3 weeks in Japan with roadtrip on Kyushu and Shikoku

All four of us had 3 weeks in Japan with roadtrip on Kyushu and Shikoku in the summer of 2025. After exploring Tokyo and Kyoto, we continued to Hiroshima with Shinkansen. We left Hiroshima in a rented car to experience rafting on Shikoku and volcanoes on Kyushu.

We have put together our experience renting and riving in Japan in this post, and we also wrote about gluten free travel in Japan.

We arrived in Tokyo at 14:30, passed immigration and headed towards the train platform. We had pre-installed the Suica payment solution on our phones, and we could use it to easily pay for transportation. That made it easy to catch a train to central Tokyo, and we arrived at Grand Central Hotel at 4.30 pm. It is a nice and simple hotel with very small rooms.

We were hungry after the long flight, so we headed out to find our first meal in Japan. There were lots of small eateries close to the hotel, but it was hard to find a place with gluten free options. Japan has a reputation of being a difficult country for gluten free food, so we were not surprised. We ended up in a small and cosy eatery, where we could have delicious grilled fish and meat. It was a typical Japanese place where you dine in rows and place your order at a personal iPad.

After dinner we took the train one stop to Akihabara, also known as Electric City, with Japanese manga and anime all over. Dressed up sales women were lining the street, trying to convince customers to spend money at the game machines.

Day 2 – Shinkansen to Kyoto

We had a traditional Japanese breakfast with a miso soup, rice and salmon.

At Tokyo Central Station we managed to buy a same-day ticket for Shinkansen at the dedicated ticket counter for foreign tourists. It took some time to find the right platform as there are several platforms with the same number. We figured out the platforms are colour-coded, and found the right one. We had no seat reservation, but easily found empty seats.

From the train we had a glimpse of Mount Fuji, but it was covered in clouds. After just 2 hours we arrived in Kyoto and found our new home for the next 3 days, a traditional Ryokan called Kamogawakan. The rooms are spacious with tatami mats covering the floor, and futons for sleep.

We went for a walk in Kyoto, and stopped by Nijo-Jo Castle, which is a nicely restored shogun castle from 1603. We saw the beautiful decorated walls of Ninomaru-goten Palace and the surrounding garden.

In the evening we took a stroll in the Geisha district, with old wooden townhouses, narrow streets and paper lanterns.

We ended at Yasaka-jinja shrine, which was lit up by lanterns and very atmospheric.

Day 3 – Kyoto Temples and Golden Pavilion

At Kamogawakan we had a delicious and overwhelming Japanese breakfast. There were so many different things (9 in the bento-box alone) and all were a treat to the eyes as well as mouth.

With filled bellies we walked down to Kiyomizu-dera temple (dating back to 798, but current structures from 1633). It has a large wooden platform with views of Kyoto. We were not alone! It was a warm day, already at 10:00 the temperature had gone beyond 30°C and we were dripping.

In the small and cosy Sannen-Zaka and Ninen-Zaka streets we admired the old wooden traditional buildings that now have souvenir shops and cafes. We cooled down in a café with cold limonade and filled our water bottles with the remaining ice cubes. We have steel water bottles, so when we continued walking it sounded as cowbells.

The Kõdai-ji temple from 1605 is known for its beautiful garden with a bamboo forest. We continued to Yasaka-Jinja to see the temple in daylight and onwards to Maruyamu-kōen, which is another beautiful garden.

Lunchtime was coming up, so we decided to have a quick lunch simply by buying some onigiri (rice triangles with different flavors), sandwich and a sushi bento-box (lunch box).

Energized, we saw the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-Ji Temple). With the sun shining and the water still it was for sure a marvelous sight – and it was packed with people. The heat was intense, so we went back to our hotel to relax a while.

Cooled down we took the train to the last Temple of the day: Fushima-Inari-Taisha also known as the Thousand Torii Gates. The red Toriis give the place a special atmosphere. It’s a 4 km hike to the top of the mountain to go through all of the Toriis (there should be far more than 1000, maybe up to 10.000), so we only went half way up before we got hungry and headed back down.

We went to Nishiki market for dinner. The streets were closed for cars as the Gion festival was happening.

