Our last day on Rishiri Island. We would be departing by ferry around 2 pm, and then taking a long bus journey going all the way back to Sapporo late tonight. The small patch of sunshine we had yesterday gave […]
Momo-iwa Observatory Trail (桃岩展望台コース) After the excellent lunch at Kafuka, we met up with our next host from Pension Uni at the ferry terminal. He would be giving us a lift to the starting point of the Momo-iwa Hiking Trail […]
The best way to enjoy the natural scenery in Rebun Island is definitely by hiking on its several well defined trails. Some of the main sight-seeing spots (such as the northernmost point, Cape Sukoton (スコトン岬), in previous post) are accessible […]
The second part of our trip would be to various sites on the Kumano Kodo (熊野古道) pilgrimage routes. We had some good rest at Pension Dolphin (after the overnight bus previous day), and woke up to a beautiful sea view […]
We wanted to try out strawberry-picking in Japan, and although there are plenty of strawberry farms in the nearby prefectures of Tokyo, it would be best if we could do some other activity before stuffing ourselves in an “all you […]
World Heritage Site Yakushima. The typhoon disruption meant our original plan of having about 1.5 days there had been reduced by half. But thankfully, the hydrofoils between Kagoshima to Yakushima had resumed operation – and they are quite prone to […]
It’s a full day for a leisurely hike to Mount Tateyama. For a mountain over 3000 metres, it is incredibly accessible – the Alpine Route brought us up to 2450m in Murodo, with some good quality accommodation; and then it […]
Kamikochi (上高地) Kamikochi is a popular sight-seeing destination for its good views of the nearby Northern Alps, and its walking trails along the crystal clear Azusa River (梓川). For the hard-core mountain climbers it is also the starting point to […]
Sunrise We paused our progress at the 8th Station, but even there got fairly crowded. One could imagine the top would be even more so. Crater Walk One major regret I had in my first climb was that I didn’t […]
There is an old Japanese saying commonly translated to English as “a wise man climbs Mount Fuji once, a fool climbs it twice”. Though literally, it’s rather “it would be a fool not even climbing it once, (but) it would […]
Tsumago-juku (妻籠宿) After an , we departed in the morning to explore the area. The village streets were all lined with traditional wooden houses, and just like the guesthouse we stayed at, they are not just for display and people […]
Most travellers in Japan would’ve heard of Tokaido (東海道), as the name of the major Shinkansen train line linking Tokyo to western Japan cities like Osaka and Kyoto. Literally meaning “east sea route”, it runs along the east coast of […]