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Gabrielle Ingram
Gabrielle Ingram

Gabrielle Ingram

reste i 17 länder Läs mer
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  • Japanese Journeys
    311

    Day 12 - Hiroshima to Miyajima

    16 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    Itsukushima (better known as Miyajima, Japanese for 'shrine island') is a small island a short ferry ride away from the coast of Hiroshima. We decided to splurge just a little and catch an 8.30am boat to the island from near the Peace Park, a short walk from our hotel), instead of catching a train all the way to the ferry terminal proper and then a ferry. The actual boat trip is longer and we got to travel down the Miyajima-Motoyasu River before heading out to sea across to the island, which took us about a hour all up. We will do the ferry trip tomorrow on the way back.

    Miyajima's claims to fame are a huge "floating" Tori Gate, that has been built out in the bay and gets surrounded by water when the tide is in. The also have lots of wild deer, some other shrines, a ropeway (cable) car up Mount Misen, and lots of interesting laneways that we had to investigate.

    Our first stop, after dumping packs at hotel, was the Tori Gate and Shrine, but the tide was on the way out so we decided to make our way to the ropeway to go up the mountain instead. That turned out to be a good decision based on the number of people waiting to get on the cable cars when we came back down. At the top we walked about 30 mins to get from the end of the ropeway to the actual top of Mt Misen. Well worth the effort.

    After coming back down we wandered about town looking for something to eat for lunch and to search out a place that might be open late enough for dinner. As it is off-seasoon most shops shut when the day trippers leave, before dark, and that leaves only a small handful of restaurants open and an even smaller number that possibly have any vegetarian options. Fortunately, we did find one that wasn't going to close till 7.30pm. Otherwise it would have been a 4pm dinner for us....

    Anyways, we went back to the hotel at 3pm to check in, then left to look for a place for dinner then back to the hotel for a hot, outdoor foot bath and then into the hotel onsen for hot baths and then out again for dinner (vegetarian tempura sitting on the floor at a low table, for the first time) and to see the Tori Gate all lit up at night and with the tide in again.

    It was all very beautiful, and quiet without lots of pesky tourists. We are glad we decided to stay overnight here. Well worth it....    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    Our Shinkansen
    Very fast shinkansenShukkein GardenShukkein GardenRugged up for winter we assumeShukkein GardenMass carp congregationCarp congregationAutumn leavesHiroshima CastleAtomic Bomb DomeAtomic Bomb DomeChildren's Peace MonumentHiroshima Victim's Memorial CenotaphAt the start of the museumLadies cooking okonomiyakiYummy dinner

    Himeji to Hiroshima

    15 december 2025, Japan ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    After coffee and pastry at a patisserie between our hotel and the train, we bought our Shinkansen ticket from a helpful human and were on our way for the next 1 hour to Hiroshima. Whilst waiting at the platform however, two shinkansen travelled through the station without stopping. Holy moly, being that close at that speed was amazing. I caught a video of a third one which seemed to be a bit slower and the train wasn't as long.

    Once in Hiroshima, we walked to our accommodation, dropped off our packs and headed out to the Shukkein Garden and wandered through there for about 45 minutes, stopped at the museum cafe on our way out for a coffee, and headed off to Hiroshima Castle. It was flattened by the bomb, rebuilt temporarily, dismantled and rebuilt again, so in this castle it wasn't so much about showcasing the buildings itself as at Himeji, but rather what life was like in the castle for the Shogun and samurai.

    After that we headed off to the heavy stuff for the day, which kinda seemed fitting given the happenings back in Australia at Bondi. First stop, the Atomic Bomb Dome, then the Children's Peace Monument, passing by the Flame of Peace and the Hiroshima Victims Memorial Cenotaph onto the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It was probably one of the more crowded places we have been here in Japan and for about two hours, we pretty much only heard feet shuffling as you moved past the stories and exhibits. It was very quiet and harrowing as one would expect. Reminded me very much of our visit to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Germany in terms of the sombre mood.

    We headed back to our accommodation which is a bargain at $77 in total for both of us for the night including breakfast. If we had timed things better that also included a free drink at happy hour. There is an onsen here too but we gave that a skip tonight.

    After a "normal" shower, we headed out to the Hondori which is the main covered shopping street/arcade. Lynette had to return a shirt at UniQlo (tick) and then we decided to have a Hiroshima Okonomiyaki to see if it was better than Kyoto Okonomiyaki. Answer = yes it was, by a country mile. It came with an experience of it being placed on a teppen in front of you and you getting your own mini spatula to cut off bits to transfer to your plate. The beer was the cheapest I've had re t, so all up a bargain dinner, even if the restaurant itself had an ambience that was cool, but would not pass Australian food safety standards I suspect 🤭    Läs mer

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  • Japanese Journeys

    Day 11 - Himeji to Hiroshima

    15 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    After a quick breakfast and coffee at a local bakery, we caught another Shinkansen through to Hiroshima this morning. This time our hotel was a 2.5km walk from the station (because why catch a bus or tram when you can walk!). We dropped our packs and headed out to visit the local Hiroshima memorials that were all relatively close to where we are staying.

    We started at the furthest point from the hotel and visited the Shukkei-en Garden. Then we after a pick-me-up coffee, we walked a short distance to visit Hiroshima Castle, which was destroyed by the atomic bomb and one section rebuilt, so is actually relatively new.

    From there we came to the Children's Peace Monument and across the road to the Atomic Bomb Dome. Then we wandered through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, seeing the eternal flame and then reaching the museum that had a full history of the bombing. It was very moving and quite sad.

    By the time we did all that and got through the museum (it alone took 2 hours) we were a bit weary, so we came back to the hotel to check in and shower before heading back out for dinner.

    Hondori Street is the local hotspot for food and shopping, so we headed there to track down a place to try the Hiroshima version of okonomiyaki, a special dish from the area. We found a place on the second floor of a shopping area, and were pleasantly surprised by people and the food (we were however a bit concerned about the actual h&s aspects of the restaurant itself...). It was a great meal and a lot of fun to experience.

    We are now back at the hotel ready for bed and planning tomorrow's journey to Miyajima Island...    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    A wet start to the day in Narai
    Himeji and the castle in the distanceThe white castleIf you know, you knowOn the second floorView from the top floorWarriors in waitingThis one was very stoicA bit if autumn 🍂 left in the gardenTwo very big naan breadsChristmas has come to this arcadeOne if two commissioned limited edition manhole covers in Himeji which we stumbled upon.The moat

    Narai to Himeji

    14 december 2025, Japan ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    We woke up to rain and clouds in our little village this morning. Breakfast was minestrone and ciabatta, and a stewed plum and coffee. Just the right amount of food.

    We dashed down the main street, thankful for some eaves to shelter under as we walked to the train station. In this village, one of its defining architectural features was that the second floor jutted out further than the ground floor, and that the roof therefore provided shelter. Great planning for a rainy day!

    We caught a suburban train to Nagoya, heeding the advice of the train lady and her translating device to change trains for the express at Fukushima. What she neglected to do was to sell us the correct tickets for that train, so when the conductor arrived, and we were in the reserved section and without the correct tickets, this was promptly fixed by us paying for the correct ticket and moving to the correct carriage for the unreserved seats. It didn't seem like the first time he had come across this scenario and he was very nice about it.

    More train confusion ensued at Nagoya when we bought two shinkansen tickets but couldn't get through the gate. After the man told us something in Japanese about ten times, and in none of those times did it become any more apparent what we were supposed to do to rectify the issue, a lady arrived and she spoke English and took us off to buy yet another ticket because you weirdly need two different tickets to ride the shinkansen. It seems her sole job is to help foreigners work out what tickets they need.

    Tickets in hand, we nabbed seats in the unreserved cards and settled in for the trip to Himeji. The train we were on topped out at about 300km/h but it didn't feel like it at all.

    Our hotel is right outside the train station, so we dropped off our bags and headed off for lunch and the on to visit the famous white castle. The bargain price ticket of ¥1,050 ($10.50) got us into the castle and the garden next door. The castle ticket alone was ¥1,000 so for an extra 50c we thought throwing in the garden visit couldn't be any worse than the ridiculous rock garden for ¥300 a few days ago.

    The interior of the castle was amazing! So much timber and really big pieces of lumber. The stairs inside were really steep with small treads, almost like oversized ladders. A few people were tripping or falling throughout, not made any easier by the fact we were all in our socks and the floors are well worn timber so a quite smooth. Outside the castle we came across quite a few warriors dressed up and either posing, or standing around stoically.

