✈️ This Guy Flies!

Remembering Reykjavik

2026-03-01T14:55:34Z

Eleven years ago, this weekend, I was enjoying my first ever visit to Iceland.

We had an incredible few days, exploring Reykjavik and surrounding areas, marvelling at the landscape (and the cold), enjoying hot springs and plentiful seafood.

It’s somewhere I really want to return to. But, given all the travel plans I have for 2026, it’s going to have to wait until next year - at least.

Unexpected Tokyo sun

2026-02-15T08:03:05Z

Today in Tokyo, I sat in the sunshine and enjoyed temperatures of 18C. Glad I checked the forecast (even if I wasn’t too confident in its accuracy) before packing my case.

As soon as I could shower and get dressed, I headed over to Shinjuku Gyoen, one of my favourite places in the world. This is due to a combination of very happy memories, but also the peace and calm while in the middle of a city like Tokyo.

I was on the hunt for blossoms. Not sakura, as it’s far too early for that! But this time last year, I was able to revel in a deluge of plum blossoms in the very same park. And while it wasn’t as impressive (I’m sure the recent snow didn’t help), I managed to see some very recently arrived blossoms.

I enjoyed a walk around the park before finding an empty bench and sitting to soak up the sun. With my eyes closed, it could have been summer!

I was determined to get there this morning as the forecast for the remainder of the week is decidedly mixed. I’d rather be shopping or soaking in a sento while it’s raining outside. Sinjuku Gyoen in the sunshine? Definitely not to be missed!

Tokyo: final preparations

2026-02-12T08:50:22Z

I’m completing my last couple of hours of work before shutting my laptop and finishing my preparations for Tokyo.

My packing list has been reviewed and updated and is (in my opinion) a work of art. I’ve got a shopping list for friends and family, and a list of onsen/sento locations where I can soak my cares away. And an equally long list of places I want to eat.

Now all I need to do is pack!

I’m staying the night at an airport hotel at Heathrow, as my first flight tomorrow - to Paris - is at 8:15am! Far easier to sleep there than to risk a crack-of-dawn Uber ride across London and all of its associated stresses.

I have a six hour layout at Charles de Gaulle, after which I’ll fly direct to Tokyo with Japan Airlines. Unfortunately, British Airways won’t let me check in online for my flight to Paris, so I’ll need to get to physical check-in extra early tomorrow morning to see what’s up. BA is the airline that just keeps giving - and they wonder why I keep opting to fly with JAL!

I’ve been poring over the on-board menu for my flight to Tokyo. The catering is always top notch, but I wanted to see if it’s any different when leaving from Paris. And it is! In addition to being translated into French (of course) it has some additional options - like a croque monsieur. I’m excited to try out some of the a la carte options, as Business Class passengers can order additional plates as and when.

So after a lovely Japanese set meal (‘Washoku’ option), I plan to have some ramen, a pork cutlet sando, and then a croquet monsieur. But not all at once! The flight is 13.5hrs long, so I should have no problem putting it all away while I lose myself in a movie or two. Not forgetting the inevitable post-meal nap.

As I’m traveling solo this time, I’m also planning to get the Airport Limousine Bus from Haneda direct to my hotel. It definitely takes longer than the metro, but it’s basically a door to door service and I don’t have to haul my luggage up and down escalators, while annoying local commuters. All for just 1400 yen (roughly £7!).

But before all of that, some final work tasks, followed by the ceremonial switching on of the ‘Out of office’ notification on my email.

Prepping for Tokyo

2026-02-04T18:28:18Z

In just over a week, I’ll be packing my bags and heading back to Tokyo for a solo trip to celebrate my 50th birthday.

Research and preparations have already begun, including:

♨️ Making a list of the various onsen/sento/super-sento venues I want to relax in. I’m prioritising relaxation and self-care over sightseeing this time around and want to spend as much time in hot water or saunas as humanly possible.

🍛 Booking dinners with my local friends, ensuring I experience a range of Japanese cuisine. I’ve also booked an extra special dinner to celebrate my actual birthday, in my favourite restaurant in Ginza.

📋 Making a (realistic) packing list, knowing that I’m a) going to be doing some shopping while I’m there and b) realising that half my suitcase was full of unworn clothes when I was in Tokyo for Christmas.

🛍️ Assembling said shopping list, which is truthfully mostly made up of things I’m buying for other people. Though I’m sure I’ll stumble across some bargains as I wander through Shibuya and Harajuku.

✈️ I’m also researching how to spend my time at Paris Charles de Gaulle. I’m flying from Heathrow to CDG and then have six hours to kill before my JAL flight to Haneda. And yes, this is preferable to a direct flight with British Airways, for obvious reasons. While I want to maximise my time in the airline lounge (the Air France one I have access to looks rather nice), this is all dependent on how early I can check-in. So I may have to lurk in a cafe or (god forbid) public seating area for a while. I suspect my Kobo e-reader is going to get a lot of use.