Day 4 – Kyoto Tea Ceremoni and Samurai Experience

July is the rainy season, and this was a day with lots of heavy showers. With temperatures around 30°C and high humidity you get kind of sticky.

At Maikoya we tried a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. We got dressed up in kimonos, and it was fun trying the traditional (quite uncomfortable) clothes. The Buddhism is evident everywhere and also in the Tea Ceremony. It’s all about being present at this moment, paying attention to every little detail and do your best. A true mindfulness experience.

We returned to Nishiki Market to get lunch and just soak in the busy atmosphere and especially the colorful seafood.

Many streets near Nishiki market were still closed as the floats for the Gion festival processions were on display. We were lucky to visit Tokyo in time for the The Gion Festival, or Gion Matsuri. It is a month-long festival held annually in July. It’s one of Japan’s three most famous festivals and features elaborate processions of floats (Yamaboko Junko) on the 17th and 24th July. The festival’s origins trace back to 869, when it was held to appease vengeful spirits and deities believed to be causing epidemics. We were there on the 16th, so we saw the floats parked in the city center, but not the processions.

In the afternoon we went to the Samurai and Ninja Museum, where we had a Samurai training with katanas (swords) and also had a shuriken (ninja throwing star) competition. Great fun!

Back at the Ryokan it was time to try the onsen (hot spring). There is a whole set of rules on how to behave in an onsen, but this was designed for tourists, so luckily there was a step-by-step guide to guide us.

Dinner was approaching and we were starting getting frustrated finding food for everyone. N mainly eat Italian-like food with pizza as his favorite. T needs gluten free food, while Peter and Helle are vegetarians and prefer to try local food. Where to eat?

N had a pizza at an Italian restaurant. Then we went hunting for gluten free food. The first 10 restaurants were not able to provide anything for T. Restaurants use wheat in so many dishes, even salt is often mixed with wheat. Finally we found a place with gluten free sausages and rice for T. Helle and Peter got an omonomiyaki (cabbage pancake).

Day 5 – Kyoto to Sentonaikai National Park

The day started with pouring rain while we walked to the train station.

We had the pleasure once more to ride the Shinkansen, this time to Hiroshima where we had rented a car for the next two weeks. It was simple to receive the car from Budget car rental. We had booked a Toyota Fielder station car via the klook.com platform, but received a smaller Toyota Premio. It must have been the same category of car, and our luggage just fitted in the trunk, so we didn’t make a fuss.

We are used to road trips and were really looking forward to escaping the cities and exploring the beautiful nature of Japan.

But the first stop was a Festa supermarket as we had booked self-catering accommodation for the next days. It’s always fun to see what is available in the local supermarkets. For us the language barrier was extremely evident. It was hard to understand what a product actually is when you cannot read what is written on it, but Google lens translated for us. It took us an hour to fill a trolley, but then we could use the supermarket’s designated dining area to eat some of the take-out we had bought.

As we drove out of Hiroshima, we headed towards Sentonaikai National Park. It is a group of small islands connected by bridges and ferries, and said to very pretty. Unluckily the weather wasn’t with us. It started raining again and we had very limited visibility.

Instead we relaxed at the brand-new and spacious Bonapool hostel. The bathrooms had the latest Japanese hygiene tech. The evening was spend in the bath tub.

Day 6 – Sentonaikai National Park to Iya valley

It was still raining, but at a lower intensity. We badly wanted to have a view of the islands and sea in the national park, so we drove up to Kirosan Observatory Park – but we were in the middle of the clouds and no views at all.

We continued to Matsuyama Castle on the island of Shikoku. The castle was build in the 16th century and later rebuilt after a fire in the 18th century. The defensive structures were still in good conditions and it was easy to imagine how a battle could have unfolded.

In a Sunnymart supermarket we stocked up on groceries. The store had a good selection of groceries, and also a cafe area where we had take-away from the store for lunch.

From Matsuyama we continued to Bora-ya Guesthouse, a true mountain retreat close to Iya Valley. Bora-ya is owned by a Japanese-American couple. Yancin told us the story of the guesthouse and the village, where all other residents are 70 or older.

