We had planned our first full day in Kanazawa to visit an ancient village in the mountains called Shirakawa-go and a tour Kanazawa’s beautiful Kenrokuen Garden,  and the Higashiyama area where the Geisha still live and work.   We met our guide and bus at the train station for the hour + drive to Shirakawa-go.  It was a very rainy day,  but that does not stop anything in Japan.

Shirakawa-go village with the iconic thatched roofs and the multi-story houses was an amazing glimpse into Japanese agricultural and feudal history.   These people were farmers and warriors!  They planted rice and also made gunpowder!

We visited the inside of one of the 5 story houses, Kanda House,  to see something about the way of life for a hundred years! 

The upstairs display of implements and household tools, even woven shoes,  was interesting

We found a little ramen spot for lunch,  and it got us out of the train for a bit.

it was a lovely village,  even in the rain!

When we returned to Kanazawa,  we visited Kenrokuen Gardens,  one of the most beautiful gardens in all of Japan.   Number 3, our guide said!  the pink pond is cherry blossom petals floating! 

I was able to leave the group for a couple hours and see a chiropractor.   My back had been bothering me for about a week.  The group went on to Higashiyama area, a place you might recognize from a photo of us,  used in our blog and our ‘retirement’ card.   it is the Geisha district of Kanazawa.

We knew this would be one of our most challenging travel days,  since we needed to change trains 2 times. And it was! 

We went to the station last night to get the tickets so we would be prepared!  Good plan.   We got the help of a very nice agent to use the green machine ourselves.  She walked us thru which clicks to make on the machine to purchase half our tickets and then we were going to do it again for our other 2 travel companions….. She moved quickly and of course,  trying to do it the 2nd time,  I missed a crucial step!  She kindly showed me again!  We made it thru the process,  successfully purchasing the 3 train tickets in sequential rows!  So far,  so good!

So this morning we arrived about half hour early and we’re able to find our track ok.  However,  on looking over our tickets, We realized that we weren’t in the same car on the 2nd leg but at least there were 2 of us together so we had a buddy!  And,     our transfer times between trains were really SHORT!  Scary short!   8 or 9 minutes to get off your train, queue for the escalator or elevator,  since we had bags,  get to the transfer level,  find the signs with the next track and find an escalator down or up… all in the large station of Osaka.  Murphys law,  it turned out to be impossible for us!  Oh and We didn’t realize that the little pile of printed tickets we purchased needed to be inserted into the ticket machine all together,  so that slowed us all down at the entrance to our section! 

Bottom line:  we missed our train, our leg from Osaka to Tsuruga… and the last leg too.  We had to go to the office and get another train.   We had reserved seat tickets,  and we learned later,  we could possibly just have  hoped onto the unreserved seat car on the next train to that destination… but who knew?  Anyway,  another nice young lady at the ticket office said,  “missed trains aren’t refunded”!  PANIC!  Almost! But she would do it for us just this 1 time!  She printed us all new tickets,  all together,  so we were of again.   We had only about 15 minutes to get back to the track we needed,  but we did it! 

OK!  We were on the 2nd leg. and it was ticketed with another very short transfer time.   This time we had a map of the next station and a video of how to go from the regional line’s incoming track to the Shinkansen tracks, which really helped!  We found each escalator and ticket gate ok  but Emmett’s ticket for caught in the machine…. don’t ask!  it just jammed.  Bert and Cheryl rushed on ahead, up the escalator,  and jumped in the first open door,  figuring they would just walk thru to the right car!  good decision!  In the meantime,  Emmett had no ticket!   The agent opened the machine and just gave him another ticket…. not his seat,  but he took it and ran!  I was waiting at the escalator and at the top,  we just ran for the first open door,  1 minute before the train started moving!  We were at car 10 and our seats were in car 4!  We pushed out way thru all those cars as the train picked up speed and were delighted to find Bert and Cheryl in their seats!  What a relief! 

