The final place I was staying in Japan was Mine, a tiny town on the outskirts of Yamaguchi. Here I was staying with the Collins' in a converted cow-shed in rural Japan. This was quite a change from the hustle and bustle of all of the big cities I had been to before this, I could see stars in the night sky again! The crop most often seen growing in Japan is still rice and there were a few paddy fields around this area with clever drainage systems.  The variety o...

My last journey in Japan was to the island of Kyushu, visiting Fukuoka, Huis Ten Bosch and Nagasaki. Kyushu is Japan's third largest island and is closer to Korea than it is to Tokyo, which allows for strong trade links to the Asian mainland. On our way to Kyushu we took a scenic route along the coast of Japan and stopped at a picturesque lighthouse, the jagged coastline reminded me of the West coast of New Zealand and was very stunning especially with the sun se...

The main reason people travel to Hiroshima, in the West of Japan is to go to the Memorial Peace Museum and Peace Park to read about the world's first atomic bomb used on a population. It turned out that the city had a really nice atmosphere and several other things to see but this was first on my itinerary. The Peace Park was a very well laid out with a fountain pointing to the atom bomb dome, a building preserved with its damage from the bomb and the Memorial P...

Osaka is Japan's third biggest city and according to my guide book has a GDP output similar to Canada. Osaka also has Japan's best aquarium and a Universal Studios among its attractions but otherwise there wasn't a huge amount to sightsee. I started my day here by going to Osaka castle, Osaka's main attraction in the city is Osaka castle, which is famous in Japan for having two elevators, one on the outside of the tower and one on the inside. The castle and towe...

My next stay in Japan was at Kyoto, the previous capital before the Edo period, Kyoto. This city is famous for all of its cultural heritage and temples but when I walked out of the enormous train station I was shocked at how built up and industrialised the area around the station was. With Kyoto tower and the infamous modern train station the area ressembled one of the more industrial areas of Tokyo and not how I had imagined it. When I began properly exploring...