It was fantastic finally getting out into nature. Sitting at the veranda with the sounds of the river and cicadas – and raindrops on the roof was relaxing.

Day 7 – Iya valley

We had a slow morning and soaked in the tranquility of the surroundings of the guesthouse. The owner has a small tea farm, so Helle enjoyed his delicious green tea for breakfast.

Once everybody were ready we drove up Iya Valley, stopping for panoramic views. The river has a horse-shoe bend that is particularly scenic.

The valley is known for vine bridges that for centuries of political turmoil were the only places to cross the river. Some of the bridges are maintained for tourists to explore. It passes 14 m above the river below, and it was a bit scary to look down.

Further up the valley “Scarecrow village”. An abandoned village, where human size dolls are the substitute for real humans. It is a special and eerie sight, that must have taken hours and hours of work.

Last stop in Iya valley was Mount Tsurugi. We took the chairlift halfway up (and down) and had an easy walk to the top in 1995 meters. For those with more time and an interest in hiking, there are many trails in the area. The top of Tsurugi was mostly covered by clouds, so we did not get to enjoy panoramic views of Shiroku.

Shiroku receives a lot of rainfall, and it is lush and green. As a consequence, most of our time on the island was in dense forest.

Back home we cooked dinner and enjoyed the evening at the campfire under the stars and Milky Way.

Day 8 – Rafting on Yoshino River

The river valleys on Shiroku are great for rafting. We had a full day of river rafting with happyraft on Yoshino River ahead of us. Due to the heavy rain the previous days, the water level in the river was higher than normal, so we had to raft on a less-used section of the river. For us it made no difference.

There were many rapids and we had lots fun. We had two stops for jumping off cliffs and at many places we could swim in the fresh water next to the raft. That was nice because the air temperature was around 30 degrees.

The rafting tired us, and we returned to the guesthouse where we made dinner and sat around the campfire under stars.

Day 9 – Nakatsu Gorge and Shikoku Karst

We left the wonderful Bora-ya Guesthouse and drove towards Nakatsu Gorge, known for crystal clear water with the color “Niyoda Blue”. It was raining lightly, but since the forest was damp and thick we couldn’t feel the rain as we walked up the gorge. The warmth and rain made it felt like walking in a rainforest. It took less than a minute to be completely soaked in sweat. The gorge was beautiful and it had a fantastic waterfall that sounded like a thunderstorm. The mist was refreshing.

As we continued our drive, we saw both terraced rice fields and tea bushes.

Shikoku Karst is a ridge of limestone without forest. It was raining when we arrived. We took a break at the cafe with ice cream and coffee, and suddenly the clouds vanished and we got a fantastic view of the mountains and the beautiful flowers.

From Shikoku Karst we drove towards the vacation home we had booked for the night. It was located in a remote valley, and getting there took us along the type of narrow winding roads where you hope NOT to meet another car.

The vacation home had a stream in the backyard and a fish farm next door, so we went there to buy fresh fish for our dinner. Nodo, the owner of the guesthouse, helped us translate and buy the fish.

Day 10 – Towards Kyushu and the Hells of Beppu

It was going to be a long day, so we started early to catch the 10:30 ferry from Misaki to Saganoseki on Kyoshu. It was a beautiful drive with views of the coastline on Shikoku and the inland sea.

As everything else in Japan the ferry was efficient and on time. We enjoyed the ferry crossing as the sea breeze was welcoming.

The Hells of Beppu are 7 places in Beppu with volcanic activity. Thar are located in different parts of the city. Our first stop was Umi Jigoku also known as Sea pool due to the cobalt blue color. Around the pool was a beautiful garden with purple water lilies and very large leaves.

Chinoike Jigoku was the next “Hell”. It is also known as the red pool due to the red color of the clay. Just next door was the Tatsumaki Jigoku a geyser, that erupt every 30-40 min. We were so fortunate that it erupted just minutes after our arrival.

It was fun to see the different pools and geyser, but as T said, nothing compares to Yellowstone National Park in the US.

It was the hottest day so far with temperatures around 35°C, so a stop for grocery shopping with air conditioning was welcoming.

