Our original plan for our first full day in Kyoto was to relax and decompress. It was a weekend during foliage season, meaning all of the tourist spots with fall colors would be crazy-busy. The day before, I suggested maybe we should do something in Osaka or Nara to get more value out of our […]
It’s been a while since the last installment of our Japan Fall & Winter Trip Report, but we pick up from our Miyajima installment with our other days in Hiroshima. Our first night in Hiroshima, we did some work before heading to downtown for dinner, walking to a place called Sushitei Kamiyacho. This was among the […]
Konnichiwa from Japan! During our trip, we made stops at Mount Fuji, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Osaka before arriving in Kyoto. We’ve already posted photo-heavy installments of this trip report from Tokyo through Nagoya, and will have the other parts of the report soon. (Last updated January 24, 2018.) This post basically just functions as a […]
As Japan’s “cultural capital,” Kyoto has no shortage of things to do and places to see. Its temples and shrines alone number over 1,600, with a dozen of those being UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Its allure goes far beyond the spiritual, with Kyoto offering so much that you could spend months here without experiencing all […]
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 […]