The adventure wasn’t over though,  even though we’re we arrived at our destination,  we still needed to put our tickets through the exit machine…. all is them.  Emmett had them in his pocket but the ticket the agent had given him worked for him so he was outside the gates,  and none of our single tickets worked!  We asked at the agents window why and she said we needed all the tickets,  so  he brought me back the stack of missed train tickets!  yea! She paired them off and found the 3 pairs and said these are ok, but she found an extra and wanted us to pay the fare again for that 1?  for what?  there were  only 3 of us needing a ticket out, we had 3 pairs of tickets to get out!  I couldn’t understand what the problem was!  I just picked up each pair, gave 1 set to Cheryl and 1 to Bert and walked back over to the exit machine, put both tickets in and left! 

By then we were all exhausted and on our one last nerve!  We only had a15 minute walk to our hotel,  straight out of the station,  and we managed to get down there, still baffled and confused by the fiasco at the station!  And thankfully,  we were all still friends,  still talking to each other,  and just a few blocks to walk!

Our hotel was markedly nicer than the last one and welcoming as we checked in…. well, 3 of us did!  Then Cheryl got to the desk and there was no reservation in her name!  Some time ago,  she had found she had 2 reservations,  1 I had made for 3 rooms when we were first planning and then 1 she made when everyone decided to pay their own,  rather than me having all the hotels on my card.   She saw 2 and canceled 1, but had accidentally canceled the wrong one!  Luckily,  the desk said they had rooms,  but it would be cheaper for her to go back on line and book it! 

Finally we are all here,  and resting after an early dinner ( no lunch option during all that train travel!).

I can’t even count the number of lessons learned today!  But I’m glad today is over!  Thank God. he was watching over us and got us here!

A sobering reminder of what nuclear weapons can do and reminder why we fight hard to keep evil empires from using them .  The Museum is well organized,  to see Hiroshima before,  during and after the bomb,  including the life of inhabitants  Dealing with the medical issues and the aftermath for many years.  No photos inside,  so our post is only from the outside

There were just a few buildings constructed of more stable materials that survived the blast.   This domed building did and was left standing as a memorial,  and framed by the peace memorial.  There is an eternal flame burning and a children’s memorial as well.   It has booths filled with origami cranes made by school children to decorate the area.

We traveled again by train slot 30 minutes to get the ferry to Miyajima island and the large floating Torii gate in the bay at the

Itsukushima Jinja
嚴島神社.  it was high tide when we arrived

from the Shine itself

Stunning from any angle

There is also a Buddhist temple there, 

Daishoin
大聖院. 

it is known for little statues that have knitted hats!

It also has a cave with 88 little alters, 1 to each of the temples on a pilgrimage route they are supposed to do once in their lives.   if you go to this 1 temple and stop at each alter,  you get credit for the whole pilgrimage!  Sounds like the easy way to me!  They are in a hall of lights.

We walked just a bit further to a small pagoda, with great view.  

We stopped for lunch to try the local delicacy,  salt water eel and grilled oysters and their small,  maple leaf shaped sweets called momiji manju

By the time we left,  the tide was half way out again so the torii gate looked even larger

Our next destination is Hiroshima and we take the train right through the town of Himeji so a Castle stop at the most beautiful Castle is all is Japan is a must!  We left our bags with a luggage service done every large locker was filled in the station!  The bus stopped right in front of the luggage storage and dropped us off at the foot of the Castle

There are a couple of kinds of cherry trees here,  and most are at full bloom,  just the weeping pink ones are beginning to lose petals.

The 7 story structure is elegant and majestic!  We took out shoes of and climbed each level inside! 

You can just imagine the Samurai assembled inside. weapons on the racks.

After our visit to Himeji castle, we took the bullet train,  the Shinkansen on to Hiroshima for a 2 night stay.

Today we had tickets to Miyako Odori, a presentation of geiko and maiko from Kyoto’s Gion district.  since there was no photography allowed,  here is the link so you can see a sample of the performance.

MIYAKO ODORI｜祇園甲部歌舞会 公式ウェブサイト https://share.google/pCUswMhDamLqsgnQz

We also chose to attend the tea ceremony before the performance and found it all beautiful!

