Japan List of all countries I've been to »

As the Lonely Planet says, Kyoto is the place where even the Japanese come to learn about their own history and culture. For a thousand years it was the capital of Japan which may explains the incredible number of temples and shrines (over 2000!). Kyoto cannot be visited in one day and requires a lot of walking! I would say the minimum duration of your stay should be three days but you co... read more »

Visited: June 2013 Posted: 27/07/2013 Japan

Nara is located between Kyoto and Osaka and is the perfect day trip for your shot of temples, shrines and history. For some years, it was the capital of Japan. The place is quite small and walking around is the best way to discover it. There are many temples to visit which can become repetitive. I sticked to the main ones. Todai-ji is the biggest of them all, the walk leading to the insid... read more »

Visited: June 2013 Posted: 25/07/2013 Japan

Osaka was my second big city in Japan. I was surprised how different it was from Tokyo. The city center is also something to witness as it is fascinating. To reach Osaka, I took the Shinkansen from Tokyo, Japan's bullet train. Compared to Europe, the way of using it seems closer to a suburban train than a classic high speed train. You get the same ticket as other suburban train, go thr... read more »

Visited: June 2013 Posted: 18/07/2013 Japan

Not far from Tokyo's center, Kamakura can be visited as a day trip. It was, for a short time, the capital of Japan some centuries ago. The city has a busy tourist street full of restaurants and lots of temples. One of them, Hokokuji, has a bamboo forest hidden in the back of the temple, between the building and a cliff. The place is incredibly peaceful and zen. My mind naturally relaxed... read more »

Visited: June 2013 Posted: 16/07/2013 Japan

I really wanted to have a look at the iconic mountain. Famous for being shy, I could only catch a glimpse of Mt Fuji while I stayed at Kawaguchi-ko for a night. Kawaguchi-ko is one of the five lakes which surround the mountain and is a common tourist stop in the area. There is a view point which you can reach with a cable car to get the best view of the Mt Fuji. Unfortunately, climbing... read more »

Visited: June 2013 Posted: 14/07/2013 Japan

I left one of the most [densely populated city](http://travelingcoder.com/2013/07/incredible-skyline-of-hong-kong) for another one, Tokyo, the starting place of my two weeks trip in Japan. I experienced Tokyo a bit differently than other cities because I stayed at a friend's place. Cool travel story by the way: I met her in Italy last year, she visited me in the Southwest of France where... read more »

Visited: June 2013 Posted: 12/07/2013 Japan