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We returned to Japan in 5-15 March 2018, and started from Osaka, then south to Kyushu visiting Nagasaki, ending with a day trip to Himeji.
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On our last day in Osaka, we wandered around the block from the hotel and ended up in Osaka Station City, a large shopping mall.
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On our return back to the station, we couldn't resist stopping by at a Hello Kitty themed cafe called Cafe de Miki.
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Koko-en (好古園) is a Japanese garden next to Himeji Castle. It was constructed in 1992 at the site of the lord's west residence.
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Himeji Castle (姫路城) is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was fully restored in 2015.
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Himeji is the second largest city in Hyogo and is famous for Himeji Castle and Kokoen garden. There are many statues on Otemaedori.
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We visited the Umeda Sky Building for dinner, and then afterwards go to the rooftop to experience cityscapes of Osaka at Night.
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We are travelling from Huis Ten Bosch to Osaka. We checked out of the hotel, made our way back to the Huis Ten Bosch station.
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On our last night at Huis Ten Bosch we stayed back to watch the evening parade and soak up the atmosphere.
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We wandered around Huis Ten Bosch in the afternoon to catch any final sights or attractions that we missed on the first day.
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Super Trick Art is yet another of those 3D art places that you pose in front of. The lighting is a bit dark in places.
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The Game Museum at Huis Ten Bosch contains a display of various gaming consoles past to present as well as various arcade machines.
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The Porcelain Museum at Huis Ten Bosch is full of rooms of porcelain displays, a second hall with upholsteries and a third hall with pottery.
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"Harbor Town" in Huis Ten Bosch has theme park attractions, the Huis Ten Bosch castle, and a replica of a Dutch ship called De Liefde.
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The Flower Road at Huis Ten Bosch features windmills, tulips, the Delftsebrug bridge, and a cheese shop called Cheese Waag.
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The Night Lights in Huis Ten Bosch are very colourful with a lot of the buildings lit up, with "light" flowing from the Domtoren.
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Thriller and Attraction Cities in Huis Ten Bosch contain a variety of theme park attractions surrounded by a fountain.
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The Amsterdam Square in Huis Ten Bosch evokes the famous Dam Square with a European village adjacent to it.
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The Stadhuis replica in "Amsterdam Square" in Huis Ten Bosch has a magnificent crystal and glass museum called "Gyaman Gallery".
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The replica of Domtoren (the famous church tower in Utrecht) at Huis Ten Bosch has an observation deck with great 360 degree views.
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We boarded a cruiser at Canaltown that took us on a canal cruise all the way to Tower City where a replica of the Domtoren is.
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We visited a recreation of Kasteel Nijenrode containing the Teddy Bear Kingdom, an extensive collection of teddy bears from around the world.
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We arrived at the tiny but very, very cute JR Huis Ten Bosch station, walked across a bridge to the Huis Ten Bosch theme park.
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Today we are travelling on the Seaside Liner from Nagasaki to Huis Ten Bosch. Took a few photos at Nagasaki Station.
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Shianbashi is Nagasaki's nightlife area (and former red light district). At night, it comes alive with little restaurants and snack bars.
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Teramachi literally means "Temple town" and it is a street full of ... temples. There's an amazing variety of temples here.
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Spectacles Bridge is Japan's first Chinese-style stone bridge and one of Japan's Top 3 most well known bridges.
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Dejima was used to quarantine foreign traders (Portuguese, then Dutch) during the Edo period of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
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We also explored various places around the Nagasaki historic quarter including Oura Machi and Minami Yamate-Machi.
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The strangely named "Dutch Slope" is a sloping road leading up to a hill where there are historical Western style houses.
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Glover Garden is situated on the southern slope of the Minamiyamate hillside and offers a superb and extensive view of Nagasaki Harbour.
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We also visited the Nagasaki Peace Museum, which was similar to the one in Hiroshima but on a smaller scale.
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The Atomic Bomb Hypocentre has concentric circles marked around it like a bullseye target, next to the nearby remains of the Urakami church.
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Nagasaki Peace Park is built on a low hill to the north of the hypocentre of the atomic bomb blast, and features the Peace Sculpture.
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We walked through the Nagasaki Seaside Park. This offers views of Dejima Harbour and incoming boats, plus open space.
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Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) was originally called Hashima with a seabed coalmine. After the mine was closed, the island fell into ruin.
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Today is a rainy day, which is perfect for travelling from Osaka to Nagasaki. We arrived at 3pm and checked in to the Richmond Hotel.
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We visited Namba City, next to Namba Station, and then walked to Namba Parks, another huge shopping centre with an interesting architecture.
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Namba Walk is an underground mall that looks like it has seen better days. They have a Hello Kitty spring promotion so we took photos.
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The Dotonbori (道頓堀) area is a popular nightlife and entertainment area with an eccentric atmosphere and large illuminated signboards.
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We attended the LEGO Piece of Peace World Heritage Exhibition at Daimaru. It showcases LEGO models of World Heritage sites and buildings.
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Day 1 in Osaka. We walked around the Shinsaibashi area, starting from Midosuji towards Amerikamura, then Europe-dori and the shopping street.
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We returned to Japan in 2017 and visited Tokyo, then headed down south to Okayama and Hiroshima, returning via Osaka and Kyoto.
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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.