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  • Ceri Chaplin
mar. – abr. 2024

Japan

Heading further East than I've ever been! Leer más
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    25 de marzo de 2024
    Ceri ChaplinJapanViajero

    A confusing day!

    25 de marzo de 2024, Inglaterra ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Our first day was confusing and pretty much consisted of travelling. It was a 3:45 a.m. alarm call to catch the shuttle to the airport in Manchester for our first hop to London. That all went without a hitch.

    We boarded our flights to Tokyo on time via a bus but then sat around for about an hour while the engineers fixture minor fault and offloaded some cargo. We eventually left at around 10:00 a.m. about 1 hour late.

    We spent the rest of the day and overnight heading east and landed on Tuesday morning about 13 hours after we left London to a wet and rainy Tokyo.    Leer más

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    Streets in Golden GaiTsunahachiOne step up from the European restaurants that have photo menus...Kimpton Shinjuku1Bath with a view?1Not the best view, but it could be worse1

    Tokyo, day 1

    26 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    After a bit of a queue for immigration (and Ed being questioned about his passport... Seemingly linked to the ones that we had stolen in Barcelona) we took some advice and caught the airport limousine (coach) to Shinjuku, the area that we are staying. Most of the journey was underground in a long tunnel! We eventually emerged into the open not far from the station.

    We got off the bus and walked, in the rain, the 15 minutes to our hotel, arriving at around 10.30am. Unfortunately our room was not available and so we left our bags and wandered back to the station area! It seems that almost everyone in Japan owns an umbrella. ☂️☔

    We explored the area for a little bit before stopping at an old pre war building for some food. The restaurant saw us sitting watching the chef cook the food and alongside tempura battered prawns we also had tempura battered vegetables, rice and some odd soupy things (which was tricky to eat with chopsticks!)

    By the time we finished it was still only 12.15 and so we found a bar to have a couple of beers in... Order at your table here! By now it was almost 2 and we were both flagging because of the long flight and sleepless couple of days. Do we walked back to the hotel and had a quick drink whilst the room was finished.

    Eventually, at around 2.30 we had a message to say that the room was ready and so we checked in to our upgraded room.

    We decided to have a nap and set an alarm for 4.30 so that we had time to wake, get showered and head to the 'social' that takes place each night. The alarm went off and it's fair to say that we were confused. Ed said that he'd realised that we'd missed the social 'last night' until I pointed out that he'd only been asleep for just over an hour.

    Anyway, we both had a shower to eat wake us up. Once done we took the lift to the 16th floor for some wine and canapes. This finished just after 6 and as we were both tired we decided to eat some of the room snacks and have an early night ready for the day ahead!    Leer más

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    Tokyo, day 2, part 1

    27 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Despite an early night, sleep wasn't great and so we were awake early!

    Breakfast of muesli and a Japanese omelette along with a bacon joint and sausage was gratefully received before we headed out at 8am for our first tour.

    We walked the 15 minutes to Shinjuku station to meet our tour at 8.20. we arrived at the station and eventually managed to get the guides to understand that we wanted to join the tour early!

    The first stop, once we started the tour, was at the Imperial palace. We stopped and walked past a Shogun on a horse before seeing the double bridge in front on the main palace grounds. We couldn't go into the palace itself as it is only open for a couple of days per year.

    On returning to the bus we drove to the Tokyo tower. This is an old TV transmission tower which resembles the Blackpool tower but painted red. The tour included a trip up to the observation deck of the 330m high tower although the deck itself was 'only' about 150m high. The views of Tokyo were amazing and we were really lucky to be able to see Mount Fuji, which is only usually visible on a few days per month.    Leer más

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    1Not something I expected to see in JapanJust a few small buds out so far!

    Tokyo, day 2, part 2

    27 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Next stop was the old temples at Asakusa. It was very very busy and we saw the temple which had been mostly reconstructed after being destroyed in world war II. We left the tour at this point and wandered the very busy streets to arrive at the tourist information centre which we climbed 8 floors for great views on the Tokyo Skytree.

    The Skytree was our destination for later in the day though and in the meantime we caught a train to Ueno Park where there is supposed to be cherry blossom at this time of year but, due to a recent cold snap the blossom has been delayed.

