Ninnaji Temple (仁和寺) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northwest Kyoto, Japan. It’s one of the few high-profile with free admission to the grounds, and it’s near popular spots in Arashiyama. In this post, I’ll share photos I took at Ninnaji, info & tips for visiting, history of the temple, and thoughts on our […]
As soon as we decided we’d venture west to Hiroshima on our Japan trip, it was a foregone conclusion that we’d visit Miyajima Island. Even if that name doesn’t ring a bell, you might be familiar with Miyajima. On photo sharing sites, Pinterest travel bucket lists, or “beautiful places” type of lists, the floating torii gate […]
Hasedera (長谷寺, Hase Kannon Temple), is located south of Tokyo, Japan on Mount Kamakura with an ocean view. It’s home to a giant statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. In this post, we’ll share our photos from Hasedera, thoughts about visiting this temple, and general info about it. In terms of Hasedera Temple’s history, […]
As we concluded our last week in Kyoto with a forecast calling for snow, it only feels fitting that I’d finally get around to writing about our first week here for fall colors season. I guess the emphasis should’ve been on ish when I wrote that this would be a live-ish trip report. 😉 With a full month in […]
Nagoya was not our first or second choice for this leg of our Japan trip. Originally, we wanted to visit Sapporo. (“We” in this case is me; while willing to go, I think Sarah is perfectly fine on not visiting places where it snows. Unless they have monkeys…and these places all do.) We nixed Sapporo […]
Osaka, Japan’s Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum (the “Cup Noodles Museum”) is a magical place dedicated to all things ramen. It’s a place that allows you to jump into the production process of instant noodles, and learn about the history of the Cup Noodles as well as its creator, Momofuku Ando. In this post, we’ll […]
For our second day Japan’s Fuji Five Lakes region, we got up early to catch the first bus to Lake Kawaguchi. It’s been a while since I posted Day 1 of our Mount Fuji Trip Report, but you can read that here. Now that fall colors season is winding down in Kyoto, I’m no longer racing […]
Tofukuji Temple, particularly the valley below Tsutenkyo Bridge, is one of the best spots for fall colors in Japan. In terms of its autumn foliage, it’s not just a top spot in Kyoto (and it is), but the entirety of Japan. Perhaps even the world. In this post, we’ll cover our experiences at Tofukuji Temple, share […]
During Japan’s fall colors season, you can visit Genkyuen Garden in the evenings for its autumn illumination. In this post, we’ll share photos from this annual November event, thoughts on the experience, and whether it’s worth your time and money. By way of background, Hikone is a small city near Lake Biwa, the largest lake in […]
After wanting to visit Mount Fuji many times over the course of our last several trips to Japan, we finally decided to make it happen this time. The key considerations were Fuji Five Lakes region versus Hakone (Lake Ashi) and whether to do a day-trip or spend a couple of nights at Mount Fuji. There […]