Antico Antics

Update (January 2018): Antico has now closed, but in its place is lovely pasta-and-wine restaurant Flour & Grape. 214, the downstairs gin bar, is still open and remains one of my favourite bars in London.

Well, I've been back in the UK for over a week now, so it's probably time for me to start blogging about London again. Last night, I went for dinner with my family to Antico, which hugs the southern corner of Bermondsey Street at the junction with Long Lane. I've enjoyed numerous cocktails at Antico's basement gin joint, 214, but hadn't eaten at the restaurant before. To be fair, it takes a while to work through all of Bermondsey Street's good restaurants, even if you're a local like me.

We booked through OpenTable, which was offering 25% off if you have at least two courses and sit down to eat between 6 and 7 pm, which sounded like a good deal. Although the restaurant was relatively quiet when we arrived at 6.30, by the time we left, the place was bustling and with only a few spare tables. It's always a good idea to book a table if you're eating on Bermondsey Street on a week night.

I was pleased to discover that I could order from the cocktail menu at 214. Unfortunately, they didn't have a crucial ingredient in the SE1 Sour I wanted, so I had a Bramble instead — not really much of a sacrifice, especially when it looked so pretty in pink in its highball glass. If you get the chance, do go downstairs for a drink or two in the bar. They have the most amazing gin collection and the gin flights are particularly good.

Antico's menu is modern Italian, mainly simple but well thought out pasta and meat dishes. Starters aren't usually my favourite course, but here I was torn between three. In the end, the prawn fritti with chilli won out and they were really tasty. Not quite as good as the numerous prawn tempura I consumed in Japan, but with fresh, succulent fish and a nice crispy batter. I could just as easily have had the burrata salad, though, or even the carpaccio of beef.

Although I was tempted by the slow-roasted pork shoulder tortelloni (I tried one of my mum's and it was delicious), my brother and I shared the forerib of beef, a great hunk of meat that was juicy and flavoursome and perfectly medium rare. It came with a very small rocket salad, some hunks of parmesan and a salsa verde but no carbs. With hindsight, we might have ordered some potatoes, although we certainly weren't short of food.

When pudding o'clock (my favourite time) rolled around, we were all pretty full but somehow found room for a third course. I couldn't resist the chocolate, hazelnut and almond cake, which was moist and rich. Best of all, it was served with chocolate popping candy on top, which gave it an unexpected and delightful sensation. The others had lemon tarts and a berry panna cotta, all of which looked great.

Antico might get less attention than some of its newer neighbours, but the food is great, the service friendly and the vibe somehow bustling but laid-back. In other words, a great little neighbourhood Italian restaurant. And did I mention the gin speakeasy in the basement?!

Antico. 214 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3TQ (Tube: Borough or London Bridge). Website. Twitter.

Ten Days in Japan

I started planning my trip to Japan almost a year ago and booked my flights during BA's Christmas sale, but I only really got down to fleshing out the details a couple of months before I left. I booked only a ten-day trip because I was worried it was going to be very expensive, but it was a lot more affordable than I expected, especially outside Tokyo. 

If you are thinking of making a similar trip, I would recommend adding at least two days to your itinerary — one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto or Hiroshima — not because I feel like I missed out on any experiences, but because I didn't have much in the way of down time.

I booked my hotels through Booking.com and apart from the one I stayed in on my last night in Tokyo, chosen for its proximity to the central station, I was impressed by the the thoughtful details and personal touches even at this cheaper end of the hotel spectrum.

As usual, the Lonely Planet was my guidebook of choice — not least because their Japan guide was updated in 2013. As soon as I mentioned on Facebook that I was heading to the Land of the Rising Sun, numerous friends offered tips and recommendations, which were a great help when planning my trip. I was also inspired by Alexandra from The Frugality's Tokyo and Kyoto city guides; thanks, Alexandra!


Tokyo
My overnight flight landed at Narita airport at 8.30 am and I was at my hotel by 10 am. If you have a choice of airport, Haneda is much closer to the city centre, but Narita is still only an hour by bus or train from the city. 