    The park was also busy and clearly ready to engineer cherry blossom visitors with pathways set out with lanes to keep the visitors moving. There was also a street entertainer with a monkey which I didn't really expect to see in Japan. We didn't stop to watch the show though!

    It was soon time to head to the Tokyo sky tree!    Leer más

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    1
    1112

    Tokyo day 2, part 3

    27 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We took the metro to the Skytree and spent ages trying to find the entrance. We could see that we needed to change our voucher for a ticket at 4pm so had a quick cheap meal of noodles in the food court of the Skytree complex. They were delicious although it will take a bit more practice to eat noodles with chopsticks!

    We arrived at the entrance to the Skytree at 3.45 and despite having skip the line tickets, found ourselves in a 30 minute queue to get the tickets. More queues later and we were at the first of the upper decks at 350m. The views were spectacular although sadly by now Mount Fuji was shrouded in cloud.

    We waited in another queue to visit the upper level at 450m high. (The Skytree is the new telecoms tower and, apparently, the tallest tower in the world.)

    After finishing viewing the sights e caught the lost back down and then a metro back to the hotel which took almost an hour. By the time we arrived back at the station or was dark.

    At the hotel we had a quick break before heading out for a drink or two and some food in Shinjuku. This was the Tokyo I expected to see with bright neon lights and lots and lots of people.

    Many of the bars in the Golden Gai area are small (and a little bit seedy) but we had an enjoyable evening with dinner Japanese style tapas and beers before walking back to the hotel for a night cap in the room. No wonder my legs felt tired after 24,000 Stroud and almost 13 miles walked!    Leer más

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    Tsukiji Honganji111War memorial1It's busy!1Sake tasting1A nice spot for some lunch

    Tokyo, day 3 - Fish market walking tour

    28 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After breakfast we left the hotel and caught the subway to a station to meet a small group walking tour of the old fishmarket area, a cluster of small roads which when we walked amongst them were heaving with many of the places to eat (on the street) having long queues!

    The tour started at 11 when we met our guide. The first stop was a Buddhist temple, Tsukiji Honganji. We heard how it had been rebuilt a couple of times. The inside was the usual temple style with bright gold decoration.

    Next week moved on and spent the next hour or so wandering the crowded streets with the guide as he pointed out various stalls selling all sorts of food and quite a lot of tat! Along the way we tried some samples including sake (very nice) and grilled eel (not so nice!). The wholesale fish market moved a few years ago but the area remains very popular with locals and tourists alike!

    At around 12.30 we stopped for lunch at a small place and whilst the food was delicious, neither Ed or me were very hungry after a large breakfast!

    After lunch we walked to one of the many tall buildings and went up to the 46th floor for a birds eye view of the area. It was clear to see the large area left by the demolition of the old fishmarket but sadly far views were not amazing as it was quite misty.

    The tour ended here and Ed and I stayed at the top for a beer and to regroup.    Leer más

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    2No, we're not in NYC!1

    Tokyo day 3 - part 2

    28 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Our next stop saw us catching the underground and heading to Shibuy... mainly famous for the incredibly busy crossing at the crossroads of four roads.

    Having watching the hoardes cruising the road we headed back to Shinjuku for a beer in a bar we'd been into previously. The bar had an automatic ordering system using tablets on each table.

    Next, record the subway to Tokyo station and eventually navigated our way out of the shopping centre complex. We managed to get some pretty photos of the station in the dark before finding our meeting point for our bus and meal tour.

    The tour was supposed to be a trip around Tokyo viewing the cherry blossom but sadly due to a cold snap, the sakura hasn't yet made a real appearance. Added to that was the fact that it started to rain.

    The bus tour itself was there for a bit of a disappointment and whilst the meal that we had was presented very well, it probably wasn't to hour tastes if we're honest. So the idea and concept was good but the reality was a little bit different. There were some lovely panoramic views of Tokyo at night from the other side of the bay where bizarrely, there is also a statue of liberty.

    The tall finished just after 9. :00 and we made our way back to our hotel to recap on the day's activities.    Leer más

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    1Do it yourself
    111Mount Fuji

    Tokyo to Mount Fuji

    29 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Another fitful night of sleep and winding if I'll ever shake off this jet lag.

