Himeji Castle and Osaka

Himeji Castle Because we weren't able to get to Himeji yesterday we set out early to go today and arrived at Himeji Castle by mid morning. Himeji castle is considered one of the biggest and best representations of Japanese Castle building. When you get off the train, its a short walk towards the castle, but you can see it right when you leave the station. As you get closer you start to realize...

Miyajima

Miyajima With an early start, our plan was to visit Miyajima today before heading into Osaka. To get to Miyajima we needed train half an hour south of Hiroshima, before boarding a ferry that would take us the rest of the way. Miyajima is an island that is known for its many shrines, most notably the Itsukushima Shrine with its floating torii gate. There is also a ropeway that takes you up Mount...

Good Bye Yamamizuki, Hello Hiroshima

Breakfast at Yamamizuki After a good nights sleep we woke up headed back downstairs to the Yamamizuki private dining room for breakfast. We were excited because if breakfast was anything like dinner, we were in for a treat! We were not disappointed as breakfast was also a tasty multi course affair! Drive to Kumamoto Sadly it was time to go and say good bye to Yamamizuki. We had a couple hour...

Rowing Takachiho and Yamamizuki Ryokan in Kurokawa

Breakfast Our Ryokan provided a complimentary breakfast and we headed down early so we could beat the rush for rowboats. Upon arrival in the breakfast area we were each given this large tray with an assortment of different food items. I was really impressed with the variety that this "free" breakfast offered! For me I really enjoyed the tamago and the grilled fish, they were especially yummy!...

Hiking around Takachiho Gorge

Takachiho gorge It was time to leave Miyazaki and make our way to Takachiho Gorge. We left early because we wanted to arrive at the gorge before other tourists. Our AirBNB host had warned us that it was a holiday in Japan and that it may be busy at the Gorge. It was a two hour drive from Miyazaki to Takachiho through a beautiful mountainous area. We had hoped to arrive before it got too busy so...

Miyazaki, Shrines & Lanterns!

Leaving Okinawa We didn't have anything planned except that we needed to get the car back to the rental company at 2PM. With the morning to kill, we decided to visit a shopping centre. We were halfheartedly shopping since we knew there'd be opportunity to shop later on and didn't want to carry stuff with us for the rest of the trip! Though at the top of the shopping center, we did score a pretty...