I’m really happy that I’m going to be landing mid-afternoon in Tokyo, meaning I’ll be able to check-in straight away once I reach the Hilton Tokyo, and if I’m lucky, head straight to the executive lounge for snacks and some celebratory bubbles 🥂

Now all I have to do is complete the remaining week of work so I can leave London with a clear conscience. There’s nothing like a travel deadline to focus the mind and increase productivity!

A Fuji anniversary

2025-10-28T18:02:38Z

It was today, exactly twelve years ago, that I first saw Mount Fuji with my own eyes.

We were on our very first trip to Japan and had booked a - very long and very exhausting - day trip to Hakone and Mount Fuji.

Our tour took us from our hotel to Hakone by bus, all around the local area, taking in major tourist spots, across a lake on a replica galion, and then back to Tokyo on a Shinkansen. I can tell you we slept well that night!

Looking through the (low quality) photos from that day, one things jumps out at me: we were absolutely delighted to be there. Grinning like idiots the whole time. And, unsure if we’d ever be back (I’m lolling at the thought right now), we attempted to pack in an insane amount of sightseeing into just one week.

It was an incredible experience to take in so many sights and do many things that had been on my wish list for so long. It was the first ever group tour I’d taken - as I’d always thought they were for other people - but it was definitely the way to see so much in a single day and get carefully brought from location to location.

I have hardly any photos of the train journey back to Tokyo, due to a combination of exhaustion and giddy excitement. Never mind Mount Fuji, I was on a bullet train - so I was really experiencing Japan at last!

And today, twelve years later, I’m counting down the days to my next trip (which we think will be my nineteenth visit?) and feel just as excited as I did on that first visit. Travel is a bug and I’ve most definitely been bitten!

In praise of the Yamanote Line

2025-10-19T15:10:42Z

Ever since my first visit to Tokyo, I’ve been a fan of this iconic circular train line.

And yes, before you ask: it’s popular to love a train line! If the Tokyo metro feels a little overwhelming at first, find the Yamanote Line. It's a green, circular line, run by Japan Railways (there are multiple metro companies!) that takes in virtually all the places a visitor would want to go in Tokyo.

Journeys might take a little longer but all you need to do is pick clockwise or anti-clockwise and take a seat. Hopping on and off the Yamanote Line is a great way to see the city.

Great neighbourhoods to check out on this line include:

Shinjuku - great places to eat and go out at night
Harajuku - superb for people watching and wandering through Yoyogi Park
Shibuya - for the iconic Shibuya crossing
Meguro - great for seeing cherry blossoms along the Meguro river
Tokyo - the railway station is a beautiful building in its own right
Akihabara - great for a wander through second hand electronics stores
Ueno - the Ueno Park is definitely worth a visit in any season
Sugamo - for getting to the Rikugien Garden

And that’s just scratching the surface! It’s the very definition of a gentle introduction to Tokyo’s sometimes hectic public transport system. And the added bonus is that you can use your JR Railpass on it too!

Trains are every few minutes, though it’s best to avoid the major stations during even rush hour. The crowds can get a little overwhelming, made even worse if you’re carrying a lot of luggage or shopping. But at all other times of the day, it’s a lovely way to get around Tokyo. And as so much of it is elevated, you can see lots of the city too - compared to the dark tunnels of the metro.

And here’s a new video from JR East singing its praises…

When you’re too tired to pour your own beer

2025-09-14T19:07:00Z

I recorded this twenty second clip of an automated beer pouring machine when I was in Japan last month.

We were at New Chitose Airpot in Sapporo, awaiting our flight to Aomori, and enjoying the hospitality of the Japan Airlines Lounge. And even though I’ve seen countless of these machines over the years in Japanese airport lounges, I couldn’t resist filming it.

The serving is small and there’s just far too much head for my liking (which is how the Japanese seem to like their beer) but I still love these machines. It’s convenient, consistent and a little bit of fun. All it’s missing is a mascot of some description!

Anyway, it went down very nicely with a coupe of freshly-made salmon nigiri and a bowl of miso soup. The perfect holiday breakfast, when navigating a Japanese airport.

And... back to normal

2025-09-02T13:58:00Z

We arrived back from Japan yesterday morning and the whole day was a battle to keep busy and avoid falling asleep.

I’ll write about it in more detail, but we felt home with Finnair, via Helsinki. Much better than the dreaded BA08 flight with British Airways! I managed a full six hours of sleep on the first flight, which left Tokyo at 11:00pm. But was solidly awake since that point.

The mission to stay awake included unpacking our two large suitcases (one had gone AWOL in Helsinki and we’re waiting for the airline to deliver it to our apartment…) doing two loads of laundry and ironing it all, and heading to the gym for a workout to just keep moving.

By about 6pm, I was flagging, so I switched on the two episodes of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that' we’d missed while in Japan.’ That kept me conscious, but as soon as it was over, I began to sink back into the sofa with that old familiar jet lag exhaustion.

So by the time I got to bed last night, at about 8:30pm, I’d been awake (in body clock terms) since 1am! I slept through until 5:30am this morning with no interruptions. This will definitely help me adjust to British time and a return to work.