    We came back and braved another onsen experience, indoor onsen bath first, then used the sauna (lasting a whole 5 minutes) before using the outside onsen. This hotel had the luxury items in the onsen so we sat there like a local blow drying the hair, smothering our dried out skin in lotions and potions. There was also a free ice cream machine for when you leave the onsen, so we had a snack on the way back to our room. Three is also a guest area on level two with free tea and coffee, soft drinks, sport drinks, "lactic acid drink" available in the morning (aka yakult), and after 9.30pm at night a free half size ramen noodle bowl. All for $117 for the two of us. Bargain.

    We went out for dinner at a Nepalese curry house which had a 'blink and you would miss it' door on the street leading up a very steep and narrow set of stairs to a kinda grotty but good enough restaurant. A very gigantic naan was had with a very yummy curry!

    Then a walk up the fairy light lit main boulevard to see the castle lit up at night. On to Hiroshima tomorrow.    Läs mer

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  • Japanese Journeys
    1

    Day 10 - Narai to Himeji

    14 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    My time-related anxiety therapy continued this morning with a breakfast at 8am followed by a rapid march the 900 meters to the station in the rain to buy tickets and catch an 8.43am train.

    Breakfast was again amazing, albeit a bit rushed. It would have been nice to start earlier or leave a bit later but I think the idea of having to get up earlier horrified our young chef and the next train was not until 11am.... So, 8am was our compromise timeframe.

    You can relax, yes, we made it in time, and I wasn't at all stressed (believe that if you will).... I am getting good at this!

    Our train journey took us first on a local slow train back to Kiso Fukushima. From there we changed to a slightly more express train to Nagoya before hopping on another speedy Shinkansen for the final leg to Himeji. All up, it took about 4 hours, arriving about 12.45pm.

    Himeji's claim to fame is the White Castle 🏯, that looks over the city, about 1.5 km or so from our hotel, which is near the station. So we dumped our packs at the hotel, stopped for a quick lunch at the station and walked up to the castle for a tour which took as a couple of hours. It was amazing.

    We also ducked into an adjacent garden as part of the ticket, which was nice but not as good as the one at Kyoto.

    From there it was back to the hotel for a luxurious onsen experience involving not one but two separate baths (one indoors and one outdoors) plus a sauna. Very posh. And they have a fridge with free ice-creams after you finish. How good is that!!

    We then went out to a nearby Nepalese restaurant for some very yummy curry and the biggest naan breads ever seen, followed by a stroll back up to the castle to see it all lit up at night. Himeji has got lots of Christmas lights as well, and is the first place we have seen make any kind of big deal about it.

    Back at the hotel now so having grab another free ice cream for dessert...    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    Looking back down to YabaharuOn the trailThe official Torii Pass markerA treacherous bit of path and I was surprised not to land on my buttThe official end of our hikeThe firemen are reversed on the man hole coversNaraiNarai-jukuBeautiful buildingsThe dinky fire stationAt the back of the fire stationOn the hunt for coffee and respite from the coldLa Terra, accommodation for the nightOur room, and we are the only guestsHow's that for a bathroom!View on the main street from our roomWinter padded yukata1Venison for dinnerMy koala friend is trying to fix the toilet

    Fukushima to Narai

    13 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    Today was our last day of walking the Nakasendo Way, with a train to Yabuhara and then a hike from there to Narai where we are staying tonight.

    I helped Lynette not give in to time-based planning anxieties by not allowing her to catch the accommodation shuttle that meant we had to be up 30 minutes earlier than necessary just to sit at a freezing cold train station for that 30 minutes. Instead we arrived, bought tickets, and waited less than 10 minutes for the train.

    Our hotel breakfast was yet another Japanese feast that was just way too much food for anyone, but we battled through vowing to skip lunch again. I swear these meals would easily feed several people, but maybe I'm finding it too much because I actually stopped eating breakfast a few years ago thanks to Dr Michael Mosley's influence.

    The walk from Yabuhara took us over the Torii Pass. This was apparently the most difficult pass for travellers to traverse in the Edo period, but we didn't find it too onerous. It was only about 3.5 kms up to the pass and then 3 kms to Narai. Here we dumped our packs in a locker and walked 2.5 km to the next village of Hirasawa and celebrated the official end of our hike.

    It was quite chilly going over the pass and we had could see frost, snow and ice in patches on the road. No bears were encountered due to the diligent ringing of the bear bells and the melodic tinkle of the Ken San bell on Lynette's pack.

    We left Yabuhara about 9.30, got to Narai by about 12-ish, and stopped for coffee (and cake) and booked our accommodation for tomorrow night which was the one unplannednight of the trip. That has now ended our unplanned, spontaneity. Order is restored.

    Narai has about a kilometre of traditional post-town style shops and houses running down the main street to the train station. We ended up walking its length 4 times over the afternoon, first on way to Hirasawa via the luggage lockers and then wandering up and down waiting for check in time at La Terra, our accommodation, which was not open until 3.30pm. We were passed by three fire trucks on the main street, which wouldn't be remarkable except that each of them was smaller than a Ford Transit. Because all the buildings are wooden, fire and water management are extremely important to the juku towns.

    Our accommodation appears to be a small house converted to be a bespoke guest house that is on the expensive end of the places we have booked this trip. As a result is a very well appointed apartment with lots of little luxuries including padded winter yukatas and fluffy winter pyjamas, and not one, not two, but three different slippers to wear in different sections of what is in essence about 14 square metres.

    However, our room excitement was relatively short-lived when I used the remote controlled toilet and it wouldn't flush, but did not have a manual flushing lever. So, we had the most digitised toilet on planet earth, and it can't do the one thing it is supposed to be good at. I took the remote back downstairs to chat to Towa-San, he then translates on his phone that we need to fill the tank and gives me a giant oversized cup. So perhaps it hasn't been used in a while.

    We have a luxurious bath, an amazing Italian-influenced dinner courtesy of Towa-San who has been at cooking school for a few years. I had venison cooked to perfection. Four courses, and all bellissimo.

    And after dinner the toilet investigation continues... Towa-San's offsider came up, and came back and told us it was working. Huzzah. We came back after dinner and couldn't work out how to use it. Lynette was last seen in her provided grey fluffy pyjamas looking like a giant koala standing over the loo taking photos and trying to figure out how to use it, including a manual reset. It has multiple LED light options, a button to make the seat go up and down... Everything except the basics of actual flushing! Sometimes a toilet can be too smart for its own good. I'm killing myself laughing and she may have just told me to f### off. I'm not taking it personally because she is saying it to the toilet too (which sounds like she is having an argument with R2D2 every time it beeps and then does nothing else). 🤣 We will just have to put up with the recalcitrant toilet.    Läs mer

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  • Japanese Journeys
    21

    Day 9 - Kiso Fukushima to Narai

    13 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    Today we walked the last leg of our Nakasendo Way journey, with a train to Yabuhara and then a hike from there to Narai (where we are staying tonight and so dumped our bags at the train station) and onwards to Kiso Hiraswa.

    Gabby made me live life on the edge this morning by not letting us get the 8am shuttle bus for the 10-15 min drive back to town and only getting the one at 8.30am. Our train was at 8.55am, so you can imagine my distress at only being 10 mins early for something and not at least 40 mins early! Apparently, it is allowing me to grow as a person, or some such rubbish. I just think she is trying to drive me into an early grave from heart palpitations over potentially, maybe, having an ever so slight chance of, being late and missing the train!!!! The things I do for my friend! Spoiler, we didn't miss the train...

    Anyways, breakfast was yet another Japanese feast that was just way to much food for anyone, but we soldiered on regardless.

    The walk from Yabuhara took us over the Torii Pass (apparently, the most difficult pass for travellers to traverse back in the day, but not so bad these days). It was only about 3.5 kms up to the pass and then basically 3 kms to Narai and another 2.5 km to Hirasawa.

    It was quite nippy going over the pass and we had some frost/snow/ice in patches on the road. No bears were encountered. Must have been our diligent ringing of the bear bells and the melodic tinkle of the one I wore on my pack, keeping them at bay.

    We left Yabuhara about 9.30, got to Narai by about 12-ish, and stopped for coffee and cake and booked our accommodation for tomorrow night (the only day we didn't already have planned). We then took another 45mins to walk to Hirasawa and back, just along normal roads.

    Narai has about a kilometre of traditional post-town style shops and houses running down the main street to the train station. We ended up walking its length 4 times over the afternoon, first on way to Hirasawa via the luggage lockers and then wandering up and down waiting for check in time at La Terra, our accommodation, which was not until 3.30 pm.

    This place appears to be a small house converted to be a bespoke guest house that is on the expensive end of the places we have booked this trip. As a result it is very well appointed with lots of little luxuries including padded winter yukatas and fluffy winter pyjamas. Very swish. Unfortunately, we are struggling getting the Wizz bang electronic toilet to flush, so not so happy news on that front.

