Tag Archives: Japan

Life in Colour Photo Challenge: Kaleidoscpe

Taking part in the Life in Colour Challenge (https://traveltalk.me.uk/2020/12/31/life-in-colour-photo-challenge-2021/) The world is a kaleidoscope of colour so this month let’s celebrate that with the brightest / most colourful images you can find. Mostly street art this month with some birds thrown in and a few other sights as well. You’ll never find a rainbow. if you are […]

Life in Colour Photo Challenge: Black

Taking part in the Life in Colour Challenge (https://traveltalk.me.uk/2020/12/31/life-in-colour-photo-challenge-2021/) This month we will be looking for Black or Grey. Black is not a colour at all. Theoretically it is the absence of all colour. Yet black is distinctive. Lines are bolder, shadows deeper, colours brighter against a black background. I see a red door And I want it painted […]

Life in Colour Photo Challenge: Orange

Taking part in the Life in Colour Challenge (https://traveltalk.me.uk/2020/12/31/life-in-colour-photo-challenge-2021/) This month we will be looking for orange. One of the most vibrant colours, orange is zingy and fresh. It’s a warm colour, friendly and inviting. Soft at dawn, but louder at sunset. From the palest of peaches and apricots through to copper, rust, salmon-pink and terracotta, […]

Life in Colour Photo Challenge: Red

Taking part in the Life in Colour Challenge (https://traveltalk.me.uk/2020/12/31/life-in-colour-photo-challenge-2021/) This month we will be looking for red. One of the primary colours, red often indicates danger. It is pure energy, loud, demanding to be seen. Think of a red ladybird, a red rose, autumn leaves and a sunset. Passion. A heart.

Monochrome Monday : Gin and Sonic

Throwback to our time in Hiroshima, Japan and a late night visit to a Retro Gaming Bar. You can read more about our trip here.

Wordless Wednesday: Beauty

Japan Part 10: You Can Chūō Your Own Way

We explored Tokyo by bicycle – whizzing past temples and parks. Spent the night time in alley way bars and restaurants – robot and regular. But there is more to this city, places to visit in the daytime, streets to explore. Culture on every corner. If Tokyo is considered the centre of Japan then Chūō […]

Japan Part Nine: Neo Tokyo

There is a romance about all those who are abroad in the black hours. Robert Louis Stevenson As the sun sets on the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo it undergoes a transformation. The concrete and glass facades of city streets become faded under a kaleidoscope of neon lights. The Early Birds morph into Night Owls as […]

Japan Part 8: Tokyo Drift

When we are very organised we arrange for a tour on our first full day in a new city. This helps us get our bearings, sample a selection of top sights on day 1 and get some insider information from the guides – “eat in this district”, “get here before 9am to not queue” etc. […]

Japan Part 7: Castle on a Cloud

Located 117km southwest of Kyoto is coastal city of Himeji. More like a town really with its 500,000 inhabitants compared to the metropolitan region of Osaka/Kyoto/Nara. Why were we leaving the hustle and bustle of downtown Kyoto to visit this smaller place? Himeji Castle… that’s why! Its a 17min walk up the wide boulevard of […]

Japan Part 6: All that Glitters is not Gold!

Can you make scrambled eggs in a cup? Not one of life’s most interesting questions. Not one I thought I would find myself pondering in 2018 in modern-era Japan. The answer is – yes, yes you can! As long as you stir the sh1t out of them with a plastic fork. About 5 days into […]

Japan Part 5: We are not in Nara anymore..Kyoto!

Located in the  southern suburbs of Kyoto this motley collection of shrines, temples and rest-houses is quite impressive. What blows you away is are the vermilion torii. Thousands of these gates mark the pathways inside the complex. Sweeping up and down slopes and crests in all directions while winding their way up Mount Inari A wondrous […]

Japan Part 4: Chronicles Of Nara

Our next stop on our Japan Journey was the Old Imperial Capital City of Nara in the Kansai Region. The younger sister city to neighbouring metropoli / metropolises / metropoles* of Osaka and Kyoto. The only challenge was that we were 400km away, and on another island. 3 Trains and a ferry later and we […]

Japan Part 3: Miyajima Island

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 […]

Japan Part 2 : Hiroshima

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 […]