March 2025
3 Apr 2025
It was very soon after the India trip, but i really wanted to see the cherry blossom in Japan, so off I went.
We began in Tokyo, where we viewed the Imperial Palace from a respectful distance, then viewed the city from the top of Tokyo tower, and visited the Asakusa Sensoji temple, which dates from the 7th century. Asakusa is also a vibrant shopping area: I bought some reproduction Japanese prints. We also travelled around the area by rickshaw. For dinner we boarded a traditional river boat.
Leaving Tokyo, we stopped off at a spot where we were able to view Mount Fuji. However, by the time we boarded our boat to cruise on Lake Ashi, where apparently the best views of Fuji are to be had, the mountain had disappeared! Apparently sightings are really dependent on the weather.
Our next stop was Kyoto, travelling by the notorious bullet train. It's nerve-wracking to get on and off when you only have ninety seconds to do so. Strangely, when you're on board, you're not really aware of the great speed.
I loved Kyoto. It has many shrines, like the Golden Pavilion; most are situated in beautiful gardens. The Gion area in the city is where the geisha entertain in teahouses, and where the meiko - apprentice geisha - train. We had some free time and I had a peaceful walk beside the river. The next day we visited more shrines, incuding one where the mountain paths are guarded by magnificent stone foxes. We also visited the Sake Museum for a tasting and a delicious lunch, and finished the day learning to make matcha tea; I was not good at it!
The next day was a trip out of Kyoto, to see the Todaiji temple at Nara; the temple has a bronze Buddha statue, and the park around it had many free-roaming deer, which are very keen to eat the snacks which tourists can by, and - i wouldn;t be surprised - the tourists. Later we visited the Dontonbori shopping street, which has weird and wonderful shop fronts and advertising signs.
Another bullet train brought us to Hiroshima. For obvious reasons I had expected to find a gloomy place still dominated by the bomb damage, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It's a thriving city, where the memory of the destruction has been turned into a determination to seek peace. The skeleton of one building has been left in the city centre, to remind everyone of what happened, bit beyond that there is a beautiful peace garden. The museum describing the attack and its aftermath is truly terrifying; not a pleasant experience, but I am very glad to have been there.
From Hiroshima we took a ferry to Miyajima Island, which has beautiful scenery and a famous shrine.
After Hiroshima we travelled to Kobe, passing Himeji Castle on the way. The building is spectacular, and beside it is one of the most beautiful gardens of the tour.
This was our last stop; from Kobe we travelled to Osaka for the flight back to the UK.