Is Japan expensive?
The simple answer is yes, especially if you are travelling on the Somalian Shilling, the Peruvian Sol or the New Zealand Dollar. In general, prices are pretty much comparable to London.
The most expensive beer I have seen was in an Irish Bar which wanted £9 for a pint of Guinness – which I have to admit is about as authentically Dublin as it gets. As for food, I have kept coming across what is known as 'Gift Fruit' which, as the name suggests, is a fruit given as a gift, but this is not your token bag of grapes for a twisted ankle variety present. I am to talking about a watermelon – a normal-looking everyday watermelon – that retails for...
...those of you with a weak heart or figure-hugging pocket may want to sit down…
...that retails for... £120!
Yes you read that correctly, I did not miss a decimal point. How about a single strawberry for £8?
Apparently each piece of fruit is grown on its own vine, with the temperature, sunlight and moisture intake strictly controlled by the farmer (he'll be the one towing the horse box with a Ferrari). Another strange one was the tin of Spam I came across for £7. The message is clear: avoid melon and spam fritters at all costs.
Having eaten nine fruit salads at the breakfast buffet – some hope, it was sushi and seaweed for the 23rd day – I took the train to Nara to visit one of Japan's most impressive World Heritage Sites – Tōdai-ji, or to use the more common English translation; that big bloody Budda thing.
Enormous he is (one of the world's largest), sitting comfortably inside the largest wooden building in the world (settle down, I know that is exciting), the entire temple area is surrounded by hundreds of deer who are regarded as messengers of the gods, and it appears that the message is 'Hey tourist, have you got any biscuits or crisps I can eat, or will I just follow you around and sniff you constantly?'
I'll be honest, I expected more from the gods.
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