I stayed four nights at the Grand Arc Hanzomon, which I picked mainly because it was was central and with a good running route — the 5k circuit around the outside of the Imperial Palace. The neighbourhood is pretty quiet but the Hanzomon subway station is only two minutes' walk away and will take you to Shibuya, Ginza and most of the other central neighbourhoods in about 15 minutes. 

I got a good deal on Booking.com and my double room was ¥9,800 (about £57) per night. My room was on the ninth floor with a great view over the Imperial Palace and the city skyline. The wifi was fast and reliable, and there was a wealth of amenities in my room. Overall, it had the feel of a much nicer hotel than the "budget business hotel" I was expecting. The first photo is the view from my room and the second is of the Imperial Palace gardens (the hotel is the curved building on the left).

My last night before flying home was at the Pearl Hotel Yaesu, which was a budget business hotel (noe permanently closed). My single room was minuscule, although comfortable, quiet and with good wifi. Its main selling point was its proximity to Tokyo station, as I knew I would be arriving from Hiroshima in the evening and leaving early in the morning for the airport. It cost ¥9,000 (£52), only slightly less than the Grand Arc, which tells you how important location is in this city.

In Tokyo, the world is your oyster — often quite literally. The highlights for me were:

• Visiting the Tsukiji fish market and eating the world's freshest sushi (go now because the market will be moved to make room for the Olympic park). I didn't go to the 5 am auction, but if you're jet-lagged and have no problem waking up early enough to queue by 4 am, you'll have a blast. I ate my sushi set at Daiwa Sushi (¥3,500) and highly recommend it. Obviously, the food in the city is, in general, excellent and varied; you can't really go wrong.
• Shopping, especially in Omotesando and Shibuya. Check out my shopping guide for more information. Don't miss the madness of the Shibuya Crossing, either: Starbucks has the best aerial view of the perfectly choreographed chaos.
• The Tokyo Sky Tree. I'm a sucker for high-altitude viewpoints and the Sky Tree is about as high as you can get in Tokyo. It's pretty expensive, especially if you go all the way to the 450-metre top deck, but the view is spectacular. Try to go on a clear day to maximise the chances of seeing Mount Fuji, and try to go at sunset, so that you get to watch the city light up. At busy times (i.e. weekends, clear days, sunset), you will be given a ticket that will tell you what time you are allowed to start queuing so try to arrive early.

• Shrines and temples. Sure, there are plenty of opportunities for this in Kyoto, but Tokyo's huge, scenic Meiji Jingu is an oasis of calm just minutes away from Harajuku, and Sensō-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple, adds a bit of culture and history to your visit to the nearby Sky Tree.

• A day trip to Hakone. Cable-cars, isolated tea houses, pirate ships, eggs boiled in volcanic waters and, if you're lucky, great views of Mount Fuji. Plus, if you buy the Hakone Free Pass, you don't need to worry about buying separate tickets for all of these things. What's not to love? My friends also recommended Nikkō as another day-trip option from Tokyo.

Kyoto

Kyoto is a surprisingly sprawling city and the central station is actually not that central from a tourist's point of view. I stayed at the Kyoto Hana Hotel in Gion (the geisha district), which cost me ¥8,480 (£49). I chose the hotel because it was close to a lot of the historical and cultural sights, but also near the river for morning running, and the main shopping district just over the river. 

The hotel is one minute from the Sanjō Keihan subway station, which will get you to the central station in ten minutes. There are only two subway lines in Kyoto, as well as various other train networks and a good bus network. As usual, I walked as much as possible, supplemented with a few train or bus journeys.

Hana means 'flower' and my twin room at the hotel had some pretty flower paintings on the walls. On check in, I was asked to smell several fragrances and pick my favourite, so that I could have personalised toiletries and bath salts, which was a nice touch. The staff were friendly and helpful, my room was a decent size and the wifi was good, so overall, I was very pleased.

