Category: Day trips

Just in time for the recession a massive new shopping mall has opened up between Kobe and Osaka. Called “Nishinomiya Gardens (J website)” it features over 400 shops (lots of fancy boutiques, not much practical …

The picturesque town of Arima located on the other side of Mount Rokko from Kobe is a great place to explore the onsen culture of Japan. A nice day trip involving hiking is to go over Rokko …

A Japanese kind of day, morningu, noon and nighto.

Sometimes when you’re in Kyoto, you’ve just got to go the whole hog (not literally, I was mostly vegetarian …

This morning, I randomly found myself in Kyoto.

It dawned on me that living in the heart Osaka can sometimes deprive a boy of all things …

“Once you’ve seen one temple, you’ve seen them all”, lament many cynics.

 Well I challenge you to a duel! 

Yesterday, me and my delicious friend …

The sleepy provincial town of Iga Ueno has two main features which bring together two very different types of people: Ninja fans and Haiku poets.

Ninjas
Iga was originally one of the centers of education and development of the Ninjas err… …