After three thwarted attempts, I finally made it to Japan!
In 2017, we toured India with our friends Knute and Mazal, using the Odysseys Unlimited tour company. We had a great time; our tour guide was wonderful, and the tour company did an excellent job. So we planned a 2020 trip to Japan, again using Odysseys Unlimited. Unfortunately, COVID-19 appeared, and the trip was postponed. Then, in 2021, the trip was cancelled due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. I had to cancel the 2022 trip because Susan could no longer travel. So we decided to go in 2025!
Our trip itinerary included visits to Tokyo, Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Hiroshima.
The trip was wonderful, and we experienced many different adventures on this trip. Our guide was exceptional, and it was a cohesive group of travelers who got along well.
Rather than describe the trip chronologically, I will post pictures thematically, starting with Gardens and Temples in this post.
The Japanese Gardens were fabulous, and the highlight of the trip for me.
In Tokyo, we went to the Imperial Palace Gardens. The Imperial Palace had been here, surrounded by walls and a moat; it burned down in 1869. A new Palace Castle was built, but it is not open to the public. But the Gardens were spectacular!
We visited the Asakusa Kannon Temple in Tokyo. It was not my favorite: it was 80°F and humid, and mobbed with people on this Saturday.
Many people were dressed in traditional costumes as part of a religious visit. They were supposed to inhale from the cauldron with burning incense.
People asked me whether we would see Cherry Blossoms, as our trip was in April. In Tokyo, the Cherry Blossoms were past their peak. Fortunately, Takayama is at a much higher elevation, and the Cherry Blossoms were magnificent.
Here are my friends Knute and Mazal in front of the Cherry Blossoms in Takayama.
We visited the Village of Shirakawago Gassho-zukuri, which is known for buildings with thatched roofs. These thatched roofs are very steep because of the heavy snowfall here. The thatched roofs need to be replaced about every 30 years, a demanding job. This task is undertaken by a collective community effort of up to 200 villagers. This system ensures the transfer of traditional thatching skills to younger residents.
Our guide showed us a video of roof thatching, which is quite amazing.
The Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa was a highlight of the trip.
The gardeners in the park wore traditional hats.
They manicured the trees, providing wooden supports for branches.
A young woman in traditional dress was being photographed by her friend. Using hand gestures I asked whether it was okay for me to take pictures.
We visited the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove near Kyoto, and the adjacent Tenryū-ji Temple and gardens.
Ryoan-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, has a famous rock garden. According to Wikipedia, “The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui (“dry landscape”), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation.” The surrounding gardens were also spectacular.
Two Turtles in the Ryoan-ji gardens.
The Golden Pavilion Temple, a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, was mobbed with tourists. It is a National Special Historic Site, and on this Saturday, there were many Japanese visitors.
The Fushimi Inari Shrine is famous for its thousands of red torii gates. According to Wikipedia, “a torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.”
There are statues of Foxes that serve as Guardians at the entrance of Inari shrines.
Sanjyu Sangendo (c. 1266), an important Buddhist temple housing 1,000 statues of the Thousand-Armed Kannon deity. Pictures were not permitted, so I bought postcards. Is this cheating? The statues were amazing; each one was different.
This is my picture of the temple’s exterior; it looks almost identical to the one in the postcard pack.
I walked from my Kyoto hotel to visit stores – the Japanese 7-11 and their version of Dollar Stores. Both were quite interesting. A few blocks from the hotel, I came across the Higashi Hongan-ji Temple. (There are 1600 Buddhist temples in Kyoto.) Unlike the other more famous temples I had visited, there were few people, and thus it was better for photography.
There was an amazing fountain of a metallic dragon.
On Miyajima Island, we visited the Daisho-In Temple, which has five hundred Rakan Statues. Most of the statues have red knitted hats, which are offerings from people visiting the islands.
The gardens and shrines in Japan were fabulous!
Fantastic photos! I’m so happy you had such a good trip. ❤️