My highlights were:

• Temple- and shrine-hopping. I really loved visiting Fushimi Inari — the one with the thousands of vermillion torii — but I would definitely recommend going at the start or end of the day to beat the crowds. Chion-in, a huge shrine complex, was also lovely, and although it was very crowded, I thought the Kinkaku-ji ('golden pavilion') was stunning.

• Hop on a bus or the JR and head for Arashiyama. As well as the famous bamboo grove, you can visit the monkey park and have lunch overlooking the mountains. A lovely respite from the busy city centre.
• Geisha dance. No, I didn't understand what was happening, but I was glad I went to a geisha dance because it was beautiful and so unlike the cultural activities I would normally choose in London. Different theatres put on performances at different times of year; there isn't always one being held, but if you can get tickets, do.
• Aoi Matsuri. There won't necessarily be a festival taking place during your visit to Kyoto, but if there is, do try to go. I really enjoyed watching the huge, colourful procession for the 'hollyhock' festival, and it made me feel a million miles away from the metropolis of Tokyo — let alone London.

• Café culture and shopping. Kyoto has a vibrant café society — check out this post for some of my picks — and there are a lot of great shops, particularly if you are looking for more traditional goods. The area around Shijō and Karasuma is a good place to start.

Hiroshima and Miyajima

I only had 24 hours in Hiroshima and Miyajima. I really liked Hiroshima's laid-back vibe and would have liked to spend more than a few hours there, but after a week of cities, I was craving a bit of island life. Miyajima is a small island a 25-minute train ride and a 15-minute ferry trip from Hiroshima. You can go as a day trip from Hiroshima but I wanted to spend the night on the island, to experience it without the day-trippers.

I stayed at Ryoso Kawaguchi, a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) set a few minutes from the famous 'floating' torii, the main shopping street and two very good coffee shops: Miyajima Coffee and Sarasvati. My room, which had tatami matting and a futon bed, was ¥7,500 (£44), and was comfortable and beautiful. 

I also ate dinner at the ryokan (¥4,860), which I would definitely recommend (you have to pre-book). The waitress kept bringing course after course of delicious and beautifully presented food. Afterwards, I went to look at the torii by night, and then returned for a soak in one of the ryokan's two stone hot tubs. Bliss.

Hiroshima and Miyajima highlights:

• The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is informative, interesting and sobering (the admission was all of ¥50 -– 30p!). They have audio guides and also run some tours in English. The Peace Memorial Park is lovely too. You can hop on a tram to the park from the station.

• Sampling the local cuisine at Okonomi Mura. Hiroshima's okonomiyaki are pancakes cooked on a griddle and filled with a combination of cabbage, egg, fish and meat. Okonomi Mura houses dozens of stalls selling different varieties, so pick your favourite, grab a seat at the griddle and pick up your scraper!
• Miyajima ropeway. You can hike up Miyajima's Mount Misen but if you're short on time and/or energy, the ropeway will take you most of the way to the top. It's a 20-minute walk to the summit, but you will be rewarded with great views of Hiroshima and the bay. Just don't miss the last ropeway back or it will be a long walk down.
• Itsukushima shrine with its large vermillion torii gate that appears to float at high tide has to be one of the most photographed sights in Japan. If you stay the night on the island, you can get photos at high and low tide, at sunset and by night, when the torii is all lit up. Yes, it's a cliché, but it would be a shame to come all this way and miss out on that one final torii!

