Tag: japan travel
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Exploring Beautiful Kochi Castle and Museum.
August 19, 2025. Kochi, Japan. We spent the day exploring Kochi Castle and the adjacent museum. The castle is in pristine condition and stands as one of the few original Japanese castles that have survived since the Edo period. It’s an excellent example of traditional Japanese castle architecture, complete with wooden interiors and a functioning…
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Exploring Koyasan, a Sanctuary on the Mountain.
August 18, 2025. Wakayama, Japan. If you’re visiting Japan for its shrines and temples and could only choose one destination, Koyasan (Mount Koya) is the place to go. We rented a car at Wakayama Station and drove about an hour through winding mountain roads to reach this sacred site. Once there, we explored numerous temples,…
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Kumano Fireworks Festival
August 17, 2025. Umami, Japan. We anchored off the coast of Kumano to witness the longest running and most beautiful fireworks of our lives.
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Exploring Matsumoto Castle: A Journey Through History
August 12, 2025. Matsumoto, Japan. Day 6 Today, we journeyed to Matsumoto Castle, a magnificent structure and one of Japan’s oldest surviving castles. Since our visit fell during a holiday week, a sea of visitors filled the grounds, and we learned that our wait to enter would be between one and two hours. After purchasing…
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Road Trip from Minakami to Matsumoto: Tips and Insights
August 10, 2025. Matsumoto, Japan. Day 4 Today we drove from Minakami, Gunma to Matsumoto, Nagano. There are several ways to get to Matsumoto: you can travel on local roads through the mountains or head south to Takasaki and then east until reaching Matsumoto. This is the route we chose, and it proved to be…
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A Morning Walk in Tokyo and Travel to Minakami
August 7, 2025. Tokyo, Japan. Day 2 Today was packed with activity as we tried to take in a bit of Tokyo and then travel to Minakami. Being jetlagged, we were wide awake at 5 a.m. and decided to get out on the street to beat the summer heat. We had a wonderful stroll through…
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Exploring the USA, Canada and Japan: A 170-Day Nomadic Adventure a Guide to Planning and Budgeting
May 21, 2025. Annandale, Virginia. Tomorrow, we embark on a 170-day trip that will take us through most of the northern states of the United States and Western Canada, ending in Seattle for the first 75-day leg of our journey. The second leg of our trip entails a flight to Japan, where we will explore…