We recently had a relaxing weekend of no plans combined with a casual trip to a wisteria garden and onsen. Kawachi Fuji-en is very famous and the pictures show a stunning wisteria display! Following the advice on the website, we decided near the end of April was best. After the hour long trip, we arrived…
Month: April 2017
Japanese Warriors and Grandmothers
On turning 30, we had not realised that our hobbies would branch out to include activities inspired by Japanese warriors and Japanese grandmothers. Each week we practice Kyudo, or Japanese archery. This is a surprisingly difficult form of archery, which follows a specific etiquette and process. We have also developed a taste for a hobby…
Sunday Strawberries
As spring broke, the cherry blossoms departed, and the temperatures rose, we had a gentle afternoon of all-you-can eat strawberry picking. The all-you-can eat fruit picking is an unusual concept for us, but strawberries….wow, are they delicious. I am pretty sure they have always been tasty, but in Japan they seem to be more juicy…
Hanami!
Spring in Japan is a time to celebrate the change of seasons as the weather gets warmer, the bugs are born again, and the flowers bloom. Most people connect Japan with the Cherry Blossom flower, or Sakura. It features in pretty much all of Japan’s advertising and is a of national importance! Sakura trees can…
Mount Koya
During our time in Osaka, we took a day trip to the very spiritual Mount Koya in Wakayama prefecture. This came the day after our time at Universal Studios Japan and could not have been more different! At Mount Koya we walked the 2km path to the very spiritual and important mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, where…
Cafe Hoots
On our ‘spring break’ this year we visited the second largest city in Japan, Osaka. In this buzzing metropolis, we engaged in the most touristy かわいい(cute) cultural activity possible: animal cafe visiting! Our first stop was the owl cafe, Owl Family Cafe Osaka. With a hoot hoot here and a hoot hoot there, we enjoyed…
Universal Studios Japan
Wow. What a day. I was thoroughly overstimulated and couldn’t sleep for hours after our day-trip to this famous Japanese theme park. The big not-so-hidden child in Dan was awakened as we explored Hogsmeade Harry Potter village and went on the Flying Dinosaur rollercoaster. Hogsmeade was wonderful and was really well-done by USJ! There were lovely…
Our First Ikebana
As spring broke over our cold old apartment in Japan, we were fortunate enough to be invited to sample Ikebana. A colleague at work had heard through the rumour-mill that Dan and I were interested in taking part in this traditional Japanese activity. She very kindly arranged for us to have an afternoon lesson, enjoying both…