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Asakusa Tokyo
158 Reviews Sensoji Temple is believed to be the first temple ever built in the Tokyo area and was originally founded by a fisherman, Haji Nakatomo, who is said to have built the temple after finding a statue of...
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Gion (Geisha district) Kyoto
64 Reviews It's not a long walk but it really holds a historical look. building looks new but in the old japanese style. Restaurants there are little above the average price wise. at the end of the road you will...
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Universal studio Osaka
26 Reviews in japanese that ture but still loads for fun for those who have never been to universal stuido of usa. just access the site of universal sutio and you will understand everthing , it is a very...
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Nagoya Castle Nagoya
28 Reviews With its famed golden shachi dolphin roof decorations, Nagoya Castle is the de-facto symbol of the city. Built in 1612, the main edifice was reconstructed in 1959 on its original foundation after...
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12 Reviews Kobe is home to one of Japan's three most famous Chinatowns (Yokohama and Nagasaki being the other two), so when the Chinese New Year arrives (setsubun), the Chinatowns are great places to visit, and...
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Peace Park and Memorial Museum Hiroshima
128 Reviews I once stayed with a friend who lived a stone's throw away from the Peace Museum in Nagasaki and since then, I have always wondered what it was like to live near a building charged with so much...
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Todaiji Temple Nara
75 Reviews Todai-ji ("Great Eastern Temple") is reputedly the largest wooden structure in the world, and it houses what must be one of the largest bronze statues of Buddha around, the Daibutsu or Great Buddha....
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Snow Monkey Park Nagano
4 Reviews Without a doubt, one of the coolest spectacles in all of Japan is to watch the wild snow monkeys of the Japanese Alps sit out a snowy winter day soaking in the hot waters of a naturally-heated onsen....
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Korakuen Garden Okayama
12 Reviews Korakuen Garden is considered to be one of the three best gardens in Japan since the Edo Period. It was constructed by Tsuda Nagatada by orders of the daimyo Ikeda Tsunamasa and took thirteen years to...
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Itsukushima Shrine Miyajima
30 Reviews If you are in the Hiroshima city, you must visit Itsukushima-Jinjya in Miyajima. It's the shrine (not a temple) with famous red torii (gate) in the water, but has lots more than just the...
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Shinjuku Tokyo
72 Reviews This was a stunning experience with all the different varieties of cherry trees in full blossom. Incredibly beautiful! The garden is run by the Ministry of the environment now but it has a long...
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Kiyomizu Temple Kyoto
98 Reviews I really loved the short visit I made to this place. i like the atmosphere of this narrow streets with souvenirs shops along your way up the hill to the temple. the temple is realllllly huge and you...
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castle Osaka
62 Reviews Visit the Castle... its very interesting. Its a fairly long walk from the Rail Station, but its an interesting walk and the Castle is quite unusual which is why it should be seen. Pity to go all the...
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Aquarium Nagoya
7 Reviews The most interesting thing for me in this Aquarium is the dolphins performance. They really brilliant. Cool !! Beside that you can see the big whales and you can find nemo and dory also in here...
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Meriken Park & Harborland Kobe
24 Reviews in this area, you can do a lot. there is the mosaic mall just on the other side from kobe tower, all the cafe and restaurants there have the sea view. i wrote a review about the aswome fisherman...
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Miyajima Hiroshima
33 Reviews I was skeptical about the appeal of Mt. Misen since one round trip ticket costed me 1800 yen, which was by far the most expensive ropeway I had ever used. "No view is worth this much, " I remember...
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Nara Park Nara
33 Reviews There is around 1000 Deers rooming Nara , they eat somthing called Shika Senbei which is rice crackers specially made for them. they costs 150 en and sold every where. But take cares they are...
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Zenkoji Temple Nagano
5 Reviews The main hall is typical Buddhist architecture from the mid Edo Period. The principle image is enshrined inside the altar in the innermost temple. Admission to the inner temple is 500 Yen, and...