Thankfully, past me kept today free from client meetings, so I have a bunch of admin, project planning and writing tasks to complete. If I really need to, I can finish up early.

I have so many blog posts to write about our fantastic Japan experience - which was probably my favourite visit yet. I’ll be drip-feeding these into the blog in the coming weeks.

Sapporo: Day one

2025-08-19T13:54:00Z

After our earlier travel shenanigans we finally made it to Japan!

Honestly? I spent quite a bit of the journey silently cursing the person who took our JAL plane out of service. After a fairly smooth changeover in Haneda Airport, we caught our flight to Sapporo.

We arrived late afternoon (though time was a mere concept by this point) and got the train direct from the airport into town. This took about 40mins, but just seemed longer due to the crowds. On arrival at Sapporo Station, we were faced with the options of getting on another rush-hour metro train, or walking through the evening sunset to get to our hotel. Given all the time we’d spent sitting and lying down in the preceding 24hrs, we opted to walk.

It took us about 30mins to get to our hotel, which was quite the workout with all our luggage. Sapporo’s pavements obviously suffer due to the winter weather extremes, so it was mostly an exercise in avoiding potholes and large cracks in the concrete.

After checking in to our hotel and dumping the luggage, I was keen to recoup some of the time we’d lost to our flight delays out of London. So we went for a walk through the city.

After finally getting hungry enough, we stopped at a bar where we caught the most delicious aromas by the door. We went in and enjoyed some delicious fried chicken and beers. I had incredibly hops-fuelled IPA and then a lovely large glass of Sapporo Classic. When in Rome, etc.

It was so good, we even bought some t-shirts! I’d recommend it to anyone who likes craft beer: Bearfoot.

After dinner, we went for a walk and then sought out a gay bar that I’d seen recommended on YouTube. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we just went one floor up and found an alternative. We had such a nice time chatting to the barman, who introduced us to some local guys. Time to practice my very poor Japanese, which incredibly seemed to get more fluent the more beer I consumed!

Sadly, Frank faded fast and had to head back to our hotel before he fell asleep standing up. It was just two blocks over, so I stayed out for a while longer. In fact, I lost track of time and stayed out until midnight, chatting and laughing.

A really excellent first day in Sapporo, which helped me (almost) forget the trauma of getting to Japan in the first place!

A slight change of plans

2025-08-18T13:55:00Z

Yesterday was the kind of travel day I’d rather not experience again any time soon.

Let’s put it this way: as I type this, I should be unpacking my suitcase in our hotel in Sapporo. instead? I’m sitting in an airport hotel (albeit a nice one) in Heathrow Airport. London. I mean, I haven’t even managed to leave the country!

It all started yesterday morning. After a crack of dawn Uber ride out to Heathrow to catch our flight to Tokyo, we checked in our luggage with JAL and then enjoyed breakfast (and champagne) in the BA First Lounge in terminal 3. Boarding was smooth and speedy and I was soon one glass of champagne down, headphones on, and a movie playing on the screen in front of me.

But the plane wasn’t moving.

Long story short, after lots of wasted time on board, we discovered that a tow truck had hit the landing gear of our plane while we were on board. Cue lots of apologies in Japanese from the cabin crew, some apology green tea to everyone in business class, and the end of all comfort and relaxation for me personally!

Off you go.

We were eventually deplaned and given a meal voucher for use in the airport. The team told us to be back in about 90mins for an update. We went to the Cathay Pacific lounge and had some delicious won ton soup and attempted to see the lighter side of it all. Honestly, my worst case scenario at that point was another few hours of delay, a need to rebook our flight from Tokyo to Sapporo, and an email to our hotel in Sapporo letting them know we’d be late.

Alas, not even I could have predicted what happened next: the complete cancellation of the flight and another 90mins wait before the JAL team would start rebooking customers.

Can I be blunt? The only reason we managed to get a re-booking was the fact that the vast majority of passengers on our flight were Japanese. They sat quietly, awaiting the 2pm deadline for requests, while we approached the team with the email from JAL asking us to come back for a flight in TWO DAYS.

Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yes, JAL emailed with a rebooking that would shave even more time of our limited time holiday.

The first person Frank spoke to shrugged, raising my blood pressure quite a bit. After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, we ended up getting support from a very lovely French JAL employee who got us re-booked. Not after first almost booking us economy seats via Frankfurt?! Thanks to Frank’s eagle eyes as he looked over her shoulder at the monitor.

Eventually, after a lot of phone calls, we managed to get booked onto a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong, connecting there with a direct flight to Sapporo. This was better than their suggested flight to Singapore, an almost 12 hour layover, and then another flight to Tokyo.

Not the the hotel we’d expected

After that insanely long wait, we had to go back to arrivals, pick up our luggage, transit to Terminal 5 and check in at the hotel they’d provided. To say my mood was low by this point was an understatement. But after dropping my things in our room I headed down to the hotel bar to read on my iPad, journal and enjoy a beer.

I really should have checked the prices! Two beers and two distinctly average cocktails for us came to £52. I felt like such a tourist in my own city! But I’m going to call that an investment in my mental health and move on.

