Mount Koya 「Kōyasan, 高野山」 is a 1200 year old sacred temple town in the mountains of northern Wakayama Prefecture. There are over 100 temples in Koyasan. Koyasan is a UNESCO World Heritage area, part of ...
It took just 6 months for 20 000 labourers to build the stone base and walls of Nagoya Castle’s main tower, led by the legendary samurai Katō Kiyomasa 「加藤 清正」 in the early 1600s. Kiyomasa ...
At larger shrines in Japan you will often find a small juyosho「visitors center, 授与所」 which as well as selling general information about the shrine (e.g. maps or a written history of the shrine), usually offers ...
The convenient Japanese coffee. It’s one of my tools for a day packed full of temple touring, shrine visits and shinkansen travel. This Kyoto Matcha (Green Tea) Latte 「京都抹茶ラテ」 was actually purchased from a convenience ...
Anyone who has travelled this country knows that Japan is super convenient – convenience stores are always near, vending machines on every block and hotel amenities that mean you can leave your toiletries at home. ...
[dropcap]H[/dropcap]ousing the entire collection of Buddhist sutras and scripts published by Tenkai, this small structure contains a hexagonal revolving bookcase which is where the building gets its name. Tenrinzō 「てんりんぞう, 転輪蔵」in English means “revolving cylindrical ...
Leaving Kyoto is never fun. The only part of leaving that is enjoyable is the ride on the shinkansen 「新幹線」 and speeding along at 270km/h to the next destination. N700 Series Shinkansen This bullet train ...
Kamigamo Shrine lays claim to the oldest shrine in Kyoto. This UNESCO World Heritage shrine in Kyoto is a hidden gem in the treasure of the ancient city’s historic sites. In this article: Explore Kamigamo-jinja ...
The majority of tourists visiting Kyoto will ride the Kyoto City Bus. Far too often I see these tourist having difficulty using the bus, so these quick tips will make your transit much simpler. ...
During a recent trip to Osaka, while stocking up on food and drink for a day of traveling, I stopped in a convenience store and spotted these special edition Glico Pretz… If you’ve been to ...
After following a beautiful path from Moto-Hakone village, lined with traditional Japanese lanterns and surrounded by a tall cedar tress, visitors to Hakone Shrine reach the water purification pavilion and gate leading up to the ...
Although Kiyomizu-dera isn’t actually open at night, you can get pretty close to the entrance for some great night photography. This UNESCO World Heritage site in Kyoto is a very popular place to visit during ...
Quick travel tip: Just like in the western world, where free tea and coffee is usually provided at hotels, in Japanese hotels green tea is almost always included as part of your room.
Traveler’s of Japan will most likely bypass the pharmacy. But inside the Japanese drug store you’ll find much more than just medicine, toiletries and cosmetics. These stores also stock snacks, drinks and often alcohol, at ...
This small structure is a sub-shrine of the World Heritage Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. Many shrine complexes contain multiple shrines, often dedicated to deities who have a connection to the area. Another example is the ...
Kansai International Airport is a major gateway to Japan for international tourists. It’s typically my choice of destination when flying to Japan from Australia. The airport is located in Osaka Bay just south of the ...
Stepping through Kamigamo-jinja‘s second torii is like stepping through a time portal. Together with Shimogamo-jinja, Kamigamo-jinja’s sister shrine, the two sites are called Kamo-jinja and are the oldest shrines in Kyoto. Torii indicate that you ...
Nestled near the foot of Mt Hakone, on the premises of Hakone Shrine, is a shrine dedicated to a very interesting legend. That legend tells the tale of a Shinto Buddhist monk using his mystical ...
View this location – Map coordinates: 35.057804,135.752255.
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