We had another two hours to reach our next vacation home at the foot of Mount Aso. We saw Mt Aso an hour before we reached the area. It stands tall on a flat plain with farmed land, so it can be seen from a long distance.

From our vacation home we had views towards Mt. Aso between the trees. What a view to enjoy over dinner!

Day 11 – Mount Aso helicopter ride

Mount Aso is one of the things we were especially looking forward to when planning the trip. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and it is placed inside a massive caldera formed 90.000-300.000 years ago. Mt Aso has five peaks, the youngest only 4000 years old.

We had booked a helicopter ride over the active crater with Ariair, but it was cancelled a few days before the flight due to maintenance. Jet Heli Service also operates helicopter flights, but they do not take forward reservations. Therefore we woke up early and headed to the heliport half an hour before the office opened at 9:30, to be in line for same-day tickets. We succeeded!

We had a fantastic flight over the active Nakedake crater, where fumes are rising. On the day of our flight the area surrounding the crater was closed down due to fumes, so a flight was the only possible way to see the crater. For Peter and the boys it was their first helicopter ride and we all enjoyed it.

It was a hot day with temperatures close to 35°C and high humidity, so after seeing the visitor center we went back to the vacation house to have lunch and a mid-day nap.

Originally we had planned to hike to the top of Mt. Take-dake (the highest of the five peaks), but due to the increased volcanic activity, the trail was closed. Instead we hiked up to Mt. Kishima (1330 mas). It is an easy hike of approximately 6 km. We were dripping with sweat from the moment we started to hike as it was still hot, but it was so much worth it for the beautiful views of Mt. Aso, the caldera and mountains in the distance.

Afterwards we truly enjoyed the aircondition in the vacation home.

Day 12 – Mount Aso to Aoshima

We left the views of Mount Aso behind and started a 4-hour drive to Aoshima on the southeastern coast of Kyushu.

On the way we stopped at Takachiho Gorge, where the lava from Mount Aso has formed a beautiful Gorge with hexagonal pillars. The pillars get this distinct form by the quick cooling of the lava flow. There are several waterfalls ending in the gorge. The gorge was very touristic, and we were lucky to get one of the last parking spots. We took a stroll along the gorge. It’s possible to rent row boats to go into the gorge, but there was a 5 hour waiting time.

It turned cloudy as we approached the coast.

We reached Aoshima at 3.30 pm and checked in at ANA Holiday Inn Resort Miyazaki, a western style hotel. N really appreciate these types of hotels, so we make sure to also stay this way.

It was sunshine, so we found our swimwear and headed towards the Aoshima Shrine. The shrine occupies a small island that is surrounded by “washboard” rock formations. It was a 1,5 km stroll along the beach from our hotel, and a beautiful place to visit.

On our way back we jumped in the pacific ocean. It was very refreshing, although the water was quite warm. The coastline is known to be a surfers paradise and we saw many surfers riding the waves.

While in the water, rain clouds approached and within a few minutes it was pouring down. Everything on shore got completely soaked, but it was refreshing and lowered the temperature.

As we were back in hotel accommodation we needed to find dinner. The hotel restaurant didn’t have any gluten free options, but luckily there was a Lawson convenience store next door. We found food for everyone and since it was the end of the day it was all on sale. We are really surprised by the high quality take away food you can buy in these stores. They also have a microwave to heat the food and a place to eat it. We heated our food and brought it back to the hotel, where we had our dinner. Cheap and easy.

Day 13 – Aoshima to Kirishima Hills

The boys wanted to sleep longer, so Peter and Helle went to the beach for a morning swim and Helle had plenty of time for morning yoga practice.

After checking out, we drove further south along the coast to see more of the beautiful landscape. We passed Nichinan and saw the cave shrine Udo Jingo on the way.

Continuing south along the coast we saw many washboard rock formations. It is easy to see that Kyushu is a volcanic island. We could also see the concrete walls that are built on the coast to protect from tsunamis.

The vegetation on southern Kyushu seems tropical with palm trees and lots of beautiful flowers, and butterflies in many colors.