The theater has a beautiful garden to visit while waiting

Lovely setting and the performance was elegant and beautiful!

So,  to complete the cultural experience,  we next visited the Samurai and Ninja museum!  it was really a great pairing,  to see what the men was up Togo in the history of Japan!

Samurai were the warriors, following the Shogun. Ninja were like spies,  farmers by day,  ninja by might! 

We ended our day with s walk down philosophers path.   The blossoms here are just a couple days past peak,  so there is pink snow in some places!  but a nice walk!

Tomorrow of to Hiroshima,  with a stop at the White Heron Castle,  Himeji

The shrine of a 1000 Torii Gates, it was built on the year 711! Each torii gate is donated and the name of the donor on the back side.  We arrived early but there were still crowds because today is Easter Sunday for us,  and part is the traditional blossom viewing season, Hanami festival,  for local Japanese.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple is another 8th century structure, a Buddhist temple.  A portion of the structure is a platform,  built with amazing huge zelkova trees, 13 meters high,  and no nails!  Such wooden structures last 100s of years,  through earthquakes and tsunamis, flexing with the stresses.  

We ended the tour in the Gion district,  the old part of town where geisha, or geiko, as they are called in Kyoto,  live and work.   Tomorrow we will visit that part of town again and have a tea ceremony and watch the geiko and maiko (apprentice geiko) perform.

Yumi was an excellent guide,  with the Japan Tourist Goodwill Guide.   They cost no fee expect paying for their transportation and lunch,  and they show you their home country.   We have used them in 5 or 6 cities now and love the experience!  They are arranged a couple weeks in advance via email,  all speak English,  mostly retired professionals who want to still be active.   We have met retired teachers and engineers with interesting life stories,  all very engaging people.   Yumi was no exception!  she was our age,  energetic and enthusiastic about her country,  told us some history of the shrines and temples,  and was a delightful personality! 

What a great day!  Thank you,  Yumi!

We had planned a boat ride down the Hozugawa River but they is rainy and the river ride has been cancelled 4 days in a row because of the high river.   Instead we took the train up to Arashiyama area to see the bamboo forest and the kimono forest.   The Sakura trees were beautiful!, and this variety was more pink.

The kimono forest is actually poles covered with beautiful kimono fabric surrounding the train station there!

Just a few yards farther we visited the gardens for the Tenryu-ji Temple.   Again the flowers were spectacular

Many of the flowers were labeled for us!  Camilla, Azaleas Rhododendrums, and of course,  the Sakura trees

From there, we walked the bamboo forest trail,  which was pretty packed with people, but there was a small Shinto Shrine there so we stopped there as well!

  Two Goshuin for this 1 walk!  We do pay for each stamp about $2-3 each but this will be a unique souvenir.

After battling the crowd we opted to see a temple where there was another bamboo forest walk,  less known and less crowded.  I’m so glad we did!  it was beautiful as well. Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple, founded in the 8th century.   It was a Funiary place where there are 8000 stone images and pagoda  representing individuals who died without kin.

These may be plum blossoms,  I’m not sure,  but beautiful

Again we got our Goshuin books stamped

Even our ticket into the temple gardens was stamped! 

The bamboo forest walk was steps and much less crowded.  At the top were more Graves,  many quite elaborate.

Well worth the trip.  

We took another taxi to the Golden Pavilion about 20 minutes away.  

From every angle it was outstanding!

On our way home, by bus,  we stopped at the Kyoto National Garden and the ancient Imperial palace.  It was closed, but we did walk along the grand avenue thru the park, and down to the Nishiki Market for a snack.

The day was long, almost 7 miles walking!  and the rain started coming down harder,  so we took a taxi again to dinner.   it was a delicious dinner,  where you order the meat and grill it on the hibachi grill on the table.

Our walk home along the street with Sakura trees lit from below was magical!

So far, Kyoto has not disappointed!

