Trains are a part of life in Japan. In the big cities you take the subway trains, to get between towns you take the long distance express trains called ‘Shinkansens’. I’m sure most everyone had heard about Japan’s bullet trains.

At Okayama is Korakuen garden which is one of the top three most famous gardens in Japan. As it was in the middle of the way from Himeji Castle to Hiroshima, it was just a matter of jumping off the train at Okayama and finding the right direction.

Himeji Castle is an amazing example of Japanese architecture from the Edo period, and one of the few castles that was never ruined through war. Unfortunately for me, they are currently undergoing repairs on the interior and I couldn’t see inside. But even worse for visitors in the near future is that they will soon [...]

After the Golden Week tour I planned to stay in Tokyo for a while, but had no real plans on where to stay. I put in a few last minute requests for couchsurfing and Byard from New Zealand, who has been living in Japan for the last 10 years, answered to say yes. We set [...]

I really wanted to see two Japanese cultural events while I’m here in Japan. Sumo and Kabuki. And I got the chance the other day to go to a Sumo event. This is actually harder than I had initially thought it would be, as there are only three Sumo festivals per year and then each [...]

When I planned my trip to Japan I wasn’t even really aware of the Japanese holiday called ‘Golden Week‘. I chose my flight dates based both on the approximate best time for my walking pilgrimage and also to be back in time for my daughter’s birthday, but soon after I discovered that Golden Week began [...]