Temple: Hantaji

Dedication: Sheel did Computer Science with me at uni. He was a great friend, fun to be with and always ready to help me out. We struggled through intense first year supervisions in Maths together. I hope you’re doing well, Sheel.

Picture: Konbinis, or convenience stores as we less conveniently call them, are amazing in Japan. Most of them are open 24 hours so if I can’t sleep I can always go and get a cup of hot cocoa and watch the other lost souls browsing the manga. They sell everything from quick meals and sweets to T-shirts and eyeliner. You can buy tickets, pay for and collect amazon and uniqlo deliveries, make photocopies and get hot coffee for 100 yen. I’m going to struggle to live without them.

They are also about the only place with rubbish bins. Japanese people generally take their rubbish home with them to sort into the arcane piles that the garbage collectors require. As a result the countryside is covered in rubbish. The rivers and streams might be incredibly unpolluted but you can’t go anywhere without seeing a wrapper or bag that someone has discarded.