General tips

• Get a Japan Rail pass. It costs £168 for seven days' access to all of Japan's trains apart from the fastest of bullet trains (Nozomi), so if you're travelling around, it will save you money, and it will also save you the faff of queuing up to buy tickets at train stations (although you can also make free seat reservations). You have to buy a JR pass 'exchange order' before you arrive; I got mine from the Japan Travel Centre in London.
• If you're planning on using the subway in Tokyo, get a SUICA pass (a bit like an Oyster card, for UK folks), which you can top up and swipe your way through subway gates, without having to work out your fare each time. My pass also worked on the Kyoto subway.
• Seven-Eleven stores are ubiquitous in Japan and they serve a number of purposes. 1) They have good snacks (such as raspberry KitKats – my favourite!) and cheap sushi snack packs (go for the triangle packages of sushi rice with a filling; there are instructions on the bottom for how best to open the wrapping!). 2) Their ATMs accept foreign cards. As I had read that a lot of places (apart from hotels and big shops/restaurants) didn't take cards, I took a lot of cash with me and didn't need an ATM, but it can be tricky finding one for foreign cards outside Tokyo. 3) They often have public loos.
• Do try to learn some basic spoken Japanese. I am a language geek and I learned a fair amount before I went, but although a lot of people speak some English, a little Japanese goes a long way. At the minimum, try to memorise these phrases, especially the bolded ones: 
• sumimasen [soo-mee-mah-sehn] 'excuse me', 'sorry', or even 'thank you' in some contexts
• konnichiwa [kon-neech-i-wa] 'hello' 
• ohayou gozaimasu [oh-hai-yo goh-zai-mas] 'good morning'
• konbanwa [kon-bahn-wa] 'good evening'
• arigatou gozaimasu [ah-ree-gah-toh goh-zai-mas] 'thank you (very much)'
• xx o kudasai [oh kooh-dah-sai] 'xx please' or 'can I have xx please'
• Wifi hotspots are few and far between. Although most hotels offer wifi, restaurants, shops and tourist spots rarely do (Loft's Shibuya store is a good exception). As such, I planned each day in detail at my hotel, working on the assumption that I might not get the chance to look things up online later on. Try to get a good map app that works offline. The trouble is that although it's easy to get to the approximate area of your destination, the lack of street names and signage can make it hard to find the exact address without Google, so research as much as you can.

My Japan Shopping Tips

Part of the reason I took a slightly bigger than cabin-approved suitcase to Japan was so that I could indulge in a little retail therapy if the mood took me. I was particularly looking forward to a) the stationery and b) the weird and wonderful 'only in Japan' type items. Here are a few of my favourite places.

Department stores
Loft (multiple branches). Loft is what they call in Japan a creative life store, and I love it. Essentially, it is a department store where I love every department. The best store I visited was the huge store in Tokyo's Shibuya area, but to be honest, I went into every branch I saw and rarely came out empty-handed. The main focuses are stationery, homewares, technology and beauty, but with a stylish, design-oriented focus. I bought a lot of gifts here, including interesting washi tape, quirky fridge magnets and fun notepads. The kitchen section is also great, though, and I bought the turquoise bowl in my first haul photo below from Loft. As Loft is a Japanese store, they also have an excellent umbrella section, and my tiny new turquoise number, pictured in the second haul photo below, came from here.

Tokyu Hands (multiple branches). Tokyu Hands is similar to loft in terms of the product range — they also seem to have coined the term 'creative life store' — but with more of a focus on the practical. They have a whole series of 'hint files', for example, which offer tips on how to get the best use from your products. Travel accessories are a strong point for this store, from packing cubes to travel tie carriers and colourful adapters. Tokyu Hands also has a great kitchen department, with a whole department devoted to geeky coffee-making kit. Several of the stores also seem to host pop-up shops for local boutiques or local products. In Hiroshima, for instance, you could buy jewellery from a local designer and coffee beans from a Miyajima roastery.

Mitsukoshi (multiple branches). Although I had heard great things about the grand Japanese depaato, the aforementioned creative life stores are more my thing. You can still pick up some nice gifts in the stationery and accessories sections of Mitsukoshi and the other big department stores, but otherwise I found them less interesting to shop in. (NB I wasn't really in a clothes-shopping mood on this trip and so didn't spend much time in the fashion sections.) However, the food halls as these stores — usually in the basement — are awesome, offering a bewildering range of food to take home, food to eat in store and prepackaged sweets and other tempting treats that make great gifts. If you go towards the end of the day, there are often decent reductions.

