It's Monday morning... and time for another blog interview. Today, let's meet with Julienne aka Yeni R from HKFiles, who writes about life in Hong Kong. Her blog is home to a mix of food reviews, hikes and attractions - so it's quite similar to my blog, but what I do love about her blog… Continue reading Interview with HKFiles
A few days ago, we travelled to Vietnam for a few days of break. We flew directly to Hanoi, which is just a 1.5 hours direct flight away from Hong Kong, so it's very quick and easy to get to. From the airport we took a taxi to take us into the city. The ride… Continue reading Back from Hanoi
Apart from the Matsumoto Castle there is not much to see in Matsumoto. We briefly visited the City Museum to learn about the castle, the city and its annual events but left after 30 minutes. We then strolled south from the castle across the Metoba River until we hit the 'frog' street - apparently there… Continue reading Matsumoto
Back to my posts about Japan. So after Kyoto, we travelled to Takayama. This is a small town, 110km northeast of Nagoya in the Central Alps. It used to be known for the skilled carpenters employed by emperors to build palaces and temples in Kyoto and Nara. Nowadays it is known for its small streets… Continue reading Takayama: Miso and sake
So, Kyoto was the easy part. We stayed in a very nice Western-style hotel, knew exactly what we wanted to see and if we did not rely on our feet, we just hopped into a train or taxi to get to the next sightseeing spot. If we were unsure were to go, there was always… Continue reading Travelling from Kyoto to Takayama
This little shrine is tucked away in Gion and we just found it by coincidence. It is just outside the grounds of Kenninji Temple. At this shrine, you break with undesirable things – either an unwanted partner, or just some plain bad luck. You do this at this interesting looking monument. It is actually made… Continue reading Kyoto: Yasui Konpiragu Shrine and relationships
On our way back to our hotel in Southern Higashiyama we walked passed the Yasaka Shrine, which is located between the Gion District and Higashiyama District. It is considered the guardian shrine of Gion. The present buildings are from 1654. The granite toori was erected in 1666 and stands 9.5m high, making it one of… Continue reading Kyoto: Yasaka Shrine
We had great hopes of the Chionin temple, it was described as one of the must see sights to us. We walked through the massive Sanmon Gate to enter the grounds. Standing 24 meters tall and 50 meters wide, it is the largest wooden gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s. Behind… Continue reading Kyoto: Chionin Temple
After our stroll through the Higashiyama district we visit Kodaiji, which is a temple that was established in 1605 in memory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan's greatest historical figures, by Hideyoshi's wife Nene, who is also enshrined at the temple. Kodaiji is a Buddhism temple. Its main buildings were constructed in the lavish style of… Continue reading Kyoto: Kodaiji Temple
After visiting the Kyomizudera Temple we walked through the Higashiyama District. This is one of the city's best preserved historic districts. It is a great place to wander through narrow langes, with wooden buildings and traditional merchant shops. It feels a little of how Kyoto must have been many years ago. The shops and restaurants… Continue reading Kyoto: Higashiyama and Senbei rice crackers
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