Blogs from Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan, Asia

I don't remember when we last went on holidays with the whole family. Must have been at least 20 years ago. Probably more. Either long enough to have forgotten what it was like or perhaps long enough for everyone to have reflected on their previous experiences and addressed issues that previously generated angst. This time the kids sorted out the problem of having no-one interesting to talk to by bringing along a wife or husband respectively. The need for my hand to be in my pocket for the whole time was addressed by having children and their partners with actual earning capacity. Our son and daughter-in-law ensured that we were all kept entertained, concerned, happy and quiet (while there was sleeping about to occur) by the 13-month-old child prodigy who is our only granddaughter. For this ... read more

Day 4 Our day started with the early morning wake up call our guide had arranged, and we made our way down to breakfast. During breakfast, we tried to spot the other likely members of our forthcoming tour. Once we had finished, we went back to the room for the bags - there is no porterage in Japan its DIY bag carrying. In the lobby, all of the people we had earmarked at breakfast gathered - 2 Aussie couples, 1 American couple, a Canadian and a pair of Venuzualeans. Our guide Lim took us to the bus, and gave us a brief run down of the day. We had about a 2 1/2 hour journey to Himeji where there is a castle known as the white egret castle and one of the best 3 in Japan. ... read more

First of all, congratulations to Amit for having bathed with Japanese Yakuza and telling them that their tattoo is "delicious." I feel like I've missed out on an authentic japanese experience. Ok, so the town of Kurashiki is known for a beautiful stretch of canal, lined with warehouses that eventually turned into museums. Of course, by the time we got to the city, all the museums were closed. The total length of the canal of interest was maybe 200 meters. And in fact, the entire city could be traversed in a matter of 30 minutes. Given that, it was actually a really good night. The canal was infact very picturesque, and in our search for a restaurant (the entire city pretty much shut down after 7PM), we were able to find an authentic soba restaurant bwhere ... read more