Finishing Frenzy and Travel Updates
Whew, those Japan posts took a lot to put together. I’m so glad I did though as now I have a great reminder of what a great trip it was. So, what’s been going on around here since I finally finished up the trip. Well, as I think I mentioned in my last blog post-Mom...
Final Days of the Trip Disney Sea
This was to be a travel day to our last destination. Karen had been fighting a cold the last couple of days and this morning I woke up not feeling so well. Since travelling on the trains in Japan wearing a mask is more the norm than not, both Karen and I decided to...
Nara Japan
Nara was Japan’s first permanent capital and was established in the year 710. It is located less than an hour away from Kyoto. Nara holds some of Japan’s oldest and largest temples. Karen and I arrived in Nara in the early evening and found our way to our hotel. The...
Hiroshima and Himeji Castle
After breakfast at the Watanabe Inn, we were driven down to the ferry dock. Actually, we asked to be dropped off at the Post Office as Karen wanted to ship some of her purchases back home. You should have seen the confused looks on the two lone Post Office clerks. In...
Going it Alone
On April 10, 2019, Karen and I were now travelling in Japan on our own. We were up early, long before the rest of our group that we had been travelling with so we had all said our goodbyes the night before. Most of the group were travelling home however there was one...
Last Day of OAT Tour
Tuesday, April 9, 2019, was the last day of the OAT tour. There was really only one tour scheduled then we had the afternoon to explore the area ourselves before the farewell dinner and the sad goodbyes. This is the last day of our OAT trip however Karen and I still...
Arashiyama District
Monday, April 8, 2019, had us travelling by charted bus to the Arashiyama district of Kyoto. This is a really beautiful place located next to a river and in the shadow of a mountain. Lots of mountains in Japan. In this area, there were lots of different shops and...
Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine and Saiho-ji (Moss Temple)
Warning this post will be very picture heavy and the pictures don’t even start to give both of these places justice. They are simply breathtaking and both so very sacred in their own ways. This was the optional tour to Nara day, however, Karen and I opted out as we...
Kyoto
I think Kyoto is my favourite Japanese city. It just has so much going for it. I love how there are so many traditional Japanese shrines and homes still there but many modern buildings as well. The hotel we stayed at in Kyoto was the Hotel Resol Kyoto. This hotel was...
A Day on our Own
On Thursday, April 4, 2019, it was to be an optional tour of Gokayama which was even further up into the mountains. By this time both Karen and I were getting tired and I certainly wasn’t used to or dressed for the cold. The activities on the optional tour sounded...