Himeji, home to half a million people, is often a day trip or a stopover between Kyoto (or Osaka or Kobe) and Hiroshima. Himeji is most famous for its wooden castle (covering over 350 acres) which is widely considered to be Japan’s best and most beautiful surviving feudal castle. Also known as White Heron Castle (Shirasagijo) or White Egret Castle (Hakurojo). For nearly 700 years, the castle has survived war, earthquake, or fire. It even survived the World War II…
Okayama (often called the “Land of Sunshine”) is a major transportation hub where the Shinkansen connects with they only train connection to the island of Shikoku. Its climate is warm enough throughout the year to grow olive trees. The major attractions include Okayama Castle and Korakuen. Okayama Castle: Constructed in 1597 and destroyed by bombing in World War II; it was reconstructed in 1966. Korakuen: one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Built in 1700 and reached its modern form in 1863….
From Hiroshima, we did a side trip to Onomichi (about an hour train ride, using a combination of Shinkansen and local train, with a transfer at Fukuyama); this town is best known for the start or end point of the Shimanami Kaido Bike Path (over 70 km biking route with 7 bridges across 6 islands on the Seto Inland Sea between the main islands of Shikoku and Honshu). Surprisingly, a day trip isn’t enough. We managed to see only a…
There is more to Hiroshima than its tragic war history. With seven rivers, there are many riverside walks and bridges to discover. We also enjoy walking through the neighborhood alleys and observing the daily activities of the local people. For us, it is not just the attractions but also the slice of life (for example, grocery shopping in a neighborhood green grocer or eating in a small mom-and-pop cafe where we are often the only foreign visitors) that leaves lasting…
Hiroshima needs no introduction to most people. History made sure of it. This city was the first military target of a nuclear weapon in human history. It occurred on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am. Most of Hiroshima was destroyed, and by the end of the year 200,000 had died as a result of the blast and its effects. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) serves as a memorial of the bombing. Though it has a sad history, there are…
In our previous trip to Japan, we did a few spontaneous side trips that were not planned. And we often ended up enjoying the day and seeing a bit of the local life. Since our arrival on March 8th, the weather has been fantastic with temperatures (‘C) in high teens and low twenties. Most days were sunny and clear. Here is our spontaneous side trip out of Fukuoka to a coastal town of Karatsu, about 50 km west. The train…
Ohori Park is a large public city park (constructed between 1926 and 1929) in central Fukuoka with a large pond at its centre. Ohori is Japanese for large moat. The park is designed after the classical garden stop the West Lake of Hangzhou in China. The nearby attractions (some adjacent) to the park includes the Fukuoka Art Museum, Ohori Park Japanese Garden, Gokuku Shrine, and Fukuoka Castle Ruins. There are peony, rose, wisteria, plum blossom, and cherry blossom gardens too. There…
Hakata Old Town is a historic area where our hotel is located. What a contrast! The ability to merge a busy and modern area around Hakata Station and business district with a great place for a peaceful stroll consisting of old buildings, ancient temples, narrow alleyways, and hideaway food places (if you blink, you already miss the entrances of eateries—often, you don’t even notice it is there). We will let the photos speak for themselves with a few captions here and…
Why did we begin our trip in Fukuoka, the nearest point among Japan’s main islands to Asia mainland (and it is closer to Seoul than to Tokyo)? Convenience and weather. More than 90 direct flight are available between the city and Tokyo. There is a direct train from the airport to the city’s main transportation hub and we could be in our hotel in less than 15 minutes. And the weather tends to be warmer in southern Japan earlier in…
Our time in Tokyo was brief. Time to head to Fukuoka, Kyushu island’s largest city, in southern Japan. We decided to fly and work our way back to Tokyo by train. Two hour flight from the other Tokyo’s international airport, Haneda. We got the opportunity to see how their domestic airport works. Sad to say that they are miles ahead of Canadian airports in term of efficiency. At the self-served check-in counter, we just need to insert the credit card…