We're Back from Japan

I'm still a little groggy from the 15-hours time difference, but yes we're back. Not everything turned out as planned, and the second week was rather tiring since we had to move to a different town every morning, but it was still a great half-month trip. In fact, I think we covered probably half of the places I really want to see over the entire Japan.


One of the highlights was renting our own traditional Kyoto style "townhouse" (Machiya) for three nights in Kyoto. The house was old, creaky, but it was a 90-something-year-old house built in the traditional style, with its sliding screen doors and raised floors and plaster walls and shades flowing in the wind. We cooked breakfast in a Taisho-period (~1912) kitchen, bought from the neighbourhood 100-yen shop, washed our own clothes by hand and dried them over a clothesline in our little courtyard. For three days we became typical Kyoto residents, and THAT was very special.


Another highlight was the two nights we spent under the thatch roofs of the giant farmhouses in Gokayama and Shirakawago. This is a World Heritage site surrounded by the mountains of Central Japan, often snowed-in and separated from the outside world during the winter. In the cold mornings of late spring, we sat around the square fireplace (Irori) with the host family, who served us rice grown from their own field in front of the house. It was an interesting, rustic experience for city people like us. And towards the end of our trip, we followed the footsteps of feudal era travellers and hiked part of the ancient highway between Tsumago-juku and Magome-juku, staying in the centuries-old traditional inns at both ends.



At the end we brought back more than 3000 photos, so we have lots to share. Among the stories I will be sharing are:

- Osaka's vibrant food culture
- Kanazawa's unbelievably fresh seafood
- the famous Kobe Beef, and how it compares to the Matsuzaka Beef we've had before
- Hida Beef, which is also very famous
- Deep Fried Grasshopper (I didn't go look for it .... it just happened to be on my plate)
- Horse Meat in Matsumoto
- a visit to Uji, the Green Tea (and Green Tea Dessert) capital of Japan
- Kyoto style sushi ... and how it's entirely different from what we get outside Japan
- Comparison between Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo style broiled Unagi (freshwater eel)
- a traditional Tofu meal ... how do they turn a simple ingredient into 12 courses?
- a real Open-Air Hotspring bath in the wild
- the National Park at Kamikochi
- Two of Japan's most beautiful castles: Himeji and Matsumoto
- Kyoto's visually stunning Aoi Matsuri festival
- lots of nice pics from Kyoto, Nara, Takayama, Kanazawa etc
- and of course, a Trip Preparation guide to help anyone planning a similar trip


As you can see, that's a lot of topics to cover, and will probably take several months. But I will try to stay disciplined and resume regular postings starting next week, once I have sorted out these several thousand photos. Give me some time, but I'm going to do it!