Japan 2024

After a long wait, we finally reached #Japan this autumn. The plan was to see the autumn #colours, take in #culture and learn a little of the history of these lands: we were not disappointed! We toured with a company called Inside Japan, and our guide was from St Asaph, meaning communication was easy. The tour was around #Honshu, starting and finishing in #Tokyo, travelling by road, rail and boat along the way.

Tokyo is a massive, bustling city with a population of 37.4 million people making it the largest city in the world. However, it retains lots of #character and there are many green spaces and temples – both #Buddhist and #Shinto.

Tokyo

Temple Statues

From Tokyo we travelled to the Japanese alps to catch the colours around #Nagano, #Matsumoto and #Takanawa, taking in temples, Hida no Sato Open Air #Museum  and a trip up to see the Snow monkeys (unfortunately, no snow...). A trip to see 1000 red #Torii gates was spectacular, then we travelled southwards to visit #Hiroshima and see the Peace Park developed in tribute to the devastation after the atomic bomb.

Nagano Temple

Buddha with head scarf

Matsumoto Temple

Warrior at Matsumoto

Hido no Sato

1000 Torii Gates

Snow Monkey

Hiroshima

The country is beautifully clean, with no litter or graffiti and a population who are helpful and respectful. Transport is a dream – especially the #bullet #trains, ticking along at nearly 200mph and dramatically shortening travel times.

Bullet Train

This was a fixed and intensive tour, and we shall return but on our own terms in the future, as we now know that there are many signs (road, rail and street) in English to allow us to get about easily. However, for those not so sure, a guided tour is a great introduction.