Japan

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

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

We purposely stayed overnight within walking distance of the famous Osaka Castle and explore the huge castle early in the morning

In the evening we explore downtown Osaka eating dinner and enjoying both window shopping and actual shopping in this modern town

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

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

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

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

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

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