Tokyo! Largest city in the world according to population density. 36 million people in the city and surrounding area, about the same as in Canada. My tour ends with one night here, but I have an extra two nights. Our hotel is close Ueno Park, a massive green space with a zoo and museums. Lunch was a tiny restaurant where you ordered from a vending machine outside. Our last night as a group was dinner in a restaurant just big enough for our group, then drinks in another tiny place that we shared with a group of business people getting loud and smoking weed. That night there was a massive…

We travelled by bullet train, then trains and bus to this resort area. We had a picnic lunch on the lake with a view of Mt. Fuji and a tori gate in the lake. We were very lucky. Mt Fuji, a sacred mountain and the highest in Japan, is notoriously shy, more often than not hidden by clouds. We crossed the lake on a pirate boat then took a cable car to the top of a mountain where there are sulfur springs.Fuji is an active volcano, and the area is famed for its hot springs, and bathing areas known as onsen. In the resort town, we had huge rooms, and…

In Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, there is a mix of cutting edge and ancient culture. Our first stop of the day was the Golden Pavilion, a zen Buddhist temple covered in gold leaf, one of the iconic sights of the country. It’s beautiful, and the grounds are crowded with tourists. Our next stop was much more serene, at the Daisen-in Zen Buddhist temple with a Zen rock garden and its representation of life. We were told of some of the basic tenets of zen, “ichi go ichi ie” meaning literally one moment, one meeting, or treasure every encounter because it will never recur. Or my personal interpretation, do…

We took a train and ferry to Miyajima Island, home of the famous floating torii gate. At high tide the vermilion shrine gate appears to be floating. Although there was solid rain all day, it didn’t affect the beauty of the island and its mountains and forests. Deer wander though the town on the edge of the ocean looking for handouts. . “There are also monkeys here but they must have been hiding from the rain. We checked out the temple and its sake barrelsthen walked through the hills and koi ponds to the cable car. We rode it to the top of a mountain for views of the islands…

In Hiroshima, we saw sites related to the first atomic bomb dropped here by the US on August 6, 1945. The Atomic Dome is the preserved ruins of an office complex near the epicentre of the bomb strike. Reports vary, but maybe 60,000 people died instantly, another 60,000 in the next few months, and who knows how many died years later from cancers and other diseases linked to radiation exposure. The museum told the sad stories of those who were never found, those who survived for some time after their clothes had been burned on to their bodies, and those who died years later. One of those was Sadako Sakai,…

Arriving in Osaka, I was a little worried about getting to the hotel from the airport outside the city after reading that even the Japanese are confused by the signs and exits. It turned out to be easy with the help of the friendly and efficient workers. A train took me to Namba station, a major hub for trains and subways, then I walked to my hotel with explicit instructions from an Information Booth worker who spoke limited English. Love their customer service! My room was tiny but had a high tech toilet, it’s great. But tomorrow I will have to share the room. I saw no foreigners until I…

I’m finally booked for Japan! After much debate with myself I have chosen a short trip called Japan Express with G Adventures.  It’s 9 days from Osaka to Tokyo.  It ends abruptly in Tokyo so I added two days there.  Flights booked, then for the extra two nights the tour hotel is fully booked, so I have been searching for a place to stay.  I’m finding cool looking hostels, with walls of beds, capsule hotels where you slide into your own little pod, ryokans which include an onsen which is a spa like bathing area (I think), hotels with the choice of smoking or non-smoking rooms, and an airbnb traditional…