April in Kansai
The last time I visited Japan in 2017, I took hundreds of photos. So many that I never got around to actually processing them all. While I have a number of posts about the trip on the site, I never got around to writing up the whole trip.
Sadly, this second holiday is already becoming a distant memory, but at least I only have to wait until September 2025 for my next visit. That is also why, this time, I want to get ahead of myself and upload a few of my favourite shots while the trip is still fresh in my mind.
My plan was to start a series called “Place I visited” in 10 photos – because I could then do it for other trips and visits. However, I just couldn’t pick 10, so for this first one, I’m going to allow myself a bit of lee-way. To this end, here are 18 photos of my trip to Japan that encapsulate my time there and make me feel especially 懐かしい.
March 31st/April 1st – Getting to Japan
This was the first time I had ever been on a plane alone. Although technically last time I flew to Japan I was sat alone. The other 3 people I went with were put in a row together, while I took one for the team, and sat on my own, further down the plane. (Away from my Mum’s snoring, so it wasn’t all bad).
My journey involved a coach trip to Heathrow, a flight to Schiphol International Airport in Holland, a layover before getting a flight that stopped at Incheon Airport in South Korea, and finally arriving at Kansai Airport in Kansai.
I then caught a train to Osaka before finally meeting Yumi. A trip that took me over 35 hours in total, door to door (3 of those hours were queuing in immigration though, so hopefully it won’t be that busy next time).
Once I met up with Yumi, we decided to get food at the train station. Japan has so many great places to eat out, I would never cook if I lived there… Who am I kidding, I don’t cook now!
We found a small restaurant, where I had my first-ever kitsune udon. I was very grateful to arrive at Yumi’s house and finally rest.
April 2nd – a trip to Himeji
My pro tip to anyone who ever asks about visiting Japan is to make local friends in advance. I only know Yumi because I met her online, back in 2015 when I was planning our first trip to Japan.
If you are extra lucky, you will meet someone super organised. Yumi bought us some tickets, prior to my arrival for discounted travel to Himeji, and another for a day in Osaka.
On my first full day, we jumped on the special Nara train – that is decorated with deer- travelled to Osaka, and on from there to Himeji.
The castle area was incredibly busy, but as Yumi pointed out, the blossoms were coming to an end. People were taking a last opportunity to meet up with friends and family and picnic under the trees.
When buying your ticket to enter (which will involve a lot of stair climbing, so be prepared for exercise if you ever get the chance to go there!) you can pay a little extra to access a garden next door to the castle. I took loads of pictures there, including ones of beautiful waterfalls, a bamboo forest and more. But I felt this next picture captured an aspect of Japanese culture that I find particularly interesting.
‘Drain chains’. I captured a few different kinds on my trip, and on one of the rainy days saw them in action. When it rains the water is slowed down as it drips slowly down the chains.
It may seem really simple, but something I noticed during this break was my ability to find joy in simple things. Watching koi swimming in a pond, listening to the wind blowing through trees, sitting and enjoying a coffee and people watching… so much so, that I am now inspired to restart work on my next book about just that subject.
I also managed to get a coffee ticked off of my ’50 coffees in 50 cities’ task. It wasn’t all relaxing… I was getting tasks done too!
April 3rd – Kyoto
Yumi very kindly took the Monday and Friday that I stayed off of work, so I was able to spend both days with her. On our first Monday, we caught the train to Kyoto, where I had booked kimono hire.
There was a bit of a ‘moment’ when I was politely advised that I was too big to fit into the regular-sized kimonos and that I would therefore need to select one from the limited supply for fatties at the back. Reality bites, but I made the best of it and Yumi helped me to choose some great accessories to complete my look.
You are strapped in so tightly by the professional dressers, that you can barely notice I am in a ‘wide’ kimono, I think.
We had a wonderful day wandering the street of Kyoto, eating delicious desserts, and climbing more stairs in uncomfortable footwear!
I also got to tick 2 further places off task 36 ‘ Visit 50 places of worship’ as we visited both the Yasaka-jinja Shinto Shrine and the Buddhist temple, Kiyomizu-dera (next picture).
The latter is famous for its balcony and is said to be a beautiful place to visit during the Autumn, due to the large number of Maple trees, and the colours they turn. Can’t wait to see that for myself.
April 4th – Alone in Osaka
This day was spent mostly in immense pain! My poor old legs, at this point, were struggling to climb and descend stairs due to my muscle aches. That was why, after I managed to find my way out of Namba Parks, finally get a train and arrive at Sumiyoshi Taisha, I was unable to cross the bridge in the next photo.
