Back to work

Monday, 8 March 2010

So, my first day back at work after a 2-week trip to Japan. It went pretty well, mainly thanks to (a) getting back on Saturday rather than Sunday and (b) Tom shedding his jet-lag pretty quickly.

We had a fantastic trip, despite the obvious limitations of having a 1-year old in tow, Still, Tom took to Japan wonderfully well, especially the food, and was very happy to be the star of the show wherever we went.

Personally, I found it very gratifying that:

• The service industry is still alive and well in Japan. So nice after the shoddy service you generally get in the UK.
• You can eat amazingly well for very little money, even with a terrible exchange rate.
• There is simply no finer way to travel than on the Shinkansen (bullet train), and especially the Hikari Rail Star.
• I still like nothing better than soaking in a hot spring.
• 100 yen shops are amazing places, where you can buy pretty much anything.

I really must make sure it’s not 3 and a half years until my next visit. That was far too long an interval.

Koyasan (高野山) near Osaka