Castles, temples and gardens in Japan

Highlight Photos

Highlights Map

Our first visit to Far East Asia is to Japan. Of course it has to be, we always dreamed of visiting the country. We are fascinated by the history, culture and food but also a bit scared of planning a trip in a country with so many attractions and maybe also to drive around. Yes, we are planning to drive around, why not, it gives us a lot more flexibility. In the end we settle on a route starting and ending in Tokyo and taking in multiple major attractions, temples, old towns, castles with a stop in Hiroshima. For natural attractions we are planning a few famous gardens, Mount Fuji, the largest cave in Japan and a few other smaller hikes.

Overall we really enjoy the trip and not only because of what we expected and planned. What we really liked is the friendliness of the ordinary Japanese people, we cannot count on how many times random people will just stop to ask if we need help or if we want for them to take photos of us. Or even just to show us around. And of course neither the historical sights nor the natural ones disappointed us. The temples are breathtaking even though at the end they start to run together, the castles are as impressive as we expected and the old villages and cities are well worth exploring.

Driving was much easier than expected as long as you have an English GPS with you. Streets are clearly marked, highways are well maintained, which makes sense given the high tolls, and in general outside of big cities parking was easy to find. Weather was quite hot and we even encountered a typhoon so maybe a different time period would have been better. Food was special with many specialties that we tried along the way and all of them as far as we remember quite good.

This trip really wet our appetite for additional exploring of Asia and maybe even returning to Japan in the future, there are still a few islands that we didn’t touch at all. In fact even now, many years later, we consider it one of the best, if not the best, trips we ever did.

To learn more click on the Links below or Markers on the map above to go directly to a specific part of our trip and follow our visit to Japan, the historic and beautiful country.

