It was back on a Bullet train to Tokyo on Wednedsay 25th February for our last 2 nights in Japan with a stay at the Sotetsu Fresa Inn Roppongi. The journey was very pleasant although the weather had turned and it was raining but as we whizzed across the countryside we still had a very brief view of the lower slopes of Mount Fuji before it disappeared amongst the clouds.
Fortunately the next day was dry but overcast and cool as we headed out for some final sight seeing around Tokyo and we visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings, Tokyo Central Station, the Imperial Palace Gardens and the Tokyo Tower.
I was pleased to find some Falcated Duck in the moat of the Imperial Palace, much better views of them than I had in Kushiro, and also present out on the water were Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Mallard, Coot, Little Grebe, Eastern Spot-billed Duck and Cormorant. A Dusky Thrush was also a nice find feeding on the grassy slopes of the moat.
While David visited the Tokyo Tower I had a walk around the nearby Shiba Park and in just an hour of wandering about I saw Oriental Turtle Dove, Japanese White-eye, Oriental Greenfinch, Japanese Tit, Brown-eared Bulbul, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, White-cheeked Starling, Large-billed Crow and best of all around 10 Azure-winged Magpie which were showy and vocal before disappearing into the leaf cover. I have always hoped to see Azure-winged Magpie on my visits to Spain but have always been out of luck so to see them here in Japan was a nice surprise.
It was time to head back to Tokyo Airport for our flight back to the UK on Friday 27th February, the weather had improved and it was clear and sunny, just as it was on the day we had arrived, and we had clear views of Mount Fuji again from the monorail to the airport. We even had views of its snow-topped peak poking out through the clouds as we took off on the plane, a nice end to our visit to Japan. Interestingly we ended up flying back to the UK via Canada and Greenland instead of returning the way we came over Eurasia and so we ended up doing a full circle of the Earth for our trip.
We stayed the night at Heathrow before training back to Plymouth the following morning (Saturday 28th February) where displaying Buzzards and Red Kites were seen in the sunny skies, flowering Daffodils and Blossom were seen in the hedgerows, feeding Roe Deer were seen in the fields and a Great White Egret was seen on the still very flooded Somerset Levels.
And so our trip around Japan came to an end and what a journey it had been. Japan is a fascinating place, very clean, neat, tidy, organised and efficient and the people are polite and friendly too, sometimes a little too polite but probably the nicest people I've ever met. There are no litter bins anywhere but interestingly no litter either, there's no dog shit, no graffiti, no beggars and no rough sleepers (not that we saw anyway) and it was easy getting around on the trains and subways with signage and announcements in English and Chinese as well as Japanese. The food and drink were interesting, tasty and cheap and I enjoyed trying new things, even sashimi, sushi and Whelks (never again!) and overall I loved my time there including the wonderful scenery, snowy landscapes and interesting wildlife although many of the bird species I saw are familiar birds I see in the UK.
While the Japanese are a lovely people they are also a little weird, very childlike in their manner and affectation with high pitched squeaky voices frequently used and they seem obsessed with androgynous teenage boys and over-sexualised teenage girls. There are "cute" animal mascots and puppets everywhere with the evening news weather report and Winter Olympics coverage on the TV regularly including cute animal puppets as presenters, most bizarre, but overall it was a very interesting and fascinating cultural experience. Japan is now one of my favourite places and I would love to return despite the awful 14 hour flight to get there.
I managed to bring back a little surprise from my trip too, a nasty COVID-like bug which kicked in the day after my return to Plymouth and what is now my 3rd cold in 3 months. This one's a bitch though and the worst yet and also not much fun on top of the 9 hour time difference jetlag but never mind.
.jpg)