    The weather this morning when we woke was wet and very windy... Very similar to what we might have expected at home. The promise though was off better weather in the afternoon.

    Given the weather we decided to have a chilled morning and a slightly later check out before walking from the hotel to Shinjuku station to catch a train to our destination for the next couple of days, Mount Fuji.

    Fortunately, by the time we started walking the rain had stopped, although it was still windy. At the station we bought some tickets for later in the trip and then headed up the platform to catch the train.

    The service was not a bullet train (that will wait for another day) but it was still absolutely on time and spotlessly clean.
    The journey to our first change was just under an hour and at Otuski we changed trains to get a local train to Mount Fuji. Fortunately the weather was better and by the time we arrived.

    We got off the train at an amusement park, complete with roller coasters although we declined to take part! We walked the short distance to our hotel and checked in.. The hotel is clean and tidy but very different to our previous one.

    We walked from the hotel to a viewing point (on top of a shopping centre) of mount Fuji. Next week walked to an area that was highlighted as having bars and restaurants. It would be in understanding to try that it was deserted... It felt very much like an out of season British seaside - nothing was open. So, we decided to walk back to the hotel for a beer before having dinner at the hotel.

    The hotel restaurant is a BBQ affair and we both managed to make a decent effort at cooking.

    Decided to have an early night tonight in the hope that sleep comes easily before a fun packed day in the Mount Fuji area!    Leer más

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    11122

    Mount Fuji - part 1

    30 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    I think we learnt a very important lesson today... Japanese people eat very early... But more of that to come.

    We had an early ish start And went for breakfast which was Japanese style. Now whilst there was some tasty stuff on the platter as is evidenced by the photo, breakfast consisted of a mix of meso soup, green tea, rice, smoked fish and smother plant-based offerings. It wasn't disgusting but equally it wouldn't be my choice for breakfast in the future.

    After breakfast we walked to the train station to catch the one stop to Kowaguchiko. On arriving there we purchased a ticket which allowed us to hop on and hop off a number of buses in the area. We started by taking a bus to the end of the red line and seeing some amazing views of Mount Fuji along with lots of Taurus.

    Next we were back on to the red line service to take us to the ropeway which is the Japanese name for cable car. We queued for about an hour before we actually managed to take the trip up the mountain.

    At the top it was pretty busy and so we decided to walk up the hill further to see a shrine. To be honest it wasn't what we were expecting and so we returned back to the top level before getting a further cable car back down to the lake area.

    We caught another bus back to the town and found a bar for some food and a beer!    Leer más

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    Mount Fuji - part 2

    30 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Next we took a different tourist bus along the lake to the Wind cave which was formed from lava flows. They used to use the cave for storage before freezers came along and there was ice in the cave itself.

    After leaving the cave we transferred to the third tourist line to travel further again to one of the small lakes, Lake Shoji. Here there was another view of Mount Fuji and you could just about make out the reflection of the mountain in the lake.

    We caught the last bus back to Kawaguchiko which took us almost an hour and we arrived just before 6pm. By this time we were thirsty so we found a lovely little bar for a few beers. At around 8pm it was time for food so we left the bar to find some udon noodles, a speciality of the area. This was harder than it should have been. A number of restaurants were already closed and a couple that we passed had signs on saying 'sold out'!.

    Eventually we found a place that was still serving and we ordered tempura chicken and tempura egg! We thought we had ordered noodles too but they brought us the bill. Deciding that we couldn't be bothered to wait we were about to get up when the noodles appeared.

    Having finished food we left the restaurant and waited for a taxi back to our hotel. Eventually we got to the front of the taxi rank and took the relatively short ride back. By now it was getting pretty cold so we were glad to be back.    Leer más

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    31111

    Mount Fuji to Osaka

    31 de marzo de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Today was a bit of a travelling day. I tried a run before breakfast but it was a bit stop start to be honest. Today with managed to order the Western breakfast.

    After this we walked up to the Mount Fuji Highland station and caught the train one stop to Mount Fuji station where we are going to get a coach for the two hour trip back to outer Tokyo.