    Dinner tonight was Italian influenced and a fantastic change from the Japanese style food we have been having. The chef has just finished training and did an excellent job of both the venison (for Gabby) and frittata (for me), along with leek potage, pumpkin risotto and walnut chocolate brownie for dessert. Yummy!!    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    A very large breakfast
    Start of our walk into Atera GorgeIce on the roadWaiting around for the trainNo dead bodies!Tommy making us another coffeeI didn't really get itDead centre of townPublic foot bathsIt's a fine line between pleasure and painOur beautiful roomPrivate onsen1Dinner menuOMG soooo yummyRugged up to look at starsMy washi postcards

    Nojiri to Kiso Fukushima

    12 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    This morning started with our first Japanese (non western) breakfast. It too was a giant feast and set us up for the day such that we didn't need to have lunch today.

    Ijime San wandered into the foyer with our washi cards just as we came down from our room. Excellent timing! Unfortunately my artistic vision didn't quite eventuate as I had hoped in my head 🙂‍↕️. Lynette syas to himhe had given us one extra that wasn't ours. A gift he says from him... And then we see how perfect it is and realise how how far we need to go to become a washi master.

    There was no option for a shuttle bus to take us up to the beginning of the trail head to walk the loop of Aterra Gorge, so nothing to do but to walk there instead. The whole walk was alongside the Atera River. The loop at the end was a little more treacherous, but really lovely forest, rickety bridges and ice and frost on the ground. At the end was the only toilet we have come across without a heated seat, which was a little sad because it was about 2°C. We think the loop was about 8 to 9km.

    On return to the hotel, we picked up our backpacks, walked another 2km into Nojiri, bought a train ticket and then because we had a little bit of time to kill, went to a coffee shop, as of course the only non-local customers because this is not a tourist town. The owner gave us a painted piece of timber as a gift. Mine had a dancing daikon radish on it and Lynette's had a very happy carrot.

    We then caught the train to Kiso Fukushima which is where we were being collected at 4.30pm so had half a day to fill in. We hired a locker for the day at the train station for our back packs, noting that in this order you were not allowed to keep the following in your lockers: Valuables, Dangerous items, Dead bodies, Animals, Firearms and swords, Filthy items, Items prone to spoilage.

    We stopped for another coffee before going to seek out Tommy San, our guide from yesterday, so we could take a gander at his coffee bean retail business. He then selected a Guatemala bean he had roasted this morning, although later said it needed a day or two to develop more flavour. He made a hand poured drip filter where the filter paper is made from washi, and it looked like a very exacting business. So two espressos later (and now four coffees in for the day which is double anything I ever have in a day), we set off to visit Kozenji Buddhist Temple and Kanuntei, the most spacious rock garden in Japan. The temple was closed, and we will consider the ¥300 we paid for the 1 minute experience a donation to upkeep of the far more interesting (and free) cemetery next door.

    By now it was sub zero temperatures and Lynette had left her big coat in the locker, so we headed to the public onsen footbath, hoicked up the pants and sat there for quite some time contemplating life. Annoyingly I have carried a towel all week, but the towel was in the locker too, so we used our buffs to wipe our feet and headed back to the train station to await the shuttle bus to our wonderfully posh accommodation for the evening, Nukumorino-yado Komanoyu.

    Not long after arrival, wearing a very beautiful yukata, we were headed to the private onsen, which was downstairs in a rock wall lined cave of sorts. We couldn't last the fully allotted time, but the shampoo is of better quality so my hair feels normalish again.

    Dinner was in a very beautiful tatami dining room and was the fanciest fare we have had so far, but once again with 14 different things, we asked if we could skip the rice, miso and pickle bits because we simply couldn't fit it all in. After dinner we rugged up in many layers since it is -5° outside (feels like -8°), cracked some new pocket warmers and went down to the lobby to wait for the shuttle bus for a free star gazing session at a look out 10 minutes up the hill. The owner guy had taught himself astronomy so he could conduct this session, he had a telescope and was even showing us photos he had taken of andromeda galaxy. There is a meteor shower tonight and tomorrow night over Germany (he said), so we saw several shooting stars, Saturn, Jupiter, and several constellations I had never heard of, and quite a few that I had. Orion's belt was in full glory tonight. It is about now that all sensation in my toes has ceased, so we were very grateful when he said it was time to come back. We had bold plans to go to the public onsen when we got back, but all desire fled our body in preference of getting warm in our bed. We have two rom heaters on, and are still a bit chilly.    Läs mer

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  • Japanese Journeys
    1

    Day 8 - Nojiri to Kiso Fukushima

    12 december 2025, Japan ⋅ 🌙 1 °C

    We started today with our first proper Japanese breakfast which was full of unfamiliar dishes but still very yummy, and included frying our own egg over a burner.

    We then checked out of the onsen and left our packs at reception in preparation for a quick hike into Atera Gorge, meeting Ijima San who delivered our postcards to us. Talk about service!!

    Turns out there was no shuttle bus running to the gorge (out of season, I assume) so we hoofed it the 10 mins to the entrance and then walked along the road that follows the river up the gorge to reach the centre. At that point, there was a track that crossed over the river via a suspension bridge and a path that leads up into the hills. It was a very pleasant walk, albeit I was very glad I had my walking sticks, especially for the down hill return part of the loop. Then we walked all the way back to the onsen again. All up it was a beautiful walk, if not a little bit on the chilly side when the wind caught us.

    At the onsen, we grabbed our bags and walked the 2.5 kms into Nojiri proper to catch the 12.30 train to Kiso Fukushima, our stop for tonight. Luckily, we had time for a quick and very welcome cafe latte at a tiny coffee shop run by a lady who welcomed us warmly and even gave us a little hand decorated, carved wooden souvenir to remember the cafe by.

    Then it was back to the station to catch the train. Thankfully we ended up on the right platform and only tried to get on at the wrong door for a minute or two before all the locals showed us the error of our ways...

    In Kiso Fukushima we put our packs in the station lockers, where we were not allowed to store any dead bodies (party poopers), and headed out to explore the town. We first stopped for another warming coffee, and then heading to Tommy's coffee roastery just before it closed for the day, and drank yet another coffee. Buzzing!!!

    Then we walked to a very underwhelming temple to look at a very small zen garden and the dead centre of town. People had been dying to get in there for centuries.

    This was followed by a visit to a public footbath (41 degrees!) for a relax before going back to the station to wait for the hotel bus to collect us at 4.30pm.

    Nukumorino-yado Komanoyu is another onsen hotel and quite flash. They offered a private onsen experience so we didn't have to mix with the plebs this time. That was followed by another huge multi-course dinner. Good thing we didn't eat lunch!!

    The hotel runs a nightly star gazing experience for free, so we took them up on this offer and spent a chilly 30 or so mins on the top of a hill behind the hotel (after a 10 min bus ride), having different stars and constellations being pointed out to us with a nifty laser pointer. Fortunately, no planes were harmed in the making of our evening's entertainment. It was apparently about -5 degrees and felt like the arctic circle....

    Back in our room now trying to warm up enough to go to bed....    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    Shoji screen in the morning light
    Design anxiety for the start of our washi making workshopIjima San mixing the washi washTransferring our design in reverse into the moulds1Doing the second washTamping down the edges after removing the mouldUnmounting and sucking out the waterHanging them out to dryOur drying postcardsIjema San, Master washi artisan2Lynette wowed them by writing in the visitor book in Japanese. Clever clogs.Starting our hike with TommyAterra GorgeSome hot tea and mochi at a rest stop1We are at the top of the mountain pass hereDescentOur room for the nightSlippers, a safety hazardYucatan, dressed for our onsen visit

    Nagiso to Nojiri

    11 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We were collected from our hostel this morning by our guide for the day, a lovely chap by the name of Tommy. We were taken to a local washi making artisan nearby where Ijima San (who spoke almost no English) successfully guided us through the art of making washi. Tommy was a helpful translator so between great gesticulation by Ijima San, Tommy and a lot of nodding and hai's, we had a fantastic few hours.

    We were presented with the option of making a large sheet of thin washi or a smaller thicker postcard size. Being the practical types, we opted for the postcard size.

    Step 1 was to design your bits and bobs to decorate in a dry run using dried leaves, coloured paper, string, seeds, and even little tiny origami love hearts. Our mould consisted of five postcards, so that required five separate creative bits of artistic inspiration. Not my strong suit really... After that you do one scoop of slushy washi mix, translate your design in reverse into the moulds, then two more washes. After that there is some wet/dry vacuum extraction, some rolling over a towel to extract more moisture, removing the frame, tamping down the edges to smooth the paper, and transferring it to a large heated frame with a fire behind it to dry.

