Good morning, Vietnam.

Golden Week is a time of many public holidays in Japan. However, this year was special. After 30 years on the throne, Emperor Akihito became the first emperor to abdicate since 1817, in place of his son Naruhito. Both the abdication and enthronement days, along with the regular work day sandwiched between them, became public holidays. This turned the usual Golden week into a special ten day holiday block, marking the imperial transition from the Heisei to Reiwa era.

Golden Week is insanely busy at the best of times, so we didn`t need more encouragement to get out of the country. Cue Olivia and I booking a lovely two week getaway to Vietnam, travelling northwards via night trains. They were an experience in themselves, with us having to take anti-sickness tablets and running the fine line between being rocked to sleep or jostled awake. Every place we visited varied so much, so here is a little snapshot of each.


Ho Chi Minh
My first taste of Vietnam began with the crazy downtown area filled with obnoxious clubs and scooters weaving their way through the tightest of spaces. This was the more historical filled part of the trip, with the day spent visiting the War Remnants museum, and visiting famous local markets for some local lunch experiences. Frankly, it was too bloody hot to do anything else, but it was a fleeting 24 hours in Saigon.


Nha Trang
What can only be described as a beach town where we really embraced the holiday vibes. We took a snorkelling boat tour through the islands, complete with a floating bar (aka our wacky tour guide floating a punch bowl on a life jacket in the water).

I also had my first ever Vietnamese coffee experience at a rainforest themed cafe. If you're going to do it, do it properly right? I was off my rocker for hours after and thus begun the daily obsession with a morning caffeine fix. We also headed to Thap Ba Spa, a famous mud bath area that was hilarious until you got some in your mouth. I can't say it did anything to my hair or skin, but I was washing mud out of places I never thought I'd have to for a long time after...


Hoi An
After taking a night train to nearby Danang, we got the bus staight to Hoi An, a world heritage site located in the centre of the country. I didn't sweat so much the entire trip as I did here, but the abundance of beautiful lanterns everywhere really made it worth while. Once the sun set, the city lit up with a warm glow, and the amount of lanterns doubled from the reflections in the river.

We cycled through the more 'inaka' parts of the area, through rice paddies before reaching some basket boats. Three of us in the boat, Olivia and I were gifted banana leaf rings and hairbands from our feisty little old lady driver, who was a woman of few words but a sweetheart all the same.

Top pick:
Streets Restaurant - a project providing disadvantaged youths with training and education in order to work in the booming tourist and hospitality industries. The restaurant was full of bright souls embracing the 18 month progamme, and the food was amazing too.


Hue
A change of pace and a much quieter city. We took a motorcycle tour through the areas surrounding the Citadel and Perfume river, met some locals who handcrafted traditional hats and incense, and even saw remants of Vietnam's past at the Empresses' tomb and an old arena used for tiger and elephant fights.



Halong Bay
After our third, final, and most rocky night train, we headed to Halong Bay for a day cruising through the world famous rock formations. We also got a chance to do some kayaking whilst there, which was pretty fun but did give me a slightly damp arse. That day was a little cloudier than it had been, but that just created a mysterious atmosphere, somewhat adding to the lore surrounding the bay.
If you don't know, local legend has it that during a battle, the Jade emperor sent a family of dragons from the heavens to defeat the enemies of the Vietnamese people. Halong means 'descending dragon'.

Hanoi
Full of life, days were spent exploring and evenings spent drinking. We visited Ho Chi Minh's mouseluem, and a loosely coined 'museum' about him that was more something you'd expect to see at the Tate. I'm not one to claim to understand obscure meanings within art, but the fruit sculptures were the last straw. Our final night was spent watching the traditional water puppet theatre, which was nothing like I expected but an experience all the same. Even the rain did't dampen our spirits wandering aroung the markets, and I'm proud to say my only purchase was a much needed fan.
One of my old teachers moved to Hanoi this spring, so we got to have a catch up over dinner. Him and his family were so welcoming to Olivia and I, and we got to eat at a very local cafeteria style restaurant , then enjoying coffee and dessert at his new home.

Top picks:
Omamori Spa - A massage shop that works exclusively with visually impaired youths to train them and give them jobs when otherwise they wouldn't be employed. It was the most fascinating experience to sense them feeling rather than just doing.
Lifted Coffee & Brunch - Pulled pork and feta cheese, says it all really. We ate here twice.
RailwayStation Coffee - A quaint cafe located on the tracks of the famous train line running through the main streets of Hanoi. Grab an egg coffee, wait until the 7pm train and flatten a bottle cap on the tracks as a souvenir.

All in all, we ate our body weight in cheap fruit and bougie brunches , and I had coffee withdrawal for about a week after. Egg coffee was my favourite, closely followed by the refreshing coconut cream versions which were to die for in the humidity. Thanks Vietnam for the pho, banh mi, ridiculously cheap massages and the most needed two week break.

Sakura season

Most of my free time recently has been spent doing 花見 (cherry blossom viewing), whether it be at local parks, small clearings or near Kumamoto Castle. This year was special, as roads usually closed due to earthquake damage were specially opened for the season. 

The Japanese really do believe that they signify new beginnings, and to see the development in the castle restoration around this time of year surely brought some sense of hope to the locals with their fighting spirit. 

That’s one thing I love about everyone here; their utter embodiment of the phrase 頑張ろう熊本.