    In theory we should then have had about 20 minutes to catch our first bullet train of the trip. In reality our bus was late and so we ended up running from where the bus dropped us off through the station and found platform, fortunately, just as the Train was coming in to the station.

    The managed to get on the train and then walked about 8 carriages long to find the seats that we had reserved. The train itself was quite impressive and very smooth and we managed to use an app to see that we were travelling at about 180 mph an hour for much of the journey from Tokyo to Osaka. We cover the 300-ish miles in 2 hours 20 minutes and arrived on time to the second.

    At the station we eventually found the exit and after exchanging our rail vouchers for later in the holiday, we caught the metro a few stops to the main station in Osaka. After some searching, we eventually found the shuttle bus to our hotel where we checked in at about 4pm.

    It turns out that our room is on the 25th floor and has a view of lots of other skyscrapers around. After checking in we went straight to the lounge for afternoon tea and then to the room for a quick shower before heading back out for the evening.

    And what an evening it was! Seven tourists and our guide Taiga... Fistop, we made octopus balls, also called Takoyaki. Next week went to a bar where we drank sake and then we ended up in a more locals bar with lots of drinks. The tour ended and we got home eventually at about 3:30 a.m..    Leer más

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    2

    Osaka - morning after the night before

    2 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    It would be fair to say that I wasn't feeling the best when I woke up. After I eventually managed to get out of bed we went for a long walk through Osaka to find some cherry blossom.

    Eventually after about an hour we came to a park west of the trees had started to blossom, although not universally. We carried on walking and began heading for the meeting point for a walking tour that we had booked in the afternoon.

    Having met up with group, we visited Osaka castle with it's pagoda and moat. Next we got on the subway and went to an area that used to be a bit of a ghetto for Korean expats. After that we were taken to the tallest building in Osaka and what used to be the tallest building in Japan until relatively recently. We went up to about the 20th floor so not for the top and saw some of the views over Osaka.

    Back on to the metro and with visitors an area with lots of games, Japanese archery, slot machines in the like. It felt a bit like Blackpool. We also went into a massive arcade where the music and noise was really loud and where there were rosen rows of Japanese people using ball bearing machines to try to win tokens. (Apparently betting is illegal in Japan but this is one of the ways they have to get around it)

    The final stop on the tour took us back to Dotombori, the area we had been in the previous evening. It was just as busy but it was interesting to see some of the bright lights, building decorations and general vibe in the daytime.

    The tour ended at about 5:30 and we had a quick beer before heading back to the hotel. Once we got back we went to the lounge for canopies and a glass or two of wine.    Leer más

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    11Maybe time for an update1Very sweet!1The old factory, now a hotel and craft shop111We ended up eating here later!111Cherry blossom!1

    Kurashiki

    3 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Today we travelled from Osaka to Kurashiki, about 100 miles away and further west. First pass, the journey was on the bullet train and then we transferred to a local train for the last 20 minutes.

    We made the short walk from the station to our hotel but as it was still only about 11:00 a.m. we couldn't actually check in so instead we left our bags and went for a wander.

    A hotel is right next to the old quarter of Kurashiki so very convenient for the sightseeing. The main thing to see here is the old District which has been preserved and is full of white and black houses with a grey roof. We spent a couple of hours wandering around before it was time to meet up for the tour that we had booked.

    It turned out that we were the only two on the tour which was led by a 9th generation resident of the area and a translator as his English wasn't good enough to do the tour on his own. There's also a third person who was learning the ropes of translation.

    We spent an interesting couple of hours with him and the translator where he explained to us some of the history of the area and we visited the temple and shrine. Much of Kurashiki made its money on cotton and there is a plethora of denim shops in the old town. We saw the old factory, which looked very similar to some of the factories you'd see in Britain from the period with red bricks. We were told that the machinery and the engineers to install and maintain had been brought from England.

    After the tour we came back to the hotel and checked in. The room was big but a little bit tired but did the job as we're only staying one night.

    By now. It was around 5:00 p.m. so we went back out and found a bar for a drink or two and then walked back into the old town to have some yakitori which is chicken on skewers. Then it was back to hotel for a review of the day.    Leer más

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    Afternoon tea
    11111

    Hiroshima - day 1

    3 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We had an earliest breakfast at the hotel and then caught a taxi to the station at Kurashiki because it was absolutely pouring down with rain.

