Japan
On Saturday afternoon we headed into the middle of Nikko for a quick look around and some lunch. While there we took a drive along (most of – a section the middle is closed to cars) the longest tree-lined avenue in the world – the Nikko Avenue of Cedars. A and I
Japan
On Saturday morning we headed over to the Grand Maze Palladium, just down the road from us in Nikko. The maze is made up of wooden panels and fences, sets of crisscrossing stairs and four towers in each of the corners. To complete the maze you need to get stamps
Japan
On Thursday morning we headed back to Tokyo from Kyoto to pick up our hire car for the 3-hour drive to Nikko. We went on the Shinkansen again, but this time we did it properly... that is, with an on-time departure, almost no stops (total travel time 2 hours and
Haiku
Day 134 • 16 Jan • Tokyo A cat cafe is A very expensive way To pat a few cats. Day 135 • 17 Jan • Tokyo to Kyoto Shinkansen delays Are expected when the train Is a potted plant. Day 136 • 18 Jan • Kyoto Nishiki Market Has a colourful roof and Lots of
Japan
For our last proper day in Kyoto (Wednesday), we decided to spend some time at the aquarium before we caught up with some friends in the afternoon. It was only a shortish bus ride from where we were staying, but when we arrived we were a little concerned by a
Japan
After returning from Nara on Tuesday, we headed to the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is famous for its red torii gates — aka the Thousand Torii Gates. You can walk up the mountain behind the main shrine, along a trail that takes you through all the gates and past other little
Japan
On Tuesday we took the train to Nara (about an hour from Kyoto) to visit the famous bowing deer in Nara Park. You can read about that gorgeous experience in J's post. Next, we walked to Tōdai-ji, a Buddhist temple originally built in the mid-700s (note that'
Animals
On Tuesday we went to Nara Park. In the town of Nara, there were deer and a lot of them. 🦌 🦌 🦌 0:00 /0:29 1× At the park there were stands where you could buy deer crackers. 0:00 /0:31 1× With the crackers you could feed the deer.
Japan
After visiting the Arashiyama Monkey Park on Monday, we crossed the river, had lunch in the touristy part of town and then walked through the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, a 400m-long grove of very tall bamboo. 0:00 /0:04 1× We walked back to the train station via the river,
Japan
On Monday, we took some buses to get to Arashiyama Monkey Park. To actually get to the park, you have walk up a mountain and over a couple streams. Once you're up, there'll be a playground. Ignore it, head up to the main area and there
Japan
We had a bit of a slow start on Saturday for our first day in Kyoto... but for me it also included three trips to three different konbinis in the morning before anyone else got moving much (one to top up our breakfast supplies at the Lawson across the corner,
Japan
Here's where we're staying in Kyoto. The boys are sleeping on thin mattresses/futons on the tatami mat floor — very Japanese! That night, we walked to a nearby restaurant I'd found via Google reviews. Once again we had to make ourselves understood with barely