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It’s nearly six months now since we were in Japan. At last, I’ve summoned up the courage to tackle our 1,600 digital photographs we took over our entire trip (the iTrip proved very successful!).

In presenting the pictures online, I’ve had to prune things down somewhat. So what’s here is a selected set of highlights.

Firstly, a bit of background on our trip. We used Inside Japan Tours to organise our trip, which was customised to account for our interests. We’d asked to stay in traditional accomodation (Ryokan) in preference to ‘Western’ hotels, and to try and get off the beaten track a little. We also wanted to avoid ‘coach’ holidays, where you’re shepherded around with little time in particular places. We wanted to do what we wanted, when we wanted, but with the security of having our accommodation and travel taken care of.

We couldn’t have been happier with the result, and are happy to recommend Inside Japan Tours to friends who express an interest in visiting Japan. :: Tokyo :: We arrived in Tokyo after a long flight from London Heathrow, and made our way on the Narita Express to the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Picture the busy neon-lit scenes from Bladerunner, and that’s what greeted us in Shinjuku as we went out to find dinner for the first evening. The rain poured down.

Our first itinerary item was a coach tour of the highlights of Tokyo. We’d decided an introductory morning tour would be a great way of seeing the highlights. This took us to Meiji-jingu Shinto temple, then to the Imperial Palace (a bit of a disappointment, as only the gardens were open to the public), then to Senso-ji, famous for the large red lanterns hanging in the gateway. In the afternoon, we went to Shinjuku Gyoen Park.

Our guide had advised us that THE place to go for Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo was Ueno Koen park, so the next day after having revisited Senso-ji, we hopped on the underground to Ueno park, to be greeted by simply the most stunning views of cherry blossom. Thousands of people milling about, it was apparent the Japanese take Cherry Blossoms very seriously. (More here on our experiences).

:: Kamakura :: We stayed in Tokyo for a total of three days, before heading on the train down to Kamakura, famous for the Great Buddha, which is truly huge at 11 metres. Ducking inside was interesting, and stunning to hear that the Buddha has stayed here for many centuries, withstanding almost everything nature could muster, from earthquakes to tidal waves – unlike the buildings they built to contain it, which were totally destroyed.

Kamakura, as most of the rest of Japan, takes it’s Cherry Blossoms seriously, and also has no shortage of temples: Earlier in the day we made the hike up to Zeniarai-Benten, where washing your money is believed to help triple it’s value.

:: Fuji-Hakone National Park :: On then to the Fuji-Hakone national park, where we stayed in the superb Fuji Hakone Guest House, which introduced us to Minshuku’s, Tatami mats and proper futons for the first time. Fuji-Hakone is a favourite destination for the Japanese, featuring a Sulphourous hot spot (with blackened eggs (black as a result of the sulphur reacting with the shell) supposed to add seven years to your life; The smell of sulphur was enough to put us off though!), the Pirate ships on Lake Togendai, and superb meal at Irorichaya restaurant (aka the ‘water wheel’ restaurant).

On the day we left, we made an attempt to go and see Mount Fuji, but as you can see, it stayed rather cloaked in cloud. Still, it was an impressive view of an impressive mountain.

:: Osaka :: Our trip from Fuji-Hakone took us to Osaka, where we stayed in the centre of town and briefly took in the sights, including Osaka-jo, the reconstructed castle in the centre. Very impressive.

:: Koyasan :: Our next stop took us to Koyasan, best described as a buddhist enclave, where many of the temples are available to stay in. We stayed in Rengejoin temple, which was extremely friendly. The monks who looked after us were clearly happy with their lot, and it rubbed off on us. Probably the most relaxing 24 hours of our entire trip.

There were no shortage of beautiful buildings, including Daito Pagoda close by. Most awesome of all was the 6am morning ceremony, which I mention here. Our walk up through the cemetry to Okunoin was peaceful and contemplative, as we joined many pilgrims (distinctive with their hats, bells and staffs) to visit Kobo Daishi’s resting place.

If I were visiting again, I’d suggest at least two nights. The place is so beautiful, distant from everywhere, and relaxing it just deserves more time. More about Koyasan can be found here

:: Kyoto :: After our lovely overnight stay at Koyasan, we were back on the train to visit Kyoto, famous already, but more so through Memoirs of a Geisha. Kyoto perhaps best illustrates the curious juxtaposition that is modern Japans relationship with it’s past history, and frenetic modern pace. On the one hand are beautiful Pagodas, on the other a society with such a frantic pace of life and bleeding edge technology adoption, it’s hard to grasp which part is really Japan. Of course, the answer is both. Just as in Britain we have tradition and a proud history, we also have a leading economy and liberal democracy. When I look back at Japan, as much as it’s so very different from Britain, it’s similar in more ways than perhaps a cursory glance reveals.

We immersed ourselves in the history of Kyoto. Our Ryokan was close to the main station, so convenient for moving about Kyoto, so we were able to take in much it had to offer, from the 1001 Kanons at Sanju-Sangen-do, to the beautiful Philosophers walk, especially as the canal was shrouded in beautiful cherry blossom trees.

Ginkaku-ji (known as “The Silver Pavilion”) was our reward at the end of the walk, with it’s beautiful Zen garden.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the entire Kyoto trip, however, was that we were able to get tickets to go and see the Miyako Odori Cherry Blossom Dance put on every year by the Geisha in Kyoto. The Geisha were rare and strangely alluring creatures we spotted only at a distance in the streets around Gion. To see them in their element was a treat indeed.

:: Takayama :: Our last stop prior to returning to Tokyo was Takayama, where we took in Hida Folk Village, which gave a good impression of what rural life was like in Japan in previous centuries. The food in our Minshuku was superb, and we enjoyed a number of excellent Meals.

Before returning to Tokyo, we visited one of the festival float museums, which show a number of the floats that are carried or pushed around Takayama during the famous spring and autumn festivals.

:: Returning to Tokyo :: Arriving back in Tokyo, we felt like we’d arrived in a different city. The cherry blossoms in Ueno park had disappeared, and just a few pieces of blue polythene, and some last straggling blossoms amidst a sea of green shoots were all that indicated Cherry Blossoms had been in such abundance. We took in the museums in the park, but suggest concentrating on the Japanese parts, as the collection is understandably light on western relics. The many golden statues in one of the more modern buildings were the highlight here.

After two superb weeks in Japan, we felt like we had had a superb introduction to this beautiful country. However, we were tired of Rice and noodles, and we were eagerly looking forward to the next part of our trip to Sydney (written up here)

Travel Log

March 31st, 2004: Tokyo

April 4th, 2004: More Cherry Blossoms, and Strange Men

April 12th, 2004: Monks; Blossoms pt 2 (3?); Fast trains

We continued on our trip by flying on to Sydney

Pictures The full set of highlight pictures are here, note that all pictures are copyright (c) 2004 Richard Leyton and Frances Flood. If you want to make use of them, please contact us: We have full size images that’ll result in good prints. We have many more available too.

Tour Recommendation We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Japan, and hope that the above provides you with some thoughts and inspirations in planning your trip. We highly recommend you contact Inside Japan Tours (We’re not (sadly!) on commission: They just did a great job)

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