Minirolls Musings

Double Cheesecake & Dancing

After an acceptable breakfast, Aimi spent some time cleaning her gigantic screen having realised it’s unusable when road crud gets on it. We decided to take the direct route, avoiding the motorway and Glasgow… because Glasgow. This meant we were up into the hills on small roads straight away which challenged Adam.

Prep For Rain

It seems everyone has come around to my way of thinking at last. It’s only taken 17 years…

I’ve had an (air quotes) “adventure” bike since 2009 and never looked back. And while I spend an alarming amount of time drooling at the BMW K1100 cafe racer custom bikes on Facebook market place, I’ve never bought one. This is mostly because it’s really hard to buy something you know isn’t going to be as good as something you’ve already got. Even if it’s all about “the experience”…

Kayto’s Glimmer

On a standby flight means being there early, so this morning I was first up and, having packed the night before in a chocolate frog-fuelled rage, left the house before seeing anyone else. My flight was at midday (I hoped) and then the team’s flight was at midnight, so they had another 12 hours to play in Tokyo.

Going Harry Potty

Travel advice isn’t something I’ve taken from social media before, but on the run up to this trip I had collected a number of interesting places.

100 Year Old Sushi

Checked out of the swanky Asakusa hotel after WAYYYY too much breakfast and dropped our bags at the new AirBnB. The team is meeting up for the final couple of nights before our Japan adventure comes to an end.

But first – Ramen.

Exploring the Trees

We started the day with a return to Meiji Shrine, walking through the peaceful forest of Meiji Jingu like we hadn’t just spent the last few days being battered around by Tokyo’s chaos. It’s one of those places that immediately allows you to slow down, right in the heart of the city, its a calm natural space. It was busier than last we came, but we are now into golden week so this is expected but we found some quiet parts off the main path.

Oh Deer

No one made a plan for breakfast, so I did. I found a nice little bakery that did loads of French toast options and croissant options with fruit and chocolate, and they seemed to have good coffee too. Taking a seat at the entrance after putting our names down on the waiting list, we sat surrounded by loads of pot plants in a quiet, tucked-away spot right in the centre of town.

Osaka Castle Side Quests

Today we went to see Osaka Castle, but there were so many side quests that the whole day felt full of things!

Viewing The Osaka Skyline

It was time to leave Sendai for the city of Osaka. I mean, Sendai is a city, but as soon as we got into Osaka, this felt like the most CITY of cities.

Meandering Around Matsushima

Well, it turns out I’m ill. I had a sore throat the day before yesterday, and it was worse yesterday with added snot. And today I’ve got headache, back ache, knee ache, snot, bogies, and sore throat, but luckily no coughing. Hopefully this is the worst day and, luckily, it’s a fairly sedentary day meandering around Matsushima Bay.