Japan + South Korea 2023

July 2023

A 25-day adventure by Alicia Brookes Read more

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Traveler Japan + South Korea 2023
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- Jul 6, 2023, 3:00pm
- ☀️ 17 °C
- Altitude: 8 m
- Australia New South Wales Botany Cooks River -33.949894, 151.18196833°56’60” S 151°10’55” E
Day 1
Sydney to Singapore
July 6, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
The first day of the trip is a long travel day! I had a 3pm flight, so I grabbed some coffee and a wrap whilst waiting in the airport. My flight from Sydney to Singapore was 8hrs with a pretty sunset and some good movies to watch!Read more
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Traveler Japan + South Korea 2023
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- Jul 6, 2023
- ☁️ 30 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- Singapore Kampong Ayer Gemuruh Singapore Changi Airport 1.352975, 103.9960551°21’11” N 103°59’46” E
Day 1
Singapore to Osaka
July 6, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
I landed in Singapore around 9 pm. My next flight isn't until 1.30 am, so I had some time to wander around. I looked in the butterfly garden (all the butterflies were sleeping), ate some snacks and just walked around for a while, it's a massive airport!

I'm now just waiting to board the next 6hr flight to Osaka!

I'm also very tired.Read more
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Traveler Japan + South Korea 2023
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- Jul 7, 2023
- ☁️ 33 °C
- Altitude: 110 m
- Japan Nara 34.685, 135.83666734°41’6” N 135°50’12” E
Day 2
Osaka - Osaka Castle + Nara
July 7, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C
I made it to Japan! I landed at 9am local time and after having some trouble finding the office needed for my train pass, I eventually caught a 1hr train and met up with the rest of my family!

First off today we visited Osaka Castle. It was gorgeous and massive, 58m tall with 8 floors of a museum inside. We also had a view of Osaka from the top!

Next we headed over to Nara and to Nara Park, there were deer everywhere!! They were quite friendly and just wanted some food. In Nara we visited the Yoshikien Garden, it was very green, mossy and calm. Then we saw the massive Todaiji Temple which housed a 15m tall Big Buddha. On the way out of Nara we hung out with some of the deer and passed by the Kofukuji Temple.

The last stop of the day was Minami, part of downtown Osaka. We walked through super crowded shopping streets and districts here (Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade, American Mura and Dotonburi) before finding a place to eat dinner.Read more
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Traveler Japan + South Korea 2023
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- Jul 8, 2023
- ☁️ 31 °C
- Altitude: 7 m
- Japan Hyōgo Shimaya Hokkō-unga 34.6662, 135.43244734°39’58” N 135°25’57” E
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Day 3
Osaka - Universal Studios
July 8, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
We spent the day at Universal Studios Osaka today! The park was massive with lots of different sections and heaps of people visiting it.

We went through Super Nintendo World, Jurassic Park, Minion Park and Harry Potter World. These were super cool and when in the different worlds, everything around you was in that theme! There were lots of fun rollercoasters and 4D simulation rides we went on. My favourite ride was called Flying Dinosaours, a big roller coaster where we rode facing the ground! I also tried some snacks throughout the day like frozen pineapple on a stick, a fancy fruit soft serve and butterbeer (it tasted like maple syrup).

It was a super hot and long day (14 hours at the park!!), but I enjoyed it!Read more
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- Jul 9, 2023
- 🌧 27 °C
- Altitude: 401 m
- Japan Hyōgo Kōbe Shi Fukiaichō Nunobiki Chosuichi 34.717551, 135.19118534°43’3” N 135°11’28” E
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Day 4
Himeji Castle and Kobe
July 9, 2023 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
We visited Himeji Castle (and went on a Hello Kitty themed bullet train to get there)! This castle is one of the biggest and oldest in Japan. We walked up to the top of the castle and through some of the surrounding gardens. It was the first day we didn't bring our raincoats, and it was pouring on and off all day!

We then walked a bit further to the Kokoen Gardens. This had 13 different small gardens, a view of the castle and lots of mozzies. We then headed back to the station and bought some waffles on the way.

Next, we caught a bullet train over to Kobe. We went on the Nunobiki Ropeway and walked around the area up the top as the herb garden was closed due to the rain. It was super cloudy but still nice! We then caught a bullet train back to Osaka and ate some ramen for dinner.Read more
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Traveler Japan + South Korea 2023
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- Jul 10, 2023
- ☁️ 27 °C
- Altitude: 8 m
- Japan Hiroshima Naka-ku Fukuromachi 34.391606, 132.45181634°23’30” N 132°27’7” E
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Day 5
Hiroshima
July 10, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
This morning we caught a 1.5hr bullet train down to Hiroshima. Once we arrived, we went to the Shukkeien Gardens where there were heaps of little turtles!!