    We used the local train to go back to okama and then back on the Shinkansen for the 40 minute trip to Hiroshima.

    It was still raining heavily and we caught the tram along for about 10 minutes to get to our hotel. Despite it being only 10:30 we were able to check in. After setting ourselves in Wii, walk the 5 minutes along the peace boulevard to the Hiroshima peace park. We decided that with the rain being so heavy we'd start with the memorial museum. That was a very, very long queue but it seemed to go quite quickly and after about 40 minutes we were inside.

    The museum itself was very busy, but despite that you got a sense of the atmosphere and the horrific scenes immediately and longer term after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

    The museum is dedicated to also calling for the complete eradication of atomic weapons and you can see why having spent time looking at some of the artefacts and pictures and stories from the time.

    We walked back to our hotel trying to avoid the worst of the rain and had a drink before heading to The lounge for afternoon tea. It was still raining heavily and so we decided to retreat to a bar for a few drinks before going back to hotel for some snacks and drinks in the lounge.

    We had a relatively early night and reviewed photos and our activities from the day.    Leer más

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    Paper cranesMemorial to the Korean victimsChildren's peace memorial

    Hiroshima - day 2 - part 1 - peace park

    4 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    The weather today was much better and after a morning run and breakfast we walked back to peace park to see the sights. There are a number of memorials throughout the park and we saw the memorial cenotaph, with the flame of peace that won't be extinguished until there are no more nuclear weapons in the world.

    We also saw the children's peace monument, the monument to the memory of the Korean victims of the bomb and the peace bell.

    Walking around the park the cherry blossom was also making a fine appearance.    Leer más

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    Shukkei-en parkHiroshima castleA bomb dome

    Hiroshima - day 2, part 2

    4 de abril de 2024, Japón

    We crossed the bridge to view the A bomb dome which remains preserved as it was after the bomb fell at 8.15am on 6th August 1945. The other sights included a couple more museums which described the story of individuals caught up in the events on that day.

    We walked on and passed the spot, 600m above which the bomb was detonated.

    Next up, after a further walk was Hiroshima castle, which was rebuilt following the bomb.

    Our next stop was Shukkei-en, a formal Japanese garden with bridges, islands and plenty of cherry blossom to keep us entertained!    Leer más

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    Okonomiyaki shopMeeting the localsO-torri gate

    Hiroshima - day 2 - part 3 Miyajima

    5 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    By now it was almost 1pm and so we walked to the station to catch a train to Miyajima Guchi to catch the short ferry crossing to Miyajima.

    The main places to see on Miyajima were the O-torri gate and the Itsukushima-jinja temple, a sixth century shrine. We also managed to fit in more cherry blossom, deer viewing and a pint at the Miyajima brewery.

    To get back, we used the high speed passenger boat that took us directly to peace memorial park. From here, we walked into the centre of Hiroshima to have a okonomiyaki at Okonomi-mura, a place with three floors of kitchens selling okonomiyaki. It is cooked on metal plates in front of you. This dish is a speciality of Hiroshima, developed after the war when produce was limited but there was plenty of sheet metal! It consists of a pancake base, cabbage, noodles, seasoning and meat. Delicious.

    Back to the hotel as it was now 5.30pm and after dropping our bags we went up the lounge for evening drinks before moving on to another hotel across the road with a rooftop bar for a couple of nightcaps!    Leer más

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    11Lunch..gyoza's and ramen and beer - all for less than £10!11

    Kyoto - day 1 - afternoon

    5 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We were up for breakfast and out of the hotel by 9 to catch a team to the station for our train journey to Kyoto. The first part of the journey was on The bullet train to Osaka and from there we caught The Thunderbird train to Kyoto.

    At the station we got a bus to the hotel but as it was only midday we were only able to leave our bags. We had a beer while we got our bearings and then took a walk through the streets up to Kyoto Imperial palace park.

    We spent sometime wandering around the massive park but didn't go in the Imperial palace itself. The park was busy with lots of locals and tourists viewing the cherry blossom which by now in Kyoto is in full bloom.