I’m not sure if the camber comes across in this picture, and I am sure I would have been able to climb up to the middle, but I knew I would not be able to walk back down the other side. The steps were almost like a ladder, and I may have spent the rest of my holiday trapped up there!
So I cheated and walked around.
I managed to survive the entire day alone, getting trains, ordering food, and buying gifts in the shops.
It made me feel that if I did get to spend a year in Japan, I would be quite content, even if I had to spend much of the time on my own.
April 5th – Finally meeting a legend in Nara
Today I got the train eastwards from the station near Yumi’s house and headed to Nara. I had to kill a few hours before my appointment at Nara Visitor Center (They spelt it wrong on purpose, that is not a typo!), and as the shops did not open until 10.30, I was able to go back over some of the sights I had enjoyed on my first trip.
The park, the large pond with a photogenic gazebo in it, the bowing deer, and the ancient shrines and temples, were all as I remembered them. It was beautifully peaceful, despite the crowds. I often struggle to ‘rest’; it feels wrong to sit and do nothing, even on holiday. but I managed to take time to sit and read while surrounded by the most scenic backdrop.
When I get to spend my ‘year in Japan’, I will work on becoming more comfortable in being able to just breathe, and not feel the need to be rushing to the next task.
This photo is me at the Sumiyoshi Shrine, and it particularly resonates as the last time I was at this spot, I had a photo here with my Mum. Thought it would be fun to compare.
The main reason for my trip to Nara was to finally meet Yayoi-Sensei and Lee; the people responsible for the online Tea Ceremony that kept me sane during Covid. Being part of this weekly event was an amazing routine that gave me stability while the rest of the world was in turmoil.
Every Wednesday I would tune in and watch Yayoi-Sensei share her wisdom – and tea-making skills – as well as suggestions for fun things to do in the prefecture.
Once I had my flights booked, I let them know I was going to visit. Yayoi-sensei asked me to visit her house and see her garden. Lee asked me to bring him Jaffa cakes.
I did both.
Lee took the following photo, but I wanted to share it, as we often joked during the online sessions that this kanji looked like” a panda in a beret” rather than ‘sora’ (空). Being able to see this scroll in real life after seeing it on my phone screen for nearly 3 years was a really special moment
You can catch up on all of the tea ceremonies with this playlist from their Facebook account.
6th April – A day out with Yayoi-Sensei and her husband
As promised, today was the day I spent with Yayoi-Sensei and her husband.
I had to kill some time before I was getting picked up, so I visited a Mall near Yumi’s house and bought myself some new clothes. After shopping for a bit, I planned a route back to Yumi’s that took me through what seemed like allotments. It felt like I was starring in an anime and I was walking back from school through fields.
I then had to loiter with intent in the garden (not sure what Yumi’s neighbours made of that!) while I waited to be collected. Once picked up, we all returned to Yayoi-Sensei’s home, where I met her pet bird ‘Sakura’. After lunch – and some delicious tea – we visited a museum dedicated to tea whisks.
We returned home, where Yayoi-Sensei showed me her kimono -room, and very generously gave me one of her obi-sashes as well as an actual kimono. I have never been so excited and grateful for a gift! The problem now was how I would fit it in my bag to get it home.
Later we went to dinner at a local kaiten-sushi, where I got to try lots of sushi, as well as a melon sorbet. I then grabbed Yayoi-Sensei for a selfie.
I’ve been invited to come and stay the next time I am in Japan, but as I will be bringing a few people with me, I am hoping she will be content with us meeting up for dinner – especially as it will be my treat this time!
Nara 7th April
This was the second day that Yumi took off from work. We had planned to have our day in Osaka, but as rain was expected (and as previously mentioned, Yumi is very organised!) we instead visited the Machiya Houses of Imai-Cho.
Many of the houses are closed to the public or open only by appointment. We were, however, still able to see a number of them, including a warehouse that was previously used to make and sell soy sauce.
I also discovered the interesting relationship Japanese people have with umbrellas. Yumi owns about 10 of them, and they are used for rain and sun protection. When I wasn’t quick enough to put my brolly up, I was warned I would get wet. I pointed out I was English and therefore waterproof. Rain needs to be ‘proper’ rain to invoke a response from me. Plus, I have trust issues with umbrellas as it is always too windy to use them in England.
The narrow streets were oddly comforting, even if many of the doors were closed.; like an architectural hug enclosing me in its walls.
Having said that, the very large open drains on each side of the road made me a little paranoid. I would certainly worry about driving around such streets. We shall not even mention the insane reverse parking skills that the drivers there seem to have!
