Travel experiences across the world
Today we left our apartment in Tokyo and took the shinkansen to Kyoto! It wasn't one of the really fast ones though, it felt like it had a lot of stops on the way...This time I managed to look out the window and see the scenery change. The landscape began very urban while we were… Continue reading Gion and Pontocho
Our last day in Tokyo! After walking up and down the city for about five days, two and a half hours sitting down tomorrow in the shinkansen sound pretty good right now!We decided to start the day with a good dose of culture and hopped on the Yamanote line to go to Ueno, on the… Continue reading Ueno and Shinjuku
There was nothing I wanted for today than to spend the day blissfully walking from one ancient temple with breathtaking landscapes to another, and that's exactly what I got! It was overcast and noticeably cooler than yesterday, but it was still very nice to walk around.We went to Tokyo Station and took the train there… Continue reading Temple-Hopping in Kamakura
So our plan to spend this beautiful, sunny day in Kamakura went out the window when the airline failed to deliver our luggage yesterday, after we spent all afternoon stuck in the apartment. After two excruciating phone calls with customer service, in Japanese as well as English, we discovered that the deliverymen had actually visited...… Continue reading The Ginza Experience
Save for a couple of jetlagged awakenings, I had a good night's sleep and woke up to blue skies, the shining sun, and a glorious 17°C. Back to the suitcase with the winter clothes!Today's plan was to do a tour of Tokyo's fashion hub around Harajuku. We had a very early start because I wanted… Continue reading Tokyo Fashion Tour
I'm on the road again! As you probably know, ever since I first came to Japan three years ago I've been looking for an excuse to come back. When my mom said she wanted to go, I took the chance to volunteer my services as a guide and here we go!Last time I came here… Continue reading Japan, Round Two
So I had to do the whole bus/cable car/train combination again, and it felt decidedly longer this time around. Eventually I arrived in Namba Station at about noon.I am so proud of the prescience I showed when I booked the Dotonbori Hotel. I had a vision that by this point in the trip I would… Continue reading Osaka: Last day in Japan
Last night I took Ekoin's night-time tour of Okunoin, Koya-san's famous cemetery and Unesco World Heritage Site. It was a good idea to leave my own visit to the cemetery until after taking the tour, as I later had a better idea of the history of the place as I walked on my own. It… Continue reading Okunoin
So! Time to travel! I woke up early this morning to bid farewell to Kyoto, say goodbye to Liza and begin the journey to Mt. Koya (or Koya-san in Japanese). Koya is a small sacred town, 820 m high in the mountains, notable for being in essence the birthplace of Japanese Buddhism. I was dreading… Continue reading Koya-san
Today was my last day in Kyoto, so it's been pretty much a day of tying up loose ends. On the one hand, I felt pretty satisfied of having seen the most important landmarks, and on the other, I was a bit tired of temple-hopping (especially as I'm leaving tomorrow to stay at a temple),… Continue reading Last day in Kyoto
This Is A Lake 