After a distinctly ‘school dinners’ style buffet in the hotel restaurant, all I could think of was having a bath and an early night.

Suitcase fun and games

But of course, given the day we’d had, this was not to be. Frank couldn’t get his (brand new, insanely expensive) suitcase open. Cue lots of panic, swearing and a dash more panic. We ended up going back into Terminal 5 to look for help from someone… anyone. After some input from some incredibly helpful British Airways staff, we eventually got the bag open, but not before we’d all considered taking a hammer to the bloody thing. I’m still not 100% sure of what happened to the lock, but it seems to be working again now.

I eventually got to sleep, after lying in the dark for quite some time, and wondering what I’d done to offend the dark gods.

Now it’s time to repeat the whole thing. We’re shortly heading to the airport to switch to Terminal 3, check in with Cathay Pacific and hope for smooth sailing to Hong Kong. I’m definitely going to miss all the delicious JAL catering and service, but right now my main concern is on-time flights.

Onwards and upwards ✈️

Sitges Pride: Collapso completo

2025-06-10T17:39:00Z

After five days and nights of partying in Sitges, I’m completely broken. But in the best possible way.

I don’t think I got to bed before 3am any night, and was up with the sun each morning. Sleep was had in slices throughout the day, whether by the pool at my hotel, or on the nearby naturist beach as I worked on my tan.

The group of friends we were traveling with had exactly the same experience and much of our beach time was monosyllabic at best! We didn’t really warm up mentally until about 6pm each evening, when we would find ourselves at one of Sitges’ many excellent gay bars, for an evening of so many laughs my face would ache.

After getting home just before 5pm this afternoon, we unpacked straight away and had the first of several loads of laundry in the machine.

I’m now lying on the sofa, awaiting the delivery of a Chinese takeaway from our favourite local establishment, followed by an early night. And hopefully, many hours of restorative sleep.

Credit where credit’s due

2025-04-29T18:48:00Z

Yesterday, we ended our Asian odyssey and flew from Haneda Airport to London Heathrow.

As always when leaving Japan, it was a bit of a punch in the gut. Our week in Tokyo was non-stop fun - even if this meant I had to sacrifice sleep! I’ve returned tired, a few kilos heavier, but full of incredible memories.

We slept at one of the Haneda Airport hotels the night before departure, as our flight was so early in the morning. I’d definitely recommend the Villa Fontaine hotel, which is directly connected to the terminal via a walk-way and some quite nice shops.

We had a delicious meal at one of the many available restaurants and turned in for my first early night in 16 days. My brain specifically requested it! I was basically broken after a week of solid partying in Ni-Chome.

Just a few more moments of Japan…

I was dreading the return flight, as our outbound flight with BA was just so awful. And I’ve returned to London on this particular flight - BA008 - a few times and left it disappointed and exhausted. Yes, even when traveling Business Class.

So on the morning of departure, we headed to the JAL First Class Lounge for our last experience of Japanese culture for a while. It’s one of the nicer lounges out there and has great selection of food and drink.

As is the tradition, I enjoyed a nice bowl of JAL’s incredible beef curry and rice for breakfast, and attempted to rehydrate. We then made the slow, sad walk to our departure gate.

Braced for impact.

The wait for our flight was a bit of a downer. I began to imagine the next 14hrs of discomfort and the complete absence of any service on board. But just a few minutes after boarding, I began to change my mind. And, credit where credit’s due - our experience on board was surprisingly pleasant.

Service was attentive and super friendly. While on the way out to Hong Kong, I had to go wandering the cabin for some help during the flight, this time I had the same member of the team turning up regularly, as if psychic, to check in on me, refill my water, or just have a quick chat.

The food was also a massive improvement on recent BA experiences and, while I still had my now-traditional pork katsu sando from a combini at the half-way point of the flight, the meals after take-off and before landing were enjoyable.

The catering still isn’t a patch on JAL’s business class offering, but on this occasion it represented a massive improvement. I didn’t go hungry, let’s put it that way.

A smile goes a long way

The real difference to the experience was the service. I even wrote some feedback and submitted it on the BA website when I got home, to let them know it was appreciated. Anything to let them know what they’re trying to do is working!

For the first time in a long time, I had the strange experience of turning down some additional champagne on a BA flight! Chloe, the crew member who looked after me, kept returning with bubbles and some sparkling water throughout the flight. But eventually, even I’d had my fill and needed some sleep.

When I talk about on-board service, I’m not looking to be treated like royalty or receiving fawning attention. I’m talking about cabin crew being present to answer questions, taking the time to explain things, and generally being a positive presence.

(In contrast, on the flight to Hong Kong, I had one of the crew roll his eyes at me when I asked for some water to take my medication. His attitude was very much ‘you’re getting in the way of me having a relaxing flight’. And he and his colleagues basically hid out in the galley for ten hours of the flight.)