    Thinking we were at the end, Ijima San says that we then had to make five more! Which meant five more little creative inspirations etc etc.

    At the end we had a bit of a tour around the sheds to understand the process right from the native timber. It is only able to be made about three months a year, and Ijima San is paid by the local council to do this to keep this traditional cultural art alive. Otherwise he has a restaurant making handcut soba noodles and also looks after the mountain rest stops and restroom facilities. What a guy! We will have our dried paper delivered to our hotel either tomorrow morning or the next day depending on how long it takes to dry.

    Tommy then took us to a local soba noodles restaurant for lunch before we started at 8.4km walking through the Kakizore Gorge. The water was crystal clear, the pools and waterfalls were beautiful and the tinkling bear bell a constant sound. We did a round trip hike and ended back at our Onsen hotel for the night. This place looks like its heydays were in the 1970s but it is still quaint.

    Lynette and I took our relationship to a whole new level with an onsen experience after working out the yukata, the "how to" of onsen etiquette, the anxiety of trying to make sure we get it right, weird slippers we have to take on and off all over the place, not putting your towel in the onsen water but rather keeping it on your head (mine fell off into the onsen water... eeek). We met the two Australian ladies from the team room a few days ago when we were in the change room. They had been outside with nervous energy so because we are now old hands we were able to ease them into taking their relationship to a whole new level too 🙂.

    Dinner was a seven+ course visual feast. Beautiful sashimi salmon, squid, little dishes of beautiful looking creations. We had finished, and still hadn't eaten everything when the waiter brought out more food of miso, pickled veggies and a bowl of rice. I had just finished reading about how rude it is in Japan to leave uneaten rice because of the amount of effort to make it, but I couldn't eat another thing (except dessert which then followed), so the girls in room 205 must now have a black mark against their name.

    Fantastic day all round. Just when we think our holiday can't get any better, it does!    Läs mer

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    Day 7 - Nagiso to Nojiri

    11 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Today's adventure started with another hearty breakfast and a challenging Connections game before we were collected from the hostel by a lovely chap by the name of Tommy, whom we had arranged to be our guide for the day. First up he drove us to a local washi paper maker where Ijima San (who spoke almost no English) successfully guided us through the art of making our very own washi paper. Tommy was there as the essential translator so between great gesticulation by Ijima San, Tommy and a lot of nodding and hai's, we had a fantastic few hours.

    We had choice of making a large sheet of thin washi or a smaller thicker postcard size. Being the practical types, we opted for the postcard size to be easily transported home.

    Firt we each had to map out a design for five separate cards using some provided scrap-booking supplies that included dried leaves, coloured paper, string, seeds, glitter and even little tiny origami love hearts. After that we grabbed the postcard frame and dipped it into one vat of thin, slushy washi mix and give it a good shuggle. That got taken to a bench and we then attempted to translate our design in reverse into the moulds. Then it was back to a different vat of slightly thicker washi mix for two more washes. After that there was some wet/dry vacuum extraction, some rolling over a towel to extract more moisture, removing the frame, tamping down the edges to smooth the paper, before transferring it to a large heated frame with a fire behind it to dry.

    Thinking we were at the end, Ijima San says that we then had to make five more! Which meant five more little creative inspirations etc etc. This time we chose to use a pink tinged washi mix just for a bit of variety. I struggled coming up with five more different designs....

    At the end we had a bit of a tour around the sheds to understand the process right from the native timber. It is only able to be made about three months a year, and Ijima San is paid by the local council to do this to keep this traditional cultural art alive. Otherwise he has a restaurant making handcut soba noodles and also looks after the mountain rest stops and restroom facilities. What a guy! We will have our dried paper delivered to our hotel either tomorrow morning or the next day depending on how long it takes to dry.

    Tommy then drone to a road-side truck stop to use the restrooms which had a fascinating supermarket type shop attached to a rsmall eatery that sold a heap vacuum packed food stuffs, many of which we struggled to identify. We then drove another 20 mins to a local soba noodle restaurant for lunch which just happened to be right next door to our hotel for tonight, Atera Onsen, so we left our big packs and then drove back down the valley to a railway station where we left the car to start a 8.4km walk to (took an hour) and then into the Kakizore Gorge and up and over the Kansoi Pass. (about 90 mins). The water in the river we walk along a ways was crystal clear, the pools and waterfalls were beautiful and the tinkling bear bell worn be Tommy, a constant sound. At the end of the hike we emerged at the other end of our Onsen hotel, which was convenient for us, but not so much for Tommy, who had to walk the 2 kms to the Nojiri train station to catch a train back to his car .

    Our Onsen looks like its heydays were in the 1970s but it is still quaint. An onsen is basically a public hot bath and so today Gabby and I took our relationship to a whole new level with our first onsen experience together. This first involved working out how to wear the yukata (dressing gown), googling the "how to" of onsen etiquette, feeling the anxiety of trying to make sure we get it right, wearing weird slippers we have to take on and off all over the place, trying not to put your towel in the onsen water but rather keeping it on your head. All of that occurred before then (and this is the point of all that activity) getting naked and bathing together. Not something Gabby and I normally do together, but hey, when in Rome, and all that...

    After we had sweated it out in the hot bath for long enough, we emerged ((slowly) to find the two Australian ladies from the tea room a few days ago in the change room. They had been outside the bath house working up the courage to come in, so because we were now old hands we were able to ease them into taking their relationship to a whole new level too 🙂.

    Dinner was a seven+ course visual feast. Beautifully arranged, tiny dishes of (for me) more types of mushrooms than I had ever seen before and lots of small pieces of pickled or just steamed vegetables, and soba noodles. We had just finished, and still hadn't eaten everything when the waiter brought out more food of miso, pickled veggies and a bowl of rice. Gabby had just finished reading about how rude it is in Japan to leave uneaten rice because of the amount of effort to make it, but we struggled to eat another thing (except dessert which then also followed, obviously).

    Fantastic day all round. Just when we think our holiday can't get any better, it does!    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    Pyjamas
    Tsumago-Juku in the morning2View from our roomWater wheel in Tsumago-JukuImitating an influencer we just saw doing a stupid pose with her legs3Ringing my first bear bellNotice board on the NagasendoThere are loads of shrines scattered everywhereSun breaking through the forestInside the free tea room resting placeThe Japanese driver reviver for hikersCrystal clear water in the Kiso RiverStopping to rug up with beanie and gloves1A very big old notice boardViews from the Tsumago-Juku castle ruinsBamboo grove1Momosuke Suspension Bridge in NagisoHot chocolate from the vending machineOur hostel room for the night, complete with hot coal filled bed warmers2Wooden tub, not at 42°C todayRelaxing by the fireThe hostel common room in the old farm houseHis and hers waterfallsLynette ringing her first bear bellWater wheel

    Magome-Juku to Tsumago-Juku to Nagiso

    10 december 2025, Japan ⋅ 🌙 2 °C

    This morning was a chilly -2° to start the day. We rolled out of bed, dressed in our supplied pyjamas and toddled downstairs for breakfast with the Belgium couple... dressed in pyjamas. Strange, but when in Rome and all that! Beautiful buffet prepared by Ken with his homemade yoghurt, homemade blueberry jam, granola, toast, juice and coffee.

    After breakfast we did a daylight reconnaissance of the village, before saddling up the packs , which now feel like they weigh 30kg. Weird since we have used some toothpaste and hand cream so it should feel at least 30 grams lighter!

    Today's mission was a 8.9km walk to Tsumago-Juku and then a 3.8km walk to Nagiso but we ended up walking 17.1km. We cannot work out why as we stayed on the trail pretty much the whole way. I think the tourist guides must be wrong.

    The first hour was solidly uphill, beautiful scenery with a constant sound of a river beside you. We came across our first bear bells, and rang most of them. We were also accompanied by the constant tinkle of the bear bell on Lynette's pack. There is a famous free tea house on the route that we stopped at for a cuppa which is tended to by a friendly old Japanese man. We sat down and started to chat to two women who are also hiking who were from Brisbane (Wynnum and Kedron to be precise). The water on the ground next to the trough was frozen, and it was about here we started to notice frost on the ground.

    We had an excellent recommendation from Ken for a lunch place called Otokichi for when we got to Tsumago which was located off the beaten path. Best $12 lunch ever of chicken tonkatsu (see photo). We then continued on to Nagiso with a quick stop walking up a hill to Tsumago Castle ruins, luckily for a nice view because castle ruins was poetic licence in the description.

