport…

Wednesday October 9 2024 This was our very last day in London, and of the trip, so what do you do? Look for buttons obviously. Marnie had been looking for a particular type of button in NZ & had no luck, but before we left she found a place in London that specialises solely in…

Tuesday October 8 This was our last full day in London and our main plan for the day was to catch up with Ellie at Spitalfields Market Christ Church Spitalfields Marnie justifiably was reaching peak-church decided to skip this one. Spitalfields Markets Spitalfields Markets is literally across the road from the church. Leaving the markets…

Monday October 7 Adiós Spain, you were great. London Calling (again) We caught the Spanish equivalent of Jetstar back to London – not great, but not totally terrible for what is effectively a flying bus service. Landing at Gatwick airport as seasoned travellers, we then promptly caught the train to Brighton. If you have a…