From Nichian we turned to the inside of the island and made a stop at Obi Castle Town. The town has many old traditional Japanese houses, that originally belonged to Samurai’s, merchants and other people. It was interesting to see the town – not many tourists came this way – so we had it mostly to ourselves. That also meant that signs were in Japanese, so we didn’t understand much.

We drove up to La Vista Kirishima Hills, a spa resort with hot water coming from the ground. It turned out to be quite a luxurious hotel. We had a private hot tub on our terrace and of course public onsen as well as an outdoor pool. It was not a bad place to be stuck in the rain.

The hotel restaurant didn’t have any gluten free food, so we went into town and found a nice steak restaurant, where the boys could have meat grilled at our own table. Peter and Helle opted for the salad bar.

The evening was spent in our hot tub at our terrace.

The weather forecast promised more than 35 mm of rain, so we decided to have a relaxing day at the hotel instead of our planned hike at Kirishima National Park.

After breakfast Peter and Helle set off to explore the surroundings and secretly hope to find a good lower lying hiking route. We went up to the Visitor center at Eboni Plateau. It was a very nice exhibition of the volcanic activity in the area. It turned out that our planned hiking route had been closed since June 2023 due to increased volcanic activity at Mt. Shishiko. Furthermore the ranger told us that it was not advised to hike this day as a typhoon in Taiwan would give us strong winds and heavy rain later in the afternoon. We already at this point thought it was bad enough, so with this message our hopes of hiking was finally brought to an end.

We returned to the hotel and the boys, read a book and in the afternoon we went to the outdoor swimming pool. The weather was warm, so it didn’t really matter that it was raining.

After the pool we went to one of the private onsens where men and women can be go together. The water in the onsen was quite warm, so you cannot stay in for long. After the onsen we cooled off with some free ice cream in the relaxation room.

After reading some more we headed out for dinner. We asked at several restaurants but they were not able to provide gluten-free food, so we ended up at the same restaurant as the previous day.

Breakfast at La Vista Kirishima Spa Hotel is a huge buffet, but a very Japanese one. You get a tray, but the “plate” is divided into six small compartments, like a bento box. You then fill the plate and next to this you can get small bowls with rice, miso soup, salad etc. There is also an omelet station where each omelet is created with great passion to be absolutely perfect. It is like watching an art performance as all motions are done slowly with full attention. Very much like in a yoga practice.

The weather was much better today, although there were still showers, so we headed towards Sakurajima at the southern part of Kyushu.

Our first stop was at Uenohara Jomon no-Moro, a museum for the pre-historic Jomon people, who inhabited southern Kyushu roughly 10600 years ago. They are known for their special pottery and at the site 52 pit dwellings have been found. The museum was only in Japanese, but the staff went out of their way to give us a good experience. The museum also have an underground observation hall, where the geological layers are visible. From this they have been able to determine the major eruptions from the nearby Sakurajima volcano.

After the museum we went to see the Sakurajima volcano. It is one of the most active volcanos on earth and it has been erupting constantly for the past 60 years. Sakurajima is on a peninsula in the bay of Kagoshima. Before 1914 it was an island, but a major eruption happened and lava flows closed off the bay turning it into a peninsula.

There are approximately 2000 inhabitants on the peninsula and there are signs everywhere on the island for volcano shelters, tsunami shelters and evacuation ports. School children wear helmets when walking to school and volcanic ash is collected together with garbage.

Today was also an eruption day and since we drove around the entire peninsula we also got in the wind direction. You could smell the volcanic gasses and feel the dust in the air.

Unfortunately clouds covered the top, but we did get a glimpse of the volcano’s Showa Crater that is erupting.

Volcanoes are really fascinating and to see how people live so close to a potential eruption was even more fascinating.

We returned to our hotel for a private onsen and decided that today was a Lawson dinner at our hotel room.

Finally we woke up to a (mostly) blue sky, and it was a beautiful drive from Kirishima to Kumamoto through the mountains. Southern Kyushu is known for tea plantations and we saw many fields with tea bushes.

We reached Kumamoto at 11:00 and once we got out of the car, we felt the heat. It was 35 °C.

