Tea in Tokyo

The finale of our Kyoto trip. We explore the famous Arashiyama district, eat Shojin Ryori, a popular Buddhist monk vegetarian meal, and explore the Arashiyama bamboo grove. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The second of our three-part Kyoto series. We spent another day temple-hopping going to Ginkakuji, Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, Nanzen-ji Temple, Heian Shrine, and Kiyomizu-dera. We also visited the famous Gion district and tried visiting Nijo Castle. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is the first of three parts of our trip to Kyoto. On day one we visited the Kyoto Imperial Palace and had a unique dinner. Then we had a packed second day, visiting five temples - Daigoji Temple, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Komyo-in Temple, Tofukuji Temple, and Toji Temple. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We visit Tokyo Port Bird Sanctuary to quench Saumya's desire to take some animal photos. Ellie had enough after one day so Saumya visited another park (Kasai Seaside Park) alone the next two days. We finally go to the top of Tokyo Tower and we have one of our greatest meals in Tokyo at a vegan restaurant in Shibuya. Next Saumya tries to get a license but has to cut through a lot of red tape and lastly we discuss the future closure of Saumya's learning studio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We take a short overnight trip to the nearby prefecture of Tochigi and the small city of Nikko. We first visited the famous shrines of Tosho-gu, the mausoleum of shōgun Tokugawa Leyasu, Rinnoji Temple, and one of Japan's most famous bridges, The Shinkyo Bridge. The next day we got in touch with nature by sightseeing at two amazing waterfalls, Kegon Falls and Ryuzu Waterfall. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk briefly about voting in the recent New Zealand election. Then we chat about the exciting and extensive, Lupin the Third based, escape room we had the pleasure of doing. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We had a weekend getaway at Hakone, a popular day-trip destination for Tokyoites. First, on the way we visit the 15th century Odawara Castle. Then it was off to Hakone where we took photos under the famous shrine peace torii, ate black eggs on a volcanic mountain, and Saumya had his first nude onsen experience. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk about some of the amazing restaurants we've been to recently and we visit the planetarium in Yurakucho. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week was Obon, a celebration of ones ancestors. Ellie and I saw an uptick of people at work, we finally received our government stimulus cheques, and we go to our first beach in Japan. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We give an update on the growing cases of coronavirus in Japan and on how our Eikaiwa is handling the situation. We also did a psychology test for work and discuss whether it’s all bullcrap or not. Finally I tell Ellie about my day visiting Shinjuku Central Park, and the largest park in Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We continue on to Nagano. We go to our first castle in Matsumoto, and visit the grand and beautiful 7th century Zenkoji Temple. We then walked through epic cedars on our way to Togakushi Shrine, and got anxious about bears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We begin our visit to Nagano prefecture in the mountain town of Karuizawa. Famous for its snow sports in Winter, during summer, it offers a great escape from the humid heat of Tokyo. We shopped in the relatively cheap outlet mall, Prince shopping plaza, bussed up to the beautiful Shiraito Falls, and saw absolutely nothing at the Usui Pass Observation Platform. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're required to take a test at work in order to get our contracts renewed. We also go to Tokyo Tower in the rain and stumble on the greatest sushi we've had so far. Lastly, Saumya talks about his struggle with dieting. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've been working non-stop in June so on our one day off we decide to visit the aquarium. We also discuss Japanese design, and we plan our upcoming trip to Karuizawa. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this Gaijin Guide we cover what you need to get a teaching job in Japan and the different teaching opportunities available, including and benefits and costs of each. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our eikaiwa is open again so we're back working again after two months. Also it's great being able to hang out with friends again. For more information on #blacklivesmatter please visit their website. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The state of emergency in Tokyo ends so we venture out to some of our local parks here in Ota-Ku. We then went to the number one spot to visit around Tokyo, as voted by our students. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ellie has training for online lessons so we go to Shinagawa where we find a nice river to walk along, we discuss how being home for so long has affected us, and we ramble on topics from food to traveling after the pandemic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We share our knowledge on how to find an apartment in Japan, what you'll need to do once you arrive here, and how much money you should realistically be saving. If you've ever wanted to move to Japan, this is a must-listen episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We give you a quick update on whats happening with our lives. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We each pick out our top three places we want to visit once everything goes back to normal. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tokyo is in lock down, we're out of work, and we discuss the current state of the world and what we anticipate for the future. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We discuss whether this pandemic is reason enough for us to move back to New Zealand. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We have a slow week of work which opened after three weeks, Ellie goes to the doctor but is unsure how to feel about the experience, and we're excitied for our first ever IKEA experience. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We have another week off work due to coronavirus. We talk about the way Japan is handling the pandemic and how we're dealing with it personally. We then briefly talk about what 3 months in Japan has been like. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We share our thoughts on the continued impact that coronavirus is having on the world. Also this week, we went to view cherry blossoms but found views of Mt Fuji instead, and we had a nice wee picnic in the park. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We venture off to Kawagoe, visiting the old bell tower, which used to be the symbol of the town, and we go for a relaxing walk to see the local shrines. Also, we found out our Eikaiwa, like many businesses, has closed its doors for the next two weeks due to coronavirus. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We won the lotto (technically), and this week we celebrate a friends birthday by going to a VR theme park followed by our first proper izakaya in Japan. Saumya goes adventuring on his own while Ellie has work, and we spend some time talking about coronavirus. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk about our lazy carefree mornings and spending valentines at Asakusa, where, for the second straight Friday, we eat vegan food. Then it was hard not to mention the worst meal Ellie's ever cooked. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We discuss our first month of teaching English and Saumya makes some new friends. Plus we had a foodie week topped with a delectable vegan dinner. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We go to Kamakura and Enoshima Island, visiting some temples along the way. Ellie has an unpleasant experience on the train. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Saumya shares his thoughts on Kobe Bryant. We have our first week of teaching students English, and we notice some possible cultural differences between Western and Asian societies. Lastly, we went to China Town in Yokohama. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our care free days in Japan are sadly over, as we start our new jobs as English teachers! We have a week of training and are excited to start this new part of our lives. We did, however, manage to find some time at the end of the week to go exploring; visiting Yoyogi Park. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We just returned from the Frozen 2 café and had to vent our frustrations. The rest of the week was our "best week ever" which started off getting caught in a crowd for an unexpected visit to a shrine. The next day we ventured out to the Mori Digital Art Museum where we spent 7 hours amongst the amazing artworks. Finally we were blown away by how magical Disneyland and DisneySea were, where Saumya had a therapeutic experience. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're shocked to find some hentai, have a drunk New Years, and are pleased to find some cats. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our first impressions of Tokyo, getting settled, and having a low-key Christmas. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.