When you think of Kyoto, you may consider golden temples, or endless series of orange torii gates at Fushimi-Inari, but if you were to pick the most iconic spot, the spot that most says “this is Kyoto,” it would have to be Kiyomizu-dera. It perches over Kyoto in the Higashiyama district. From the temple you […]
I first arrived in Kyoto on Christmas Eve, seven years ago, my first Christmas away from home. At the time I was with a group of friends hopping local trains from where we worked in the mountains of Nagano. Laughing and drinking along the way, by the time we stepped out of the train we […]
From Miyajima, we hop on a few local trains and make our way to Kojima, Okayama. From Kojima Station we take a taxi to the sea where I booked a Japanese inn or ryokan for the night. All the rooms face the Seto Inland Sea. What makes it an Inland Sea, you say? Well, it […]
Itsukushima Island, colloquially know as Miyajima, “shrine island,” is a popular tourist destination and truly special place in Hiroshima prefecture. It is easily accessible by two different ferries; one takes about 10 mins from Miyajima-guchi train station, but if you wake up in Hiroshima City and want a little more scenic journey I recommend taking […]