Our first stop was the beautiful zen garden Suizenji. It is a peaceful garden with colorful carps in the pond, neatly maintained sculptural trees and bushes and a hill shaped as a miniature Mt. Fuji. We sat down in the shade to soak in the atmosphere.

Kumamoto Castle is in top three of castles in Japan. Most of the castle is reconstructed as the original has been stuck by fire and earthquakes. In 2016 a major earthquake hit the city, so heavy reconstruction is undergoing. It was indeed an impressive castle from the outside, but the inside has been turned into a modern museum, so none of the interior has been reconstructed. The museum was only in Japanese, so overall we were quite disappointed. The castle in Matsuyama on Shikoku was far more interesting although smaller.

N badly wanted a pizza for lunch, so we went pizza hunting, but ended up with pasta, as pizza is only served for dinner in Kumamoto.

We had another 2 hour drive to the northwestern shore of Kyushu where we had booked rooms at Mercure Fukuoka Munakata Resort.

It was still hot when we arrived at 17:30, so Peter and Helle went to the beach for a refreshing swim. The coastline was beautiful with sandy beaches, fur trees and cliff islands off shore, and we enjoyed while the sun was setting.

The hotel was not able to provide gluten free food, so once again we started a hunt. N was tired, so we went to Lawson and bought food for him and returned him to the hotel. T, Peter and Helle found a very local seafood restaurant. It looked very promising with lots of cars in the front. We ordered food and got the usual green tea to accompany the food.

The salad was delicious. The grilled chicken and salmon was tasty, but we were served the small pieces that we would usually not eat as they mostly consist of fat and bones and only very little meat. Very disappointing, but the owner was thrilled about having guests from Denmark and had pictures of us. Overall a fun experience, but not a restaurant to return to.

Back at the hotel it was possible to get a free drink in the bar, so Peter and Helle went there. It turned out that it was an unlimited free bar with all sorts of spirits, mixed drinks, soda and snacks. We got to try sake, which we really didn’t like, so we ended with a local whisky and a gin & tonic instead.

Southern and northwestern Kyushu seems to receive very few western tourists. It becomes evident when people ask to take photos of you and asks where you are from. Also all museums have only been in Japanese. Mt. Aso and Beppu were the only touristic places we visited on Kyushu and we really experienced the authentic Japan on this island.

Every spa hotel in Japan has Yakatas (simple kimono) for guests to wear at the hotel. This morning we decided to dress as the rest of the guests and dressed up. In this way we blended in.

We left Kyushu and drove three and a half hours to Hiroshima to see the Peace Memorial Park and A-dome from the disastrous atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th 1945.

We started at the iconic A-dome, an administrative building where the dome structure still stands after the bombing. The bomb destroyed the entire city within 2 km except a few buildings.

We had lunch at an Italian cafe with a gluten free and vegetarian menu. It was the first time so far on the trip that everybody got exactly what they wanted for lunch.

After lunch we continued to the Memorial Peace Park with the Peace Memorial Museum. The museum was tough to visit. Especially all the personal stories of the day of the bombing and the years that followed were very emotional, and we left the museum in silence after giving each other big hugs.

It was such a reminder of the tragedy of war and especially atomic weapons, which is very present again today.

Filled with emotions, we decided to skip Hiroshima castle and just go to our hotel.

We checked in at Grandvrio Hotel Miyajima Wakura outside Hiroshima. It is by the sea and has a nice outdoor onsen. Peter and Helle went to the onsen and enjoyed the free ice cream and drinks afterwards. We got a surprise when we realised that the limonade we had selected contained alcohol.

At dinner we found a nearby restaurant that we could reach on foot. We placed ordered by iPad and had our food delivered to the table by a robot.

Day 18 – Miyajima

From the hotel we had a view towards Miyajima island where we could see the Itsukushima Jinja temple with the large Torii gate that stands in the water in front of the temple.

Today we drove to the harbor near the hotel, and took the ferry to the Miyajima island to visit the temple. It is an impressive sight and we enjoyed visiting the temple.

The area around the temple is one large souvenir shopping and food stall area. We were lucky to pass a small snack bar that served gluten free chicken, so T had a feast.

