Category: Japan

In another article I wrote about the methods of entering Shikoku, which mainly involve land, sea, and air transportation. You can choose one of these options. By air, you can fly from Osaka Itami Airport to Matsuyama Airport or Kochi Ryoma Airport. By sea, you can mainly depart from Osaka Nanko or Kobe Port, or from Hiroshima or Kure Port. The main ports in Shikoku are Takamatsu Port, Tokushima Port, Matsuyama Sightseeing Port, and Toyo Port. By land, you can choose between bus or train. Buses can be taken from Osaka Namba Bus Center or Kobe Sannomiya Bus Center, and you can take a expressway bus to destinations such as Naruto and Tokushima. Trains can be taken from Okayama Station, and then you can transfer to the Seto-Ohashi Line to reach various parts of Shikoku. Today, I will introduce the process of taking a expressway bus from Kobe to Shikoku.

To travel from Naruto to Kotohira, you can initially take the JR train directly to Ichinotani, then transfer to another train to reach Takamatsu, and finally, transfer yet again to get to Kotohira. However, considering I also need to take the JR train from Kotohira to Hiroshima the next day, I opted to use the Kotoden (Kotohira Electric Railroad) for my journey to Kotohira. This approach allowed me not only to experience other railways in the Shikoku region but also to enjoy the rural scenery of Shikoku along the way.

The Uji-Fushimi 1 day ticket allows you to travel from your departure point to either Uji or Fushimi and enjoy unlimited rides within these areas.

This time, we visited the renowned architect Tadao Ando’s creation for a cemetery—the Atama Daibutsu (Head Buddha).
The Atama Daibutsu is located within the Makomanai Takino Cemetery in Sapporo.
The cemetery spans 1.8 million square meters.
In addition to the Atama Daibutsu, the grounds also feature Moai and a Stonehenge.
In summer (mid-July), around 150,000 lavender plants bloom beautifully.

Jozankei Onsen is a renowned hot spring area near Sapporo,
and it takes about an hour to drive there from downtown Sapporo.
If you don’t drive, you can also take a bus, which takes only 60 to 75 minutes to reach.
It’s a very accessible hot spring area.
This time, we stayed at the Hanamomiji, an annex of Jozankei Onsen Hotel SHIKAnoYU.
There’s a parking lot right in front of the hotel, and parking is free.

Originally, I planned to go to Nagano to see monkeys soaking in hot springs.
But couldn’t get a group tour ticket from Tokyo. Instead, I got one for Hokkaido, so I decided to visit Hakodate to see the monkeys in hot springs.
I heard that the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden also has scenes of monkeys soaking in hot springs.
It was snowing heavily that day, so the monkeys should all be in the hot spring pool, right?!

Japan has many unique tourist trains. One of the notable ones is the Tsugaru Railway in Aomori Prefecture, which introduces different trains throughout the seasons. In winter, they operate a Stove train, which is considered one of the local specialties and is only available during the winter season.

Hakodate boasts numerous attractions, among which the Hakodate Night View and Hakodate Morning Market are must-visit spots for first-time visitors.
However, this is probably my third or fourth visit.
The last time I wrote an article was in 2009. After a decade, it’s time to document any changes.
The Hakodate Morning Market is conveniently located next to Hakodate Station, making it a must-visit for all travelers.

Nestled in the eastern part of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera Temple stands as one of Japan’s oldest […]