Yesterday, the crew were circulating regularly, checking in on passengers and just being there to answer questions. I had a problem with the plug at my seat, which wasn’t charging anything. Which can be a problem on a 14 hour flight! As I was weighing up whether to say anything about it, Chloe appeared to my right to ask if everything was okay. I explained the situation, she dashed off to reset the system, and five minutes later my iPad was charging fine.

It wasn’t just me. I noticed her and her colleagues regularly checking in on other passengers, chatting and making sure they had enough water etc. So while I was in no way special, I still left the flight feeling like I’d had a special experience. Which is what it’s all about.

Is all forgiven?

I’ve not changed my fundamental view of BA just yet. This was an exceptional example, rather than the norm. And their recent screwing over of loyal customers by completely changing the loyalty system isn’t going to be forgotten any time soon.

And of course, when we landed at BA’s Terminal 5, retrieving our luggage was a disaster. We got our first suitcase 90mins after landing. So while they control the whole terminal, it’s far from a seamless process from landing until exiting the airport.

Admittedly, I’ve got flights booked with them this summer, but they’re all short haul, where I can basically survive anything for a couple of hours.

But our next trip to Tokyo is going outbound with JAL and returning with Finnair. We’re not taking any chances on such long distances. For us, the flight is an integral part of the trip, not something you should have to endure, especially given the distances involved.

I’d love to say I was back in love with BA, but this was more like a brief fling.

Even if it was fun!

Returning to Rikugien

2025-04-26T14:38:00Z

Even though I last visited in February, I jumped at the chance to return to Rikugien Gardens this morning.

After a heavy night in Shinjuku Ni-Chome, both @TheFrankFlyer and I wanted to do something peaceful and relaxing. And he suggested visiting a Japanese garden. A couple of minutes online searching later and he’d recommended Rikugien to me. And that was that.

The Rikugien Gardens were created around 1700 as a strolling garden, at the request of Japan's fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa (1646–1709). The quiet grounds depict 88 scenic spots that are in Kishu Wakanoura and from Japanese poems, and offer beautiful views from every angle.

In contrast to February’s visit, it seemed like absolutely everything was in bloom and showering the gardens with colour. We walked alongside many, many other visitors - Japanese and foreign alike - gasping and sighing as they took photos of the spectacular colours.

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great - very overcast skies and an occasionally biting wind. But the flowers still looked incredible all the same. See below for a very small selection of the many, many photos I snapped as we wander along the paths. (Everything below was taken with my iPhone 15 Pro and no edits were applied).

Rikugien Gardens are located between Sugamo and Komagome stations, both on the Yamanote Line. It costs a paltry 300 Yen to enter and is worth every single one of those yen. Plus, there’s a lovely free guide to the gardens available in English and some of the friendliest and most helpful staff on hand. You could easily spend a few relaxing hours here, especially if you take some time to enjoy the lovely tea shop and have some delicious matcha tea.

It’s a definite recommendation from me, and was a highlight of this visit to Tokyo.

Soaking my cares away in Shinjuku

2025-04-25T19:18:00Z

I’ve just returned from four and a half hours of the most delicious time in my favourite place in all of Tokyo: an onsen.

Strictly speaking, it’s a super sento, but you get the idea: a collection of public hot baths, indoors and outside, with sauna, steam room and places to lie down and relaxin between.

I’ve visited quite a few in Japan, but I keep coming back to Thermae-Yu here in Shinjuku. It’s just a 20 mins stroll from the Hilton Tokyo where we stay, has a great collection of bathing experiences, and a super restaurant in the basement. I obviously don’t have any photos, as cameras are quite rightly strictly prohibited, but you can get a sense of the facilities via the link above. I do, however, have a photo of my delicious lunch:

This was a pork cutlet, propped up on a mountain of white rice, luxuriating in a sea of the most delicious beef curry. Washed down, of course, with a glass of ice cold Asahi Super Dry beer.

My journey through Thermae-Yu took me from a series of indoor baths, varying in temperature from warm to ‘gently does it’, then some time in the large outdoor bath watching the Tokyo sky float by. I also enjoyed the steam room, which comes with some exfoliating salt to rub into your skin. Not forgetting the ice-cold plunge pool after coming out of the steam room!

Before lunch, I went for a lie down in the relaxation lounge, which is a delight. You get a set of (basically) pyjamas to wear in the common areas, which are super comfortable and allowed me to nod off into a nap in record time. Lunch followed, then back upstairs for more bathing time outside, and a final clean up before leaving.

(In case you’re interested, I’ve previously written about how to approach the onsen/sento experience, and how to avoid common faux pas when visiting from abroad. It’s not rocket science as long as you pay attention and watch what others are doing. Have consideration for those around you and you’ll never put a foot wrong).

For my part, I’m now feeling like a whole new person, and ready for a night of bar-hopping in Ni-Chome. 🍻

But all this partying is going to come to a harsh and brutal finish when I get back to London. Let’s put it this way: there’s nothing like spending the afternoon naked alongside dozens of very slim and muscular Japanese men to remind you of the need to get back into exercise and shed the final stubborn 5kg before hitting the beach in Spain in a little over a month! 😳

Rinse and repeat

2025-04-23T17:49:00Z

Another night out in Ni-Chome

We had yet another fun night out enjoying Shinjuku Ni-Chome, including karaoke. Preceded by some excellent sandos from the combini next to our hotel. Because friends don’t let friends hit these bars on an empty stomach!