We stopped off at a cafe called Mutsuki, which is run by Akemi-San and her cat – who we sadly did not get to meet. I was able to tick a further coffee off of my list, before continuing our exploration of the maze of roads that make up the town.
We ended the day back in Nara with another coffee and cake.
8th April – Using our Osaka pass
Because Yumi is a genius – as previously mentioned- she had the sense to pre-buy passes for a day in Osaka. This covered the cost of entry to a number of tourist attractions, as well as our transport for the day. We climbed to the top of 2 buildings: The Umeda Sky Building and Tsutenkaku – which stands in the background of this photo.
One of the funniest moments was when we were queuing to enter the Tsutenkaku. There is an option to pay extra and slide down from the 3rd floor to the basement. I was amused to see the sign for this as it was called the ‘Tower Slider’.
In Bristol, we are famous for calling slides ‘sliders’ (it works with our outrageous pirate accents), so seeing signs all over the tower with ‘slider’ on really tickled me.
We stayed in Osaka all day, spending the evening in Dontonbori. A boat trip was included in the price of our day pass, and we chose to take it at night so that we could appreciate the lights and sights along the river.
9th April – A Kyoto Adventure
This was Easter Sunday, and the day I went off to Kyoto on my own to meet up with my friend Fumio – who happened to be in Japan at the same time as me.
Yumi dropped me off near Saidai-Ji temple, so I decided to visit the grounds before heading to the train station. After a calming walk through the complex, I crossed over to catch a train up to Kyoto.
The central train station in Kyoto is massive, with hundreds of shops, restaurants and cafes over 13 floors, so it was easy for me to get lost. Luckily, Japan is famous for its free Wi-Fi, so I was able to organise a meeting place for Fumio and I.
After having lunch in one of the many restaurants in the Porta Underground shopping mall, we decided to visit Toji-Temple to the south of the station. There was a beautiful garden, whose trees were still clinging to the blossoms that were disappearing from the trees in Osaka and Nara.
Lots of historic places do not allow photography indoors, but we were very surprised to see a sign that banned sketching. Perhaps it was a cynical ploy to get us to buy postcards, but I wrote notes when I got home to remember what I saw.
My particular favourite was the Kanchi-in House. It is an example of housing during the Momoyama period and was built in 1605. We spent a while looking at the rooms and gardens before being passive-aggressively but politely asked to leave as the staff all wanted to go home!
As it got dark we returned to the train station where we took on the stairs that span the 13 floors, all the way up to the rooftop garden. We then walked down the stairs and got some shots of the images that the changing lights create.
After a quick dinner, I was back on a train, trying very hard to stay awake, so that I would remember to change for my station in Nara. Once there, I jumped on the bus before returning to Yumi’s house.
Probably one of the best days of my holiday.
And while hard to explain, being able to casually switch trains, jump on and off of the local bus and then walk along to Yumi’s made me feel like I was really at home.
Osaka 10th April
My last full day.
I decided to get a train up to Osaka Castle to get some last ‘touristy’ photos, before getting a train back to Shinsekai. I returned to the tower and the surrounding shops, as well as visited a park near Tenoji Zoo. On this trip, I purposely avoided the zoo and aquarium, as I know Hannah will want to visit these when we come next time, so I thought I would save them.
Another place I returned to was Namba Parks, but this time I actually climbed to the top of the urban gardens. I also took time out to eat the Cadbury Creme egg I had bought all the way from England!
On meeting Yumi after work, she told me about a shrine she had heard of, so we wandered over to have a look and get some photos.
It certainly didn’t look like most of the temples I had seen this week…
11th April – a sneaky last excursion
Having packed all of my bags, and remembering Hannah’s chocolate that had been sitting in the fridge for a week, Yumi decided there was time for one last outing.
Here we are in front of the Suzakumon Gate.
Yumi came with me to the airport. We had lunch there – Kitsune udon, the thing I had eaten when I arrived – and all too soon, I was on my way home.
The long way home
My homeward journey was a nightmare – both my coach and one of my flights were cancelled.
I was returned to the City of London Airport. The opposite side of London to the re-booked coach I needed to catch to get back to Bristol.
My trek across rush-hour London, while carrying far too many bags was not the end I had hoped for to my break, but I managed to get back home finally. I am certainly not travelling ‘hand luggage only’ on future trips. My large wheeled case may be a little inconvenient while getting to and from the airports, but my back will certainly thank me!
As if to remind me where I was, the rain was incessant. One of Yumi’s multitude of umbrellas would have been useful at this point.
At least terrible weather is the perfect excuse to sit indoors and go over the hundreds of photos I had taken on holiday… and plan my next trip.