So, our first morning in Kawaguchi-ko. Knowing that Mt Fuji is more often seen early in the morning and late at night we set our alarms from 4am, an hour and a bit before sunrise. With our fuji view room we were able to brew some tea and set up the DSLR to take a … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 11 – Kawaguchi-ko pt 2; Fuji Five Lakes
Today was the day to leave Kyoto, after five nights of travelling far and wide each day we headed towards Hachioji, a small area on the Western edge of Tokyo. The only claim to fame for Hachioji is the nearby Mt Takao, a popular hiking spot with a view of Mt Fuji on a clear … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 9 – Hachioji & Mt Takao
On our fourth day in Japan we left the capital to continue our journey across Japan. Unfortunately we left it until the late afternoon to book our shinkansen tickets (using our JR pass) and so all the trains before 10 were fully booked! We did manage to get seats D and E as this is … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 4 – Kyoto
On our last day in Tokyo we activated our 7 day JR Rail Pass- such a bargain! To start our trips outside of Tokyo we headed to Matsumoto to visit Matsumoto castle all the way up in Nagano prefecture. There is no direct train to Matsumoto so we took the shinkansen to Nagano station and … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 3 – Matsumoto
As a summary of our trip in 2013 here is our day to day summary Day 1: Tokyo- Land at 9:30am Narita airport- head to Jimbo-cho to check in and then visit Ueno park, explore Jimbo-cho in the evening Day 2: Tokyo- Asakusa Senso-ji temple, Skytree, Yasukuni shrine in the evening Day 3: Tokyo- Ghibli … Continue reading Japan 2013- Itinerary
For our three day stay in Tokyo we had chosen the popular area of Ueno as our base. From Ueno you have easy access from Narita airport, to shinkansen lines and to some major metro lines too. Plus the park and shopping area offers lots to do and see. We stayed at the Hotel Mystays … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 1 – Tokyo
For the first day of our JR pass we ventured outside of Tokyo to the nearby island of Enoshima. The legend goes that Benten, a goddess is Japanese culture, created the island in order to calm a five headed dragon that had been causing some trouble. The story goes than Benten actually married the dragon … Continue reading Japan 2013: Day 6 – Enoshima and Kamakura
For our final full day in the capital we visited the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. We have both visited here before on our separate trips, but going together felt right. It was possibly the hottest day I had ever experienced in the three Japanese summers I've had- so in hindsight such an open garden may … Continue reading Japan 2013: Day 5 – Tokyo
Although the heat is at times unbearable I do love the Japanese summer. My previous trip in June was less warm, but I really missed the sound of the cicada, it really is the sound of Japan to me. Today, rather than nature or history, our first stop was modern Japanese youth culture with a … Continue reading Japan 2013: Day 4 – Tokyo
Day three was set aside to calm the otaku within, by visiting the Studio Ghibli Museum. I had visited the museum three years before and really loved the quirky architecture, the playful interior and the opportunity to see unreleased footage. The Ghibli museum is in Mitaka, outside of central Tokyo so a portion of the … Continue reading Japan 2013: Day 3 – Tokyo
My Nihon 