From my point of view, Kofu is very underrated. When I was asked during my trip where else I plan to go and beside other cities I mentioned also Kofu, people looked confused at me and asked “Why Kofu?”. I actually changed the plans that I had to spend 3 days in Kofu, by spending just two and one to go back to Tokyo. Two nights I think they are enough, but I absolutely have no regret for coming here. From my perspective, Kofu is much...
In Matsumoto there’s the castle that actually is older than the one in Himeji, also the original one. When I was close to the entrance of the castle, a woman approached me (she was almost running to catch me) and asked me if I would like to accept to make a tour with her, it’s for free and it takes 1,5 hours. Of course I accepted and I am glad that she insisted, because the amount and quality of the information she gave me was pure...
From Takayama I took the bus to Okuhida Onsengo, a place known for Spa (lots of hot springs) and the mountain views. The day when I arrived in the area had a warning of snowstorm. That means no view, but lots of snow. I took the gondola from Shinhotaka and went up on the mountain, through a snowstorm-wannabe. Up there were -9 degrees, very cold – I had two pants, 3 jackets and two scarfs and still felt the cold air in my bones. To take...
Takayama is a town deep in the Japanese Alps. The name of the town means tall mountains. What I found very beautiful about this place is the old traditional houses.From Takayama I did a tour to Shirakawa-go. Of course I could have gone with public transportation, but it would one way would cost 2600 yen, so in total 5400 yen and I paid 4300 yen (36 euro).The drive was 50 minutes. Unfortunately the weather was bad, it rained almost continuously...
I was two days in Kanazawa, the first day was sunny so I saw all the spots I wanted to see this day, second day was very rainy, so I took the chance and stayed in bed alllll daaaayyy long. It was good after so many weeks of everyday long walks.Temples:Kenrokuen Garden (300 yen, 2,5 euro):There are six elements that truly beautiful Japanese Garden should have:
extensive space
quiet seclusion
human artistry
old fashioned elegance
flowing...