I arrived in Laos in the late evening of the 14th after a flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok and then on to Vientaine.
After a first night in Vientaine I followed the usual routine and started discovering town and its attractions using the Getting lost on Purpose ™ approach – below some photographic evidence.
A further business trip in 2008 got me back to Boulder; also this time our hosts took well care of us – and we had an enjoyable weekend in Rocky Mountain NP. Below some impressions.
This gallery contains 11 photos.
We were now on our trip back to Tokyo for a last day … during hte train ride we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of Mount Fuji. This was now my last full day in Japan … I … Continue reading
Today was spent in Nara, now covering the main attractions – including the Todai-ji Daibutsu-Den Hall (the hall of the great Buddha) and the Isuien Garden, a great sample of Japanese gardening.
This gallery contains 12 photos.
This morning we had the opportunity to visit the Daisho-In temple and get a closer day-light view of the Itsukushima-jinja shrine. Later in the morning we made it back to the mainland and continued to Nara. In Nara we had … Continue reading
After our visit to the A-bomb memorial we left Hiroshima and took the ferry over to the island of Miyajima. This islands hosts, what is easily one of the most photographed attractions of Japan – the famous floating Torii.
Today we left the southern island of Kyushu behind and returned to Honshu – we arrived at the city of Hiroshima midday; by tram we went over to the A-Bomb dome, peace park and museum.
Today was a free day. Proposal by the itinerary was to hike Yufuin Dake, with 1516 meters the highest mountain around Yufuin.
Of course I joined in for that – my destination was set: Yufuin Dake. It turned out a not too difficult or strenuous hike. I made it up to both summits of the mountain.
This morning we left Nagasaki and went on to Yufuin, a travel destination, domestically known for its hot springs.
To get to Yufuin we used the Yufuin No Mori Express, a special tourist train.
No mention of Yufuin is complete without an attempt to an introduction to Onsen:
Onsens are traditional, public Baths in Japan. They are part of many ryokans and usually follow the same approach. When one gets in, one gets rid of all clothes, these are put into a basket. Equipped only with a small (modesty) towel one enters the actual bath room (shared), takes a small chair and starts washing oneself. Once one feels clean, one can move over to the actual bath (which ideally is fed by a hot spring), the water may be very hot. After some soaking (duration really depends on the water temperature) one moves out, maybe takes a quick shower and finally dries oneself and changes into a yukata … and enjoys this clean, relaxed feeling.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
We left the ryokan this morning and took the tram up to peace park and the area where the explosion of the Nagasaki A-Bomb took place back in 1945. After the memorial we moved over to the museum, which gave … Continue reading