The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. This was only a recent addition to the itinerary when I was looking through things to do later in the trip. It was spectacular, and the most scenic countryside I have ever set eyes on, but I can now say that I've done it and will never, ever, ever, think about doing it again. EVER. Why? Quite simply, it was too damn crowded to enjoy it. There was just no time in the entire journey when you could relax, and just spend time to ...

In what was not my finest piece of logistical planning, today we found ourselves sitting on trains for the two and a half hour journey North from Kyoto, back via Kanazawa, to Toyama. We've never been to Kanazawa or Toyama before this trip, but we've now seen more than enough of both places. In my defence, this little detour to Toyama was never on the original agenda. I only found the Alpine Route fairly late in the planning stages of this trip, so I decided to c...

This will be a short entry today. I know I've said it before, but I really mean it this time. Today was just a day set aside for shopping. It's getting towards the end of the holiday, and the remainder of the time is set aside for traversing the Alpine Route, and Disneyland, which basically leaves today for shopping for souvenirs, trinkets and other Japan bric-a-brac to weigh down our suitcases, and lighten our wallets, for the trip home. It was nice not hav...

I'm going to start this entry by declaring that I, officially, am giving up trying to predict, or even understand, Japanese Spring weather. At least on this trip. Up until now we've had an unpredictable and at times infuriating mix of rain and semi-sun. There have been a couple of days recently, and Kanazawa comes to mind, where I've considered gathering 2 of every animal and building an ark. After today we're now all sunburnt. Today wasn't overly hot. Defini...

Today marks the start of our second stint in Kyoto. Originally scheduled to be a 5 night stay, we cut it down to 3 nights in the late stages of planning this trip, so that we could accommodate a trip North to traverse the Alpine route. So why go back to Kyoto? Quite simply because it is our favourite city in Japan. There is so much to see and do here, the shopping is fantastic if that is on the agenda, and getting around the city is simple. Also, it serves as ...