Our next destination would be the nearby island of Itsukushima. It is more popularly known as Miyajima “Shrine Island” and is famous for its large Tori Gate Shrine – Itsukushima Shrine. To get there would involve a train, a boat and a walk to our Ryokan (a Japanese style Inn). It was decided that we […]
Bullet Club It was time for Karen and I to join the Japanese Bullet Club. We had been on Maglev trains in China but this time it was the real deal – The Nozomi (のぞみ, “Wish”) , the fastest train running on the Shinkansen Lines with top speeds over 300km/h. Getting all excited we made […]
Prologue We departed Hong Kong for our next destination. It would turn out to be a short hop across the East China Sea to the Land of the Rising Sun – Japan (Nippon in Kanji). Our port of departure was not on land but actually an artificial island in Osaka Bay – Kansai International Airport. […]
It had been three and a half years after our last trip to Hong Kong. Then it was a gateway to China where we stayed a month. This time it would be a stop-over on the way to Japan for Easter. The last trip involved meeting up with friends who were passing through. This time we […]
Our last full day on the South Island beckoned. We decided to do one last ‘big thing’ while here. It’s always so easy to bury the last day or two by staying put – chilling at the accommodation or strolling into whatever town we were nearby – pottering – as they say back home. Our […]
Located on the banks of the Arrow River (where it derives its name!) and is approximately 7.5 km off the main highway (nestled away). This picturesque leafy heritage town was a great place to visit. In Maori the River is called Haihainui (big scratches) and was named by Maori who would visit the area to […]