    From the park we walked along and across the river to a metro station where we caught it. A subway 2 stops to the Gion area. Here we walked along the road seemingly against half the world coming the other way in the pavement to Yasaka shrine. This place was very busy with lots of temporary market stalls selling food and trinkets as part of the spring festival. There were also temporary tables set up and locals and visitors alike sitting having food and beers. However, all the tables were reserved and so we didn't stop.

    We wandered around the garden area for the next 45 minutes or so before catching a bus back to the hotel to check in as it was now past 5pm.    Leer más

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    Pokémon drain coverThe oldest cherry tree in KyotoOur hotel room

    Kyoto - day 1 - evening

    5 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    This evening we had a walking tour of the Gion area booked. This is the old area of Kyoto.

    We walked about half an hour to the meeting point and met up with the guide and 9 other people at 8.45pm. The area was really busy with people looking at the sakura at nighttime, all lit up.

    The guide was knowledgeable but a bit useless in that he didn't introduce himself and often didn't wait for everyone to catch up with the group before starting his explanations. We spent the next 2 hours meandering through the Gion District and seeing some temples, a very large Buddha and the streets where the geishas train and decided to come back the following day to see it in the evening.

    The tour finished and we headed to the Pontocho area which are narrow alleys with bars and restaurants. We ended up not stopping and walked towards the hotel before realising we were going in the wrong direction. With tired legs we decided that a taxi would be the best move and after picking up a couple of beers and some snacks we headed back.    Leer más

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    1Big Buddha21Temple bellGardens1Main hallChion-ji entrance

    Kyoto - day 2 - Gion area

    6 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We started the day with a bus ride back to the Gion area. Come here. We walked up the hill to the Chion-in temple that we had seen in the dark last night. The temple complex is very big with a massive central main hall. The entrance gate is also very tall and well over two stories. After looking around the main square area we walked on and explored the temple gardens and the massive temple bell. It was cast in 1633 and is the largest temple bell in Japan and apparently takes 30 monks to chime it.

    Having visited the temple we continue on and so the tallest Buddha in Kyoto which sits on the hillside near that temple.

    We retraced our route that we had seen previous evening in the dark. Only this time the streets were far busier with tourists. The area was pretty with lots of little school shops and street food vendors.

    We continued on past the five story pagoda and back through the streets of Gion where again there were large crowds.

    As it was now after 12 we stopped for some gyoza's before heading to the metro.    Leer más

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    2

    Kyoto - day 2 - Fushimi-Inari-Taisha

    6 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We caught the metro a few stops to Fushimi-Inari. This is a sacred mountain with literary hundreds and hundreds of O-torri gates leading up the mountain.

    It turns out that my orange shirt was a close match to the official colour of the gates which is vermilion and is the symbolic colour of the Shinto sect of Buddhism.

    The start was extremely busy with tourists but we persevered and by the time we reached the top, about an hour later, there were far fewer people getting in the way of photographs!😂

    There were some great views of Kyoto just before the top and then on the way back down we stopped at a viewing area where where were some stalls selling drinks, snacks and ice cream and had a well deserved cold beer! (This is despite a sign much lower down saying that the mountain is a sacred place and good and drink cannot be taken past there! I guess that because it was being sold there the stuff must have been approved! 😉)    Leer más

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    1111111111

    Kyoto - day 2 - Philosopher's path

    6 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Our final visit of the day was to the Path of Philosophy. This meant a metro journey and then a long bus ride in rush hour traffic to get there.

    By the time we arrived it was gone 5pm and so the temples in the area were closed. Nevertheless, we spent a present half hour walking along the path and philosophising! 😂

    The path runs alongside a canal and at this time of year in particular I'd lined with cherry blossom so it was a really pretty walk, punctuated with a refreshment break two thirds of the way along!

    Having walked our feet off we decided to get a taxi back to the hotel where we freshened up before walking back to the Pontocho area for food. We went to a steak place this evening where we had Kobe and Wagyu beef. Sadly there were no chips!