Tokyo
Found Muji. I love Muji, but we have plenty of their stores in the UK. Sure, our stores don't sell the food and drink items — I stocked up on some of the maple syrup and salt pretzels, and the instant lemon, lime and ginger drink — or as many clothes but otherwise we don't do too badly. Found Muji, however, is even better. It's like a boutique version of Muji, selling only a carefully curated and beautifully presented range of products. I picked up two small copper bowls (haul photo 1), which were on sale. Omotesando

Spiral Market. Omotesando is one of my favourite parts of Tokyo for shopping, and the Spiral Building is a haven of style and a design. They have a cafe and a gallery, but my favourite part is the Spiral Market, which sells a well-chosen offering of stylish products, including stationery, homewares and even a carefully edited musical selection. I only bought the two colourful postcards in haul photo 1; I had hoped to be able to go back at the end of my trip but ran out of time. Omotesando

Acme. On a stretch of Meguro Dori that hosts several other interiors shops, known as the Meguro Interior Shops Community, Acme sells gorgeous, effortlessly chic furniture and homewares with hints of Americana and Scandinavia. There were some really lovely products here, but my suitcase was much too small. Meguro

Uniqlo. Yes, we have Uniqlo in London, but not 12-storey flagship stores. As well as a bigger selection of colouful, chic clothing basics than in the UK, most items are cheaper here. I bought an aqua v-neck cardigan for about ¥1,800 (£10 or so), which would be either £20 or £30 in London and which isn't available yet here anyway. Uniqlo clothes from Japan also fit my 5'3'' frame better — XS in the UK is usually a bit big on me, but Japanese S was a closer fit and with better fitting sleeves (I have to roll UK Uniqlo sleeves up).

Kyukyodo. A very traditional shop, which has been selling beautiful paper, calligraphy kit and incense since 1663. It's a great place for gorgeous gifts. Ginza.

Gekkoso. A tiny, subterranean art supplies store, tucked away on a quiet side street in the southern part of Ginza, Gekkoso is a lovely place to while away a few peaceful minutes. The cards they sell are fab, although as you would expect, most of them come with Japanese text. Ginza.

Ito-Ya. The huge Ginza flagship of this modern stationery store is currently being refurbished, but the temporary store just around the corner is still worth a visit. They have a bewildering array of pens, paper, notebooks and office supplies, set over five floors. Ginza.

Kyoto
Morita Washi. Two blocks south and one block east of the Shijo–Karasuma junction in Kyoto's main shopping district, lies Morita Washi, one of my guidebook's favourite shops in the city. They sell beautiful handmade paper and paper products, including notebooks, cards and stationery. It's a good place for gifts that feel a little more special than the paper goods you can find in a department store.

Neo Mart. I stumbled upon this shop on the way to Nishiki Market (it's just a few blocks away) and it's a bit like a mini version of Loft, but with perhaps more focus on fashion accessories and less focus on homewares. They had a lot of cool products, with a particularly good selection of gifts for cyclists, this being Kyoto.

Karan Koron Kyoto & Bonti. This tiny design boutique, near the junction of Shijo Dori and Kawaramachi Dori, feels like it might be a pop-up or concept store. They only sell a few products — traditional Japanese sweets, crockery and accessories — but everything is stylish and beautifully packaged. Kyoto is a great city for buying traditional goods, but there is also a lot of tat; this store offers the perfect compromise.

Beams. As I mentioned, I didn't do a lot of shopping for clothes but the fun, casual styles in Beams, which is next to the big Takashimaya on Shijo Dori, caught my attention. They have a particularly good selection of t-shirts with clever slogans and some cool accessories.

Hiroshima
Agete. I wasn't in Hiroshima long enough to hit the shops beyond the inevitable 45 minutes spent in Tokyu Hands, but a few stores in the area between the station and the Peace Memorial Park caught my attention. They sell simple but colourful jewellery pieces, which aren't cheap but are very pretty and well constructed and would make a great 'splurge' gift. They have stores in a few other cities too.

Adam et Rope. I really liked the fresh, colourful style of this boutique, which is currently popping up in the Parco mall. They also have fun, reasonably priced accessories, like a range of (chic) zodiac-inspired tote bags. Other branches.

