Tag Archives: Momiji Diaries
The Momiji Diaries – Part 10 – Kiso Valley
16th November, Kiso Valley
On a damp, mid November Sunday we travelled by train to Nakatsugawa via Nagoya and onward by local bus to Magome to experience travelling the old Nakasendo road between Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). The old town of Magome is a ribbon development around the Nakasendo road which travels up a steep hill [...]
The Momiji Diaries – Part 9 – Okayama, Okayama-jo
15th November, Matsue to Kyoto via Okayama
We took the local express train to Okayama on the south side of the island and the tramway to Okayama-jo, the crow castle. Another of the castles built around 1600 and partially rebuilt in modern times after war time air raids. The building is complex with three different buildings, [...]
The Momiji Diaries – Part 8 – Matsue, Adachi Museum
14th November, Matsue, Shimane Province
We caught an early train to nearby Yasugi and picked up the minibus to the Adachi Museum. This was the main reason for the visit to Matue. The Adachi Museum of Art founded in recent times by Adachi Zenko is a masterpiece of paintings and ceramics on the inside and garden [...]
The Momiji Diaries – Part 7 – Matsue, Yuushi-en
13th November, Matsue, Shimane Province
After exploring Matsue (the water city), known for it’s rivers and canals, the night before, we took an early morning bus to Daikon-shima island to see the garden of Yuushi-en. Daikon-shima is an ancient collapsed caldera with rich soils, renowned for it’s ginseng and peonies. Here they grow many varieties, some [...]
The Momiji Diaries – Part 6 – Himeji, White Egret castle
12th November, Kyoto to Matsue via Himeji
We took an early Shinkansen (bullet train) to Himeji and walked to the castle about 20 minutes from the station. The White Egret castle is one of the finest of the 12 remaining castles in Japan, built in the early 1600’s after the battle of Sekigahara , which brought [...]
The Momiji Diaries – Part 5 – Kyoto, Hogon-in
11th November, Visit to Arashiyama district North West Kyoto
We caught the local train to Saga Arashiyama by the river Hozu, just after it emerges from the Hozu gorge. Our first visit was to the Hogon-in temple a sub temple of Tenryu-ji. Hogon-in has a pleasant stroll garden with many grumpy looking statues of monks by the [...]
The Momiji Diaries – Part 4 – Kyoto, Agon-shu
10th November, Coach tour East and South of Kyoto
As this was the first day with the group, we laid on a visit to the head temple of the Agon-shu Buddhist sect by chartered coach. Agon-shu is a new sect only a few decades old with a mountain top eyrie. The building is fabulous and exudes [...]
The Momiji Diaries – Part 3 – Kyoto, Nishi Honganji palace
Part 3 of David’s Momiji Diary, parts 1 and 2 are available from the Jade Pavillions author page.
9th November, Kyoto
As the group were arriving later that day I visited some local sites not on the group itinerary. The first was Nishi Honganji palace, which has a splendid ornate entranceway reminiscent of the Heian period architecture. [...]
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