    In Nagiso, we walked across the Momosuke Bridge which is a 247m wooden suspension bridge. After a stroll around Nagiso, we went back to the railway station to await collection from our hostel. We decided we did not want to walk the very long uphill walk to the hostel in the mountains. They were running late, so we enjoyed another Japanese quirk and got a hot chocolate in a weird can/bottle from a vending machine for ¥180. The can was so hot it was almost impossible to hold when it came out. Very sweet, but we were starting to get chilly waiting outside, so it did the job to warm us up a wee bit.

    The Yui-an Hostel is in a 250 year old restored farm house. We were greeted by Erika who is a delightful young lady who has a bubbly infectious personality. Lynette asked about bath etiquette so we were able to avoid all anxiety and both of us were bathed in a wooden tub and squeeky clean for dinner in the hostel. I will say dinner was a lot nicer at Ken san's, but the company was great with Erika and a young kid from Thailand who is hiking solo, so it more than made up for it. Tonight's room also has a new experience with coal filled bed warmers under our doonah. It is getting down to -3° tonight, so we hope to be nice and toasty. Another fabulous day.

    Tomorrow we are being collected for a washi making workshop in an artisan village somewhere.    Läs mer

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    Day 6 - Magome to Tsumago and Nagiso

    10 december 2025, Japan ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Today we sadly left Ken san and Sakanomichi Hostel behind us to venture along more uppy bits for an hour or so to reach Magome Pass. We got to ring our first bear bells and at the top stopped at a local version of a driver reviver stand to refresh ourselves with hot tea and a warm fire at a free tea house.

    From there, it was another couple of hours downhill to Tsumago. where we stopped for lunch at a place Ken recommended called Otokichi. They served huge meals of very yummy food. I had the tempura dish and Gabby had the Tonkatsu (chicken 🐔).

    There were more people on the track today in both directions. I only saw one group carrying backpacks so most were obviously just day trippers or staying in one village for a couple of nights and walking back and forth.

    After lunch we continued into Tsumago Juku proper and saw more old style village housing. Then we followed the path onwards to Nagiso, stopping on the way to climb a hill to the ruins of Tsumago Castle, which I reckon was in a very defensible position based on the amount of effort we had to put in to the climb to the top.

    In Nagiso we found the station and as we were early for our pick-up time, we walked to the Momosuke Bridge, a 247m wooden suspension bridge, to fill in some time.

    We tried our first vending machine hot chocolate whilst waiting for a car from Hostel Yui-an to collect us.

    It took us just 15 mins to drive what would have been another couple of hours walking up-hill to the hostel, so are very glad we chose that option.

    Tonight we both had hot showers followed by relaxing hot baths and then another delicious meal, made by the delightful Erika.

    Fortunately, no bears attacked us today...    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    Industrial strength coffee
    Beautiful manhole coversThe beginning of our leg of the Nakasendo, and not a soul in sightOur way marker signs to follow for the next five daysLovely old buildingAncient notice boards along the routeThis section is a preserved original cobblestone pathAnd this is the "yellow brick road" we are followingNo signs of any bears (crack myself up)Sakanomichi, our hostel for the nightBefore the bath anxiety set in. Note soap that should not be in the bath.

    Kyoto to Magome-juku

    9 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We started today with what turned out to be a progressive breakfast because we wanted espresso over drip filter coffee espresso coffee. The trick was to find somewhere that did both, which we didn't. But we did have a very expensive coffee in a very trendy looking cafe, before coming across a cafe for the rest of breakfast. Quick walk back to the hostel to pack our bags and we were off with fully laden backpacks for the first time (ie day bags packed inside). With the knowledge that we now had to hike with them today, our 12kg felt like 20kg all of a sudden.

    We walked to the train station to catch a local train to Kyoto Station and then our first shinkansen to Nagoya and another local train to Nakatsugawa. All relatively straightforward, with just slight confusion navigating the exit from the Shinkansen and entry to next train using two different tickets and just one ticket machine. We asked a human and all was put right.

    Shinkansen travel was speedy but not as remarkable as I had thought it might be. You get used to travelling several hundred kms per hour very quickly it seems. The guy we were sitting next to had the blinds down due to the sun position, so we didn't really have a good view of the world speeding by.

    At Nakatsugawa we got directions from a helpful tourist information lady to the start of the walk and headed off on the first leg of our walk along the Nakasendo Way, the whole initial reason for this trip with Lynette in the first place.

    For those who don't know and might be interested (skip this bit if not), the Nakasendo Way was a historic "Central Mountain Road" during Japan's Edo Period (1603-1868), one of the Gokaido (Five Routes) connecting the imperial capital Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo). Winding through mountainous central Japan, it featured 69 post towns (juku) for rest, attracting samurai, merchants, and pilgrims. Today, well-preserved sections, especially in the Kiso Valley (like between Magome and Tsumago), offer hikers a chance to walk cobblestone paths and experience traditional architecture, stepping back into old Japan (thanks Lynette for Googling that for me!)

    The path took us from the centre of the old town (the original Nakatsugawa Juku) via a shopping centre to get lunch. I thought I would have three little chicken skewers. Gesticulated to the lady, she indicated they were all chicken. Great! I sat down to eat the then realised they were not breast or thigh, so I guess I ended up eating some other part of the chicken. Tasted like the mother lode of chicken liver pate on skewers, so very, very rich... But I made it to the end.

    We set the officially set off on the hike with what ended up being quite a number of uphill bits. The first half was mostly through the edges of Nakatsugawa and then the through the adjoining town of Ochiai. Then we hit some actual forest and less populated areas, and more steep bits before heading down into Magome-Juku, our destination for today.

    Of course, the uppy bits didn't end there, because once in the middle of town we had another 450m of very uphill path to get to our accommodation, Sakanomichi Hostel. That last hike was a bit of a struggle, but we made it in the end! I may have mentioned straws and camels a little too many times on that last 450m.

    Today's walk was about 9 kms all up so a lot shorter than the last two days but, with about 12kg packs on and a lot of steep uppy bits it was not a walk in the park. We were thankful to reach the end.

    We have certainly made the right choice in terms of time of year to come. The day was cool. But not freezing and we were literally the only people doing the walk. That might change tomorrow when we walk to Tsumago as that leg is the most popular...

    Our hostel is new and the owner, Ken, is lovely and very helpful. He has even given us a bear bell to take on the next leg of our trip, as there has been a bear sighting a day or two ago. Ken worked for 5 years at the hostel we are staying at tomorrow night.

    There are only five guestrooms in the house, with shared bathrooms and toilets. Our bedroom has given us our first experience of tatami flooring and futons, and it was all very comfortable. It was also our first real experience of taking slippers on and off in different parts of the house.

    The hostel had a nice new bath so we decided to use that. Ken filled it, told us to give him 10 minutes... I then tittered off for my relaxing bath. Once I was immersed in 42°C of boiling hot bath, and had satisfied myself that my dermal layer had not in fact peeled off my body, I then realised that I had probably broken the rules of bathing. Once I got out of the bath I felt the need to "stage a shower" so it looked like I hadn't broken the rules in the shower room which is where I was supposed to clean myself before getting into said bath. It turned into quite an anxiety filled event, and in the end, Lynette decided to take a shower instead. We will try to do better tomorrow.

    Dinner was chicken or vegetable curry and was hand made by Ken. It even had rice that was grown down the road by Ken in his own rice paddy!!! We also had mochi ice cream - beautiful.

    We ended up chatting over dinner and for the next few hours to the only other couple staying here, who are from Belgium. Jella and Anshe. Anshe works for the Australian embassy in Brussels, so we had wide ranging conversations, and she told us she has a side project for repatriation of first nations objects from Belgium museums. They were a delight.    Läs mer

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    Day 5 - Kyoto to Magome

    9 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    We started today with a progressive breakfast, to go find a cafe that sold expresso coffee (a relatively rare beast) plus some good breakfast-type food (not quite as rare). The trick is to find somewhere that does both, which we didn't today. But we did have a very good, albeit, very expensive coffee in a very trendy looking cafe. So all was good, really!

    We then checked out of hostel with fully laden back packs for the first time (day bags packed inside). I have no idea how they have suddenly become twice the weight they were when we left home!!).

    We walked to the train station to catch a local train to Kyoto Station and then our first Shinkansen 🚄 to Nagoya and another local train to Nakatsugawa. All relatively straightforward, with just slight confusion navigating the exit from the Shinkansen and entry to next train using two different tickets and just one ticket machine. We asked a human and all was right with the world and we made our train connection.

    Shinkansen travel was speedy but not as remarkable as I had thought it might be. You get used to travelling several hundred kms per hour very quickly it seems.

    At Nakatsugawa we got directions from a helpful tourist information lady to the start of the walk and headed off on the first leg of our walk along the Nakasendo Way, the whole initial reason for this Japanese Journey.