We restrained ourselves and split our time between our two favourite bars, ever so slightly surprised by how busy everywhere was for a Tuesday night. We still managed to catch the last metro back to our hotel (though it’s eminently walkable) and I’m not feeling too rough at all this morning! Nothing a breakfast in the hotel lounge won’t sort out, anyway.

It’s a grey, wet day here today, so we’re going to head to Ginza to do some shopping. With enormous outlets of Muji and Uniqlo on the same street, it’s both fun and efficient. All followed by some delicious ramen once we’ve completed our shopping and gifts list.

We don’t have any firm plans for this evening but you can bet it’ll involve some of Tokyo’s best bars and some singing to/with strangers! Why mess with perfection?!

Note to self: I haven’t yet visited any of the onsen/sento venues on my list. Need to take care of that pronto!

Some Tokyo blossom loveliness

2025-04-22T14:50:00Z

We’re enjoying our favourite Tokyo walk: from our hotel in Shinjuku, through Yoyogi Park, into Harajuku and down to Shibuya.

The sun is out, it’s nice and mild, and the views are fantastic. And while we’ve missed cherry blossom season for the most part, there are still little flashes of colour in some of the trees. I thought it was important to snap a few before they all fly away.

We’re taking a little break to drink something cold, then a spot of shopping and then a seat in the park. All in all, a very sedate, and very relaxing day in my favourite city in the world.

Guess who’s back in town?

2025-04-21T16:39:00Z

After a very uneventful flight from Taipei, we’re finally back in Tokyo!

The weather is fab, we got a great room in our favourite hotel, and I’m looking forward to heading out on the town this evening.

On approach to Haneda Airport, I managed to snap a few pics of a snow-capped Mount Fuji, which is always lovely to see.

Now that we’ve unpacked, we’re up in the executive lounge of our hotel, admiring the view and re-caffeinating in preparation for this evening’s night out in Shinjuku Ni-Chome. We have six nights ahead of us here in Tokyo and I’m determined to enjoy every single one of them.

But for now, it’s a bit more Diet Coke in advance of the hotel cocktail hour, which starts in 20mins.

Decisions, decisions

2025-04-20T18:52:00Z

I’ve been catching up on news and my socials, while sipping a beer, in the foyer of my hotel.

I have two hours before we need to make tracks and head out for dinner, and I’m presently weighing up the need for a shower (almost certainly!) and the benefits of another free drink from the bar (possible).

Yes, we were gifted a bunch of free drinks when we checked in, as they don’t have an executive lounge we can use. So I’m determined to avoid losing out and leaving them unused.

This is obviously unhealthy and doing nothing for my waistline but I feel it’s my duty to take up the Hilton hotel group on their generous hospitality 😜

(I am going to have to live like a monk once I’m back in London if I’m going to have a hope in hell of winning the weight loss contest!)

Just eat the chicken

2025-04-20T17:25:00Z

I’m not one for rollercoasters. Or public risks of any kind, really.

I apply the same risk-averse perspective when it comes to food and usually avoid consuming anything sold from a roadside stall. Call me conservative, but it’s kept me alive so far.

Last night, I had to abandon my fears and dive headfirst into Taipei’s nighttime food market offerings and I’m so glad I did. I had some of the most amazing fried chicken I’ve ever had the good fortune to stumble across.

And it was so unplanned, honestly.

Despite wanting to visit one of these markets, I didn’t go in with an agenda or a to-do list. But as soon as I smelled the chicken on offer at this stall, I was all in. 100 Taiwan dollars (£2.30) later and I was the proud owner of a piece of deep fried chicken bigger than my face (how I often measure things in life) and only had to wait for it to cool down from something akin to the centre of the Earth before I could begin eating.

This was harder than you might imagine. It looked incredible. It smelled divine. But I knew that if I put it to my lips, I’d be burnt for life. And more importantly, wouldn’t be able to taste anything else for the rest of the evening. And I’d planned quite the evening of tasting things.

Good sense prevailed and I gave it a good five minutes before diving in. And oh my Jeebus, it was incredible. Far and away the best chicken I’ve ever tasted.

My only regret about the whole thing is that, as soon as I was finished, I didn’t head back to buy some more. Instead, I did the only sensible thing and bought a large can of local beer from the 7-11 and chugged that as we wandered through the streets of Ximen.

The lesson learnt here is that sometimes, amazing things come in surprising parcels. The queue for the chicken should have told me it was something special. And I’m so glad I went for it. Almost 24hrs later and I’m still alive, with no ill effects whatsoever.

I went with my gut and my gut is just fine, thank you very much.

Exploring Lungshan Temple

2025-04-20T17:23:00Z

We enjoyed a wander around Lungshan Temple here in Taipei this morning.

