Konichiwa!

Ok, so writing my book was full on, but I also had to use up a load of annual leave in my day job – so what did I do? Plan my dream trip to Japan of course!

My sister and I had wanted to go for absolutely yonks and it was now or never. We had the dough, the time and just enough energy. Timings weren’t hot as I was trying to finish 125 illustrations for the book, but I was feeling burned out so a change of scene was needed.

And what a trip! The flight with ANA set the pace for the rest of the holiday. We boarded what turned out to be the Star Wars R2-D2 jet and took our seats with the theme tune playing and an announcement of ‘May the force be with you’- brilliant!

As soon as we landed everything was super exciting: getting on the train, walking down the street, buying stuff from the supermarket, even going to the loo! We spent the first week based in Tokyo experiencing the scramble crossings, arcades, bullet trains, food items on our list (Sushi, ramen, udon, takoyaki, yakitori…), food items not on our list, and 2 days in Kyoto to see old Japan: pagodas, zen gardens and geishas. It was so incredibly different to what I’m used to that everything was a massive wow.

But it’s the creativity of the Japanese that I was in awe of the most. Everywhere you turned something strikes you: cute anime characters on billboards, TV, metro ads, vehicles. Massive digital screens on the sides of buildings alongside coloured neons lighting up the main strips. And the food was a feast for the eyes, presented with thoughtful composition, colour, texture and form – Oishi! (Delicious!)

The second week was a welcome breather from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo (which is not for the faint hearted BTW!). We flew 3 hrs south to Ishigaki to sample laid back tropical island life and stayed in a traditional Japanese house by the beach. We scuba dived with manta rays and turtles and basically chilled the heck out.

That holiday hit the spot and I was refreshed and ready to finish the book when I got back home. So if you’re ever in doubt, give yourself a break and reboot!