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There are a fair few photos in this post, so it might take a while to load.

Notes

We promised it last time, and now I’m delivering it: it’s Jay’s Japan Diaries.

This episode is a bit of a break from the norm, as it’s not really about video games. In mid-April, I took a trip out to Japan. Whilst I was there, I decided to record some audio diaries so that I could create an episode about the trip when I got back. And this is that episode.

Day 0 Inchon Airport

It starts with a really short recording that I had made during our hold over ion Seoul, Korea. We were only there for a few hours, but it felt like longer

mainly because I’d been awake for more than 24 hours by that point

The recording was taken on my phone, because I’d left my recording equipment in my suitcase, so it’s a little rough

but not as rough as the recording on the boat, which we’ll hear soon enough

Here’s a photo of the cool robot that I mentioned:

This wonderful robot was designed to help guide people around the airport

It’s job was to guide people around the airport, so you would approach it and ask for help. It would ask you what you were looking for, then it would plot out a route and walk you there.

It also had a photo mode where it would pose for selfies with people.

Day 1: Fukuoka

Fukuoka is one of my favourite places to visit. We stayed in a hotel attached to Canal City, and it’s an amazing place to visit.

Pomme's is an amazing place to eat at. If you're ever in either Fukuoka or Nagasaki, seek one out

I mention our first meal in Japan, it was Pommes - which is my favourite place to eat in Canal City.

It was an amazing event, and it's going on for a few more weeks. Well worth going to Japan for

Day 2: Hirado over to Oshima

We took the ferry from Hirado over to Oshima (literally “Big Island”), which is why the audio is a little rough

the engines were super loud

but I’ve tidied it up as much as I could.

When we got to Oshima, Remco

the friend we were with

was gracious enough to teach us how to call on the gods at one of the shines there.

This was the shire we visited where we were taught how to call on the gods

We were also given special permission to enter a temple on Oshima. It wouldn’t normally have been open on that day, but one of the councilmen for the island spotted us and asked if we wanted to take a look.

Day 3 Hirado’s Beach

The day after our trip to Oshima, we went looking around in Hirado and found a wonderful beach

That was the view from our strip of beach, and the busiest it got

After that, we went up to Hirado castle and got the chance to get up close and personal with some relics from the Battle of Sekigahara. Like, the currator there took them out of the display cases and let us have a look

you wouldn’t get that anywhere else

This is how close we got to some real Japanese history. Someone will have died at Sekigahara in this armour

Day 4 - Matsura Museum

And on Day 4 we went to Matsura Museum, where they allowed us to walk around in period costumes from the Kamakura to Meji era

I don't really look like a Samurai lord. It's the bandanna which makes me look like a Westerner, right?

I looked like a little like a samurai… except that I don’t look vaguely Japanese

The faces of the (slightly) innocent have been blurred for your entertainment. Also Hirado castle in the background, looking majestic

Whilst we were there, we got to take a look at some documents from 500 years ago

This is one of the super old documents we saw at the Matsura Museum

Day 6 Nagasaki

It was day say before I recorded anything else

I’m allowed to take some time off, right?

This was also the day that I picked up a copy of FFIX for PS1 for 740 yen - which came out at around 8GBP - which is what I was referring to in this tweet (sent out moments after buying it):

Due to the recent changes at Twitter, we are unable to embed tweets at this time. We apologise for the inconvenience.

Whilst we were there, we climbed Inasa Yama - which is a mountain which lets you look down on the entire city - and it was gorgeous

The view from Inasa Yama was amazing - and this was only a small portion of it

Due to the recent changes at Twitter, we are unable to embed tweets at this time. We apologise for the inconvenience.

But on the way to Nagasaki, we spotted a sign pointing towards a small town called Yoshii

Seriously, it's a real place

Because we were on the move, I wasn’t able to get a good photo of it, but I swear to you that there is a shop in Yoshii called Mario.

it looked like it could have also been a restaurant

Day 7 - Nagasaki Temples

I took some time to look into the temples in Nagasaki, because I’m really interested in Shinto and Buddhist structures. I visited Sofukuji

Sofukuji was founded by Eisai, over a thousand year ago - he brought Zen Buddhism to Japan

and Kofukuji

The entrance to Kofukuji temple, Nagasaki

I also had a change to check out Meganebashi, which is also known as Spectacles Bridge for reasons which should b obvious from this photo

And now you know why it's called Spectacles Bridge

Day 9 - Fukuoka Redux

We travelled back to Fukuoka from Nagasaki, because that’s where we would be flying from on our way home

sometimes there’s method to the madness

Day 9 was our last full day in Japan, so we decided to take in the Reclining Buddha which meant that we took a trip to Nanzoin temple

The reclining Buddha really does make nibana (nirvana: enlightenment) look easy

You can’t really tell the scale from that photo, so here I am touching his middle toe

Including a Jay for scale

But what was amazing about Nanzoin was that it was an active, in use, temple

like, you could hear people praying and chanting as we walked around

As such, there were only certain areas where you could use your phone. When I asked about taking photos (because I couldn’t understand the rules placard), I was told:

If it looks like a shrine: don’t take any photos. If you’re inside the main temple: don’t take any photos

But they did have a bench where you’re allowed to play Pokémon Go

The sign says that you are permitted to play Pokémon Go here

Jay’s Games

  • Space Invaders Groovy Invade Fukuoka
  • Godzilla
  • Initial D The 6th Stage

Music

Links to the music used in the podcast can be found below. Definitely check them out, because they're amazing tracks by awesome musicians.

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Games Covered

We mentioned 9 games in this podcast. In the following order, those games where: