Category: japan

Matsumoto + Lake Suwa – Feb ’24: part one

We spent a few days in Nagano and very pleasant it was, but really cold. The people were very friendly – I don’t want to offend but compared to Tokyo (and I know it’s because it’s a capital city, they are the same everywhere), extremely friendly.

We took the Azusa train from Tachikawa at 8:24 and arrived in Matsumoto at 10:37. It was full, so I’m glad we booked and didn’t just roll up on the day like we had planned.

We stayed at Hotel 168 aka Iroha (if you know Japanese, you’ll get it). I didn’t, my husband had ...

an autumn day: ochanomizu + todai

I’ve lived in Tokyo for about 7 and a half years and I’d never been to Ochanomizu before. My husband had an appointment in the area and I went to meet him. As you can see from the pictures, if you like gingko, it’s the place to be.

We trotted to Yushima Seido, a Confucian temple focused on learning – there are lots of universities in the area.

Then we headed over to Kanda Shrine. It was very busy. Both are definitely worth a visit.

It was quite late by this point, so we headed off for curry at Ethiopia ...

sweltering in the hot hiroshima heat: day two

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). The lady on reception asked if we wanted to upgrade for two people for two nights for ¥5,000 and I said ‘no’ straight away. Even for me, that’s a new level ...

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 ...