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Kyoto or Koya-San? They both begin with the letter K. They both have magnificent Buddhist architecture. But Koya-San has a pretty train ride and the station is very close to the hotel. So Koya-San it was. We rode the Nankai line to Hashimoto and then changed trains for the ride up to Gokurabashi. It was… Read more

The Japanese news has constant coverage of Typhoon Fitow as it heads directly for Tokyo. The Shinkansen isn’t running and Shinjuku is wet and windy. I’m glad we aren’t staying there this time and hope that we will not feel any effects during our flight back to Australia on Saturday night. Meanwhile CNN would rather… Read more

There is nothing like a deep, hot bath after a day of walking. Our hotel room has such a bath. But being Japanese, it is important to clean your body before entering the bath. So we sit down on the plastic stool and wash all over using the flexible shower outlet, now and then pouring… Read more

It’s a shock how much a Shinkansen ticket costs when you don’t have a rail pass. But it did mean that we could catch a Nozomi and race along at 300 km/h. But I am getting ahead of myself at very high speed. We caught a Rail Star Hikari bullet train to Okayama, home of… Read more

Dotombori Street in Osaka is lined with advertisements for Jetstar’s service between here and Sydney. So how was the flight? Pretty good overall, though the air was a little stuffy for my liking. We pushed back a little late and we stuck behind an Air China flight and a Qantas 767 decked out in the… Read more

Woke up just before the alarm sounded and quickly washed and packed the last items into the bag. B drove me up to the bus stop along with our bags, then returned the car to the garage and walked back. That way the neighbours don’t see that we are off on holidays. Out the window… Read more