Vampire Café

This establishment is awash in rich red hues that dominate the interior design, with thick velvet drapes and opulent booths complementing the distinctive décor. The vampire theme is continued with skulls, candelabras and broken mirrors adorning the walls, and the centrepiece is a giant coffin. Your wait staff will appear in either tuxedos or tailored maids outfits, serving you blood red martinis and ghoulishly garnished meals in coffin bowls with edible crucifixes. All the while, elegant Baroque music plays in the background to complete the sophisticated vampire theme.

Lockup

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to eat in prison, then Lockup is the place for you. As you enter, you’ll find yourself handcuffed and led down the hall to your very own jail cell. Your servers are prison wardens, and your food appears in an array of interesting chemistry lab equipment.

Keep an eye out for the secret doors, random blackouts and outbursts from crazed prisoners in hockey masks, and be prepared to take part in a staged breakout where you may have to hide a fellow prisoner in your cell. It’s definitely an experience you won’t forget, and provides an entertaining alternative to a normal mundane dinner!

Ninja

As one of the most popular themed restaurants in Tokyo, you’ll need to make your reservations well in advance to secure a seat at the exclusive venue of Ninja. Drawbridges and winding passages lead you to the dining area, where ninja assassins slink in the shadows to serve your food. A highlight is the illusionist who visits every table and performs some serious sleight of hand to capture your imagination.

There are a range of other surprises waiting for you at Ninja, but they are better left unexpected. One thing you should expect however, is the price of dining in such an elite establishment. Set menus can reach over $200, so make sure you keep track of what you’re ordering.

Whether you think it’s just a gimmick or are totally taken in by the experience, these weird and wonderful restaurants bring a whole new dimension to your dining experience. If you’re planning your next getaway, make sure you check out Flight Centre to view deals on flights to Japan at unbeatable prices. With your tickets booked, you can get ready to explore the best that this amazing country has to offer, including one of these unique Japanese dining experiences!

Have you ever been to a themed restaurant? Which? Did you like the experience? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!

The post 3 Restaurants for Quirky Eating Experiences in Japan appeared first on MaiTravelSite.

The city itself does not have much going on, but history has made it famous for its role during WWII and we had been told that the war museum was worth visiting. I was hoping that doing so would help me understand better what the consequences of the action had been, although obvoulsy fully aware that I will never know what it was to be there. Fortunately.

On August 6th of 1945 the US Air Force dropped on Hiroshima for the first time in history the atomic bomb. At 8:15 AM the bomb exploded 600 meters above the city, and a few seconds later almost 200,000 people were dead: about half of that number would also die during the next few days/ years. The worst side of it would be endured by those who did not die on the spot but would during the following days or even months: the balst had created such a heat wave that thousands of victims found themselves a few seconds later trying to walk with melted flesh and skin hanging from their limbs and torso, seeking help that would never come and dieing under excruciating pain. The consequences of the nuclear radiation would be exposed during the next few years and decades, most of them unknown because of the singularity of the attack.

Hiroshima has completely recovered since then, and is now a world leader as a peace seeker and non nuclear proliferation voice. The garden of ppeace offers tribute to those who perished as a result of the bomb and war victims in general, and is now a place where japanese and international toursits remember that not-so-distant day that most hope would have never happened.

We spent a few hours visiting the museum and walking along the garden,and then made our way back to Kyoto where we would have to spend a second night at the dump.

The following next two days would be spent travelling, the first from Kyoto to Fukuoka by train, then a 3 hour hydrofoil to Busan in South Korea, followed by a 4 hour train ride to Seoul. On the second day we would fly from Seoul to Guangzhou and connect with a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, arriving there the night of August 14. I was looking forward to reach Vietnam, a country that I imagined lush and exotic yet influenced by the communist government and recent military past. I had also received a lot of negative feedback from travellers who had been there recently, complaining about the always present greed for money of the vietnamese and non violent theft. Still, I wanted to have my own opinion because I had had similar experiences before only to findd out that I would really enjoy my visit. Sayonara Japan and good morning Vietnam!

The post “Attack made in 1/10 cloud conditions[…]” : The A bomb of Hiroshima appeared first on MaiTravelSite.

Within this context we made our way from Shizuoka to Osaka, a city not as nice as Kyoto but with much cheaper accommodation and only a ten minute train ride away from it.

We headed straight to the area where the cheaper hotels are, but were surprised to find out that except for the 2 or 3 that were already full, the rest would not accept foreigners or in some cases women! We were disturbed by this, and after checking out ten places or more we decided to leave the city and sleep in Kyoto.

However we decided to head out only after having visited the main temple of the city: Shitennoji. And what a great idea this turned out to be because we would be there on the only day of the year when the temple is lit with thousands of candles to celebrate Obon.

Late that night we made it to Kyoto, only to have the usual problem of finding a place to sleep. Luckily a friendly Japanese girl helped us out, and with the support of a friend of hers she had called with her cell phone they were able to locate a hotel that was not full- at 60€ per night, not your typical backpackers budget. The next morning we were surprised to learn that because of the one hour late check out we had requested the hotel wanted to charge us an extra 15€. We were obviously not willing to pay and 30 minutes later the police was there. They were kind but not very helpful because they spoke no English, as well as unsure about what to do. Eventually the hotel gave up and let us go, probably because I told them I had called the US embassy because I was not sure about what was going to happen. Truth is I had, just in case, and at any rate the issue got settled. The cops rode their bikes away (yup, you read that correctly) and we made our way to the guesthouse we had made a reservation the night before.

