Nara
Posted May 12, 2012 / By Adam and Amanda / 0 Comments
Nara is the site of the largest Buddha in Japan, the Daibutsu. The temple of Todaiji is the largest wooden building in the world and the Buddha inside is the largest bronze building in the world. Nara is also famous for its large population of deer that wander around the temple grounds. For a small …
Kobe
Posted May 11, 2012 / By Adam and Amanda / 0 Comments
We knew it would be expensive but Amanda and I discussed it for a few days and decided that since we were so close, we should splurge on a meal of real Kobe beef. We had heard of a good place called Mouriya so we took the 30 minute train ride into Kobe from Osaka …
Hiroshima
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Hiroshima is pretty close to Osaka so it was easy to take a day trip there. Near the center of town is the A-Bomb Dome, which is one of the few remaining buildings that was left standing after the bomb was dropped. We also went to the memorial museum which was a powerful experience and …
Osaka
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It’s hard to describe Osaka, but I could totally live there. It was mostly leveled during WWII, so it doesn’t have as much ancient culture as some other cities, but it more than makes up for it with its Blade Runner-esque nightscapes and its unique blend of pop/ Japanese hipster culture, music scene, and nightlife. …
Food Interlude
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No matter which country we are traveling in, sampling the local cuisine is one of our favorite things to do. This was taken to a whole new level in Japan. We knew that we loved Japanese food from back home, but I think we were a bit unprepared for the vast variety of different culinary …
Tsumago-Magome
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Tsumago and Magome are two small villages along the old Edo post road which stretches from modern day Tokyo to Kyoto. They have been historically preserved that residents are forbidden from selling, renting or destroying their property. We had heard great things from our friend Ilene before we left, so we were really excited to …
Furukawa Naked Man Festival
Posted May 9, 2012 / By Adam and Amanda / 0 Comments
Japan is known for it’s crazy festivals and Furukawa may just have the craziest of all. The Furukawa Matsuri (festival) is also known as the naked man festival. During the day, different neighborhoods around the town all prepare their beautiful wooden floats and decorate them with lanterns. Children climb up inside onto the roof and …
Kyoto
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We had high hopes for Kyoto. Really high. We had heard from a lot of friends that that it was the most interesting city in Japan, and after arriving we saw a lot of ads to that same effect. It goes to show that everyones’ travel experiences are unique. Although there were many beautiful sites, …
Hanami
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I mentioned in the Tokyo article that we found a place to stay on AirBnB with a nice woman named Senae. We stayed at her home near Yoga station on the outskirts of Tokyo and we had some great conversations as she was in the process of studying English. One of the really cool things that we did …
Obuse and Nagano
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After leaving Yudunaka, we made a quick stop at Obuse, a tiny town that is famous for being the last place where the famous artist Hokusai lived. There is a nice museum with replicas of his famous Angry Waves and Phoenix wood block prints. We also had our first oyaki buns, which have delicious fillings …