Land of the Rising Sun

Japan. Flying in from Shanghai, we had a jam packed schedule for what turned out to be a spectacular week long journey around western Japan. We flew in to Osaka but headed straight to Kyoto, then from there we visited Mount Koya, Nara and Himeji, Hiroshima in the Chugoku region, back to Osaka and finally a brief stop in Tokyo before flying home.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto

The former capital of Japan, Kyoto has an abundance of history and culture, it’s home to over 1000 Buddhist temples & 17 world heritage sites. This was the first place we stayed and definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The main sites get incredibly busy especially on the weekends so getting up early is a great habit to get in to. With the amount of things to see and do you can easily fill a week long stay but as usual we were against the clock and only had 2 and a half days to get around it all. Hiring bikes was our saviour and we managed to wizz about the city very quickly.

Not to miss:

Gion District
Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine
Kiyomizu-dera Temple (under-going renovation work but still worth it)
Ninna-Ji Temple
Sanjūsangen-dō Temple (No photos as they’re not allowed inside but an amazing display of 1001 buddhist statues)
Arashiyama District

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Sanneizaka street and Yasaka Pagoda, Gion District, Kyoto, Japan

Tenju-an Temple Garden, Kyoto, Japan

Ninna-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Ichitani-Munakata-Jinja Shrine, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Hanami-Koji Street, Gion District, Kyoto, Japan

Mount Koya, Koyasan

We left behind the busy streets of Kyoto and headed on a series of winding cliff edge trains and cable cars to the peaceful and most sacred mountain in Japan, Mount Koya. It took half a day to reach the remote Buddhist temple where we would be spending the night but boy was it worth it, living like a monk for a day in a traditional room, embracing their vegetarian diet and attending morning prayers all surrounded by the most vibrant display of autumn leaves we have ever seen. I would definitely recommend fitting in a night stay in Koyasasn if you’re coming to Japan, especially at this time of year.

If you like a good walk then this is a great place to explore with all the main points of interest not too far from each other. On one side you have the old entrance to Koyasan, Daimon’s Great Gate and on the other the Okunion Cemetery with it’s towering pine trees and over 200,000 moss covered gravestones lining the path leading up to Kobo Daishi’s Mausoleum.

Not to miss:

Overnight stay in a Buddhist Temple with traditional veggie meal.
Danjo Garan Temple Complex.
Okunoin Cemetery & Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum.

Ekoin Temple, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Japan

Danjo Garan Temple Complex, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Japan

Daimon Great Gate, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Japan

Danjo Garan Temple Complex, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Japan

Ekoin Temple, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Japan

Okunoin Cemetery, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Wakayama, Japan

Torodo Hall of Lanterns, Okunoin Cemetery, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Wakayama, Japan

Okunoin Temple, Okunoin Cemetery, Mount Koya, Koyasan, Wakayama, Japan

Himeji Castle & Hiroshima

After recently seeing a documentary featuring Himeji Castle which is considered the most spectacular castle in Japan and one of 12 original castles not having been destroyed by war or fire, we made sure we had enough time to visit it and being one of the stops on our Osaka to Hiroshima train journey it was made very convenient. With frequent bullet trains on the route you can time it well like we did and have a train waiting for you at the station after you’re back from the castle tour.

We spent a night in Hiroshima and had a short visit to Miyajima Island as well before heading back.

Not to Miss:

Himeji Castle
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Ferry ride to Miyajima Island

Himeji Castle, Himeji, Japan

Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Hiroshima, Japan

Daishō-in Temple, Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, Japan

Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, Japan

Nara, Osaka & Tokyo

In the final stage of our tour of western Japan, we just managed to squeeze half a day in Nara before our time was up.

We used Osaka as a hub in our trip, we spent a lot of nights there which was probably for the best seen as there isn’t that much to do but it’s an impressive place to walk around in the evening and has a vast selection of restaurants and food from the weird to the wonderful.

Our flight home departed from Tokyo as it worked out a lot cheaper, even more so as we already had the JR rail pass and therefore wasn’t any extra to take the bullet train. We made sure to see the Team Lab Borderless exhibition while we were here which was a fantastic way to end journey. I’m often asked what’s my favourite country that I’ve visited and after this trip, it will be very difficult not to put Japan as one of the front runners.

Not to Miss: