Category: japan

江東花火大会・Koto Fireworks Display 2023

Mountain Day 2023 (Friday 11th Aug 2023) brought with it the Koto Fireworks Display which you can see from the Edogawa-ku side of the Arakawa River (I know that’s river twice, but its just how it is in the English).

The police were out in full force guiding us along. The traffic was stopped and the road was just for pedestrian use (as it should be always!). I think they were trying to prevent overcrowding.

It was about 45 mins long and it was well attended on our side. Some people brought their own tables and were having feasts. I ...

sweltering in the hot hiroshima heat: day two (Rivers Cuomo)

It was a breakfast buffet at the hotel with plenty of options! I tend to not have much of an appetite in the summer but my husband isn’t like that, maybe because he grew up with the heat.

After breakfast we got the bus to Shukkeien Garden・縮景園 which I loved. I love gardens anyway but I think this was one of the best I’ve been to in Japan. It was blistering heat and not very crowded. There were lots of turtles and koi in the pond and I felt sorry for them with the heat. Animals have done nothing to ...

sweltering in the hot hiroshima heat: day one

We went to Hiroshima last week – Thur 27th – Sat 29th July. We got the shinkansen from Tokyo Station at 7:30 and arrived in Hiroshima at 11:27. It was hot! It said it was the same temperature as Tokyo but it felt boiling. We got the bus (we could use Pasmo) to the hotel ANAクラウンプラザホテル広島・Crowne Plaza – ANA Hiroshima, an IHG Hotel (it was a really nice hotel).

We headed off to have lunch, we’d decided to have okonomiyaki the Hiroshima style which neither of us think is that good but kind of felt like we had to. We ...

Travels to Chichibu, Saitama

*Warning – it is photo heavy*

This weekend, we decided on a whim to go to Chichibu・秩父 in Saitama. I’m not sure how I came upon this idea, but I did and we went.

It takes (depending on the train) around 1hr20 to 1hr50. The faster the time, the more pricey the ticket. My husband had a prior engagement on Saturday which didn’t finish until 15:00. We were aiming to meet at Ikebukuro Station to get the limited express Laview train at 16:30 but we got there earlier and decided to go with the express train to Hanno・飯能 and change ...

国内旅行: Tokyo to Hagi 6of6

Today was our last day and we left Honshu to go to Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku. Getting the train from Okayama to Takamatsu, it felt like entering a different world. I love the vibe to Shikoku (and the weather, blue skies and sun shining). The view from the train is amazing when crossing over onto the island.

Before we’d left, we picked up a couple of geographically limited food items from Okayama station. Setouchi is famous for lemons (amongst other things). The pancake was nice, I prefer normal Happy Turn (ハッピーターン, try them if you haven’t).

We were off to a ...