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  Arriving in Narita after a long flightAugust 31, 2013
  After a long flight we arrive in the late afternoon in Narita where we get acquainted with Japan buying our first supermarket items and exploring our first hotel room
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  Narita temple, our first one in JapanSeptember 1, 2013
  Our first stop is the huge Narita Temple close to our hotel which is great introduction to the traditions related to the temples of Japan
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  Boso Burial Mound short visitSeptember 1, 2013
  After renting the car we make a short stop to explore the Pit Dwellings near Boso which are free to visit but cannot be entered
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  Kairakuen Garden, a top three gardenSeptember 1, 2013
  Kairakuen Garden a top 3 landscape garden in Japan was a great place to spend the afternoon of our first day in the country
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  One night at a ryokanSeptember 1, 2013
  We spend the night at a ryokan a traditional Japanese inn where you sleep on the floor and leave your shoes at the door and are served a traditional breakfast
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  Tōshogū, shrine to the first shogunSeptember 2, 2013
  We start our Nikko shrine tour with the magnificent Toshogu shrine built to honor the first shogun Ieyasu
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  The small, impressive Futarasan shrineSeptember 2, 2013
  Futarasan Shrine is one of the oldest shrines in Nikko dedicated to the deities of Nikko’s three most sacred mountains
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  The beautiful Kegon WaterfallsSeptember 2, 2013
  The beautiful Kegon Waterfalls are our major stop in Nikko National Park and a great place for a quick lunch while enjoying the views
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  Quick stop at Senjogahara MoorSeptember 2, 2013
  Our last stops in Nikko National Park are at the unexpected Ryuzu Falls and interesting Senjogahara Moors before rain forces us to move on
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  Oku-Nikko Yumoto OnsenSeptember 2, 2013
  Our last stop of the day is to visit a small hot springs area and hike for a short while before making our way to the accomodation
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  A couple nights at a ryokan near NaganoSeptember 2, 2013
  We spend a couple nights at a nice ryokan while exploring the Nagano area and visiting the snow monkeys
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  The Snow Monkeys of JigokudaniSeptember 3, 2013
  One of the major attractions in Japan for us are the famous and fearless Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani easily reachable via car and quite cute to visit
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  Exploring Obuse, the chestnut and plum citySeptember 3, 2013
  At our host recommendation we visit Obuse famous for plums and chestnuts as well as the Hokusai Museum celebration one of the major Japanese artists
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  Matsumoto Castle, a top Japanese castleSeptember 4, 2013
  We spend most of the day exploring one of the major three castles in Japan the impressive and beautiful Matsumoto Castle
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  Exploring the Matsumoto City MuseumSeptember 4, 2013
  After visiting the castle we spend a couple more hours eating lunch and exploring the City Museum while hiding from the rain
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  A luxurious hotel in TakayamaSeptember 4, 2013
  We spend the night in Takayama in a luxurious hotel with both a Western and Japanese room and multiple restaurants
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  Exploring historic TakayamaSeptember 5, 2013
  We spend the first half of they day exploring the wooden houses of Takayama a historic town rich due to skilled carpenters and abundant wood resources
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  Enchanting Shirakawa-go villageSeptember 5, 2013
  One of the most scenic villages we visited in Japan is Shirakawa-go built using traditional “Praying Hands” architecture and recognized as a Unesco WHS
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  Historic To-ji Temple and tallest pagoda in JapanSeptember 6, 2013
  The first temple we visit in Kyoto is To-ji a historically important temple founded in 794 and worth exploring
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  Nishi Hongwan-ji, a huge colorful templeSeptember 6, 2013
  The second temple today is the huge Nishi Hongwan-ji built by a popular Buddhist sect with lots of colorful buildings and temples
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  A tour of the famous Imperial PalaceSeptember 6, 2013
  The major attraction today for us is a visit to the majestic Imperial Palace that we booked far in advance
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  Dinner and exploring Pontocho StreetSeptember 6, 2013
  After lunch we spend the evening exploring Pontocho Street a historical small street with shops and restaurants
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  Pearl Bridge and Naruto WhirlpoolsSeptember 7, 2013
  Today we cross over to Shikoku island over multiple impressive bridges enjoying beautiful views and visiting movie locations
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  The Yashima Temple and the Taburo BadgerSeptember 7, 2013
  We spend the afternoon exploring the Yashima Temple which lies on a famous pilgrimage route as well as the Taburo Badger
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  The famous and beautiful Ritsurin GardenSeptember 8, 2013
  We start the morning with the famous and beautiful Ritsurin Garden exploring the meticulously landscaped gardens with our enthusiastic guide
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  The thousand steps to Kotohira-gu shrineSeptember 8, 2013
  We spend the afternoon exploring Kotohira-gu a major Shinto pilgrimage site reachable by almost a thousand steps passing shops and restaurants
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  A nuclear survivor, the branch of Bank of JapanSeptember 9, 2013
  Our first stop for today is rather unexpectedly the Hiroshima branch of the Bank of Japan one of the few survivors of the nuclear blast
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  The thought provoking Peace MuseumSeptember 9, 2013
  We spend quite a bit of today exploring the sombering and thought provoking Peace Museum with exhibits connected to the nuclear blast and deaths
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  The famous Atomic Bomb DomeSeptember 9, 2013
  In the afternoon we explore the Atomic Bomb Dome famous from all the images of Hiroshima after the blast and then shop and eat at a nearby arcade
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  Kintai-Kyo Bridge, one of the most famous onesSeptember 10, 2013
  We start our busy day with a visit to one of the top three bridges in Japan the Kintai Kyo Bridge a beautifully arched bridge across the Nishiki River
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  Yamaguchi the Kyoto of Western JapanSeptember 10, 2013
  Next stop is Yamaguchi also known as the Kyoto of Western Japan where we visit Ruriko-ji one of the top three pagodas in Japan
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  The longest cave in Japan, Akiyoshi-doSeptember 10, 2013
  The major attraction today is the longest cave in Japan Akiyoshi-do a very beautiful cave that can be visited on a self-guided tour
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  Hiking the karstic plateau of Akiyoshidai NPSeptember 10, 2013
  We end the day with some light hiking on the beautiful karstic plateaus of Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park enjoying the views and interesting rock formations
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  Kurashiki, a historic citySeptember 11, 2013
  We stop in the historic town of Kurashiki to visit the canal side area of Bikan in the middle of the day exploring canals and old streets
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  Exploring Osaka at nightSeptember 11, 2013
  In the evening we explore downtown Osaka eating dinner and enjoying both window shopping and actual shopping in this modern town
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  The famous and huge Osaka CastleSeptember 12, 2013
  We purposely stayed overnight within walking distance of the famous Osaka Castle and explore the huge castle early in the morning
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  Nara, another capital of Japan, with Sika deerSeptember 12, 2013
  Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century and is now famous for the tame Sika deer and the largest bronze Buddha statue in Japan
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  Exciting Iga-ryu Ninja MuseumSeptember 12, 2013
  In our opinion you cannot come to Japan and not visit a Ninja Museum so we make our way to Iga to visit the museum of one of the most well known schools of ninjas
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  Short hike on Mount FujiSeptember 13, 2013
  Today we have planned to visit Mount Fuji but due to low visibility we just make a short hike and then return to explore something else
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  The very popular Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrineSeptember 13, 2013
  One of the main Shinto shrines and a quite popular one in Kamakura is Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu built in 1063
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  Kencho-ji, an important Zen shrineSeptember 13, 2013
  We spend the reminder of the afternoon exploring Kencho-ji a Zen shrine and the beautiful park surrounding it before driving to Tokyo
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  Popular and interesting Ueno ParkSeptember 14, 2013
  We start our time in Tokyo with a visit to the very popular Ueno Park exploring this large park while looking for the National Museum
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  Tokyo National Museum, a fascinating placeSeptember 14, 2013
  We spend a few hours just exploring the large and fascinating National Museum with varied exhibits and beautiful Japanese artwork spanning centuries
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  Akihabara, the electric citySeptember 14, 2013
  We spend the evening in Akihabara the electric city looking at electronics stores, maid cafes and anime stores
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  On top of the Metropolitan Government buildingSeptember 15, 2013
  We start the day with a visit to Shinjuku and climbing to the top of the Metropolitan Government Building for great views of the area
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  Shibuya crossing, the most busy place in TokyoSeptember 15, 2013
  We spend the afternoon near the famous crossing in Shibuya window shopping and watching the unexpected Mikoshi parade pass by
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  Our last evening at Senso-ji in AsakusaSeptember 15, 2013
  We spend the evening shopping while visiting Senso-ji the oldest temple in Tokyo and enjoying great views of the Tokyo Skytree
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  Threading the needle through a typhoonSeptember 16, 2013
  Before luckily flying out we plan to visit the Tsukiji fish market which is closed due a typhoon that is unknowingly to us passing through the area