Nara, Japan

During one of our days in Kyoto, we ventured to the city of Nara to visit the famous deer park. It took about an hour by train to get there. I’d heard about this deer park where hundreds of deer roam freely. Joe visited here when he studied abroad in Japan 13 years ago. It…

Kyoto, Japan (Part two)

More from our time in Kyoto. Our tour guide recommended a tea ceremony/baking class in Kyoto so we participated in that one morning. We made two Japanese sweets and some matcha tea. Nishiki Market Kansai Gaidai Unversity Joe studied abroad in this area 13 years ago at Kansai Gaidai University which is located between Kyoto…

Kyoto, Japan (Part one)

Accommodation Our guided tour with Intrepid Travel ended this week and we are staying in Kyoto for the next 5 days to explore on our own. I booked the Good Nature Hotel for our stay on Booking.com. I love this hotel! It has nice big beds, a table/seating area to eat, a spacious bathroom with…

Fushimi Inari Shrine

My favorite shrine in all of Japan would have to be Fushimi Inari. I’ve heard Joe talk about this shrine since he studied abroad here 13 years ago and now I understand what all the hype is about. It’s famous for its thousands (10,000+) torii gates that span the trails leading up Mount Inari. The…

Hiroshima, Japan

Our next stop was Hiroshima. This city is most well known as the site where the US dropped the first atomic bomb in World War II. The Peace Memorial Museum is a must-see, my other recommendation is taking a day trip to Miyajima Island. Accommodation We had very basic accommodations for the two nights we…

Takayama, Japan

Takayama is a city in the mountainous Gifu prefecture of Japan. It is well known for its historic district with wooden houses dating back to the Edo era (1603-1868) and its museums including the Hida Folk Village. I especially enjoyed strolling around the morning market and looking into all the shops. Traveling to Takayama The…

Hakone, Japan

Hello from Hakone! Most people travel to this area of Japan for the hot springs and views of Mount Fuji on a clear day. Lucky for us we got to experience both! Mount Fuji is an active volcano and Japan’s highest peak. Our tour guide Michiko informed us that Japan has a very high percentage…

Nikko, Japan

Hello from Nikko! This was stop number two on our tour after Tokyo. We spent one and a half days here exploring the area and highlights included a visit to one of Japan’s most famous Shinto shrines Nikko Tosho-gu, a visit to Kegon falls, and a beautiful walk along the river near downtown Nikko. Nikko…

36 hours in Tokyo, Japan

Hello! Joe and I made it safely to Tokyo after a 24-hour travel day. Our 14-hour direct flight from Atlanta was convenient but kinda torture when you can’t sleep on planes. We spent the first day exploring on our own before meeting up with our Intrepid travel tour group. We are on the Japan Land…

Angkor Wat Day Two

On day two we had a 4:45 AM wake-up call so we could witness one of the major highlights of the entire trip, seeing sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was definitely nice, but as expected with all the tourists it isn’t as magical as you may think. I decided not to set-up my tripod since…