Category Archives: Japan Travel

Sitting Amongst The S-Pulse Faithful In Shimizu But Quietly Supporting The Opposition!

  The J-League match day experience in the Covid_19 era just hasn’t been the same for me. Although fans were allowed back once football returned in July last year, there were a new set of measures and protocols such as … Continue reading

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Tokyo Daytripper: A Spiritual Cave, A Picturesque Garden, A Tall Goddess Statue, Botanical Gardens & A Tumbling Doll Temple

Gunma is the prefecture I have enjoyed exploring the most in recent years. I still haven`t been to it`s most famous sight (Kusatsu Onsen) but have enjoyed looking around lesser attractions in the area. Back in late July I headed up … Continue reading

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Tokyo Daytripper: Going Underground To See Tokyo Metropolitan’s Giant Drain

One of the most interesting sights I saw in Turkey in 2011 was the underground Basilica Cistern (below) which featured in the second James Bond film `From Russia With Love` (1963). I often forget about this place as my trip to … Continue reading

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The Worst August Holiday Ever!

In terms of weather, the mid-August Obon holiday this year was the worst one I’ve ever experienced. In a way it wasn’t so bad that I only had six days off this time as it rained on five of those … Continue reading

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Tokyo Daytripper: A Temple Dedicated To Japanese Tumbling Dolls

Japan has many symbols of luck and good fortunes such as the maneki neko cat figurines,  omamori (protective amulets) and omikuji (paper fortunes) but one of the more interesting ones is the tumbling doll known as daruma. These colourful wooden … Continue reading

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A Wet Walk Around The Rugged Volcanic Rock Shore In Izu

  Back in August, my wife and I spent six days in Izu but the weather was so sh*t that we did very little outside of the house. However, there was a brief respite one afternoon so, desperate to get … Continue reading

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Tokyo Daytripper: The Giant White Kannon Statue Keeping An Eye On It`s Residents

A giant white-robed goddess of mercy standing tall and overlooking Japanese towns and cities is something that always grabs my attention. This one is located a couple of hours north of Tokyo and as soon as I found out about … Continue reading

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Another Abandoned Building On The Shores Of Lake Ippeki And The Regular Visit To Komuroyama

A few years ago I wrote about the abandoned ruins of a lakeside hotel close to the shores of Lake Ippeki-ko in Ito but little did I know that there were more nearby! Another hotel too.   Usually such derelict … Continue reading

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Tokyo Daytripper: The Sacred Underground Palace North Of Tokyo

“A spiritual cave beneath a Japanese garden” was enough to get me interested in this 400 meter-long underground tunnel north of Tokyo.   On my previous visit to Takasaki at the start of this year I picked up a free … Continue reading

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The Station Just Over The Border From Tokyo Which Has No Trains At All For 8 Hours…In The Daytime!

  The beauty of taking trains in and around Tokyo is that you never have to wait too long if you miss your intended train. That is definitely not the case though at this station just over the border from … Continue reading

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