    For those who don't know and might be interested (skip this bit if not), the Nakasendo Way was a historic "Central Mountain Road" during Japan's Edo Period (1603-1868), one of the Gokaido (Five Routes) connecting the imperial capital Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo). Winding through mountainous central Japan, it featured 69 post towns (juku) for rest, attracting samurai, merchants, and pilgrims. Today, well-preserved sections, especially in the Kiso Valley (like between Magome and Tsumago), offer hikers a chance to walk cobblestone paths and experience traditional architecture, stepping back into old Japan (thanks Google!)

    The path took us from the centre of town (the original Nakatsugawa Juku) via a shopping centre to get lunch) and off on what ended up being quite a number of up hill bits. The first half was mostly through the edges of Nakatsugawa and then the through the adjoining town of Ochiai (it all blended into one, really). Then we hit some actual forest and less populated areas, and more steep uppy bits before heading down into Magome, our destination for today.

    Of course, the uppy bits didn't end there, because once in the middle of town we had another 450m of path up the hill to get to our accommodation, Sakanomichi Hostel. That last hike was a bit of a struggle, but we made it in the end!

    Today's walk was about 9 kms all up so a lot shorter than the last two days but, with about 12kg packs on and a lot of steep uppy bits, it was not a walk in the park. We were thankful to reach the end.

    We have certainly made the right choice in terms of time of year to come. The day was cool, but not freezing and we were literally the only people doing the walk. That might change tomorrow when we walk to Tsumago as that leg is the most popular...

    Our hostel is new and the owner, Ken, is lovely and very helpful. He has even given us a bear bell to take on the next leg of our trip, as there has been a bear sighting a day or two ago!

    There are only 5 rooms in the house, with shared bathrooms and toilets. Our bedroom has given us our first experience of tatami mats and futons for beds, and it was all enormously comfortable.

    Dinner was chicken or vegetable curry and was hand made by Ken. It even had rice that was grown down the road by Ken himself. We also had mochi ice cream. The ice cream was very nice. I am not a fan of the mochi bit on the outside (made of pounded rice gunk...).

    We ended up chatting for a couple of hours or more with the only other couple here, who are from Belgium. She works for the Australian embassy in Brussels!    Läs mer

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    Day 4 - Kyoto

    8 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We were determined not to walk anywhere near as much today as we did yesterday, with the reason being that we start our Nakasendo hike tomorrow so wanted to save our legs. Epic fail! We spent 12 hours out and about and walked 34,000 steps. Eeek.

    We were up nice and early, heeding all advice that if you wish to avoid the crowds at the Fushimi Inari Taisha that you need to get there early. We decided to walk the 5km to get there, which was simply delightful in the quiet streets of Monday morning Kyoto. Still quite a crowd once we got to the Shrine site, but as soon as you peeled away to do the circuit walk to the top of Mt Inari it thinned out considerably and was quite peaceful.

    We meandered through the thousands of vermillion tori gates, managing to catch a few snaps in the beginning which look like we had it to ourselves (spoiler...we didn't), but in fact once the influencer types gave up and you kept walking up to the top of Mt Inari, there were quite a few sections without many people which was lovely. On the way to the top we passed loads of beautiful family shrines, all the more gorgeous for their moss covering and forest settings.

    There were a few spits of rain which also had the magical effect of clearing the crowds. It was 11.30am by the time we got back to the bottom, and since we were still sans breakfast and coffee, we stopped at a cafe called Vermillion that we had read about in a blog (so influencers are useful for something right?). The owner was a local who had lived in Australia, so our smashed avo on toast came with a smear of Vegemite, and they were conveniently also brought bring espresso coffee. Best. Coffee. Beautiful cafe looking out over a lake.

    Next stop was to walk to the Hanamikoji and Gion districts, famous for geisha. In Kyoto they are known as geiko and maiko (the apprentice geiko). This was all quite bustling. Our goal was to stay until sunset so we could see it lit up with lanterns. On the walk there we came across half a dozen true trainspotters perched up on a train overpass with gigantic lens cameras. We hung around to see what the special train was that they were waiting for. Many trains came and went, they didn't snap any of them. So we continued on, none the wiser about the special train we were missing out on.

    We accepted a suggestion from the lady out the front to visit the Gion Kagai Art Museum which included two dances from a geiko and maiko which are performed at a traditional tea ceremony. The museum was done extremely well. Very engaging. We sat inside on a tatami for about 45 minutes afterwards looking at the garden, doing a bit of stretching and enjoying the fact that we had our shoes off. I spent some time searching for a nearby masseuse, so we set off in search of one such establishment. When we got there, the sign at the elevator said "men only" so we figured that was not the kind of place suitable for refined middle-aged ladies like us. By then we had our second wind anyway.

    Dinner was at the first place we passed at the time we thought it was time to eat, which was a quirky place that sold only one meal of okonomiyaki (vegie and meat options available). It was a strange place which played the one weird little song over and over, had lots of collections of figurines around the walls, and fully dressed mannequins sitting at several of the tables. Cheap and cheerful.

    We wandered back through the district in twilight, no real-life geishas spotted, with a quick dash into UniQlo for me to buy a couple of spare tshirts to end the day. OMG, so much cheaper here!

    A physically exhausting but absolute highlight day!    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    11

    Osaka Fushimi Shrine and Gion District

    8 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We were determined not to walk anywhere near as much today as we did yesterday, with the reason being that we start our Nakasendo hike tomorrow so wanted to save our legs. Epic fail! We spent 12 hours out and about and walked 34,000 steps. Eeek.

    We were up nice and early, heeding all advice that if you wish to avoid the crowds at the Fushimi Inari Taisha that you need to get there early. We decided to walk the 5km to get there, which was simply delightful in the quiet streets of Monday morning Kyoto. Still quite a crowd once we got to the Shrine site, but as soon as you peeled away to do the circuit walk to the top of Mt Inari it thinned out considerably and was quite peaceful.

    We meandered through the thousands of vermillion tori gates, managing to catch a few snaps in the beginning which look like we had it to ourselves ( we didn't), but in fact once the influencer types gave up and you kept walking up to the top of Mt Inari, there were quite a few sections without many people which was lovely. On the way to the top we passed loads of beautiful family shrines, all the more gorgeous for their moss covering and forest settings.

    There were a few spits of rain which also had the magical effect of clearing the crowds. It was 11.30am by the time we got back to the bottom, and since we were still sans breakfast and coffee, we stopped at a cafe called Vermillion. Lynette had read a blog recommending it (so influencers are useful for something right?). The owner was a local who had lived in Australia, so our avo on toast came with a smear of Vegemite, and they were determined to bring back espresso coffee. Best. Coffee. Beautiful cafe looking out over a lake.

    Next stop was to walk to the Hanamikoji and Gion districts, famous for geisha. In Kyoto they are known as geiko and maiko (the apprentice geiko). This was all quite bustling. Our goal was to stay until sunset so we could see it lit up with lanterns. On the walk there we came across half a dozen true trainspotters perched up on a train overpass with gigantic lens cameras. We hung around to see what was the special train they were waiting for. Many trains came and went, they didn't snap any of them. So we continued on, none the wiser of the special train we were missing out on.

    We accepted a suggestion from the lady out the front to visit the Gion Kagai Art Museum which included two dances from a geiko and maiko which are performed at a traditional tea ceremony. The museum was done extremely well. Very engaging. We sat inside on a tatami for about 45 minutes afterwards looking at the garden, doing a bit of stretching and enjoying the fact that we had our shoes off. Lynette spent some time finding a nearby masseuse, so we set off in search of that establishment. When we got there, the sign at the elevator said "men only" so we figured that was not the kind of place suitable for refined middle-aged ladies like us. By then we had our second wind anyway.

    Dinner was at the first place we passed at the time we thought it was time to eat, which was a quirky place that sold only one meal of okonomiyaki (vegetarian option for Lynette). It was a strange place which played the one weird little song over and over, had lots of collections of figurines around the walls, and fully dressed mannequins sitting at several of the tables. Cheap and cheerful.

    We wandered back through the district in twilight, no real-life geishas spotted, with a quick dash into UniQlo for Lynette to buy a couple of spare tshirts to end the day. OMG, so much cheaper here!

    A physically exhausting but absolute highlight day!    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    Golden pavilion (note the reflection)
    Golden pavilionKaresansuiTatami in shrineA lonely blossom (a late bloomer?)1

    Kyoto temples, gardens and monkeys

    7 december 2025, Japan ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    What a big day walking! 30,848 steps later, Lynette and I are weary and exercised out.

