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We arrived at Haneda airport, and wandered around the airport shopping area. There were lots of fake cherry blossom trees.
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We spend the rest of evening walking back from the Tokyo Metropolitan Goverment building along the subways and streets of Shinjuku.
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The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁舎) is the tallest city hall in the world, with observation decks proving amazing views.
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Shinjuku (新宿区) has been a major secondary center of Tokyo and a commercial hub full of skyscrapers and retail shops.
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Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) is a large park and garden. It was originally a residence of the Naitō family, then became an Imperial Park.
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Character Street is a row of shops selling toys based on various character themes, located underground in Tokyo Station.
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The Imperial Palace East Gardens encompasses the former Honmaru and Ninomaru areas of Edo Castle and the Imperial Tokagakudo Music Hall.
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We walked back to Kyoto station as buses were full, crossed the bridge at Shichijo and saw a lovely sunset.
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Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera (音羽山清水寺), is a Buddhist temple and part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage site.
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We walked along the stone-paved roads in Higashiyama (Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka) that lead up to the Kiyomizu Temple.
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Chion-in is a Pure Land Buddhism temple consisting of a colossal main gate (Sanmon), a huge temple building and Japan’s largest temple bell.
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Otani Sobyo Mausoleum is the grave of Shinran, the founder of the Shinshu sect Otani school (Higashi Hongan-ji Temple).
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Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社), once called Gion Shrine (祇園神社), is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, with bright red gates.
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Honen-in ((法然院)) is a nice quiet reflective temple on Kyoto's Philosopher's Path. There is an amazing statue of Buddha here.
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Ginkaku-ji (銀閣寺), or Temple of the Silver Pavilion, is officially named Jishō-ji (慈照寺) and built for a Shogun who became a Buddhist monk.
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Today we traveled from Osaka to Kyoto and arrived in the morning. Along the way we passed through some interesting sculpture street art.
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Today we visited Universal Studios Japan (or USJ as its more popularly known as). We are excited to see the new Harry Potter attractions!
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We travelled from Hiroshima to Osaka and arrived around 3pm. We checked into the Ritz Carlton and spent the afternoon exploring the area.
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On the way back to Fukuyama station, I saw a rose trellis in honour of Hugh Jackman - I took a picture there.
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Tomonoura is a small fishing village famous as the location for several films: notably Miyazaki's Ponyo and Wolverine.
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We walked around Hiroshima in the evening and finished up with a dinner of the Hiroshima variant of okonomiyaki.
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They say the Hiroshima Peace Museum is quite confronting - we found it terribly crowded and quite hard to see some of the exhibits.
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The Hiroshima Peace Park is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack.
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The Genbaku Dome (aka Hiroshima Peace Memorial, or the Atomic Bomb Dome) is a former exhibition hall that somehow still stands as a ruin.
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Hiroshima Castle is yet another reconstructed castle because the original was destroyed along with most of Hiroshima by the Atomic Bomb.
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Hiroshima is infamous as the first city targeted by an atomic bomb. Largely rebuilt post war, the city is once again a significant city.
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The peak of Mount Misen, at 535m, is the highest point on Miyajima Island. We got there via Miyajima Ropeway.
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Today we visited Miyajima (Shrine Island), an island famous for the O-Torii gate seemingly surrounded by water.
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We boarded the Shinkansen from Okayama to Hiroshima at 8:25am and to my surprise it's the N700 - the fastest train in the fleet.
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After visiting the castle and the garden, we wandered around the commercial heart of Okayama, primarily for dinner but also some shopping.
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We decided to visit the Korakuen garden in Okayama next to the castle. It is It is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan.
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Okayama Castle (岡山城), located in Okayama Japan, was completed in 1597, destroyed during World War II, and reconstructed in 1966.
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We took a day trip to Kurashiki. The old merchant quarter (Bikan) contains wooden warehouses along a canal.
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Today we are visiting DisneySea, a unique nautically oriented theme park, unlike the other Disney theme parks around the world.
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On the first day, we landed in Haneda Airport and took the train to Asakusa to check into the hotel. We then headed to Mitaka for the Studio Ghibli museum.
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Our return to Japan after nearly a decade! On arrival in Tokyo (Haneda Airport), we took the train to Asakusa and checked into our hotel.