07/02/2013
Hello and welcome to the tour diary for Japan Highlights. My name is Yukari Mizuochi and I'll be tyour Explorica Tour Director for this trip. I hope you're all excited...because I am! I'll be sending you news and photos from Japan. Please check back for regular updates. I'll be waiting at Narita airport in Tokyo to meet everyone. Have a good flight and I'll see you soon!
07/03/2013
Everyone arrived safe in Tokyo. We enjoyed dinner at a popular Japanese-style restaurant near the hotel. We'll have a full day sightseeing tour in Tokyo tomorrow.
07/04/2013
We had a great day in Tokyo today! We visited Imperial Palace Eat Gardens . then we went to the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Asakusa (Sensoji) Temple and enjoyed souvenir shopping and eating local food! Another cultural spot we visited is Meiji Shinto Shrine where we prayed for our safe travelWe also went to Harajuku (Takeshita street) and Shibuya which has a famous busy crossing. Our dinner was nice Japanese cuisine including sashimi (raw fish), tempura and chawanmushi. Some of us went to Akihabara, a big electronic town and the center of Japanese anime. We're moving west to Mt. Fuji and Hakone hot spring resort tomorrow.
| Meiji Shinto Shrine |
| Center for Imperial Guard Training |
07/05/2013
Due to unexpected weather conditions we couldn't visit Mt Fuji and Lake Ashi. We went to the Narukawa Art Museum with more ore than 4000 traditional Japanese paintings. Each exhibition room is wide and relaxing. In addition, the observatory lounge of the museum has a breathtaking view of the best combination of Lake Ashi and Mt. Fuji we all hoped to see. Tonight we stay in Atami where some of us may try local hot spring.
07/06/2013
The highlight for today was Matsumoto Castle. It is one of four castles designated as 'National Treasures of Japan' and the oldest castle donjon remaining in Japan. Construction began in 1592 of the elegant black and white structure with its three turrets. Because of the elegant black walls, Matsumoto Castle is sometimes called 'Crow Castle'. Inside the castle are steep stairs and low ceilings leading past displays of armor and weapons from the Sengoku period ("Warring-States") when the castle was built. The narrow wooden windows, once used by archers and gunmen, provide amazing views of the Japanese Alps. Then we wen toJapan’s largest wasabi farm ( Daio Wasabi Farm ) covering 15 hectares. It's natural water springs 120,000t per day that is to enable their annual yield of 150t of wasabi. It is located in Hotaka, Azumino, 32km north from the center of Matsumoto. It was established in 1915 and is a popular tourist spot due to its beautiful watermills and for the magnificent view of the Alps. Its restaurants offer not only the popular soba noodles along with freshly picked wasabi, but also wasabi-flavored ice cream and lots of other wasabi-themed products. Next, we headed west to Takayama city which has a traditional atmosphere like Kyoto, an ancient capital of Japan.
| Matsumoto Castle |
07/07/2013
Today we went to Takayama morning market. It is one of the biggest morning markets in Japan. The stalls on river side sell vegetables, fruits, pickles and spices while shops on the other side sell Japanese sweets and crafts. Some shops sell Japanese souvenirs such as chopsticks and small items in addition to Takayama local souvenirs including sarubobo dolls and Ichii Itto-bori wooden carvings. then we travelled to The Shirakawago. Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, they are famous for their traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old. Gassho-zukuri means "constructed like hands in prayer", as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The architectural style developed over many generations and is designed to withstand the large amounts of heavy snow that falls in the region during winter. The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms. Then we went to Kyoto and Sanjusangendo . Sanjusangendo is the popular name for Rengeo-in, a temple in eastern Kyoto which is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple was founded in 1164 and rebuilt a century later after the original structure had been destroyed in a fire. The temple hall is with 120 meters Japan's longest wooden structure. The name Sanjusangendo (literally "33 intervals") derives from the number of intervals between the building's support columns, a traditional method of measuring the size of a building. In the center of the main hall sits a large, wooden statue of a 1000-armed Kannon (Senju Kannon) that is flanked on each side by 500 statues of human sized 1000-armed Kannon standing in ten rows. Together they make for an awesome sight. We can't wait to see more tomorrow.
| Takayama city |
| Sanjusangendo |
| Shirakawago Village |
07/08/2013
What a busy day! Today we travelled to Nara. Todaiji "Great Eastern Temple" is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower the temple's influence on government affairs. Todaiji's main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is the world's largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall's size. The massive building houses one of Japan's largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu). The 15 meters tall, seated Buddha represents Vairocana and is flanked by two Bodhisattvas. Then we visited Kasuga Taisha - Nara's most celebrated shrine. It was established at the same time as the capital and is dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city. Kasuga Taisha was also the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, Japan's most powerful family clan during most of the Nara and Heian Periods. Next we visited Rokuon - ji Temple was originally built as a villa by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who had taken possession of a mountain villa of Saionji Temple in 1397. It was converted into a temple after Yoshimitsu's death. Officially named Rokuonji Temple, this temple is famous both in Japan and abroad as a symbol of Kitayama culture. The Kinkaku, or "Golden Pavilion," was built as the Shariden. Covered with gold, the image of the pavilion, which stands at the edge of Kyokochi pond, is reflected in the water. Next we saw Kimon show in Kyoto. Then we visited Fushimi Inari Shrine. Fushimi Inari is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds.
| Todaiji "Great Eastern Temple" |
| Kinkakuji "Golden Pavilion" |
07/09/2013
| Hiroshima Castle |
07/10/2013
Today's itinerary began with a ride to Hiroden Miyajima-guchi where we took a ferry to Miyajima. It is a small island less than an hour outside the city of Hiroshima. It is most famous for its giant torii gate, which at high tide seems to float on the water. The sight is ranked as one of Japan's three best views. We had some free to time to explore the island. Afterwards, we went back to Hiroshima for short rest before Karaoke evening ;)
07/11/2013
This afternoon, our group are on a flight to Las Vegas. The plane will be landing around 3:02pm local time. We've all had a wonderful time in Japan - made new friends and memories to cherish. We hope you've enjoyed following our tour diary. A big thank you to your teachers for organising this fabulous trip. Best wishes to everyone connected to this tour. Bye from Osaka! Yukari
Dana has more pictures that can be posted later but these are the main ones from the tour diary we were updated with daily.
1 comment:
Looks like she had a great time! Love that world traveling!
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