Onsen-ing

One of the most fun thing to do when in Japan is going for onsen. What is onsen?

Onsen is basically taking a bath at hot springs and Japan is blessed with many natural hot springs. The benefit of onsen in manifold such as healing, and most of all relaxing. From what I gathered, bathing together is also something that a family or friends do in Japan. 

Yes, onsen requires one to disrobe completely in front of whoever you are bathing together with and also random strangers. But one of the things to keep in mind, at public baths women and men sections are strictly kept separated. 

My first onsen experience was around 2005 when I visited one of my Japanese sensei in Japan. She took me to an onsen. Although, I was initially shy, I realised nobody else was. So why should I? That began my love affair with onsen.... :) Read more about onsen here.

Anyway, on my honeymoon I did go back to Japan again as you probably have known. I made sure some of the places we visited are famous for their onsen. Other than Yudanaka Onsen, we also went to Gero Onsen on the 14th April 2011. Gero Onsen is accessible via Nagoya where we had opted to stay for 3 nights. We took the Limited Express Wide View Hida train and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. 

We decided to save time by buying bento in the train for brekkie.
It was so yummy!

View from the Wide View Hida train.

Gero Onsen

It's obvious what Gero is famous for... 

While in Gero, we also visited Gassho Mura. Read more about Gassho Mura and Gero Onsen here.

After Gero, where were we off to? Takayama!

This entry is part of my honeymoon journey.


Love,
from me to u.

Just a photo a day

Taken at Gero Onsen, Japan - 14th April 2011

Camera: Nikon D60

Unfortunately, study and real life takes precedence for now. I think I may have to resort to blogging with a single photo for a while (borrowing ideas from the August Daybreak that Anna and Blisschic took part in ^^)

I think I may have over-committed myself... but normal blogging will resume when things have settled down. 

Love,

from me to u.

Sakura tabi socks

When I was in Japan, one of the things that I kept buying as I go through each city were socks. So apt for the winter season... nothing beats huddling at home wearing a pair of tabi socks, with tiny sakuras.

Love,
from me to u.

Part of Anna's Much Love Monday

Katuki in Summer, Nakazaki-cho, Osaka

More photos from Katuki. Courtesy of Katsuki-san. ^^
Katuki in Summer.

Don't you love the kimono display? I told you it's a treasure trove! ^^

Visit Katuki's website here!

Love,
from me to u.

Spotlight on - Katuki, Nakazaki-cho, Osaka (Part 3)

If you are ever in the Nakazaki-cho area in Osaka, you absolutely have to find Katuki. This amazing and precious shop belongs to Katsuki-san. Inside this little shop, you'll find a treasure trove of antiques and hand-made items. What I absolutely adore about this place is that there are just so many things to see. The antiqued kimonos are just beautiful. It is a textile and antique collector's dream shop! Katsuki-san is also very nice! ^^ When I left, she gave me a little rabbit toy with her best wishes which I will treasure always. :)

Unfortunately, the time I spent there was simply not enough to really explore the shop due to other plans for the day. (I was going back to Australia the next day). I would love to be back there again the next time I'm in Japan. ^^

Katsuki-san also has a map of all the shops in the Nakazaki-cho area. The places that I managed to find when I was there was just the tip of the iceberg... Nakazaki-cho is definitely a place to visit when in Osaka! ^^

Visit Katuki's website here!

Love,
from me to u.

Spotlight on - Nook Tour, Nakazaki-cho, Osaka (Part 2)

One of the shops that I visited while in Nakazaki-cho was Nook Tour. They sell lovely jewellery and cute small items. Some of the earrings in this store is sold as a piece. I love the concept that you can buy just one instead of a pair. After all, the fun bit is mixing and matching. Each key earring has a different number and you can pick which number you like. Totally love the packaging too! ^^

Visit Nook Tour online here.

Stay tune for more spotlight on Nakazaki-cho. ^^

Love,
from me to u.

Travel Photography - Nakazaki-cho, Osaka (Part 1)

One of the places that I visited while in Japan was Osaka. In Osaka, there is an area of old houses and some of these old houses have been converted into cute shops. These cute shops are located in Nakazaki-cho. Some of the shops sell 2nd hand/vintage items, while some sells hand-made items. Nakazaki-cho is the Osaka version of Melbourne's Brunswick Street or Singapore's Haji Lane. It definitely worth a visit if you are in Osaka area. ^^

In my next post I'll talk about some of the shops I visited while I was there. ^^

Love,
From me to u.