    Today's adventure started with an all you can eat (but only one coffee or juice!!) breakfast buffet at the hostel. We managed to set ourselves up well for the day, which is good, because who had time for stopping to eat!

    We left the hostel by 9.30am with the bright idea of walking to today's destinations. We used ChatGPT over breakfast to design our routine and it seemed dubious of our desire to do as much walking as we eventually did. First up it was a brisk 6 km walk through Kyoto cityscape and suburbs to Kinkaku 'Golden' Temple (and it was, very gold and very shiny!), but we managed to take a photo with perfectish water reflections, and not much crowd.

    Next stop was Ninna-ji Temple and surrounds, a further 2.5 kms walk into suburbia. We walked through The Goten buildings, saw more temples, some lovely gardens and the very, very tall 5-storey Gojuno-to Pagoda. Iced coffee was partaken in lieu of lunch. By then it was 11.30am and we started on the next leg of our trip with almost 5 km to the Tenryu-ji Temple complex and gardens, best known for being next to the Bamboo Forest. By this time we had started to come across a lot of other tourists all trying to see the same sights, which was a tad disconcerting and slowed us down somewhat. But we courageously battled on!

    From the Bamboo Forest we strolled down to the river where lots of folk were out boating on a not so sunny afternoon.

    We then crossed over some old wooden bridge famous for not having collapsed as yet (Lynette's description, not mine, but probably accurate, named Togetsukyo Bridge) to go see some monkeys. They made us work hard for this privilege by putting said monkeys at the top of a mountain. Not happy, Jan! Or at least my calves weren't, after the initial set of stairs that seemingly went on forever. After that, the path was just a slope with no stairs, so much more manageable! Anyways, we made it to the top, took photos of the city and saw a lot of monkey butts and other very red genital bits and pieces.

    From there Lynette and I admitted defeat and we changed our plans for the rest of the day. It was just after 4pm and we had thought to catch a train back to town to go visit the Geisha district and have dinner. Turns out, we aren't as young as we think we are and we decided that there was dignity in admitting to limitations. So we trekked back over the bridge that stubbornly still refused to fall down, and made our way to a bus stop to head home.

    A kind local lady recognised our inability to decipher the bus system and helped us out by explaining something in Japanese which we didn't understand but thankfully ended with us all very happy and both of us on the milk run bus on the way back to the hostel . Fortunately, it was the right bus, going in the right direction and we made it back to town 40 minutes and 24 stops later later.

    After a quick stop at the hostel to do some seriously needed stretching, we headed back out to go to a local ramen restaurant, called Moon and Back, that did some killer wagu and vegan ramen noodles (not in the same bowl...) complete with Australian photos on the wall because the owner is a Japanese chef who worked in Sydney for a bit. We rolled our way out of there not long after, Lynette having educated me on the children's classic "Guess how much I love you?" (I didn't understand the reference in the name, Lynette is in dismay).

    We are now hanging out in the hostel lounge trying to catch up on travel blog entries, listening to ABBA. Will not take much rocking tonight after around 20 kms of walking.

    Photos coming soon... We are asleep 🥱    Läs mer

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  • Japanese Journeys
    1

    Day 3 - Kyoto

    7 december 2025, Japan ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Well, that was a big day! 30,848 steps later, Gabby and I are a wee bit foot sore and weary (we estimate well over 20kms walking all up with all our meanderings... You can check out the map to see our trail of wanderings.).

    Today's adventure started with an all you can eat (but only one coffee or juice!!) breakfast buffet at the hostel. We managed to set ourselves up well for the day, which is good, because who had time for stopping to eat!

    We left the hostel by 9.30am with the bright idea of walking to today's destinations. First up it was a brisk 6km walk through Kyoto cityscape and suburbs to Kinkaku 'Golden' Temple (and it was, very gold and very shiny!!).

    Next stop was Ninna-ji Temple and surrounds, a further 2.5kms walk into suburbia. We walked through The Goten buildings, saw more temples, some lovely gardens and the very, very tall Gojuno-to Pagoda. One iced coffee was partaken in lieu of lunch. By then it was 11.30am and we started on the next leg of our trip almost 5km to the Tenryu-ji Temple complex and gardens, best known for being next to the Bamboo Forest. By this time we had started to come across a lot of other tourists all trying to see the same sights, which was a tad disconcerting and slowed us down somewhat. But we courageously battled on!

    From the Bamboo Forest we strolled down to the river where lots of folk were out boating on a not so sunny afternoon.
    We then crossed over some old wooden bridge famous for not having collapsed as yet (called Togetsukyo Bridge) to go see some monkeys. They made us work hard for this privilege by putting said monkeys at the top of a mountain. Not happy, Jan! Or at least my calves weren't, after the initial set of stairs that seemingly went on forever. After that, the path was just a slope with no stairs, so much more manageable! Anyways, we made it to the top, took photos of the city and saw a lot of monkey butts. Well worth the trek, if you are interested. The walk down was a heck of a lot easier and faster.

    From there Gabby and I admitted defeat and we changed our plans for the rest of the day. It was just after 4pm and we had thought to catch a train back to town to go visit the Geisha district and have dinner. Turns out, we aren't as young as we think we are and we decided that there was dignity in admitting to limitations. So we trekked back over the bridge that stubbornly still refused to fall down, and made our way to a bus stop to head home.

    A kind local lady recognised our inability to decipher the bus system and helped us out by explaining something in Japanese which we didn't understand but thankfully ended with us all very happy and Gabby and I on the bus she too got on. Fortunately, it was the right bus, going in the right direction and we made it back to town 40mins later.

    After a quick stop at the hostel to do some seriously needed stretching, we headed back out to go to a local ramen restaurant, called Moon and Back, that did some killer wagu and vegan noodles (not in the same bowl...). We rolled our way out of there not long after, having educated Gabby on the children's classic "Guess how much I love you?" (she didn't understand the reference in the name....).

    We are now hanging out in the hostel lounge trying to catch up on travel blog entries, listening to ABBA.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Japanese Journeys
    Heian Jingu Shrine garden
    Nishiki MarketLunch stopPontocho AlleyWalking along the KamogawaTempleHeian Jingu ShrineHeian Jingu Shrine gardenPiece Hostel Sanjo, KyotoRoom to swing a cat!

    Day 2 - Osaka to Kyoto

    6 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Today we experienced our first konbini breakfast, buying for myself something resembling french toast, egg roll and pineapple pieces, plus a coffee from a Lawsons convenience store at the bottom of the hotel. I was not a fan of anything other than the 🍍. I think the bread is too sweet and/or too soft. So far it doesn't look like anything other than white bread exists....

    After checking out of our hotel, we headed off on one of several train transfers required to make it to Kyoto. We luckily found ourselves given a bum steer by an overly helpful train assistant which put us on the milk run train. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we saw people shoved in like sardines on the express train on other platforms, even on a Saturday morning, which just wouldn't have worked for us and our backpacks. As it turned out, we had spacious train carriages with a seat the whole way, and it only took about 20 minutes longer.

    We arrived at the Piece Hostel Sanjo which was a recommendation from Gabby's husband, Craig, from earlier this year. Our room was ready early, so we were able to dump our bags and head off to explore. We have gone from a spacious hotel rooms with lots of frills to a tiny room no wider than the double bed we are sharing, with adjacent bathroom. But, it is all we need really and the bed is still quite comfy and Gabby doesn't snore too badly!!

    Right around the corner were the Nishiki Markets, so we did some reconnaissance and found somewhere to eat which included a little side arcade with tables and stools. Tempura vege rice bowl, very filling! The market ended with the first of what has turned out to be a LOT of temples and shrines. We then wandered in the direction of the Kamo River and came across Pontocho Alley with lots of traditional buildings, so we headed down there. Crossing the river, we walked towards the Heian Jingu Shrine and gardens but on the way stumbled across a bric-a-brac market in a large park and loads of people playing their Saturday afternoon sport, so we stayed for a bit to watch what looked like the under 12s baseball match. A peaceful meandering through the gardens punctured by the occasional murderous grunting from somewhere nearby, which turned out to be a kendo session in progress.

    We started to head back following the river, which was well patronised by locals and tourists alike. Lots of overly dressed dogs (as in, the dogs seemed to be wearing way too many clothes for... well... dogs!). There were dance classes practicing, runners, group Tai Chi sessions, musicians playing. We then walked home via the length of the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.

    A good solid 20,000 steps today. Dinner was another konbini delight, before joining an almost three hours zen workshop at the hostel. Run by a dude called Zane, who moved to Japan ten years ago, the workshop was in three parts. A 10-minute zen meditation, a session on learning the basics of calligraphy on washi paper (respect to all talented calligraphers), and we then made matcha tea and had the basics of a tea ceremony explained to us. We ended up being relaxed by meditation, frustrated by calligraphy although our eternity kanji symbol looked reasonably ok to the untrained eye I thought 🤔. Doing a bit of calligraphy on washi was great because we are booked into a washi paper-making workshop during our hike next week.

    Workshop was brilliant, but sad to say neither Gabby nor I were fans of the matcha tea. But regardless, a very pleasant way to end the day.    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025
    Konbini breakfast
    Train to KyotoShrine at the end of the market street1The pet shop looked like you were adopting a child.Pontocho StreetThe last of the autumn leavesMaple leavesLynette imitating stupid influencer pictures looking wistfully into the distanceKonbini dinner in the hostelWatching kids baseball gameThe gardensOur fabulous hostel4Our attempt at calligraphy

    Osaka to Kyoto

    6 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Our first breakfast at a konbini under our belt (good coffee, less than average croissant and inconveniently over-packaged banana), we were on one of several train transfers required to make it to Kyoto. We luckily found ourselves given a bum steer by an overly helpful train assistant which put us on the milk run train. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we saw people shoved in like sardines on the express train on other platforms, even on a Saturday morning, which just wouldn't have worked for us and our backpacks. As it turned out, we had spacious train carriages with a seat the whole way, and it only took about 20 minutes longer.

    We arrived at the Piece Hostel Sanjo which was a recommendation from Craig from earlier this year. Our room was ready early, so we were able to dump our bags and head off to explore.

    Right around the corner were the Nishiki Markets, so we did some reconnaissance and found somewhere to eat which included a little side arcade with tables and stools. Tempura vege rice bowl, very filling! The market ended with the first of what has turned out to be a LOT of temples and shrines. We then wandered in the direction of the Kamo River and came across Pontocho Alley with lots of traditional buildings, so we headed down there. Crossing the river, we walked towards the Heian Jingu Shrine and gardens but on the way stumbled across a bric-a-brac market in a large park and loads of people playing their Saturday afternoon sport, so we stayed for a bit to watch what looked like the under 12s baseball match. A peaceful meandering through the gardens punctured by the occasional murderous grunting from somewhere nearby, which turned out to be a kendo session in progress.

    We started to head back following the river, which was well patronised by locals and tourists alike. Lots of overly dressed dogs (as in, the dogs seemed to be wearing way too many clothes for... well... dogs!). There were dance classes practicing, runners, group Tai Chi sessions, musicians playing. We then walked the length of the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.

    A good solid 20,000 steps today. Dinner was a konbini delight, before joining an almost three hours zen workshop at the hostel. Run by a dude called Zane, who moved to Japan ten years ago, the workshop was in three parts. A 10-minute zen meditation, a session on learning the basics of calligraphy on washi paper (respect to all talented calligraphers), and we then made matcha tea and had the basics of a tea ceremony explained to us. We ended up being relaxed by meditation, frustrated by calligraphy although our eternity kanji symbol looked reasonably ok to the untrained eye I thought 🤔. Doing a bit of calligraphy on washi was great because we are booked into a washi paper-making workshop during our hike next week.

    Workshop was brilliant, but sad to say I am not a fan of matcha tea. I am not a fan of tea generally, but had hoped to find my tribe in matcha tea. Alas, that was not to be. Zen.

    Photos to follow...    Läs mer

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  • Japan 2025

    Brisbane to Osaka

    5 december 2025, Japan ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    After battling with an extraordinary number of cars trying to get into the international airport, we made it to the airport for the flight to Japan. Thanks Paul for the chauffeur service! Jetstar self check-in was chaotic to say the least and Lynette and I (and many others) were afflicted with a similar inability to scan our passports! We didn't realise the scanning lurgy was going to plague us the rest of the day. Our packs are super light at just 8kg each, plus about 4kg for our day packs. We are travelling lean!

    Bottles of water, coffee and almond croissant (for me) purchased and we settled in to wait for departure.

    We left a bit late but the flights was uneventful and we arrived only a little later than expected. I passed the time on the flight with two of the longest movies in recent history, each well over three hours. Getting through all the check-in points to exit the airport was relatively painless despite a few more scanning difficulties. I ran into a colleague from work, so we chatted whilst waiting for Lynette's bag to eventually arrive.

    Cash was then extracted, travel card topped up and train platform identified. Slight panic then ensued when Lynette realised she had left her day pack at the rail pass machine and had to dash out of the railway station area to reclaim it. The pack was just where she had left it courtesy of Japanese honesty! Of course, every visitor has just handed over their fingerprints on the way into the country, so you'd be foolish to attempt any crime. 🙂

    We took a train one long stop to the mainland and navigated our way to our accommodation, Hotel Star Gate which was quite literally metres from the station. We were given a premium suite on the 48th floor, just 5 down from the top. It all looks a bit swish, with bathrobes and slippers and a plethora of free stuff in the bathroom. Very comfy beds and just enough pillows for me... Three instead of my usual five, but I coped.

    Tomorrow's challenge: take four trains to get to Kyoto.    Läs mer

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  • Japanese Journeys
    Ready to fly
    View from Star Gate Hotel, Kansai AirportLooking at Osaka

    Day 1-Brisvegas to Osaka

    5–6 dec. 2025, Japan ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    After battling with an extraordinary number of cars trying to get into the international airport, Paul dropped Gabby and I off this morning for our ✈️ to Japan. Jetstar self check-in was chaotic to say the least and Gabby and I discovered a similar inability to scan our passports! Fortunately, we got there in the end. Our packs were the lightest I have ever travelled with, weighing in at just 8kg each (plus a couple of kg for our day bags).

    Bottles of water, coffee and almond croissant (for one of us, not naming any names, Gabby) purchased and we settled in to wait for departure.

    We left a bit late but ✈️ was uneventful and we arrived only a little later than expected. Getting through all the check-in points to exit the airport was relatively painless, in the end, although I was a bit worried my luggage had not followed us to Japan when Gabby's appeared almost immediately and mine just, didn't.... Until it did, and then all was right with the world.

    Cash was then extracted from a dit-dat machine, rail pass was purchased with the cash we just extracted, train platform was identified. Slight panic then ensued when I realised I had left my day bag at the rail pass machine and had to dash out of the railway station area to reclaim bag (disconcerting the staff and getting a lesson on how to properly scan your pass to exit on the way!!). Bag was fortunately just were I had left it - thank goodness for Japanese honesty!!

    Anyways, we then took a train one (quite long) stop to the mainland and navigated our way to our accommodation, Hotel Star Gate (no relation to the tv/movie franchise, disappointingly). We were given a premium suite on the 48th floor, just 5 down from the top,. It all looks a bit swish, with bathrobes and slippers and a plethora of free stuff in the bathroom. Very comfy beds and hopefully enough pillows for Gabby....

    Tomorrow's challenge - work out how to use a Japanese bidet!! Oh, and the four different trains we have to use to get to Kyoto....    Läs mer

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaResenär
    Airport lounging
    Excited dog and humanOn home soilJoy

    Travelling home

    5–6 jan. 2024, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Early start with a very smooth return of the rental cars. Even the luggage check in was almost instantaneous so our last croissant and coffee in Austria before the flight to Doha. Qatar Airways is excellent!

    We were all eager to cuddle our very excited Callie girl again, and Rubes even made a show of being mildly interested in our return.

    The wrap up...

    Austria never fails to deliver. Great to see 50% of our au pairs again. Croatia was a great country to visit, but I am not sure we would have liked it as much during the peak tourist season even though the incredible azure and clear water would have so inviting. Dubrovnik was a highlight and deserves its reputation. The cats were surprisingly fun to spot and pat. No dodgy accommodation although each had its quirks. No real food highlights as such, but still some excellent meals along the way. Great to see a little bit of snow. The roads were excellent to drive on. Did not need much in the way of cash.

    I sleep with five pillows and even took my body pillow with me. This trip we did not encounter one stupid European pillow, but we still didn't find a single good pillow. Not a fan of the split doona system (still). And, how amazing is it that in October 2005 Craig and I managed to buy the best mattress in the whole wild world?

    Now on to planning the next thing to look forward to!    Läs mer

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  • Gabrielle IngramVienna & CroatiaResenär

    Zagreb to Vienna

    3 januari 2024, österrike ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We set off on our journey back to Vienna to catch the plane home tomorrow. We are staying in a hotel right near the Airport as we have a 5.45am start tomorrow to drop the cars back before checking in at 6am for a 9am flight. Our last meal more or less matched our first in Austria with a twist. We had a schnitzel variation with cordon bleu. Otherwise, the rest of the evening was spent getting the bags repacked so everything fits in!Läs mer

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