What a dump. Never in my life had I paid that amount of money or even close to stay in such a filthy place, and I hope I never do again. We had made an online reservation for 2 nights at Uno Guest House, the only one we had found we space for two, and at almost 40€ we would sleep on the floor (on a futon, Japanese style) in a rotten and dirty place. Oh, and don’t get me wrong: I’ve slept in places like that or worse before, but at 1 or 2$ per night, not 55!

Anyhow, sleeping issues aside, Kyoto is a fantastic city. Full of trees and with many quiet backstreets where traditional Japanese houses provide shelter to young and old, it is a great scenario where spending an afternoon strolling around and getting lost just seems like the right thing to do (you may want to take take online Japanese classes so that conversing with locals is easier). You will also find lovely gardens and the royal palace which we would not be able to visit because guided tours are mandatory and they were fully booked for the two days we would be there.

This would not be too bad though because right after being denied entry we would discover a one-of-a-kind cafe. See the insert to read about this little gem- and if you ever go to Kyoto don’t forget where you first heard of it!

Kyoto is a great city, one that, as Liza put it, I can easily imagine myself living in. Time was however ticking away, as was the duration of our rail pass, which meant that we would dedicate the next day to Hiroshima, a city famous in the world for what it probably would not want to be.

Have you visited Japan? Were you here during Obon? What surprised you most, and what memories do you still hang on to? Share them with us in the comments section below, and this post too if you liked it!

The post Japan: Osaka and Kyoto during Obon appeared first on MaiTravelSite.

As we walked into his house I realized that there were 5 more people staying there, learning later that the couple was from Denmark, the two brothers from France and that the asian guy was from UK with japanese parents.

While chit chatting with the group Mochan surprised us with a great dinner and then summoned the group to discuss what we wanted to do the following day. It was around midnight and he proposed we go to sleep and he would take us sightseeing the following day and climb Mt Fuji during the night to see sunrise from the top. Ok! As we were standing up he checked the weather forecast and found out that rain was expected the following day, which meant no Mt Fuji, unless we tackled it…right at that moment! Why not?

Next thing I knew it was 2 am and we were hiking up the mountain in the dark, already seeing many headlamps up ahead from the many people Mochan said we we should expect. No flashlight, no backpack, no gloves..nothing but a camera.  But then you don’t really need anything else in summer. What I never expected was the massive crowd, which literally kept us in line the last 300 meters not letting us move in any direction. The hike became a nuisance both on the way up and at the beginning of the way down, because there are too many people at the top and filtering the crowd in a single line is not easy.

Mt Fuji should be part of any 7 day Japan itinerary  , but I guarantee that taking pictures from a fair distance and trying to make it to the summit are not the same thing.

What should have taken us about 20 minutes to cover took us well over an hour and a half, and I could not forget that Liza had decided not to climb and sleep instead. Conclusion: Mt Fuji is a challenge because of the steepness and thin air which keeps many people from reaching the top- I must admit that just as I was reaching the top I felt sick and my stay up there (around 30 minutes) was not much fun (but then I had tackled it in three and a half hours when it should have taken almost five or more) but climbing it in peak season is no fun at all because of the crowds. Additionally, most people begin climbing the mountain at around 12:30 to 1:00 AM in order to be at the summit by sunrise, but in our case the quick run up the mountain to watch the sunrise was not rewarded well enough.

You can reach Mochan and his wish club at http://wish-club.com

The post Trekking Mt Fuji in Japan: It’s Not That Easy appeared first on MaiTravelSite.

Six hours after leaving Fukuoka we were lost in the streets of Tokyo, barely needing to ask for guidance because people approached us wandering if they could be of any help. We had checked a few hotels but prices were ridiculous for a backpacker’s budget, and after a few phone calls we had to settle for a 7000 yen hotel a pleasant young couple had found us. After dropping us at the hotel’s doorstep we bought them a couple of sodas and went to sleep at around midnight, not without having felt a weak earthquake that surprised us for a few seconds.

One week to see Japan is not much time, which meant we already knew we were going to move a lot. We were up early the following morning and made our way to Tokyo’s oldest temple, Sensoji shrine. The great site was suddenly more interesting when we realized that many young couples and lone females were strolling along the streets wearing kimonos, clothes that we thought belonged only to Japan’s past.

We then toured the Shikuju area, world famous because of ts crowded neon-lit streets and its proximity to the red light district, where pretty females paraded sexy mini skirts and male teenagers and beyond exhibited stylish haircuts and preposterous fashion while reading manga, Japanese comic books.

There are so many things to do in Tokyo but we did not have more time for Tokyo because in out pursuit of cheaper accommodation our first try at couchsurfing had yielded results and we had been invited to spend a couple of mights at Mochan’s place in Shizuoka, near Mt Fuji. This was excellent news because not only was accommodation set for two days but I would finally see this iconic mountain which had been in my mind after seeing an excellent picture of a red Lamborghini Countach with Mt. Fuji in the background half covered with snow when i was 11 years old. And little did we know that couchsurfing could be so much fun…

The post The Best Places to Go in Tokyo appeared first on MaiTravelSite.