Departmental Stores Mitsukoshi and Daimaru, Tokyo ******************************************* For 27th Feb. my notes consist of the following line : Visit Kamakura (Might see Fuji if you are lucky i.e. depending upon clear weather.) ************************************************* The weather was beastly that day. When we left our hotel that day, it was already snowing. The one-square-millimeter snowflakes soon turned into one-square-centimeter snowflakes. It was windy and chilly. You won't find any photos in this blog. Avi is quite fond of taking photos but the awful weather prevented him from taking out the camera from the bag. The previous night we had discussed whether we should be visiting Kamakura the next day. To be truthful, I did not think we will find Kamakura very attractive after visiting the Nikko shrines. I actually had had enough of shrines and large Buddha... read more

Himeji Castle, Himeji *************************************************** My notes for 25th Feb, consist of the following : 1) Check out of the hotel and come to Kyoto station 2) Put the luggage in the station locker. 3) Take the train to Nara 4) See Todaiji Temple and Park 5) Come back to Kyoto for luggage. 6) Travel to Tokyo on JR Pass (Might see Fuji on left if you are lucky) 7) Take a taxi to the hotel *************************************************** However, we already had visited Nara the previous day and had also decided by now that we will be visiting the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Western Kyoto and enjoy the tea-ceremony with the Geishas in a grove of flowering plum trees and also shop at the flea-market. The idea of spending ... read more

Yasaka Shrine, Chionin Temple, Sanjusangendo temple and Kiyomuzudera Shrine ************************************************ My note for 23 Feb. also consists of a single line : “Charu does the Kyoto sightseeing on her own”. ************************************************ The day was cloudy and rainy, I mean drizzly. In our experience, it does not rain like the Mumbai monsoon downpour in Japan. Of course, our experience is limited to the days between 19 Feb and 2nd March. After the breakfast, Avi went for his conference and I took the shuttle to Yasaka shrine in the Gion area. Gion is a very “interesting” area, though, as I walked down the shop-lined road to the Yasaka Shrine, I was unaware of its significance. All I was looking for were the kimono shops and there are a quite a few kimono shops on the street. However, the ... read more

Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and Nijo Castle ************************************************ My notes for 21st February consist of the following: 21-Feb-2009 1) Travel to Himeji on JR pass (8:50 Hikari shinkansen) 2) Put the luggage in the locker (600 yen) 3) Walk 10 minutes to Himeji castle, spend about 1 hour. 4) Alternatively, take the Loop Bus from Station. 5) Take the Himeji - Kyoto train (14:59 Hikari shinkansen) 6) Buy Kyoto Subway One-day card at station. (600 Yen) 7) Use it to go to the hotel (Kyoto-Karasuma-Oike-Keage) 8) From the hotel, take subway to Nijojo and take ‘Raku’ bus 101 to Kinkakuji. Come back to Nijo castle by 101 bus and take subway back to Keage. ************************************************ This was the plan for 21st but we did not follow it. Avinash was keen to see the Himeji Castle. Forts ... read more

Nikko Hotel, Kansai Airport, Osaka *********************************************** For 19th Feb, when our Korean flight actually landed at Osaka’s International airport, I find this entry in my notes: 19-Feb-2009 Mumbai-Osaka flight (Korean) arriving at 8:55 PM Stay the night in Airport hotel Nikko because ALL TRANSPORT IN JAPAN COMES TO A STANDSTILL AT 23:00 AT THE LATEST. *********************************************** (Airport code of Osaka airport is KIX and I remember it because it gave us quite a kick to realize that the airport is an artificial island in the Osaka Bay made specifically for this purpose.) This nugget of wisdom did not come very easily to me. It came AFTER we had booked a ‘budget’ hotel for the night at Shin-Osaka, an hour’s drive away from the airport, taking it for granted that an International Airport like the Osaka Airport ... read more