Michele and Roman travel blog

Osaka was amazing. We went to a cat cafe by mistake (looking for dog cafe as Roman’s allergic) but wound up being fun... ... And just a few antihistamines later he’s all better! Also water critters And castle At the airport now, sad to be leaving Japan (esp via >20 hrs travelling) and back to the grind!

After travelling via the super-fast Shinkansen train, we arrived at Shin-Kobe station (‘Shin’ prefix meaning something like ‘new’) and enjoyed spending two days here. Felt good to use the same hotel as a base for consecutive days! We had a nice time exploring the city, which also had a Chinatown district! It had felt perhaps more business-like than Fukuoka, and obviously we were keen to try the famous Kobe beef. A tip we had read that we would be happy to pass on - many restaurants (at least those offering the specialty Wagyu beef in Kobe) offer the same menu at lunch, but at half-price. Accordingly, we tempered our carnivorous desires until lunch the following day, when we had an amazing meal, and at a very reasonable price! Our lunch was at a small (6 people capacity!) Teppanyaki style restaurant. The was really friendly, and kept making jokes throughout. And it was seriously the best beef we have ever had! After the amazing lunch, we went to explore the unusual Carpentry Tools M...

As part of our exploration of Japan, we next went to Hiroshima. One of the first sights that we saw was the A-bomb Dome (Hiroshima Peace Memorial). It’s foundations are one of the very few buildings that remained after the bomb exploded. It’s a very powerful and hugely sad reminder of what human beings can do to one another. We’re glad that the decision was made to preserve the Dome and hopefully we can learn from its legacy. It seems necessary to start on this point, to try to convey the atmosphere of the city. First of all, it is very   new .  The streets are extremely clearly laid-out, and there are clever underground shopping malls / passages to avoid waiting at traffic lights. We found it to be a wonderful, vibrant atmosphere. Italian food seems very popular, as are French bakery/shops/brands - though, I suppose, that’s broadly consistent with what we saw in other Japanese cities we visited. Overall vibe of the place seems to be very positive and friendly; with jus...

Writing this update from the amazing Japanese bullet-train (Shinkansen), on the way to Hiroshima. We spent 4 action-packed days in Kyoto. Luckily, our arrival still coincided with prime cherry blossom-viewing time, and it was really amazing to see the trees covered in this delicate, precious layer of white/pink. This magical ‘mist’ greatly added to whatever we were seeing - temples or nature! We did 2 separate hikes,  that were connected to Chion-in temples and Fushimi Inari Shrine (best known for the orange arches). Some good views, extending as far as the skyscrapers of Osaka! Japan is clearly laid-out, so long walks were very pleasant. We explored the Imperial park gardens, and also the Nijo castle. Both were significant locations from a historical perspective, with Kyoto being the seat of power for nearly 500 years - before eventually the Edo Period ended, and the capital was moved to Tokyo in 1868. That’s an all-too-brief, hopefully not too inaccurate summary... any corr...

After leaving Tokyo, the first place we went to visit was Matsumoto. With population of only around 200,000 people, it is significantly smaller than Tokyo and had a totally different feel. Matsumoto is quite famous for its castle, one of the best preserved examples around Japan. Due to its black colour and imposing nature, it is sometimes known as the Crow castle. It was first built in 1594, though obviously was modified and restored since. Beautiful cherry blossoms and cool local museum too. We also went to see the old shopping street, known as Frog street. There used to be many actual frogs, but they stopped coming after a severe flood one year. The tradition is commemorated by lots of frog statues. Finally, our time in Matsumoto was capped off by staying at a traditional Japanese hot springs spa, a ryokan. Food was amazing, and we really loved the minimalist beauty of the space we were staying at. Tokyo was amazing, and difficult to see how it could h...