Nara is the perfect destination for a day trip from Osaka or Kyoto on your trip to Japan. As a former capital of Japan, Nara has a rich cultural heritage. For a traveler, Nara has lots to offer in a day trip to Nara with beautiful temples, one of the world’s largest Buddhas a lively deer Read More …
Koyasan is the founding location of Shingon Buddhism in Japan. A priest then known as Kukai and posthumously referred to as Kobo Daishi (The Grand Master Who Propagated the Buddhist Teaching,) learned the esoteric ways of Shingon Buddhism in China before traveling to Japan in 816 and getting approval from Emperor Saga to build a mountain Read More …
After spending the day exploring UNESCO’s Iwami Ginzan silver mine we piled back in the car and drove to Onomichi. The plan was to drive across the famous Shimanami Kaido bridge. Truth is the bridge is a series of 10 bridges and among them is the world’s longest series of suspension bridges, and the world’s second Read More …
Iwami Ginzan is a tiny mining village tucked into the Shimane prefecture on Honshu, Japan’s main island. The mine and surrounding Omori Town were inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007 and are well worth your visit! The best way to get to Iwami Ginzan is driving yourself since it is quite remote. Read More …
Japanese food is absolutely delicious and I was fortunate enough to sample dozens of different foods during my 2 weeks in Japan. Therefore, I have made this Japanese food guide for you so that you never miss a thing about traditional Japanese food. According to Japan-Talk, Japan has 30 different types of restaurants with a wide variety of choices. Read More …
After a day of walking around Matsue we hopped into Andrew’s car and ventured towards Izumo. Izumo Taisha is famous throughout Japan as one of the oldest Shinto shrines. In fact, the records of its founding were lost eons ago so many believe it to be the oldest shrine in all of Japan. Japan’s Oldest Shrine Read More …
After Matsuyama Andrew and I drove through Kochi to pick up his buddy David (a Welshman) before driving north to pick up Tobias (a Kiwi) in Okayama rounding out our international group at 4 so we could drive to Matsue. The drive across Shikoku was quite beautiful taking us through mountains and massive tunnels, some Read More …
Matsuyama Castle was voted as Japan’s 2nd best castle by Trip Advisor in 2014 and my recent visit confirms that its still awesome! I flew into Matsuyama to meet my college buddy Andrew who’s been teaching in Japan for the last 4 years. Matsuyama boasts to be the oldest original castle in Japan with original construction Read More …
Shinkansen to Tokyo After spending the weekend in Shimanto City made our way to Tokyo for a 48-hour stay. My travel buddies Susan and Steph joined me for what would be a LONG train ride, the first 5 hours of gorgeous rivers, forests and ocean views were on a standard train before we were able to Read More …
My co-workers Susan, Steph and I decided to head to Japan for this Chuseok’s (Korean Thanksgiving) long weekend. We stopped for the night in Tokyo before flying to Kochi where my college teammate Andrew picked us up for a 2 hour drive to Shimanto, a remote town where he has lived and taught English for Read More …
