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Japan Sakura 2024

March - April 2024
A 17-day adventure by Jessica & Keanan Read more
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  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 2

    Long travel day

    March 22 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Since our flight from Newark was delayed by 3hrs, we missed our intended connection in Tokyo and today's travel was stretched even longer than intended. We grabbed our first mystery meal in the Tokyo airport and eventually made it to Osaka. We took our first trains which were SO CLEAN and well signed! The hardest part was trying to find our hotel located right above the station. Our hotel room has a beautiful view of the nightscape! Now we're settled into our hotel provided pj's and resting up to explore the city tomorrow!Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 3

    Rainy day in Osaka

    March 23 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We started the day off with some souffle pancakes before heading to Osaka Castle to wander the grounds. We're still a little early for cherry blossoms here, so we just walked around the grounds until we needed a break from the rain. We then went to the Osaka history museum, which had some interesting city history as well as what would have been an incredible view of the castle grounds in better weather. This gave us some time to dry off before heading back to our hotel for a mid day nap. We went back out for the evening to explore the neon lights and street food scene on a food tour. We tried lots of tasty food that we Orbach wouldn't have otherwise without someone to order for us!Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 4

    Himeji Castle

    March 24 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Today, we had our first shinkansen experience out to Himeji castle. We picked up our first eki bento (bento box sold at shinkansen stations for consumption on trains, usually with a local flair) and zipped off to Himeji.

    Himeji Castle, also known as White Heron Castle due to its elegant, white appearance, is widely considered Japan's most spectacular castle for its imposing size and beauty and its well preserved, complex castle grounds. Unlike many other Japanese castles, it was never destroyed by war, earthquake or fire and survives to this day as one of the country's 12 original castles.

    Like all tourist attractions in Japan, it's recommended that you get an early start to beat the rush. We arrived a little before 8:30 (not very early in my books, but Keanan may disagree, haha) and enjoyed the outer grounds of the castle with a relatively small number of other people. We were still too early for cherry blossoms, which was a little disappointing since this is supposed to be one of the best places to view them, but the castle grounds were expansive and impressive nonetheless. When the ticket gates opened at 9, we were quick to grab 2 of the 10 spots on the English tour for the day. While we waited for the tour to begin, we did a quick loop through Kokoen gardens, which are beautifully landscaped and we would have loved to have had more time to view them at a more relaxed pace.

    We then returned for our tour of the castle! It was great having a guide to narrate as we passed through the labyrinth-like approach from the main gate to the main keep. This approach leads along walled paths and through multiple gates and baileys with the purpose to slow down and expose attacking forces. The main keep is 6 stories, and was mainly used as storage for food and weapons, as no one ever lived in this keep and the castle was never attacked.

    On the way back to the train station, we stopped for some delicious soba noodles, before zipping back to Kobe for a stop at the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum. We enjoyed learning about the Japanese carpentry and joinery used in the architecture we've been seeing and even got to try out some planes and other finishing tools!

    Back at our hotel, we tuned in for the final match ups of the sumo tournament and a quick rest before dinner. Dinner was okonomiyaki, a savory pancake osaka is known for. The place we tried was one that Keanan had found on Google maps. When we finally located it in the narrow twisting alleyways of the train station, the line extended down the entire hallway. The Japanese couple in front of us struck up a Google translate conversation with us, apparently shocked that we had discovered this place, but ensured us we were in for a treat! It definitely did not disappoint! Back at our room, we packed up, as tomorrow we're leaving Osaka and are off on a more off the beaten path adventure!    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    11
    Day 5

    Kumano Sanzan Day 1

    March 25 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    This morning, we got an early start and said our goodbyes to Osaka. I wish I could say that we were leaving after JUST having figured out Umeda station, but that would be a lie. It is insanely big, and we definitely still could not reliably pop out of it anywhere near our hotel or find train lines and restaurants without some mid station u-turns. It'll be nice to be somewhere smaller for the next few days. We also tried out the luggage forwarding service for the first time. We packed everything we didn't need for the next 4 days into our big suitcase, and we're crossing our fingers that we're reunited with it in Kyoto!

    Our train ride should have been very scenic, following along the ocean once south of Osaka, but unfortunately, it's raining again, and clouds obscure the view. We transfer to a bus that takes us into the heart of the Kumano region.

    Our first stop after an unpictured udon lunch is Oyunohara, a massive torii gate at the original site of the Kumano Hongu Taisha, before it was destroyed in a flood. Some ruins of the shrine still exist as well. Also, cherry blossoms! We had seen some on the bus ride in, but this was the first time on this trip we were able to see them up close.

    Next stop was the Kumano Hongu Taisha, which after flooding, was moved to the top of a very steep hill. This is the shrine that all branches of the Kumano Kodo lead to. After exploring a bit, we grabbed some delicious mochi and tea while we waited for our bus.

    Upon arrival in Yunomine Onsen, we immediately put our names in for Tsuboyu, a UNESCO private onsen that sits in a small shack above the river. It has a 2 hour wait, so we check in and get settled in our hotel while we wait. It was a really neat experience, but so hot even with our frequent cold water additions, so we didn't even last our entire allotted 30mins.