After some hours we had enough of the crowds. Our hotel had recommended a beach on the opposite side of the island, so as the only ones we brought our car to the island. This was the only way to reach Takanosuura beach. The road was very narrow so we were happy not to meet any other cars.

All over the island there are many deer and they were on the road, next to the road and in the forest. They seemed tame as they were not afraid of us. But signs are warning that they are wild animals.

At the beach there were only one other couple and a sailboat in the water. We enjoyed the tranquillity and cooling off in the water. N and Helle went hunting for seashells and found some nice ones. While on the beach we could see that an earthquake had happened in the morning, with tsunami warnings for most of Japan. But as Takanosuura beach was sheltered behind other islands it was safe to stay.

We returned to our hotel with plenty of time to go to the onsen. At this hotel you get to choose your own yakatas as well as shampoo, body lotion etc.

We went for dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby. They had pizza for N, gluten-free beef and seafood for Peter and Helle. What a relief to go just to one place and get food for everyone.

Day 19 – Hiroshima to Tokyo

Today Peter turned 50 years was celebrated at breakfast with Danish flags.

After breakfast we returned the car in Hiroshima and took Shinkansen to Tokyo. After 4 hours we reached Tokyo Central Station and headed to the b Ginza hotel.

We had planned to explore a bit of Tokyo in the afternoon, but we were all tired. First we needed some lunch. It took an hour to find something for N and thereafter T decided to use one of his dehydrated food portions.

N and T went back to the hotel, while Peter and Helle took a stroll in Ginza. We wanted to see the Hama-Rikyo Garden, but it was closing when we reached it. A little further north is the Kabukiza Theater, which has been renovated to look like a 1924 building. This is the place to see traditional Japanese kabuki theater.

In Ginza there are lots of expensive department stores and we saw some quite fancy cars in the street.

We found a wine bar and had a celebratory glass of sparkling wine before we picked up T and N at the hotel for dinner and started a hunt for gluten free food. After asking at more than 10 restaurants we finally found an Italian restaurant that could prepare a gluten-free chicken for T. N, Helle and Peter had pizza.

Japan has been the most difficult country for us to find gluten free food. As a result T was often tired because he don’t get enough to eat.

We had a slow morning and didn’t leave the hotel until 10:30. The first stop was Shinjuku Gyoen Garden becuase we wanted to explore more Japanese gardens. It was beautiful, but Suizenji Koen in Kumamoto is our number one.

We wanted to see Tokyo from above, so instead of paying a fortune to get up in Shibuya Sky or Tokyo Sky Tree we went to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building where you can get up for free. We took the elevator to 45th floor. It was an overcast and not so clear day, so we only saw city in all directions. No view of Mt. Fuji.

Back down we took the metro to Yoyogi station. It was lunchtime and we were lucky. There was a burger bar next to the Nepali/Indian Restaurant AMA. N got two burgers (the first one was too good, so he had two), while the rest of us had dahl and curry. T got a second round on the house. Highly recommended restaurant.

Filled up we continued to Meiji-jingu, the largest Shinto Shrine in Tokyo, where breweries offer barrels of sake and wine.

Lastly we continued to Shibuya to see the famous Shibuya Scramble Square and crossing where up to 500.000 people pass through every day. The metro/train station itself was huge with people everywhere and the crossing was done in every direction at once. Chaos.

Afterall we are not city people, so after a very short walk in Shibuya we headed back to our hotel to rewind.

We had our last Lawson dinner at our hotel, while packing and getting ready for our early departure on the following day.

Day 21 – Tokyo to Copenhagen

We woke up at 4.30 am to get to the airport for our morning flight with Japanese Airlines to Copenhagen via Helsinki.

At check-in we had been allocated seats away from each other even though we had bought the tickets together. So it became an uneasy check-in waiting in queue without new seats.

Finally at the gate we got new seats, sitting together.

After 14 hours of flying, where we crossed the date line and the North Pole, we arrived in Helsinki.

It was a three hour stop over, so we had plenty of time to eat and hang out at the gate.

We arrived in Copenhagen slightly delayed. The bagage claim was chaotic, and we had to wait an hour for our bags.

We took the train from the airport and arrived home 24 hours after we left Tokyo.