This morning was a bit more relaxed—checkout at our hotel wasn’t until 2:00pm, though we’d booked a shuttle back to Odawara at 11:30am so we could squeeze in a visit to the castle before our 2:14pm Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

We had our usual 7/11 breakfast: soft-boiled eggs, strawberry yoghurt, danishes, and a pork onigiri for Craig. Then we jumped on the bus for the 40-minute ride, which was extra scenic. This time, we had views down into the gorge, and I was amazed by the wild wisteria scattered through the forest—just growing freely in beautiful purple bursts.

Once we arrived at Odawara Station, we walked about ten minutes up to the castle. Originally built in the 1400s, it’s a pretty impressive fortress, which was complete with moat and towering walls. We climbed up to the top, stopping at exhibits and old artefacts along the way, and were rewarded with a pretty epic view over the town. Afterwards, we had a quick look through the Samurai museum—packed with incredible armour—but had to make it brief. It was like a sauna inside! The weather is super warm at the moment, but most buildings are still cranking the heating. From what I’ve read, the heating/cooling settings in Japan are based on dates rather than actual temperatures—so even if it’s hot in spring, buildings won’t switch to air con until summer officially starts. (Reddit confirmed. So it must be true.)

We grabbed a quick ice cream (elite) and hurried back to the train station with about 15 minutes to spare. In that short time, a couple of bullet trains blasted through—just awe-inspiring to watch. They are absolute beasts.

These last few nights, we’re staying in a new area of Tokyo called Ueno. It’s more central than Ōtsuka, just one stop from Tokyo Station, and our hotel is right by Ueno Park. Once we’d settled into our room, Jessie was desperate to check out the hotel pool. I’d assumed it was a regular unisex swimwear-required situation… until Jessie turned to me and said, “Mummy, there’s a naked lady.” Turns out it’s a traditional-style onsen with gender-separated bathing. Jessie wasn’t fazed at all, but I promised we’d go back after dinner after she got upset that we weren’t going in.

Dinner was at a small, highly rated yakitori place. No English menus, but we muddled through—Craig ordered from pictures, and I used Google Translate. Everything was ordered via QR code, and while we waited for our food, an entrée was brought out. Jessie bravely gave it a go, keen to keep practising her chopstick skills (which she’s totally nailing). We weren’t sure what she was eating, other than “some kind of liver.” Later, the waitress confirmed it was liver and tartare. Unsurprisingly, Jessie wasn’t a fan—but Craig was into it.

The most theatrical dish was Craig’s soup. It arrived completely raw—chicken, offal, mushrooms, cabbage—all sitting in broth on a small gas burner. The waitress lit it and left. After a few minutes of Craig poking the contents around, a waiter popped over, turned it down, and gave us the nod that it was ready to eat.

After wandering through the neon-lit streets, we returned to the hotel and tackled the pool. First, I picked up some tattoo cover stickers from reception (tattoos are a no-no in most onsen). Craig applied them for me—they weren’t exactly my tone but very cool, like second skin. We headed up, followed all the protocol—showering thoroughly at the poolside before getting in—and then soaked in the 40° pools overlooking Ueno Park. We were lucky to have the place to ourselves until just as we were drying off. It was such a lovely, calm way to end the day.

Early-ish night tonight, as we’re off to the Warner Bros. Studio tomorrow for the Harry Potter tour. It’s an hour train ride away and we need to be there for a 9:00am start.

See you there for a bit of extra magic!

❤ Laus