    This is our first night in a traditional Japanese style room, so we're sleeping on futons that are directly on a tatami mat floor. Hopefully we both get a good night's sleep, because tomorrow we're hiking an 8 mile stretch of the Kumano Kodo!    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 6

    Kumano Sanzan Day 2

    March 26 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    We awoke to heavier and more persistent rain than the past few days, with thunderstorms in the forecast as well. I guess we used up all of our good weather luck in New Zealand last year... Since I'm not crazy, despite what Keanan might think, and don't think that voluntarily hiking through a storm, on slippery rocks, with no views, while soaking wet sounds at all enjoyable, we decided to amend our plans.

    Instead of hiking, we hopped on a bus to Shingu and the Kumano Hayatama Taisha, another of the Kumano Sanzan. When we got off the bus, the rain was coming down in buckets and we were both instantly drenched. We explored the shrine, ducking under cover whenever we had the chance, and then grabbed breakfast on a covered street.

    From there, we took the train to Kii Katsuura, hoping that we'd be able to seek shelter in our next hotel even if we weren't able to check in. By lunchtime, it seemed like the end of the storm was in sight! We got a variety of tuna dishes (Kii Katsuura's specialty) for lunch before hopping on the very crowded bus to Nachisan. We got off before the top in order to climb a portion of the Kumano Kodo, Daimonzaka, to at least get in a little hiking and approach the shrine as the pilgrims. We saw the first blue sky of our trip as we arrived at the top of the stairs to the Kumano Nachi Taisha, the last of the Kumano Sanzan. We explored the grounds of the shrine and temple before going to get a closer look at Nachi falls, the tallest single drop waterfall in Japan.

    By the time we made it back to Kii Katsuura, the sun was fully out, and we were able to check into our hotel room with an incredible view of the ocean! Neither of us slept very well on our traditional Japanese beds last night, but these seem to be thicker mattresses and more comfortable. We enjoyed sampling a bunch of different foods at our hotel's dinner buffet, and I tried my first public onsen experience. It was quite overwhelming, and I feel confident that I prefer hot tub/ hot spring experiences where I'm not naked in front of a bunch of strangers!    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 7

    Kii Katsuura and the train to Koyasan

    March 27 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    I've got a lot of catching up to do! Our first morning without rain treated us to a nice sunrise from our hotel room. We then stopped by to watch the tuna auction that happens here every morning. The number of fish was astounding! After going back for breakfast at our hotel, we rode the panda train along the coast to Wakayama. The views were much better today than on our way down! From Wakayama, we took a series of trains and cable cars to reach our next destination, Koyasan, a small but densely templed town, high in the Kii mountains.Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 7

    Koyasan Shukubo

    March 27 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Tonight, we stayed at a Buddhist temple in Koyasan, Shojoshin-in. Upon arrival, we were shown to our room, a standard Japanese style room, and took a tour of the temple. For dinner, we enjoyed shojin ryori, traditional vegetarian monk cuisine, before bundling up for our nighttime cemetery tour.

    Okunoin is the site of the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the religious history of Japan. Instead of having died, Kobo Daishi is believed to rest in eternal meditation as he awaits Miroku Nyorai (Maihreya), the Buddha of the Future, and provides relief to those who ask for salvation in the meantime. Okunoin's cemetery is the largest in Japan, with over 200,000 tombstones lining the almost two kilometer long approach to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum.

    In the morning, we attended morning prayers and breakfast before heading back out to explore Okunoin again in the daylight as well as some other sights in town. We then made our way back down the mountain.    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    Day 8

    Uji

    March 28 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We made a quick stop in Uji on our way between Koyasan and Kyoto. Uji is most famous for its matcha tea, so it was the perfect place for our first tea tasting as well as an opportunity to try all the green foods! Green foods included matcha ice cream, a matcha pancake filled with red bean paste, matcha mochi dumplings, and matcha soba noodles. The owner of the noodle shop even gave me a little card with English instructions on how to eat the noodles. This was great since we had just been talking about how we had wished especially for our temple meals that there had been some kind of instruction on which of the small plates should be added to rice, wrapped in nori, etc.

    We also walked around Byodo-in, the temple featured on the 10yen coin. There were a couple of cherry blossom trees here that had started to bloom as well!    Read more

  • Japan Sakura 2024
    1
    Day 9

    Kyoto - Southern Higashiyama

    March 29 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    We woke up to more rain... our first stop today was Kiyomizudera and the narrow alleyways in that area that are known to get super crazy with tourists if you don't go first thing in the morning.

    Kiyomizudera is best known for its wooden stage that juts out from its main hall, 13 meters above the hillside. The stage in theory provides nice views of the cherry trees below, still largely unbloomed, as well as of the city of Kyoto in the distance (also largely obscured due to the rain.) The main hall and the stage were built without the use of nails.

    Kiyomizudera opens at 6 am, and we were probably there by 6:15. Unfortunately, there's almost nothing else open until around 9 so we had some time to kill. We found a breakfast place that was open nearby where Keanan got some breakfast curry and I decided I needed something more western. Thankfully, by the time we were done eating, the rain had let up. We wandered through Maruyama Park, a popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spot. There were a few trees blooming, but most still just have buds.

    Once 9am rolls around, we queue up for Kodai-ji temple. This temple The highlights for us here are the zen rock garden and the bamboo grove. We ended our visit here with a cup of tea at one of the tea houses, overlooking a garden.    Read more

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