Travel Photography - Lights & Trees

Taken at the climb towards Jigokudani Monkey Park, Yamanouchi, Nagano-ken, Japan

Love,

From me to u.

Just because...

... I love this taxi signage/logo. Taken at Kyoto, 21st April 2011.

Love,

From me to u.

Places visited

Sunset view from Yokote Yama at Shiga Kogen, Yamanouchi-machi, Nagano-ken

For our Japan honeymoon trip we went to the following places over 15 days:

- Tokyo (Ueno only)

Yamanouchi-machi, Nagano-ken

- Shiga Kogen

- Yudanaka Onsen

Nagoya

- Gero Onsen

- Takayama

Hiroshima

- Miyajima

Hakata/Fukuoka

Kyoto 

-Nara 

- Yoshino

Osaka

(Places marked - indicates day trip. We did not stay overnight there.)

My pick for favourite place had to be Yamanouchi-machi. The place is quiet, but full of characters...well it is where the snow monkeys of Jigokudani Park. I do love the monkeys, the onsen (We stayed at the lovely Biyu no Yado which had onsen facilities).... the snow mountains in this area is also amazing! T and I had really great fun going up Yokote Yama with Craig from Snow Monkey Japan who took us snow shoeing. What an experience! ^^ T also took to the idea of onsen like a duck to water.... lol

T on the other hand fell in love with Hakata. All because of Tonkotsu Ramen. Enough said. 

Nagoya turned out to be a very good surprise. It is actually packed with great places to visit. Noritake no Mori satisfied my china obsession.... and the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry & Technology satisfied T's technology obsession. The Meguru Bus was handy too!

But we agreed that the best places in Japan are the quiet ones... they really are truly hidden gems.

These places are places we hoped to visit again! ^^

Love,

From me to u.

Amazing Japan

Map from Japan Information Network

In February 2011, T and I decided to go to Japan for our long-awaited honeymoon. There were a couple of reasons why we decided to go to Japan. But ok...mainly it was because I love love love Japan. I've been to Japan twice then, once when I was very young and once when I graduated from my Bachelor's degree. When I was very young, my family and I went with a tour. When I took my graduation trip, I went with a friend sans tour as by then both of us knew sufficient Japanese to travel on our own. My friend and I met in a Japanese language school BTW.

Anyway, I always found Japan to be a very fascinating place. Furthermore, T wanted a relaxing place for honeymoon, while I wanted to shop. I also knew that Japan has one thing that would piqued T's interest....robots. LOL

After booking our tickets and hotels, on March 11th, the Japan Tohoku Region disaster struck. Since we were going in April, we thought it would be prudent to wait and see the development of the situation instead of rushing off to cancel our tickets etc. By the 2 weeks before we left, the issue with the nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture did not improve, aftershocks were still felt in Tokyo and surrounding areas. After discussion and deliberation, we decided to go ahead, but taking Tokyo out of our itinerary.

I will blog more about the trip, but what I wanted to share this time is if you look at the map above, you would see that actually Japan is divided into different regions. It is important to note, while the situation impacts Japan (emotionally) as a whole, the places that are greatly affected is the Tohoku Region. Being close to Tohoku, hence Kanto (where Tokyo is) and Shinetsu (Though we did go here on our trip) are also impacted by the aftershocks. In other areas of Japan, no aftershocks are felt nor is the nuclear situation an issue.

Why I wanted to clarify this is because due to foreign media reporting, there are misconceptions that the whole Japan is impacted by the aftershocks and nuclear threat. Places that are not experiencing these issues are impacted as a result of tourists cancelling their flights.... in fact, talking with the locals whose livelihood depends on tourists, it is another sad blow to their economy.

Japan is an amazing country, with diverse things to see and experience within the different regions. I would say, if you are planning a trip to Japan and you are not going to the affected areas to begin with, you should just go. We did and we had a blast.... it is also one good way to support Japan's recovery. :)

Anyway more posting on our trip details soon! ^^

For more info from people who went to Japan after the disaster: http://www.japan-guide.com/

Love,

From me to u.