Han’s Gibberish

Now I’m back in Sydney. Here’s what we did on the last 2 days in Japan:
Day 11. Kyoto - Philosopher’s Walk or Path of Philosophy. Beautiful weather for a walk. This is the Sunday of a long weekend in Japan (that Monday is Culture Day), so Kyoto and the temples are full of local tourists/pilgrims. Then to Fushimi Inari Taisha. The gates are amazing to look at. At first we thought the area would be a small one, but turned out to be a quite large mountainous hike. Legs were tired by the end of the walk.
Day 12. Nara - More temples, Japanese garden, and of course deers. The deers are cute (though some are quite aggresive in search of food from tourists). The flight back to Sydney left in the evening, so we had to go back to Osaka a bit early.

Overall a very memorable journey. There are places which we wish we knew in advance how to enjoy it more (Mt Fuji - because we got there quite late. Akihabara - not enough time to peruse the cool gadgets). But we learned a lot about transport and accomodation for future visits and sharing tips to friends. Perhaps next time a better command of Japanese language will make it even more fun.

It’s been really a full-action-packed holiday so far. Here’s a summary of the continuation of our Japan trip:
Day 4. Tokyo - Shibuya Harajuku and Shinjuku. It was Sunday and the streets were swarming with people. Nights are blindingly bright with neon lights.
Day 5. Fuji - Started late and got there quite late. The bus to Mt Fuji from Fuji shinkansen station only goes every 2 hours, and we just missed one. So we did not take many pictures. Still we learnt how to get here cheaply, and if there’s a chance in the future, will definitely go back here, preferrably during autumn or spring. The scenery is quite breathtaking, even when not all leaves have turned red yet.
Day 6. Tokyo - Disney Sea. The rides are so-so, but the place is beautiful. Must have taken zillions of yen to build this place.
Day 7. Tokyo - Ginza and Akihabara. Finally got the chance to shop a bit at Akiba.
Day 8. Osaka - Universal Studio. Everything is in japanese here, so we did not understand the shows. The roller coaster is quite cool, especially the first drop. Souvenirs are as usual, over-priced.
Day 9. Kobe and Himeji. Lots of stairs to climb. First to a waterfall near the Kobe station, then at Himeji castle. We lost track of time in the picturesque japanese garden near Himeji castle, and we only had half an hour before Himeji castle closed. So there were some running as well. Kobe beef is so expensive (and so delicious), and we had it during lunch time when the price is half of the dinner price.
Day 10. Kyoto - Arashiyama. Cute monkeys!! And nice bamboo grove. We hired bikes, and it was really fun. We were laughing aloud while riding it.