Travel Japan

Pikachu, bidets and the crazy experience that is the ‘onsen’…Japan was one big culture shock for us, but in the best way possible. Come with us as we explore the bizarre, the beautiful and the delicious!

wtf #6…??

Noticed this poster on the wall of the tourist information centre at Sounkyo… “Open a Sounkyo to the humans.”

Miyajima masticating

Miyajima is a tiny island only 10mins by ferry from Miyajimaguchi on the mainland, which in turn is about 20mins south of Hiroshima by train. It’s most famous for it’s […]

More Hiroshima (and okonomiyaki!)

For our morning in Hiroshima we walked down to the Peace Memorial Park and A-bomb Dome where we took in the more serious side of Hiroshima and the role it […]

Hiroshima = okonomiyaki!!

After an absolutely epic transit day, we finally arrived in our hotel (Hotel Active) in central Hiroshima. To be approximately precise… Sounkyo to Kamikawa – Bus – 22km Kamikawa to […]

Metal snake – The Shinkansen

There’s something about trains. It’s the last day of our JR Railpass and I’m sitting back in a Shinkansen, speeding between Hiroshima and Kagoshima at some ungodly speed. Without distraction, […]

A very 'special' Japanese tea ceremony

For those that haven’t heard of the Japanese tea ceremony, it’s a highly ritualised process that involves both the careful preparation of the tea, as well as the solemn way […]

The hunt for Kit Kats – Japan

Before coming over here we had heard that Japan offered a massive range of weird and wonderful Kit Kat flavours. We’re on the hunt and have so far managed to […]

Hiking to Mt Kurodake and beyond

As I mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons people come to Sounkyo is for the hiking; and hiking Mt Kurodake in particular. Of course we were going to take […]

Fear

“Fear is a big thing in my life. When I experience it, it helps me choose what to do. What I’m interested in is going where I’ve never been. Fear […]