Osaka is known for its amazing food, in fact it is called the food capital of Japan. Many of these foods you can find elsewhere in Japan, but Osaka is the best place to eat them! 1. Okonomiyaki – Japanese pancake This is a savoury pancake made of egg, flour and vegetables (sometimes of noodles)…
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One thing I love about Japan is that each region has its own cuisine and speciality foods. Nagano is known for its apples, Kobe for Kobe beef, Matcha in Kyoto, Milk in Hokkaido, Takoyaki in Osaka and Tokyo banana in Tokyo! We didn’t fully appreciate this on our first couple of trips, but now, we…
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Trains The train system in Japan is second to none, clean, on time and efficient. However, it can be confusing! There are a number of different train companies, sometimes at the same station, major stations are huge and there are multiple exits that lead to different parts of town! Ok, so maybe its really confusing……
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Visit a park or garden There are some amazing parks in Japan. Ueno park in the middle of Tokyo is an oasis with swan paddle boats and street food stalls, Shinjuku gyoen is famous for cherry blossom but is beautiful all year round and has lots of space for kids to run! We always found…
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Fushimi Inari shrine is located in Southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates that stand close together and make a red tunnel up through the mountain forest. This shrine was established for the Shinto god of rice, Inari, in 711, before Kyoto was the capital of Japan. The path leads…
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Arashiyama is in the Western area of Kyoto. It is a little further away than other sites in Kyoto and can get busy particularly in autumn and sakura seasons. However, it is a beautiful area and the kids enjoyed it as there are lots of areas to explore. These were our three favourite things and…
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Gunkanjima, translated as Battleship Island, because it’s an island that looks like the outline of a battleship. Gunkanjima or Hashima Island is an abandoned mining community where miners and their families lived. This island has concrete remains of houses and schools, eerily abandoned when the underground mines closed in 1974. The only way to get…
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The Peace Park in Nagasaki, is a place of remembrance of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 during WW2. It is located near the hypocentre of the explosion and consists of two parks and Museum. The black monolith commemorates the Hypocentre of the explosion. Nearby is a portion of the Urakami cathedral that was…
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Nara deer park you can walk among the 1200 wild deer that freely roam around the park each day. Deer were considered messengers of the gods, they are now a national treasure. Throughout the park, stalls sell deer crackers which you can feed to the deer, they will bow first to ask for food before…
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