Took a short JR train ride to Arashiyama, the famous bamboo Forest, great refreshing way to start the day. The beautiful UNESCO site Tenryu-ji is… Read More »3/21/25 Arashiyama, Tenryu-ji temple, Torokko saga train, Fushimi Inari and Osaka station

Our airbnb is within walking distance from Nijo Castle, so we figured we start there….. When we were here in October our excursion canceled the… Read More »3/20/25 A day of wonder in Kyoto

Early morning start, catching 5:58 am train from otaruchikko to Sapporo… Beautiful morning to start the trip Changing to another train that goes from Sapporo… Read More »3/19/25 Full day of 13+hours  traveling from Hokkaido to Kyoto

We decided to spend this last full day in Hokkaido by combing the streets of  Otaru again just browsing and eating and wandering aimlessly while… Read More »3/18/25 a day of magic in Otaru

The snow just won’t quit…. We find the snow of Otaru very smooth, gentle and lyrical…. Beauty at every corner every where… P took a… Read More »3/17/25 Snowboarding and shopping in Otaru

It’s not snowing today, so we decided to pop in Otaru again ( just two train stations from our base Otaruchikko)… Today’s Sunday… So many… Read More »3/16/25 back to Otaru

Still snowing today but we decided to venture out…. So glad we did… We took a train and a bus to get to these two… Read More »3/15/25 Shakotan and Yoichi

Woke up to a beautiful snow falling scenery…. There’s nothing much we can do except walk a few steps to the mall next door….. Actually… Read More »3/14/25 snowed in in otaruchikko

Today’s project is to visit Hill of the Buddha…. A uniquely designed temple by Tadao Ando near a cemetery. We were really impressed by the… Read More »3/13/25 Hill of the Buddha, Sapporo

Sapporo is only 45 mins away from otaruchikko via slow train…we love the sceneries on the way…. We originally thought it might not be a… Read More »3/12/25 Sapporo