It was super hot and humid, and the temple was incredibly busy, but it was worth it to take in the sights.

The half-way point

2025-04-19T17:42:00Z

A week after landing in Hong Kong, I’m writing from Taipei, at the half-way point of our ‘pan-Asia’ visit for 2025.

And while I’ve been sharing lots of pics on social channels, but so far, I’ve been neglecting this blog. It just hasn’t felt like the right time to write. And tapping a few words into Mastodon via my iPhone is much easier while I’m waiting for a drink, waiting for a pedestrian crossing to turn green, or just waiting for a fellow tourist to get out of my way so I can take a picture of something beautiful.

A few key memorable points, which I’ll return to once I’m back in London and reviewing my photos:

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is crazy busy and I say this as someone who absolutely loves Tokyo, possibly the busiest place on earth. I think (and shout me down if I’m way off the mark here) it’s not about the number of people, but the speed with which they walk and the volume at which they talk. Or indeed shout. People in Hong Kong are a lot more…expressive than their Japanese neighbours lol.
Victoria Peak was a highlight, especially as the weather was so fantastic when we visited. The views over the city are not to be missed!
The place names and street signs definitely underline Hong Kong’s varied history - something you can sense in basically every part of the city.
Our hotel was the Hilton equivalent of Mar a Lago - there wasn’t a surface they hadn’t tried to gild or somehow enhance. I constantly had the theme tube from ‘Dynasty’ playing in the back of my mind. To say it was ‘tired’ was being kind. It’s fair to say the Conrad Hong Kong could do with a refresh. The staff, however, were unfailingly brilliant and it was perfectly located for what we wanted.
I think Hong Kong is the kind of place where being escorted by a local would have made all the difference. If I’d known anyone who we could have relied on for eating and drinking recommendations, it would have been fab.
My first ever flight with China Airlines - from Hong Kong to Taipei - was just lovely. And if they can offer seat-back entertainment screens and a hot meal to every single passenger in economy, I’m wondering why British Airlines think a bottle of water and a tiny packet of crisps should suffice on flights of the same length 🧐

Taipei

Taipei seems very sedate when compared to Hong Kong and people have been just lovely since we arrived. Un-prompted, I had the nicest man give me a mini history lesson just yesterday morning, explaining a ton about the Chiang Kai Shek memorial.
Our hotel room is a dream. We’re staying at a much cheaper hotel, but it’s also much more modern and comfortable. It also has an in-house robot that makes deliveries around the building.
I had the nicest sweet and sour pork of my entire life the other evening. It was mind-blowing and I don’t think I can ever order it from a London Chinese restaurant again. Nothing can live up to it. 😢
We packed in quite a ton of sightseeing into our first couple of days and I’d quite like to dial down the activity levels as this heat - it’s going to be 30C today - combined with the high levels of humidity, makes everything physical that bit more challenging.
I have absolutely no urge to impulse buy anything as it seems a lot more expensive than Tokyo, where we’ll visit next - and all the same preferred shops are in both cities anyway.
Seeing signposts for emergency bomb shelters on building all over the city has really brought home both the history of this country and its proximity to China. Sobering.

Up next: Tokyo!

First thing Monday morning, we'll fly to Tokyo where we’ll stay for a week. We’re both insanely excited to be returning to our favourite place. I have a whole list of things to do and places to see (or just re-visit).

But first, there are two more days of Taipei exploration and more food to be eaten.

An unwelcome change of plans

2025-02-28T11:51:00Z

There’s nothing like a bout of flu to really fuck up your holiday plans.

I’m writing this in the Starbucks next to my hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It’s the final day of my visit and I’ve spent a good chunk of it in bed, shivering, sweating and coughing. I obviously picked up something on the outbound flight from London, which took about 48hrs to really get a grip on my body.

The result?

One sick little hobbit, feeling very sorry for himself, and missing out on lots of Tokyo adventures. I managed to get out for a few hours at least each day, but fatigue kicked my ass and sent me back to bed. I didn’t get to do half of what I’d planned and spent quite a bit of time deeply regretting my choice of hotel.

It also gave me pause for thought when it comes to solo travel. Which is all well and good until you can’t get out of bed to get to a pharmacy, or find yourself violently shivering in the middle of the night. I really missed The Frank Flyer, and not just for his help. Being sick when away from home is a lonely experience.

In good news, I did the majority of my gifts shopping before I got really ill, so I have a suitcase full of lovely things to bring home.

Never fear, I’ll be expanding on all of this in posts as I begin to recover.

As things stand, I have eight hours left in Tokyo before I have to get the train to Narita Airport. I’ll be spending it indoors, at my favourite ‘super sento’, Thermae-Yu.

I’ve no doubt warm temperatures and some time sweating it all out in the sauna and steam room will help me feel better. I’ve also no doubt that their excellent in-house restaurant will supply me with all the comfort food I could ask for before I have to head out and navigate a busy airport on a Friday night.

Then it’s a long flight to Kuala Lumpur, followed by an even longer flight to London. I may have recourse to the devil’s buttermilk, if only to help me get to sleep. Malaysia Airlines cabin crew are always so attentive and kind, I know they’ll do their best to look after me.