Since we had no particular schedule today and our only responsibility was to get to Kyoto this evening,  3 is us decided to take the bus and explore Nara a little more.   We took the city loop bus and headed for Nara Park again,  this time to walk the last few 100 yards to see the Kasugataisha Shrine.   What a great park and beautiful morning walk.

The shrine

We mentioned our Goshuin before.   Here our is being signed by a lady

A goshuin is a unique, hand-brushed stamp or seal obtained from Japanese temples and shrines, serving as a sacred testament to a visitor’s pilgrimage. Each stamp features artistic calligraphy indicating the site’s name, the date of visit, and a red stamp.

walking into the shrine area we were able to witness a ceremony and hear a bit of the chant

We left after a great noodle lunch for our train ride to Kyoto.  Our lodging here in Kyoto is a Machiya.  In fact. our lodging is on a lovely old neighborhood of these machiya.

Machiya are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan, particularly in Kyoto (known as kyomachiya), that historically served as both merchant residences and places of business. Dating back centuries, these two-story, narrow structures often feature tatami rooms, interior gardens, and, following renovations, modern amenities like luxury baths and kitchens, offering a blend of historic charm and contemporary comfort for travelers.

And it comes with robes! 

We left Osaka today for Nara, to visit the park,  the amazing deer,  and the Temple.   it is the Todaiji Temple,  oldest Buddhist temple in Japan with a large bronze Buddha inside.   We entered first thru this large gate

We had scheduled an E-bike trip,  but it might have been optimistic of is to try it.   we actually didn’t make the full tour and missed the shrine at the top of the hill,  as we were just to exhausted to continue.  However it was an amazing place. 

  The deer are wild and go back up the mountain in the even,  appearing again about 6 AM each morning.   However,  they have learned to now to receive a cracker!  Very entertaining!  There are about 2000 of them!

The temple contains the largest Buddha inside a building in Japan.   it isn’t the largest overall, but the largest found inside a temple.

At the exit we were able to get another goshuin, the signature stamps and calligraphy for this shrine associated with the temple. Emmett was able to video the process.

With the Sakura 🌸 Cherry blossoms in full bloom, the park was absolutely beautiful!

There are blossoms everywhere right now, from 3 varieties of Cherry trees,  some more pink than others.

The tour included a stop at a knife maker,  a700 year old business.   They have us a small sweet cake with a cream filling shaped like a deer.  

Our hotel is an Onsen, with a natural spring so we were able to soak,  relax,  and refresh after our tour!  We then found a very Japanese style restaurant for dinner. 

Our dinner restaurant had the tables separate in tatami-like room,  with awell under the table for our legs.   We didn’t need to sit crossed legged,  thank goodness.  We ordered several tempura dishes,  edemame, and a rice dish all to share.

The day was long,  the bike ride was tough,  and we were all beat!  Thankfully tomorrow is a quiet day,  just a train ride as we move on to Kyoto! 

Everywhere,  markets in foreign countries are interesting places to visit.   Our next stop was  Kuromon Market,  200 years it had served the community near Namba in  Osaka.

A curious enjoyment for mostly Japanese men is pachinko parlors, where they sit for hours and play this pinball game

We had a little lunch there. a Sashimi, rolls. and udon noodle soup!

Our last visit of the day,  we decided to find the Umeda Sky tower which has an observation Deck on the 40th floor with a ride, via glass elevator, to the 35th floor, escalator 4 more floors up and another stairs the 40th floor, which cost 2000 yen to visit.   We opted for just the free ride as far as the 39th where there are restaurants and shops.   That bite was high enough for us!

The model of the building,  chosen as one of the 20 top buildings by a British Tribune.  Pretty impressive!

The views from the glass elevator,  through the structure and from the top

The escalator was also glass!  Up and down from floor 35, 150 meters high,  to the 39th

it was a nice place to visit, with a shop,  restaurant and lounge.

The view from the ground lying up at the observation area between the 2 towers.  You can see the escalators clearly and the circle above is the 40th floor

Enough adventure for the afternoon.   We headed back to our hotel for a rest before dinner!