Category: japan

Dec

Fuji Hiding in the Clouds

17/12/2022

A day exploring the Hakone area today.

We awoke to some nice views from our room, but knew that the day was meant to turn later. So we made a reasonably early start by heading downhill to the train station to begin our “5 modes of transport” journey.

We started with an old train that wound its way up into the mountains. It was even complete with switchbacks every now and then for the drive to deal with.

We jumped off at the Hakone Open Air Museum, which was a gorgeous outdoor gallery nestled in the mountains. The weather was still playing nice, so it was lovely to wander around for a couple of hours.

Next it was on a funicular to head uphill a few stops before reaching the cable car that would take us up and over the mountains toward the lake.

Midway we stopped at Owakudani, high up. It was super windy and cold, but we had to stop for their one famous thing… sulphur boiled eggs. What makes them special? Well, they come out black! And that’s kind of it really. It is said that eating one extends your life by 7 years, but really I was just keen to try one. And how were they? Just like a regular hard boiled egg!

After that, it was down the other side of the mountain to the lake. By this time the weather had settled in and was cold, and grey and drizzly. Oh well. Regardless, it was time to jump on transport mode number 4… a pirate ship! Yep, you read right. A pirate ship across the lake.

I imagine in summer it would be glorious, but for us it was just a bit cold. And so alas Fuji was just nestled away hiding in the clouds as we thought may have happened. You win some you lose some.

We got to the other side of the lake where transport five awaited… a boring old bus 😛

We got back to the room and rested for a bit. I enjoyed some more onsen before heading out for more Izakaya. Yummmmm.

Dec

Into the Mountains

By: muttler

fuji

hakone

16/12/2022

A quick post since this was a travel day. We jumped on the train to leave Kyoto and head for Hakone, in the mountains near Mt Fuji.

We had glorious weather so on the train were greeted with amazing views of Fuji-san (luckily, as the weather was threatening for tomorrow). We arrived in Hakone and in the train station I turned my back for 30 seconds and the girls were suddenly being interviewed by Japanese TV. Ha!

After their 15 seconds of fame, we made the trek uphill to our digs, K’s House Hakone. I had stayed at a few K’s House hostels before and always found them exceptional and this was no exception.

It was a quiet evening of Izakaya and some outdoor onsen before bed.

Dec

Jiggle Jiggle

By: muttler

japan

kyoto

osaka

15/12/2022

Our last full day here in Kyoto. We didn’t have much left to do so to speak. I started the day with a bit of a cycle around the neighbourhood, and then we all got together to do a couple of last temples. First was Rinzaishu-Daihonzan, and then was to the classic Fushimi-Inari and it’s 1000’s of torii gates.

We wandered there for a bit, heading up the mountain and away from most the crowds. Lunch was some street food near the temple, before doing a little bit of last minute ceramics shopping.

Madeline and I then decided to head back to Osaka. We wanted to visit Dotonbori to soak up the neon and craziness, but top of the agenda was Rikuro’s Cheesecake. Why? They are one of the new Japanese sweet sensations… Jiggly Cheesecake!

We were super lucky to find the department store that had them freshly baked with a relatively short queue. Woo! So we waited and saw them in all their glory. And yes, they jiggle! How did they taste? Their appearance didn’t match the taste. They looked like cheesecake but were much more eggy, milky soufflé. But delicious!! We bought two 🙂

It was then off to Dotonbori for some takoyaki before heading back to Kyoto.

Dec

It’s a-me! Mario!

By: muttler

japan

nintendo

universal studios

14/12/2022

A break from temples and castles and things today. Universal Studios! I’m not normally one for this theme park… I like the rides but that’s about it. However this was high up on the list of must-dos this trip. Why? SUPER NINTENDO WORLD!

Yep, a whole section of the park dedicated to Nintendo. How awesome is that.

So we jumped on the train to Osaka and embarked on our theme park day. Nintendo World was awesome. Not huge, and quite crowded, and also in some respects needs a tiny bit of pre-reading. Why? On face value there is a couple of rides and lots to look at, but what else? A ‘Power Band’ is what unlocks a bunch more. Obviously you need to buy it (an extra $40) but then it unlocks a bunch of mini-games, quests and things that make the area super fun. Could we find all the coin blocks to punch? Could we find all the power ups? Defeat Bowser Jr?

What we thought would just end up being a couple of hours was half the day. The one downside is that it was focused only on the Mario property (no Donkey Kong, Zelda, etc) but it added to feeling immersed in the game.

We also rode the Mario Kart ride which was so good. A bit confusing to start but then who doesn’t love real life Mario Kart?!?! There was also a Yoshi ride that was a sightseeing type thing. Queues for both were a bit long but thankfully our extra add on pass meant we got through as quickly as we could.

The rest of the park was usual Universal Studios fun. There was Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and a big section dedicated to Jaws of all things!

We had ace fun spending the day there and left just after close. If you have even a passing interest in Nintendo, then you definitely need to visit.

Dec

Action Packed

By: muttler

13/12/2022

Phew! An action packed day. Nice and early we headed off to Himeji to see what is easily one of my most favourite things in all Japan… Himeji Castle. It never ceases to take the breath away… exiting the train station to see it looking back at you down the main street.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the castle ourselves, just ahead of the school groups. I never grow tired of visiting.

It was then back to Kyoto to visit a couple of iconic locations…

First up was the Golden Pavilion. A bit of a pain to get to, but there is no denying how stunning it looks, especially when bathed in sun. It is odd to visit a temple and simply walk around it, but this is SO iconic, it is worth the visit.

From there we caught a sneaky bus and then train to Arashiyama. This is a lovely place to visit. Always a little crowded but usually pretty chill. Lots of street food to eat and of course the bamboo forest. Impossible to get a photo by yourself, but still always mesmerising.