Ghibli museum is an amazing, whimsical place and if you’re a Ghibli fan you will find it hard to contain your excitement! Ghibli studio has produced some of the most iconic Japanese movies, including My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service. The executive director of the museum and…
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Himeji also known as White Heron castle is one of the most amazing castles in Japan. It is one of the country’s 12 original castles and has not been destroyed by war or fire or earthquake. The castle complex is over 400 years old and was extensively restored in 2015. Himeji castle is elegant and…
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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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Northern Kyoto boasts one of the most famous temples in Kyoto and perhaps in Japan, the opulent Kinkakuji or ‘Golden pavilion’. Kinkakuji was built by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu the shogun as his retirement villa in 1397. Yoshimitsu was instrumental in reopening trade with China and importing goods such as green tea and pottery, he was a…
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Nishiki markets are in central Kyoto and easily accessible from Kyoto station. The market is five blocks long and packed with fresh food stalls, shops and all things food related, no wonder it’s nicknamed, Kyoto’s kitchen. What to buy Kyoto is known for so many foods, however, these are some of the foods recommended to…
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