    To end the evening we met up with two of the other people who had been on the bar tour in Osaka, Kayla and Connor. We had a few drinks with them in a bar before walking back to the hotel.    Leer más

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    Bowing deer

    Nara

    7 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Today we caught the train to Nara, about 40 minutes from Kyoto. The weather was warm and we were going to see the historic city along with the deer that bow when you feed them.

    From the railway station we walked to Nara park where all of the main sights are located. Along the way we bought some deer biscuits too feed the deer with.

    First stop was the 5 story pagoda and then we continued our walk through the park. There were lots of deer and some being fed but most of them were clustered under trees resting and looking like they might already have had enough to eat.

    We continued our walk through park and then stopped for some refreshment.

    Next stop was Isui- En, some Japanese gardens before walking along to the Todai-ji temple complex which includes the largest wooden structure in the world.

    Inside the temple was the Largest bronze Buddha in the world.

    Ok exiting we walked back through the park and managed to find some interested deer who wanted to be fed. They did bow before taking the wafer biscuit and eating it.

    From here we stopped at a bar for a couple of beers and then caught the train back to Kyoto.

    For tea we walked about 15 minutes to a gyoza restaurant before heading back to the hotel bar for drinks and cards.    Leer más

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    Kanazawa

    9 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    We caught the evocatively titled Thunderbird train from Kyoto and changed at Tsuraga after an hour or so to a bullet train for the last 45 minutes to Kanazawa. Despite never having previously heard of it, the population is almost half a million! It is also known as the second Kyoto due to the fact that it is the only other place in Japan where they train geisha.

    Our hotel was tight next to the station and after leaving our bags we walked to the main park area of town and Kanazawa-jo,. The castle and surrounding park. Here we see probably the best cherry blossom yet. We wandered around the castle park and then stopped for some food at a local place. They served us jibuni, a local favourite consisting of meat and Japanese vegetables in a thick broth. To be honest it wasn't really to our tastes!

    Next we walked across the road to the Kenroku-en gardens, labelled one of the top three gardens in Japan. We spent an hour or so walking around and saw more cherry blossom along with trees propped up with wooden props to keep their shape!

    Our last stop was the Higashi Cheya area which has lots of old buildings. It was pretty but then it started to rain and so after unsuccessfully trying to catch a bus we got a taxi back to the hotel.

    We had a disappointing club sandwich at the hotel before heading out for some drinks and cards and then coming back to the hotel for bed.    Leer más

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    Sake caipirhinaHot sakeYatai garage!Models of local shrinesYatai floats

    Takayama

    9 de abril de 2024, Japón ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After a leisurely start we walked from the hotel to the coach station next door to catch a bus to Takayama.

    We left Kanazawa at around 11am and the coach had one stop at Shirakawa, a small place known for it's 'A' houses! It was pouring with rain so I stayed on the bus while Ed took a pic!

    The bus continued on and we arrived on time at Takayama just before 1.30pm. the rain had stopped but it was definitely a lot colder. Takayama is in the Japanese Alps and the wind was also biting.

    We walked the short distance to our hotel and left our bags before walking back into the centre of town. Takayama is one of the smaller places that we have visited and doesn't have the high rise buildings of larger cities.

    We stopped at a small place for some food and had a skewer of the local Hida beef along with some Takoyaki and Maitake mushrooms in a soy sauce.

    After food we walked through the pretty twin streets and to an exhibition of the Yatai floats. There are about 23 in total dotted around the town and half are used at a spring festival with the other half being used in autumn, paraded through the streets.

    Next we a visit to Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine, nestled in the hillside. There was also an exhibition of models of the local shrines, built in intricate detail.

    We spent some more time walking through the streets, many of which seemed closed, before stopping at a tiny bar where Ed had a hot sake and I had a sake caiprihiani cocktail!

    On the way back to the hotel we finally found a bustling street with some craft shops on. Back at the hotel we grabbed another layer before having our welcome drink and then walking back into town for some food. All of the restaurants are small and everywhere seemed full so it took us a while, and a stop at a craft beer place before we eventually found somewhere to eat and had chicken skewers (yakitori) song with fried chicken.

    We tried to find a couple of bars that were in the Right Guide, without success so walked back to the hotel for cards in the rooftop bar at the hotel. (It got pretty busy with visitors playing the piano, often badly!)    Leer más

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