Tag Archives: ryokan
Takaragawa Osenkaku’s mixed gender baths
From certain angles you can’t tell where the river ends and the baths begin. Set in the hills of Minakami, Takaragawa Osenkaku is well known for its spectacular riverside rotemburo. Takaragawa Osenkaku claims its baths to be among the largest … Continue reading
Tsumago
Like most of post-tsunami Japan, the streets of Tsumago lay empty, very unusual for the tourist magnet this picture-friendly town is. Walking into town from Magome felt like walking on the set of a wind-blown deserted street of a spaghetti … Continue reading
Yarimikan: Hidden Onsen
What’s your idea of paradise? Mine varies. Sometimes its a white sand beach with glass-clear waters. Sometimes its just home with hours of uninterrupted Korean dramas on video. But here, in Japan, there is a really special spot that comes … Continue reading
Up on the roof of Japan
Right out of a Christmas postcard right? Up here at the observation deck of the Nishihotakaguchi station of the Shin Hotaka Ropeway, the view takes the breath away. Except for another 15 people, we have the place to ourselves.
>Where Heike warriors walked… and bathed!
> It was an overcast day but the grey clouds only served to add mist and atmosphere to the hidden valley deep in Tochigi prefecture. From Asakusa Tokyo, it took me the better part of three hours to get to … Continue reading
>Day 14 Miyajima and Tokyo
> Last day in Japan! Woke up to fogged up windows, a sea of scarlet and gold leaves across the road, the murmur of water, a great breakfast and regret. I felt sad to leave Auberge Watanabe after being so … Continue reading
>Day 13 Miyajima
> Once in every trip, there are those really perfect blissed-out days when life seems like it couldn’t get any better. Days you wished could last forever and places so lovely you wish you need never leave. The Miyajima day … Continue reading
>Day 5 Nagano & Shibu Onsen part 2
> I don’t know if I will ever have as great an experience in a ryokan as I had in Kokuya, in Shibu Onsen. That sounds sweeping, but the experience we had in Kokuya and in Shibu Onsen was so … Continue reading
>Day 5 Nagano & Shibu Onsen part 1
> This is how we travel. Backpacks on our backs. This trip, we packed three big backpacks for everyone. We used compression bags, one per child, each clearly labelled. We brought extra bags for laundry. KH, Gillian and Isaac each … Continue reading
>Kokuya Ryokan, Shibu Onsen
>Okay, I just have to blog this. I am SO excited right now. If you can see me, I am simultaneously hopping in my seat and grinning from ear to ear. If I were alone, I would be screaming in … Continue reading
Big On Trips 