Japan trip - Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka

We just came back from vacation in Japan. We spent about ten days there. Of course there were two days we were in the flight. On the first day of arrival, we stayed in our friend's house in Kyoto. The second day we travelled to Hakone. This was followed by a trip to Tokyo's Ghibli Museum and Tsukiji fish market. After Tokyo, we travelled back to Kyoto and made day trips to Himeji, Hiroshima and Miyajima. We also made a quick stopover in Nagoya for the Maglev railway park. The last four days we explored some tourist sites in Kyoto, Universal Studios Japan (Osaka) and Osaka Castle. The kids enjoyed themselves very much in the railway park as well as the Universal Studios. We spent about RM13k for this trip (all expenses included).

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Last day in Sendai

After spending five days in Sendai, my visit here has finally come to an end. On my last day, I took a tour of the Kirin Beer Factory. I must say that the tour was quite informative—slightly better than the one I had at a beer factory in Malaysia. Visitors were able to touch, smell, and taste during the tour. We were served at least three different types of Kirin beer for tasting. Although the tour was short, it was uplifting. I had lunch at their restaurant, which was probably my most expensive meal during this trip to Sendai. In the afternoon, I took an Uber to Arahama Elementary School, which has now been turned into a museum. It is located on the eastern side of Sendai, an area that was hit by the tsunami following the earthquake on March 11, 2011. On that day, after the quake, the schoolchildren were evacuated to the rooftop of the building. About 27 hours later, they were all rescued. The school now exhibits the impact of the tsunami, the conditions on that day, and the aftermath...

Kumano Kodo - Day 2

After a good rest, I departed for Hosshimon-oji. The hotel provided free transit to the Hongu area, so I saved some time waiting for the bus. The plan for the day was a 7 km walk from Hosshimon-oji to Oyunohara. Since my next lodging was in the Yunomine Onsen area, I decided to add an extra walk from Oyunohara to Yunomine Onsen, which was about 2.2 km. At Hosshimon-oji, the trail is essentially a connecting route to the Takijiri trail. The previous stamping station was about 800 meters from Hosshimon-oji, so I made a detour to Inohana-oji. That detour added approximately 1.6 km to my journey, taking about 30 minutes or more. From Hosshimon-oji (after detouring via Inohana-oji), I started walking toward Hongu Taisha, which was about a 2.5-hour walk. Along the way, I stopped to rest and take photos. It was quite a leisurely walk. Part of the trail is paved, while the rest consists of forest paths lined with cypress trees (I guess). By the time I reached the town around Hongu Taisha, it w...

Akiu Onsen and waterfall

Again, based on a recommendation from an AI tool, I took a day trip to the Akiu Onsen area using public transport. Visiting an onsen wasn’t really my main agenda—it was the waterfall, Akiu Otaki Waterfall, that I wanted to see. Getting to the Akiu area requires careful planning around the public bus schedule. I took a bus from the Nagamachiminami area. Honestly, I didn’t even know where that was—I just followed Google’s directions. I arrived in Akiu Onsen town at 9 a.m. Just a short walk from the stop, you can enjoy a view of Rairaikyo Gorge. You can basically walk around the whole town in about 30 minutes. Since I couldn’t locate the public bathhouse, I decided to head to the waterfall. Unfortunately, the bus to the waterfall had already left, and the next one wouldn’t arrive until after lunch. Walking there would’ve taken too long—about 4 km, I think—so I had lunch first. After lunch, I waited for the bus to the waterfall. It was truly a great sight. If I’d had more time, I would hav...

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