Blog posts

Japan travel adventures with the family

Cup Noodle

Cup Noodle Museum

Have you ever wished you could design your own flavour of Cup Noodles? At the Cup Noodle museum your dreams can come true! Even if this has never been your dream, a visit to the birthplace of Cup Noodles is a must while in Japan and the kids will love it! There are two Cup…
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Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura

North of Tokyo is a little wonderland that will take you back in time, back to the Edo period, a time when Samurai and Ninja walked Japan. Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura is an amazing theme park where you can roam the streets with Samurai and Ninja and explore what life was like in the Edo…
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Sumo

You would be mistaken if you thought that Sumo is just big, almost naked, men trying to push each other out of a ring! Sumo is Japan’s national sport. A sport of strength and skill, bound in tradition and ritual. Sumo wrestling began as an entertainment for deities and the Sumo ring is considered a…
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Mount Fuji from Mount Takao

Mount Takao

Mount Takao or Takaosan is a beautiful mountain hike with a view of Mount Fuji and it’s an easy day trip from Tokyo! Mount Takao is West of Tokyo and is a mountain that offers not only hiking and amazing views but lots of places to explore including a Monkey Park, temple and Onsen. It’s…
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Christmas and New Year in Japan

Christmas If you are dreaming of a White Christmas in Japan you can certainly get the white and it’s easy to get to from Australia, however, Christmas is not a big celebration in Japan. You will hear Christmas music (minus the words) playing in the shops and Western shops will be wrapped up like a…
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Tokyo Skyline

Tokyo

Tokyo is the busy bustling heart of Japan. However, amongst this bustle, you will find parks and gardens, oasis of tranquillity right in the heart of the city. Tokyo has a population over one and a half times greater than the population of all of Australia in a space that is one sixth of the…
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Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival

One of Japans most amazing festivals is the Nozawa Onsen Fire Festival which is held each year on the 15th January in the snow fields of Nozawa Onsen. Nozawa Onsen is a picturesque hot spring town in Nagano Japan. It is famous for its multiple public onsens, the amazing ski fields and it is home…
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Okinawa

Okinawa is an amazing and surprising part of Japan. The Okinawa archipelago is a collection of islands in Southern Japan, some 600km south of the main islands. Okinawa has a subtropical climate and with beautiful clear waters and forested mountains, it is often called the ‘Hawaii of Japan’. Okinawa, with the presence of the US…
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Okinawa glass blowing

Okinawa Glass Blowing

Okinawa is known for Ryukyu glassware. Okinawa is part of the chain of Ryukyu islands, the most southern islands of Japan. Glassware began in Okinawa around the late 1860’s the time of the Meiji Era. However, after World War II, resources were scarce so empty glass bottles from American troops were recycled and used to…
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Blacksmith sword making kyoto

Forge a Japanese Sword

As a family with three boys, when we discovered a sword making experience with a traditional Japanese blacksmith outside of Kyoto we just HAD to do it! There are a couple of places that offer this experience, see below for details. Samurai and swords are synonymous with Japan and Japanese culture. Today there are still…
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