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Kibiji District (Kibi Plains) Okayama
6 Reviews Saijo Inari is known as one of the three great Inari Shrines in Japan (Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and Toyokawa Inari in Aichi being the other two). It is unique, because the complex is composed of a...
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Five-Tiered Pagoda Miyajima
8 Reviews The beautiful curved roofs of the Goju-no-to Pagoda and strinking vermilion colouring are a familiar sight on the island of Miyajima. Standing on a hill overlooking the bay and Itsukushima Shrine, the...
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Imperial Palace Tokyo
61 Reviews this is the second of the famed double bridge in the Imperial Palace Front plaza area. There are two bridges over a moat separating the Kokyo Gaien and the Imperial Palace - these are called...
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Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) Kyoto
102 Reviews Three-storey Zen Buddhist temple. Each floor was done in different architectural style - the ground floor is Heian imperial architecture, the second floor typifies warrior aristocracy and the top...
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Dotombori Osaka
22 Reviews Dotombori is a street in Namba alligned with eateries, arcades, and shopping centers. Many people do come for food and shopping, but the area itself is actually an attraction of sorts. The restaurants...
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Shrines & Temples Nagoya
12 Reviews 1900-year-old shrine with lush evergreen forest is best known by one of the three Imperial Regalia, Kusanagi sword. The shrine saw the modification after the Meiji Restoration. It is a nice place to...
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Mount Rokko Kobe
7 Reviews A highland pasture spread on the peak of Mt. Rokko. Sheep, donkeys and ponies are free to graze, and visitors can come in close contact with the animals. Children can learn and try to take milk from...
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The term SHRINE is used for Shinto and TEMPLE is used for Buddhism. About 65% of Japanese are both Shinto and Buddhists. Traditionally, Shrines are attended for happy occasions (weddings, births, etc.), while Temples are reserved for sad occasions, such deaths. Shinto deities are very happy and celebrate a lot. There is a huge display of sake casks in front of the Heian Shrine.
Climbing Mt. Fuji is an experiance of a lifetime. When I told the Japanese I was gonna climb it I would hear clapping, cheering but most of the time my favourite "heeeeeee" ( "heeeeeeee" is how the Japanese show that they are surprised and amazed, I totally love it, tried to mastered it but never quite made it :). I always thought if they like to watch it so much, they must like to climb it as well. I really thought it was like with the Muslims and Mekka....everyone has to do it once in a lifetime... but no!!! When shared these thoughts, I heard another "heeeee", the "how stupid are you" kind of "heeee" lol. Some of them climbed it, some of them were MAYBE gonna do it in the future and some of them didn`t want to do it at all!!!! So then I went like "heeeee", but after I had climbed Fujisan, I didn`t go "heeee" no more.... Climbing Mt.Fuji is not a small feat and is really exhausting!!!...
HEIAN SHRINE is a pretty orange-and-white Shinto shrine with a large enclosed garden. It is a replica of the original Heian Palace built by the emperor Kammu in 794. The shrine is smaller than the original palace and is built far to the east of the original site.HEIAN SHRINE was built in 1895 on the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of the city. It was built to honor the memory of the emporers who founded Kyoto city.
See this interesting stall... these where wood plaques that people would fill out wishing for blessings. Regretfully I cannot understand Japanese, if so I would hang prayers requesting divine interventions.
Today the Heian Shrine is dedicated to memory of two gods, the emperor Kammu, the founders of Heian capital and the emperor Kohmei, the last emperor of it. It is worshiped as a safeguard of Kyoto, not only by the citizens but most of the peoples throughout Japan.Before entered the shrine, we cleansed ourselves in the shrine's fountain (first the left hand, then the right, then left again to the lips) and threw a coin, rang the bell and prayed to the kami.