So in summary, I have lots of photos and memories from my time in Tokyo. But only about half as many as I’d planned. The only upside is that I haven’t had a beer since Saturday, so hopefully the anticipated weight gain arising from this trip won’t be as bad as I’d imagined.

Let’s see once I’m home and in my own bed. I’m sure the world will look very different then.

2024: A year in travel

2024-12-31T18:58:00Z

Flighty is a neat app for tracking your flights, getting updates about delays and gate changes, and even notifications when your airline changes the aircraft you’ll be on. I only started using it this month, on the recommendation of my other have (a massive aviation geek) and added this year’s flights by importing them from Kayak. I’m loving the snapshot of the year and all the lovely memories it sparks.

The passport image above shows my visits to places like Japan, Portugal, Estonia, Hungary and Hong Kong, along with the fact that I flew 97,872km this year. Admittedly, some of that distance was a lot more comfortable and enjoyable than other bits! Some of it was luxury, some a business necessity.

My shortest flight was from Tallinn to Helsinki, which seemed to be over in just moments, while the longest distance I flew was between Kuala Lumpur and London, taking the long way home from Japan. A truly wonderful experience with Malaysia Airlines. I’m really looking forward to repeating this journey with them next February.

Put other way, I spent nearly 160 hours of 2024 flying, with just 24mins of excitement (and nerves) flying between Helsinki and Tallinn and a very uncomfortable and dirty 15h 2m flying with British Airways between Tokyo and London.

All in all, I spent a lot of time flying with British Airways in 2024, something that’s not going to repeat in 2025 and beyond. They’ve just announced the decimation of their frequent flyer programme, meaning we’ll be looking for another airline to give our loyalty to in the future.

Anyway, 2024 was a standout year for my travel, with a solo trip to Tokyo, a return to Osaka, and visits to some new cities (Vienna, Tallinn, Budapest, and Porto). My flight with JAL to Tokyo was the best flight I had - by some way. Pure luxury and the best way to get to Japan by far.

We’ve got some lovely trips planned for the year ahead, so you can expect regular updates, photos and memories in 2025, as I tick off new destinations from my Wishlist and revisit old favourites for new experiences.

Happy travels!

A weekend in Porto

2024-12-18T19:01:00Z

Earlier this month, I spent my first weekend in Porto and absolutely fell in love with the place.

Though I'm sure this was helped by the incredible weather we experienced - something that's not exactly guaranteed in December!

We saw and did so much in just three days, walking over 20,000 steps each day. It was well worth it to see some beautiful architecture, bustling riverside life, and cute cafes.

I think I'd revisit Porto, but would stay somewhere a little more central. We stayed in the Hilton Porto Gaia, which was on the south side of the Douro, requiring a lot of extra walking. Also, taxis home in the evening seemed to have to take the most circuitous route to get there. I mean, the city's ring road!

The hotel itself was lovely, though. We enjoyed some great cocktails there each evening before venturing out, including a delicious port and tonic, with a splash of raspberry. Plus, there was a gorgeous spa in the basement - a friend and I enjoyed a wonderful sauna and steam session down there, which was the perfect recovery from all that walking.

Exploring Porto isn't for the faint of heart. The hills, steps and winding streets can make even the shortest distance feel infinitely longer. But for us, it was definitely worth it. Somehow, fuelled by Super Bock lager and the odd Francesinha, we managed to persist.

I recorded a ton of video on my DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and need to edit it down to a video I can share online. The whole experience has me itching for a return visit to Portugal, maybe Lisbon, next summer.

Porto bound

2024-12-05T17:54:00Z

I just turned on my ‘out of office’ notification and I’m heading home to pack my bag. Tomorrow afternoon, we fly to Porto for our first ever visit and I can’t wait.

Tomorrow lunchtime, we’ll head down to Gatwick Airport (booh!), where we’ll take advantage of the British Airways lounge 🍾🥂 (yay!) before getting on a British Airways flight (booh!) to Porto. But it’s less than two and half hours, so I’m sure it won’t kill me to put up with more of their ‘hospitality’.

My partner and I are traveling with two close friends, so it’ll be nice to explore the city in a small group. And none of us have been before, so everything will be new and exciting.

I’m so excited and have a list of restaurants and bars I’d like to visit, in addition to all the usual sightseeing stuff that’s usually recommended. Top of my list? Enjoying a Francesinha. Followed by a lie down, if the last one I enjoyed in Lisbon is anything to go by.

I’m also hoping the weather forecast stays vaguely positive, which will definitely be an improvement over London, and enable us to do lots of walking.

And in other good news, we found out yesterday that the Hilton has upgraded our room to a ‘King Duplex Suite’, though I’ve yet to find any photos of it online. I’m sure it’ll be fab and I’ll take plenty of pics for this blog and ‘the socials’.

I’ve really, really enjoyed my visits to Lisbon over the years, so if Porto is even a fraction of the fun, it’ll be super. See you on the other side!