What I bought
I bought most of the stationery and kitchen items and gadgets from either Loft of Tokyu Hands. Many of these are gifts, of course — even I can't justify buying quite that much stationery!

The Japan Caffeine Chronicles: Tokyo, Kyoto & Miyajima

Make no mistake: Japan is a tea country, and when coffee is available, it's often served iced. However, coffee fans shouldn't despair because it is possible to find places that serve good specialty coffee coffee, even in the unlikeliest of locations. It's all about the research, and I did a fair amount so you don't have to!

First, though, you should either try to bring your Aeropress or V60 and some filters with you, or head to a department store to pick one up, to get you through the first few hours until you have found a good place for the second coffee of the day. I left my Aeropress at home but in lifestyle stores like Loft and Tokyu Hands, which have branches in most major cities in Japan, there will be a great selection of coffee-making kit. I picked up a Hario V60 dripper and a pack of filters for ¥450 (about £3) and a bag of decent ground coffee from Tokyu Hands, which kept me going for the rest of the trip and then some.

Tokyo
As you would expect for a city the size of Tokyo, there are good coffee bars around; you just have to know where to look. Time Out Tokyo has rounded up 25 of their favourites, some that are better for drip, some for espresso. A lot of them aren't that close to the city centre (many are in West Tokyo), however, and although Tokyo's subway system is excellent, when you only have a few days in the city, there isn't time to go chasing caffeine dreams. Here are a few of the places I did visit:

Omotesando Koffee (4-15-3 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. Omotesando station, exit A2). This tiny cube of an espresso bar is set on a quiet street a few blocks away from Omotesando's main drag. The decor is minimalist and traditional and there is a sunny and peaceful garden at the front. I had a macchiato and it was the best macchiato of the trip: creamy, rich and smooth.

TWS Art Cafe 24/7 Coffee & Roaster (1-19-8 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku. Shibuya station). While in Shibuya, I was actually heading for another Time Out recommendation, Streamer Coffee Company, when I stumbled upon this place, attracted by the minimalist design and the fact that the menu offered two roasts and three hand-drip techniques. It was probably too hot a day for a big cup of hot drip coffee, but the coffee was very good, and I enjoyed my serene perch looking over the madness of Shibuya by weekend.

Café de l'Ambre (8-10-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku. Shimbashi station). This veteran café has been serving "coffee only" to Tokyoites since 1948. They have a huge selection of beans to choose from, and your selection will be lovingly ground and hand-dripped. It isn't cheap — my special Brazilian coffee set me back about ¥860 for an almost espresso-size shot — but it is good coffee served in a lovely, traditional setting and with beautiful china.

Kyoto
To my surprise, Kyoto turned out to be a hot bed of decent coffee. There are a lot of cyclists too and the two often go hand in hand. I was so busy trying to see everything that I only ended up visiting three cafes, but I have also heard good things about Caffè Verdi.

Vermillion (85 Ommaecho Fukakusa Inari, Fushimi-ku). This espresso bar is almost right opposite the main entrance to the Fushimi inari shrine, famous for its thousands of vermillion torii gates (hence the name). It's pretty small inside but the staff are friendly, there is free wifi and local guidebooks to peruse, and most importantly, the macchiato was very good, especially after a hard day's temple hopping.

Kawa Coffee (Kyoto Chukyo-ku, Kyoto 397 Konbu-ya cho). This is probably the only espresso bar/leather maintenance hybrid in Kyoto — possibly even the world. I was walking past when I spotted a V60 dripper and dived on in. Although I can't speak for the leather maintenance, my pourover coffee was very good, and served in a gorgeous blue and white mug. They have wifi and the location is handy if you're visiting the Imperial Palace (it's on the road that runs along the south side of the grounds).

Sentido (445 sasaya-cho, Kyoto-shi). I ducked in here partly to shelter from the rain and partly to sample the espresso. The latter was pretty good, with a rich taste and good crema. They also sell coffee beans and assorted coffee kit, and the café is a nice place to hang out. I met some friendly Vancouvrites and we sat exchanging Japan tips for a while.