This great Budda is one of the foundest memories from Yamadera. I would never think I would ever get to touch a Budda, until I saw people feeling this big guy`s belly and feet!!! I have no clue why they were feeling him, because for the 3 hours spent in Yamadera I was the only foreigner and the only words spoken in English to me were "three hundred yen please" by the lady at the entrance. So yeah, I never found out why they were touching him and touching themselves afterwards. Maybe it brings luck? I hope so, because I did the same. He is wooden, very soft and really really nice.....Mmmmmm.....Somebody stop me!!! ;)
Another thing that really impressed me was the great Budda inside of the sanctuary- it was immense and looked as made of gold. Unfortunately I couldn`t snap a photo. Having been used to the fact that in Poland you can take any picture of any inside of a church you like and that in big touristy places like Nara, Nikko and Kamakura you can usually take pics of other Buddas, plus encouraged by the fact that there was no "no picture" sign, I took my camera out and when I was so close, so close to snapping a pic, a big, bold monk jumped out from the behind and yelled out in broken English "NOOOO PICTURRRRRE!!!! NOOOO PICTURRRRRRE!!!!!!". What could I do...So note, even though there is no "cameras forbidden" sign, always make sure if you can snap a pic. Otherwise a big monk will scare the hell out of you... ;)
After you climb the 1100 stone steps, you can have your well-deserved rest in the inside Sanctuary. It`s a great, huge, wooden sanctuary which has made a big impression on me. Firstable, it is a very big and beautiful structure. Secondable, it`s surrounded by lots of sacred statules which are almost covered with the pieces of wood the Japanese write their prayers and wishes on- one on another, one right by another one, the statules are surrounded by them closely and tightly. There are so many of them I was wondering if they ever get rid of them in any way, or if they just stay there forever...
Climbing you way up is surely a bit tireing, but totally worth it. It reminded me of climbing Mt. Fuji a bit- the atmosphere on the trail was truly amazing!!! People were happy to be there, smiling, saying "konichuwa" and "gambatte" to each other all the time. Some of them were wearing the traditional round hats and it looked wonderful. I was the only foreigner there, which might have felt weird a bit, but it didn`t. It was great, people were trying to talk to me and when I asked somebody to talk a pic of me some Japanese gathered and yelling out "model, a model!!!!" they started snapping pics as well!!! It was hilarious. Remember to take water with you and not rush your way up- enjoy the beautiful sights and every second you spend there. The trail is hidden in the forest and on both sides you can see sacred statules and little, very old cementaries of a couple of grave stones. Wait a...
Most people climb Fujisan at night to witness the sunrise from the summit. Experiancing goraiko is a very big thing and a great experiance. Also, the chances of the mounatin being free of clouds, are highest during the early morning hours. There are two ways of doing this. Some people climb it to a mountain hut around the 7th or 8th station on the first day, sleep there and go to the top early the next day to experiance the sunrise there at around 5 or 5.30 am. Another popular way is to start climbing the mountain around 10pm from the 5th station and hike through the night to reach the summit around sunrise. Obviously, this is a more tiring way of climbing the mountain.We climbed from around 8pm and experianced goraiko at the 9th station from a place called Fuji Hotel (I don`t know how they could call that place a hotel, they must wash their sheets once a century lol), where we had a 3...
Park Hyatt Tokyo Tokyo
7 Reviews and 526 Opinions Most memorable
Hotel Granvia Kyoto Kyoto
6 Reviews and 743 Opinions We stayed 3 nights at Kyoto Granvia Hotel from Feb. 27 to Mar 1, 2008. We paid Yen 17,600 per night,...
The Ritz-Carlton Osaka Osaka
1 Review and 353 Opinions
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Q: Hi there, Will arrive in Tokyo, Narit Airport for a layover and wanted to take advantage of seeing something. I will arrive at...
A: youre lucky to be arriving so early, so you will likely pass through immigration fairly quickly. lets still count with an hour just in case. you can either take the...
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