On our way back to Tokyo we stopped on one of the road stops between Osaka & Nagoya. I love high way stops in Japan because the little shops frequently sell unique wagashi and other souvenirs. This stop was especially cute as it had it’s own Tankuki Ninja mascot. I loved them so much I had to get a little…
I’ve debated for quite awhile on whether I should write this post. It’s nothing serious; it’s just that by the time we got to Osaka I hit my travel low. For me this means that I basically got a bit sick of taking pictures and documenting everything or even exploring to some degree so visually there is very little to…
This might be hard to believe but I’ve actually not visited Fushimi Inari Taisha ( 伏見稲荷大社 ) before. I did plan it in on our last visit to Kyoto but at the time, the day before I was gonna go, I ended up with a leg injury so I decided to scrap that as it would have been hard to…
Japan Autumn 2019: Lake Biwa Shirahige Shrine, Kyoto Mameshiba Cafe + why I am wary of tourist activities involving animals
March 19, 2021I saw Lake Biwa from the bus window on a previous trip to Japan and it really captivated me with its vastness and how blue the water was, almost blending in with the color of the sky on the horizon. So I pulled out my phone to pin this dreamy place on google maps and promised my self to go…
Our last stop in Takayama was the Hida Folk Village (飛騨の里, Hida no Sato). I really wanted to see Shirakawa–go this trip but Dan was getting a bit restless travelling outside of the bigger cities so we decided to skip that this time around (who would have known that we would not be able to return to Japan due to…
While in Takayama we decided to also step by the Showa Museum. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect of it but I was pleasantly surprised at how fun and interesting this place was. The museum presents displays, objects & memorabilia dedicated to the Showa period (1926–1989). Walking through the museum evokes feelings of nostalgia to a time you have…
We had arrived in our hotel in the mountains about half hour away from Hida-Takayama in the late evening hours. We stayed at Nakao Kogen Hotel Kazaguruma ,which is the first hotel I just cannot recommend. It looked like good value as the price per night was relatively low with good reviews but ultimately I regret giving this place a…
It was getting dark very quickly once we left Takasaki for Matsumoto. By the time we got at our Ryokan it was already pretty late at night. We stayed at Asama Onsen Tamanoyu. It was our first time staying at a Ryokan; the staff at the frot desk was very friendly, professional and spoke excellent English. They informed us about…
Our next stop on our way to Matsumoto was a temple in Takasaki (Gunma Prefecture) known as the birthplace of the famous Daruma dolls: The Syorinzan Darumaji (達磨寺 縁起だるま). Unfortunately we arrived at the site quite late and didn’t get to see much of the city. I’m hoping to come back to Takasaki on one of our future trips to…
On our way to Matsumoto we decided to stop by the famous Tokyo’ “Lucky Cat” Temple in Setagaya. An absolute must visit for cat lovers! It’s quite a ways away from most of Tokyo’s top tourist spots so it’s often skipped by overseas tourists. It was a rainy day with not many visitors around. We parked our car near the…