Miyajima
I wasn't in Hiroshima long enough to need caffeinating, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the nearby island of Miyajima — population of about 2,000 — where I was spending the night had at least two very good coffee options.

Miyajima Coffee (on the main drag, one block from the sea; directions here). Miyajima Coffee is an art space and gallery as well as a café, but it certainly does a great job at the latter. I sampled both the drip coffee and an espresso and enjoyed both, although in my effort to drink the former too quickly, I burned my tongue. They sell their own beans and ground coffee in stylish packaging bearing the island's signature vermillion torii — a good business move given how tough it is to find non-kitschy gifts on Miyajima.

Sarasvati (close to the five-storey pagoda; directions here). The owner of my ryokan recommended this place, which turned out to be just around the corner. They roast their own coffee in-house and they prepared me a lovely mug of their hand-drip variety of the day. The roasting was in progress while I was there but sadly, my Japanese wasn't good enough to enquire further. As it's slightly further from the main touristy street, Sarasvati is also a little calmer than Miyajima Coffee, but the staff are just as friendly.

Miyajima & Tokyo: Ittekimasu, Nihon!

It was a lovely experience to spend Saturday night in a traditional Japanese ryokan, Ryoso Kawaguchi, although the noisy Spanish group in the next room seemed to be ignorant of how well sound travels through such thin walls. Yesterday morning, I rose early and went out in search of coffee, this time visiting Cafe Sarasvati, just down the road from my ryokan. 

They were offering single-origin hand-drip coffee on the menu, so I went for that, although the usual range of espresso-based drinks and their iced equivalents — very popular in Japan — were also available. The coffee was excellent. The roast the beans themselves and indeed, they had just started the day's roasting while I was there. Sadly, my Japanese wasn't good enough for me to enquire too much further about the process and about the cafe.

After going to eke a few more photos of the torii at high-ish tide out of my moribund camera battery, I headed over to the ferry terminal to begin my very long journey by boat and train back to Tokyo. Although the JR Pass is great, you can't use the fastest bullet trains (the Nozomi trains), which only save you a few minutes on shorter journeys, but on the 500-odd-mile Hiroshima–Tokyo run, the Nozomi would save you a couple of hours and avoid the need to change at Shin-Osaka or Shin-Kōbe.

Nonetheless, I was back in Tokyo by 4.30 and checked into my hotel 20 minutes later. The hotel itself was definitely of the functional variety, as you might expect from a business hotel next to a major transport hub. My room was miniature, even by Tokyo standards, but it was clean, quiet and wifi-connected, though, so I was happy enough. I spent an hour or so revisiting some of my favourite shops, like the Loft and Muji near Yarakucho station, and exploring the modern architecture masterpiece of the Tokyo International Forum.

Then it was time for my last supper. I met some family friends in the Roppongi area and we went to Uoshins fish shack. My experience was a lot better than my previous abortive visit to Uoshins, even though it was Sunday and they kept running out of things. As well as the biggest oyster I've ever seen, we ate plenty of sashimi, crab, deep-fried shrimp and crab, and enjoyed a few eggcup-sized cups of sake. It was a really nice way to spend my last night in the city.

Sadly, this morning I had to be up early for my 10:50 am flight. I had planned to go for a last, brief run, but sleep deprivation got the better of me. I thought Narita Airport might prove to be a good place for shopping, but this wasn't the case. Not that I had much room in my bag left at this point! After spending all day on the plane, I got home this evening and it's still only 9:30 pm London time. What a long day!

I'll do a few more round-up posts of my trip, highlighting some of my tips for where to go, where to stay, how to get around, where to shop and — most importantly — where to find good coffee! The CliffNotes version is that I had a great time and it wasn't as expensive as I was expecting. 

I probably would have stayed for another day or two if I had known that. I don't think I would have visited more places or done more things, but my pace might have been more leisurely. Japan is such a diverse and interesting country that genuinely has something to offer no matter what kind of trip you want to take.