Sometimes, it takes a bit of work to seek out the historic gems scattered across your typical Japanese metropolis, hidden as they are behind decades of unrestrained development and bland concrete modernity. But here in Takamatsu, a short stroll from the central railway station is all a visitor needs to discover one of the city’sContinue reading “Field Report: Takamatsu Castle, Japan (10 July 2015)”
Category Archives: Japan 2015 (2nd)
Field Report: Ritsurin-kōen, Takamatsu, Japan (10 July 2015)
Sunny summer Shikoku skies – whew, now that’s a tongue-twister right there – gave me the perfect excuse to go on a day trip from the hustle and bustle of Ōsaka to the relative peace and calm of Takamatsu, capital of Japan’s smallest prefecture. Of course, the fact that the city had a splendid traditionalContinue reading “Field Report: Ritsurin-kōen, Takamatsu, Japan (10 July 2015)”
Rail Report: Trainspotting my way from Ōsaka to Takamatsu, Japan (10 July 2015)
Getting there is half the fun, or so the adage goes – and this very often rings true for a railway enthusiast who undertakes a long-distance journey in the train paradise that is Japan. Today’s trip takes me from Ōsaka to Takamatsu, capital of Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. We’ll have a lookContinue reading “Rail Report: Trainspotting my way from Ōsaka to Takamatsu, Japan (10 July 2015)”
Field Report: Kinosaki Onsen and Kyōto, Japan (09 July 2015)
Who on earth travels a great distance to see an onsen town and doesn’t even bother trying the onsen? (This is where I sheepishly raise my hand and attempt an explanation.)
Rail Report: From Tottori to Ōsaka, Japan on JR-West Limited Express Trains (09 July 2015)
It takes an enormous fleet of trains to serve JR-West‘s sprawling territory, and one stands a good chance of encountering several different examples on even a single day’s worth of travel. Let’s have a look at some of them as we cut across western Japan.
Field Report: A kingdom of sand by the seaside at Tottori, Japan (08 July 2015)
Sand, in and of itself, seems to possess very little significance. But when gathered into massive dunes as tall as hills, or fashioned into huge and incredibly complex works of art, even these humble grains are enough to draw a chap like me all the way to a small city in western Japan – oneContinue reading “Field Report: A kingdom of sand by the seaside at Tottori, Japan (08 July 2015)”
Field Report: Slurping, sipping, and stepping my way around Matsue, Japan (07 July 2015)
Matsue’s eponymous castle might be its most famous attraction, but a single leisurely afternoon spent in this historic corner of Shimane Prefecture allowed me to sample a few other treasures that I’d completely missed on my first visit here.
Field Report: The Gardens of the Adachi Museum of Art, Yasugi, Japan (07 July 2015)
Japan is replete with beautiful gardens, and it’s hard to imagine how any particular specimen – much less a relatively new arrival to the scene – could possibly stand above the many other horticultural masterpieces sprinkled across the country. Indeed, one might argue that no single Japanese garden can rightfully seize the crown of “undisputedContinue reading “Field Report: The Gardens of the Adachi Museum of Art, Yasugi, Japan (07 July 2015)”
Field Report: Myth and history at Izumo, Japan (06 July 2015)
Although the long ride from Tōkyō to Shimane Prefecture on one of Japan’s last sleeper trains was almost an attraction in itself, that epic journey was but a means to an end. The end, of course, being the small but incredibly historic city of Izumo, which hosts one of the country’s oldest and most importantContinue reading “Field Report: Myth and history at Izumo, Japan (06 July 2015)”
Rail Report: Tōkyō to Izumo on the Sunrise Izumo overnight train, Japan (05-06 July 2015)
In the summer of 2015, I set off on the longest continuous land journey I’d ever undertaken in my life, travelling west across nearly a thousand kilometres of track from Tōkyō to Shimane Prefecture. Rather than contend with a long daytime train ride and the inevitable transfers, I decided to sleep away the journey –Continue reading “Rail Report: Tōkyō to Izumo on the Sunrise Izumo overnight train, Japan (05-06 July 2015)”
Within striking distance 