This spring vacation I had a visit from Simon, Mary and John. We spent nearly two weeks in Tokyo, Kyoto and up here in Minamiaizu. It was brilliant to see some friendly faces from home, go sightseeing with them and catch up. As soon as they arrived it didn't seem like five minutes ago since I was back in Newcastle saying goodbye to them.
In Tokyo the cherry blossom was out so we spent quite a bit of time in Ueno park sitting around with all the Japanese "Sakura" viewers. Cherry blossom time is party time in Japan, with hundreds of people gathering under the trees to enjoy the view and drink sake and beer at "hanami" parties. It's a lovely time of year and although the cherry blossom only lasts a very short time it's a great way to celebrate the end of winter.
After viewing the cherry blossom Meredith flew back home to Colorado and the 4 of us went and enjoyed some of Tokyo's other sites and the various karoke bars. We also had a great day out at Tokyo Disneyland!
After a few more days we got the shinkansen (bullet train) down to Kyoto. This was my first trip to Kyoto and I was very excited. We stayed in a lovely ryokan (traditional Japanese guesthouse) although by the end of the stay and after 3 unexplained bad night's sleep we were convinced it was haunted!
Kyoto is Japan's cultural capital, and although being quite touristy compared with the north of Japan it has lots of amazing temples and shrines to visit as well as "Gion" the old town where Geisha and Maiko wander the streets.
So after a great time in Kyoto we took the long train journey up to Minamiaizu to show the guys this area. Spring is not as advanced here yet (it was actually snowing when we arrived!) but it got a bit warmer over the few days they stayed. We went to a local onsen, all my favourite bars and restaurants, did all the local sightseeing and introduced them to Yui, Takashi and some other friends. I was pleased that they liked it here as much as I do!
I was very sad to see them go, but I'm looking forward to spending some time with them at Christmas and hopefully seeing Si and Mary back here next winter for some snowboarding.
In Tokyo the cherry blossom was out so we spent quite a bit of time in Ueno park sitting around with all the Japanese "Sakura" viewers. Cherry blossom time is party time in Japan, with hundreds of people gathering under the trees to enjoy the view and drink sake and beer at "hanami" parties. It's a lovely time of year and although the cherry blossom only lasts a very short time it's a great way to celebrate the end of winter.
After viewing the cherry blossom Meredith flew back home to Colorado and the 4 of us went and enjoyed some of Tokyo's other sites and the various karoke bars. We also had a great day out at Tokyo Disneyland!
After a few more days we got the shinkansen (bullet train) down to Kyoto. This was my first trip to Kyoto and I was very excited. We stayed in a lovely ryokan (traditional Japanese guesthouse) although by the end of the stay and after 3 unexplained bad night's sleep we were convinced it was haunted!
Kyoto is Japan's cultural capital, and although being quite touristy compared with the north of Japan it has lots of amazing temples and shrines to visit as well as "Gion" the old town where Geisha and Maiko wander the streets.
So after a great time in Kyoto we took the long train journey up to Minamiaizu to show the guys this area. Spring is not as advanced here yet (it was actually snowing when we arrived!) but it got a bit warmer over the few days they stayed. We went to a local onsen, all my favourite bars and restaurants, did all the local sightseeing and introduced them to Yui, Takashi and some other friends. I was pleased that they liked it here as much as I do!
I was very sad to see them go, but I'm looking forward to spending some time with them at Christmas and hopefully seeing Si and Mary back here next winter for some snowboarding.
posted by Matthew Fulford at 9:12 am
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