We then walked over to Hiroshima Castle. It was mostly wooden, and smaller than some of the other castles but still gorgeous! We walked through the museum inside and looked at the view from the top.

Next was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Memorial Museum. We saw the A-Bomb Dome, a building that had not been restored following the atomic bomb and served as a reminder of the past. There were many memorials throughout the park and stories shared in the museum.

Afterwards, we caught a trolley car back to the station and headed to our accommodation. For dinner, we ate okonomiyaki, its popular in Hiroshima. It was delicious!Read more
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- Jul 11, 2023
- ☁️ 30 °C
- Altitude: 396 m
- Japan Hiroshima Miyajima Mont Misen 34.279797, 132.32543334°16’47” N 132°19’32” E
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Day 6
Miyajima Island
July 11, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
We had a day trip to Miyajima Island today. To get there we caught a train and ferry. It was another hot day so we ate a Japanese-style snow cone when we arrived then wandered around looking at all of the deer. I also tried Momiji Manju, a food Miyajima is known for. It was a small cake-like snack shaped like a maple leaf with various types of fillings, I tried cheese and custard.

We then went to Itsukushima Shrine and saw the Tori Gate in the water. It was quite busy. Everything was very bright red!

Next, we visited Daisho-In Temple and its many stairs. We walked through some shrines, saw the temple, waterfalls and walked down a path with hundreds of Rakan statues (each representing a different Buddhist Monk).

Afterwards, we walked through some windy bush-covered paths to the Miyajima Ropeway. We caught 2 cable cars up to Shishiiwa Observatory nearing the top of Mt Misen. The first cable car was small and fit just our family, the second was bigger but very squished with lots of people! We had a nice view of neighbouring islands from the observatory. On on our way back to the ferry, we stopped for some ice-cream and wandered the Miyajima shopping streets.

Back in Hiroshima we walked through Hondori Street (a shopping arcade) and ate out for dinner.Read more
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- Jul 12, 2023
- ☀️ 35 °C
- Altitude: 35 m
- Japan Tokyo Chuo Ginza Ginza Eki 35.671462, 139.76529935°40’17” N 139°45’55” E
Day 7
Hiroshima to Tokyo
July 12, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C
It was a long travel day today as we caught 2 bullet trains, totalling around 6hrs, to travel from Hiroshima to Tokyo.
On the train I read, caught up with some journalling, ate snacks and watched the view outside the window. The 6 hours went by pretty quickly!

Once in Tokyo we dropped off our bags and went for a wander. It was very humid. We looked at Tokyu Plaza shops and Tokyu Hands (a big department store) where we bought some souvenirs. We then finally stopped for a Japanese curry dinner.Read more
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Traveler Japan + South Korea 2023
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- Jul 13, 2023
- ☁️ 30 °C
- Altitude: 16 m
- Japan Chiba Maihama 35.627469, 139.88518735°37’39” N 139°53’7” E
Day 8
Tokyo DisneySea
July 13, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
We went to Tokyo DisneySea today! There were all different areas of the park with the common theme of water. There was the Mediterranean Harbour, Mermaid Lagoon, Lost River Delta and Arabian Coast, amongst others.

We went on a mix of 4D simulation rides, rollercoasters and some other random rides. My favourites were Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull (a rollercoaster) and The Tower of Terror.

The sets within each section of the park, the rides and all the characters really cool! Throughout the day I also tried some Disney-themed snacks including a mickey mouse churros, little green alien mochi and a blue cocktail.

It was a long day at the park, 9am-9pm, so once back near our accommodation we headed out for a quick ramen dinner.Read more
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- Jul 14, 2023
- ☁️ 30 °C
- Altitude: 11 m
- Japan Tokyo Koto Toyosu Shintoyosu Eki 35.64938, 139.78972835°38’58” N 139°47’23” E
Day 9
TeamLabs and Shimokitazawa
July 14, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
This morning we went to TeamLabs! It's an immersive art exhibit (where we don't wear shoes) that splits into 2 areas, a water and a garden area.

The water section had a ramp with running water, a bean bag room, a knee-deep water room with koi fish projections, rooms full of lights and another full of massive blow-up balls. The garden section had an outdoor area with alien-looking eggs and a room of orchids that moved and hung from the roof. It was a really fun experience.

Next, we went to Shimokitazawa a shopping area known for second-hand stores, breads and cookies. We had a burger for lunch there and tried some cream pastry puffs shaped like the character Totoro.

Back at the room we packed up the luggage and went out for a yakitori dinner.Read more
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