Archive for 'Japan'
Being back in Kyoto is like meeting an old friend. There was a warm sensation of familiarity, cosiness and friendliness engulfing us as soon as we reached Kyoto Station. Japan is generally much nicer when comparing with city like Shanghai but Kyoto takes it to another level. There are stronger senses of history, art and culture yet it is blended well with the modern lifestyle. That makes it more interesting for me.
Follow the trail
The morning we set to head down south, the sky opened up and it was chucking down with rain. Leaving the rainy Tokyo and the intensity of the city behind, we took the Hikari Shinkansen down south to Nagoya where we transit to local JR lines. The cloud disappeared within 15 minutes into the ride. The sky was dark blue and it’s going to be a great day hiking.
Japan, We are back!.
We have been waiting for this trip for quite sometimes now. In fact, since leaving Japan the last time. What a beautiful, photogenic, culturally rich and friendly country. We didn’t have time to plan the trip as thoroughly as last year so part of the schedule is kind of made up on the spot and not as tightly packed as before. That’s the spirit of this trip.
The third leg of our trip took us to a small village of Shirakawa-Go. Here, the city noises fade away replace by sounds of nature. There are odd tour groups and day trip visitors coming into the village but after the last bus leaves at around 5-6 pm, the village is back to the normal tranquil state again. The village is famous for its gassho roof farmhouse. The word Gassho is translated as palm together signify the shape of the steep roof that helps to prevent snow build up as it tends to snow heavily in this valley.
Kyoto is one of the places I always want to see. Comparing to other travellers, yes, I should have come many years ago but later is better than never. Kyoto is culturally rich, colourful and very high in diversity, a Mecca for photographer and architect.
Thank you Japan for a wonderful trip and memories. We love every moment of it, the food, the people, beautiful country and landscape. Everywhere we went, we felt welcome. Everytime we needed help, someone offered it to us even they can’t communicate in English.
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