Tag: travel
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Exploring Sounkyo: A Memorable Stay at Hotel Taisetsu
September 10, 2025. Sounkyo, Japan. After coffee and a light sandwich, we embarked on our drive to Sounkyo. Our journey took us through Asahikawa, the second largest city in Hokkaido, known for its famous Asahiyama Zoo. From there, we drove north, parallel to the mountains, through a vast expanse of farmland, mostly rice, which was…
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Exploring Biei, Hokkaido, the Shirogane District and Mount Tokachi
September 9, 2025. Biei, Japan. Today we spent the day exploring Biei, Japan, a quaint village at the center of Hokkaido. Listed as one of “Japan’s most beautiful Villages,” it’s easy to see why. Biei itself offers peace and quiet, but just beyond it lies a network of roads that lead to some of the…
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Exploring Mount Asahi-dake: Hokkaido’s Majestic Volcano
September 8, 2025. Higashiwaka, Japan. Today we drove from Furano to Mount Asahi-dake. Asahi-dake, also known as Mount Asahi, is a majestic stratovolcano and the highest mountain on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Standing at 2,291 meters (7,516 ft), it is a central and prominent feature of Daisetsuzan National Park. The mountain’s native Ainu name,…
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Park Golf in The Heart of Hokkaido. Exploring Furano and Beyond.
August 7, 2025. Furano, Japan. We departed our hotel in Sapporo early in the morning and picked up our rental car to begin our road trip in Hokkaido. Our first stop was Furano, “The Navel Town of Hokkaido.” It has this nickname because of its perfectly central position on the island. Furano is a year-round…
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Exploring Otaru: A Day Trip from Sapporo
August 6, 2025. Otaru, Japan. We started our day with a rapid train ride from Sapporo to the port city of Otaru, located on the northern shores of Hokkaido on Ishikari Bay. A gateway to the Sea of Japan, Otaru was built on a foundation of trade and fishing. Our first stop was the Otaru…
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A Perfect Day in Sapporo: Parks, Museums, and Sushi
August 5, 2025. Sapporo, Japan. A Walk Through Sapporo’s Center Odori Park is a green oasis at the heart of the city, serving as a gathering place for locals and tourists alike. At about a mile long, it divides the city into north and south sections. This morning, the weather was perfect at 23° Celsius…
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On to Hokkaido, an Island Filled with Adventure
September 4, 2025. Sapporo, Japan. Our twenty-day cruise around the beautiful islands of Japan has concluded, and we’re now embarking on a new adventure: exploring the northern island of Hokkaido. We traveled from the cruise port to Haneda Airport, one of Tokyo’s two major international airports, early in the morning. This gave us our first…
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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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Our Visit to the Mount Fuji Heritage Center.
August 16, 2025. Shimizu, Japan. If you want to learn all that is Mount Fuji, this is the place to visit. We arrived in Shimizu early morning and boarded a train for Fuji, then transferred to another for Fujinomiya City, home to this wonderful museum. The museum is only 300 Yen to enter and offers…
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Exploring Kusatsu: A Perfect Onsen Getaway
August 13, 2025. Kusatsu, Japan. Day 6 Today we traveled from Matsumoto to Kusatsu Onsen. We had a wonderful drive through rice fields, valleys, and lush mountain landscapes. The drive was easy and we were in Kusatsu by lunchtime. Kusatsu Onsen is a world-renowned onsen (hot spring) town in Gunma Prefecture, and a popular tourist…