A complete juxtaposition to the delicate beauty of the sakura, was the Aso Fire Festival. This festival consists of various events over two months, but at the end of March we attended the fire swinging ceremony.
This Shinto rituals’ roots are based upon the twelve Gods who live in Aso Shrine. One of them, Kumitatsunokami, is the guardian of agriculture, and people hold a bale of hay (tied by rope) and swing it around their heads for a productive harvest. 

Suffice to say that health and safety would have a field day, with bales of hay flying into the groups of photographers cowering in the line of fire. I have to admit though, I released my inner cowgirl that night and thoroughly enjoyed the sense of danger and chaotic atmosphere of the whole occasion.

 

Sometimes the hype over the sakura can seem a bit much, and I usually don’t go to out of my way to see it. I find that it’s the places you stumble across accidentally are the ones that are the most beautiful; something I found on a visit to Tamana this past weekend. 

After brunch in a rustic café, we took a stroll along the riverside. Later we headed to Jagatani Park, where we headed to the top of the mountain to reach the observation area, walking through tons of beautiful cherries on the way up, and zooming past them on a giant slide on the way back down. 

In the late afternoon the four of us played some weird combination of crazy golf and croquet, and as the wind picked up the petals starting blowing all around us. We finished the trip with a dip in the local onsen, watching the sunset overlooking the Tamana countryside and the Ariake Sea.

With some rainy weather in store over the next few days, it’s safe to say that soon the delicate sakura petals will be scattered across the ground. It’ll mean the end to this year’s cherry blossom season, but what a season it’s been.

Hakone: my new favourite onsen town

Hakone is an onsen town in Kanagawa prefecture that I’ve wanted to visit ever since I discovered my love for onsens. Historically, it was used as a checkpoint for travellers along the road which linked Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto. 

It was known for being one of the strictest checkpoints used by the Tokugawa government at the time, employing “hitomi-onna” who specialised in spotting feminine features, to prevent wives and children (disguised as men) from escaping their lives as hostages to feudal lords.

Some parts of this old route still exist, and while you can walk it, our trip was focused on being a relaxing retreat in the middle of the school semester. There is a recommended route for travellers visiting Hakone for a short time – aiming to do a loop around the most famous spots - but Haruka and I decided that we’d much rather do things at our own pace.

 

We’d chosen a long weekend in February, meaning it was risky, but we trusted in Japanese people to be working on Saturday and headed up nice and early to miss the wave. We rode the Odakyu Romance car from near Haruka’s family home, and began our first day by heading to Owakudani.

We began our journey on the Tozan railway, the only mountain railway in Japan. As it’s such a steep incline, there are switchbacks starting halfway up the mountain allowing the train to change direction, which is a unique experience in itself. However, during that journey, the light flurry of snow turned into thick fog by the time we’d reached Gora and were about to ride the cable car up to the caldera.

 

Quote: “Owakudani has good views of Mt. Fuji on clear days”. The audio commentary whilst riding the ropeway was amusing to say the least; hearing about the beautiful views of Fuji in the distance, despite only seeing crisp white outside the windows. Thankfully, just as we reached the crater, the fog cleared slightly so we were able to see a glimpse of the sulphur fields we’d came for. 

The famous “kuro-tamago”, or black egg boiled in the nearby hot spring, is said to increase your life by seven years after eating one. However, we decided to try egg flavoured soft cream, despite the fact the wind at this point was blowing the snow sideways. That was a nice surprise, and I don’t know why we both thought it would be savoury, but it tasted exactly like Ambrosia custard in soft cream form.

We could have carried on for the second part of the ropeway towards Lake Ashi, but we decided to head there the next day, in the hopes the weather would get better and I’d bag some Mt Fuji snaps. Instead, we headed to a nearby onsen and done what we’d gone to Hakone to do. 

After the onsen, despite attempting to force our way into a fully reserved yakitori restaurant, we settled on something from the only convenience store in a 10 mile radius. Slight exaggeration, but it felt like it at the time, but all was well when we headed back to the hostel, befriended some Chiba boys during our expensive cup ramen dinner, and spent the evening drinking cheap sake together.

The next morning started with breakfast at the most adorable café near the station, and a horrifically nauseous journey to Hakone Shrine. Before you say it, it wasn’t hangover induced, I get very badly car sick. Granted the sake stomach didn’t help, so fair warning to anyone in the same boat as me… be prepared for the worst bus journey of your life and the prospect of having to almost vomit into Lake Ashi upon arrival. 

Hakone Shrine is famous for having its tori gate sat in the water of Lake Ashi. It’s similar to the more famous Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima, however in Hakone you are able to walk out easily to the gate from land. 

Hundreds of people were lining up to take photos under the gate, and it seemed like a well-rehearsed affair, with the assumption that the person behind would be your photographer. All was going well until it was almost our turn, when some idiots in paddle boats decided to get right the background of the photo op. 

Thank god they moved, because I was most definitely not in the mood to be dealing with a swan boat in my patiently-awaited shrine picture.

Once we ate lunch and experienced round two of the deathly bus journey in a peachier mood, we headed back to get some last minute souvenirs and Hakone pudding. The streets near to the train station are lined with numerous craft stores, selling the local wooden craft of yosegi zaiku and stalls selling my favourite winter snack, onsen manju. 

I’d love to go back again, especially when the Tozan train route is surrounded by blooming hydrangeas. Next time, I’m hoping to visit a different hot spring, visit craft houses, and venture into some traditional tea houses hidden along the old road. The less we talk about Mt. Fuji the better. At this rate I’m never going to see the bloody thing properly until I climb it.