http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Japan en-us Sat, 25 May 2013 19:57:54 +0000 Sat, 25 May 2013 19:57:54 +0000 Spring Break and Beyond Since I last wrote I was lucky enough to have 3 of my friends from back home come to visit. We decided that the spring vacation Spring break Woooo was the best time to visit as the winter snow would be mostly melted and summers vicious heat is far off. The first day we all met up was St. Patricks Day in Tokyo. My good friend Kevin had literally just arrived wi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Fukui/blog-787059.html In the summer of 2010 we took the opportunity to make our first international trip together while our foster son was at camp. This trip was also an early 10th anniversary celebration for us. This is the first of a three part series on our week long trip to the Tokyo area in the summer of 2010. During the week we took two trips outside Tokyo One to climb Mount Fuji described in Part 2 and one http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-786662.html Adelaide and Himeji are sister cities and for more than 20 years there has been a teacher exchange program between them. In 2010 I taught EFL in Kotogaoka Senior High School. Here are some insights from this experience.Bu nen kai is the end of year staff dinner at wedding chapel small room for 80 on 4th floor complete with 10 courses table service and as much alcohol as could be drunk in 2 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hyogo/Himeji/blog-786540.html This is the second of a threepart series on our Japan adventure. Part 1 is dedicated to highlights of our time in Tokyo and Part 3 describes our twoday trip to Hakone.After our first full day of sightseeing in Tokyo we had a satisfying dinner at a Thai restaurant. Jeff is vegetarian and unfortunately we had problems communicating this in Japanese restaurants so far on our trip so we went to a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shizuoka/Mt-Fuji/blog-786278.html One of the great things about the Kansai region of Japan is that you have Osaka...amazing vibrant city but then you have Kyoto Kobe and Nara with 50 minutes by train So why not go to Nara for the day It was the capital of Japan in...ummm....without Googling it I think it was around 700AD http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Nara/Nara/blog-786159.html I took a day trip to Kyoto to revisit some places that I saw from high school...oh the memories http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-786154.html It was so nice to visit Manabu and Miyuki again in Osaka. I did not realize how much I missed them. Their wonderful 2 and a half year addition is a pretty cool little guy too.It was great to eat drink and be able to talk with people on the street on the train and to ask for simple things like directionsCan39t get enough of Osaka http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Osaka/Osaka/blog-785457.html Another hiking adventureMitakesan is a famous mountain just outside of Tokyo that is popular like Takaosan with Tokyoites but is also a bit different because there is a village nestled up at the top accessible via both a winding path and a cable car. Approximately 150 people live there and there are even some accommodations for tourists to stay. I decided to go after my coworker Rani told http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-785370.html This post documents our twoday side trip during our week long trip to Tokyo in the summer of 2010. Part 1 of this series describes the highlights of our sojourn in Tokyo while Part 2 describes our climb of Mt Fuji.Prior to our arrival in Japan I had booked a room at the excellent MotoHakone Guest House and I also bought the Hakone Free Pass for JPY5500 on arrival at Narita. Both turned out to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kanagawa/Hakone/blog-785015.html ltstrong stylefontsize 1.4remgtTokyoAfter saying our farewells to Brian at Matsumoto Backpackers we head to the train station to catch our Limited Express train back to Tokyo for our final three days in Japan. On the way we have more great views of Mount Fuji though this time it has much more snow on its peak. The scenery changes from lovely lush hillsides and valleys to flatter lan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Asakusa/blog-784937.html Tokyo is the capital city of Japan. It is an exciting combination of vibrant culture and wonderful attractions that make it the perfect places for a holiday. It is the biggest and most advanced metropolis on the planet. Whether youre looking to do a spot of sightseeing indulge on a shopping spree or explore some of the beautifully unique landscape Tokyo has something to offer everyone. It is http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-784826.html ltstrong stylefontsize 1.4remgtKanazawa the City with a provincial feel to it.We arrive at Kanazawa hour late though we are not sure why. Its quite bright and after visiting the Information desks at the train bus stations we catch a bus to Kouhrinbo for our stay at the Toyokoinn hotel for 3 nights. We have opted for the hotel as it provides a lot more by way of services th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Gifu/Takayama/blog-784807.html First flight with ANA and it was a fabulous business class. Strangely because of the way rather seats are arranged we could not sit together to chat but fine for sleeping. First time in a long time that the flight was less than half full and even if we had travelled in coach we would have had three seats to ourselves each. Food was an interesting mix of American and japanese though I think that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-783727.html ltstrong stylefontsize 1.4remgtKyoto City of Kimonos and GeishasThe trip to Kyoto was one hell of a challenge from Hiroshima. Not because its a difficult place to get to in fact its a breeze on 2 Shikansens. However this is how the day unravelled. Up well in time to go from our Hiroshima Hostel to the station by tram an easy 20 mins No way The driver seems to think http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-783536.html