Kanazawa – Shirakawa-go – Takyama

Japanese tunnels are magical, you can go in one end in Spring and come out the other in Winter!

   

                 

The above photo should be at the start but I don’t know how to  move it. 

Not the recommended method of sightseeing though, spending 90% of the trip in tunnels.

   

                 

Today I perfected the art of tunnel-gap photography: In dark tunnel, turn camera on, wait for light at end of tunnel, view-finder to eye, point and shoot as soon as it’s light, hope for the best – you can edit or delete later, enter next tunnel.

   

                

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A Day in Kanazawa

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Still cool to start but warmed to a two-layer day at one stage!

Got the bus to Kanazawa Gardens – scenic beauty overload: cherry blossoms, snow-capped mountains, Japanese garden.

Saw a few bridal couples in traditional attire – beautiful and fitting for our wedding anniversary.

   

                 

   

                 

   

                 

Last JR Trip

Our JR pass expired today so we did a day trip from Kanazawa to Nagano and back on the newly opened Shinkansen line.

   

                 

Kyoto – Kanazawa

Got the Thunderbird 29 train from Kyoto to Kanazawa after hobbling to see the nearest temple to Kyoto Station. My feet gave up around the halfway mark of this trip and the only thing keeping me going is medication – Brufren and Panadine, so I’ll probably end up with a stomach ulcer by the end of it. But the Hotel Kanazawa, just outside the station, is the most luxurious we’ve stayed in so far. Each of the twin beds is as big as some of the double beds we’ve had up till now.

   

                 

Okayama – Kyoto

Lucky I took Aisling’s advice and uploaded photos to Facebook while we were in Okayama, because they very next day the card in my camera failed. Fortunately I brought a spare.

From Okayama we took the Hikari train to Kyoto and because our hotel was too far from the station to walk, got our first taxi in Japan. We’d avoided them up to now because we’d been warned that they were very expensive but it only cost about the same as Darwin and it was very clean with linen and lace covers and trimmings on the seats.

That was one of the few things I liked about Kyoto. It didn’t help that it was wet and cold; the only room available in our expensive hotel was Smoking and stank; the location was in the city but not close to anything; it was the most crowded place we’ve been to here with the most rude people we’ve met so far; and, to top it off I got hit by a bicycle – shared footpaths here. So glad we only booked one night there!

Room with a view!   

 

Despite all that we enjoyed our visit to the Imperial Palace.

   

                

  

                 

Nagasaki

Can’t share those photos today because my iPad’s full. Need to find a PC to do some downloading.

It’s been a mixed day. Weatherwise it started fine but then the rain came in and lasted all day. But then if we didn’t have rain we wouldn’t have cherry blossom and flowers so we have to take the good with the bad.

In terms of the hotel and Booking.com, it’s an ongoing saga. I will now try to demonstrate the difference between what you think you’re getting and the reality.

 

 Reception

 

  

  

  

  Carpet at lift exit on our floor – positively dangerous