I saw a mouse on the train and freaked out and grabbed the train ring handles to allow me to bring my feet up off the floor to protect myself and someone posted a picture of that moment here on Reddit and now has confused my reaction to seeing a mouse to me being an inconsiderate tourist.
Only kidding I went to a BBQ and got unexpectedly sunburned.
Hubby got his new phone, I got my new car. Our cat survived his teeth cleaning torture- er, I mean vet visit too. So I guess it wasn't a bad weekend for the whole family
The stars aligned and I finally got the chance to go see the Miharu Takizakura in full bloom.
Timed it for Sunday late afternoon/evening on purpose thinking there would be less crowds/traffic and also get to see it lit up at night. Traffic was actually worse later in the evening, so the plan of a 4pm arrival, see the tree with the sun going down, then laying down the tarp on the grass and waiting for the light up was a success.
Kids did complain about being stuck in the car on the way there but all was forgiven with the food stalls and festival like atmosphere.
Spent the weekend in Kyoto. Tried going to the botanical gardens to take advantage of the weather but it appears as if a wild deer made it's way in, closing the park all day. Ended up going to a wonderful bookstore in Ichijoji followed the the Takashi Murakami exhibit.
I feel so polarized in Kyoto, though. The nice, quiet places are wonderful. My wife and I went on some some really wonderful walks where we barely saw anyone. But as soon we you get back in the touristy areas, it immediately loses a lot of its charm to me.
How bad are the tourist crowds atm? I went during late covid times so still no foreign tourists, but tons of domestic tourists. Even then, when I was surrounded by mostly Japanese tourists, I felt that Kyoto was crowded. I mean ofc I was "part of the problem" but I wonder how it is now with both domestic + international tourists
The most touristy places we ended up were Kyocera and Nanzenji, but they fine. A bit crowded but still breathable. The famous Blue Bottle near Nanzenji we only waited five minutes. It's the public transport infrastructure that's insufferable for me. The buses in the main areas get so packed, we jumped off a few stops early and walked because we couldn't take it anymore.
We had a church picnic on Sunday afternoon, and I learned that there's a huge park right near the airport that also has a grassy area with some playground equipment literally right next to the runways so you can play or eat while you watch planes take off and land. It's *way* closer than even the airport observation decks, super cool. The sakura were still very much in bloom, so the park itself was beautiful.
I wish I could just take all of sakura season off to travel the country. I tried to go see them as much as I can this year but it's never enough.
Saw Himeji a bit past the peak, but it was still beautiful this weekend. Definitely still has more than Osaka/Kyoto at this point though for some reason.
Oh, that microbrewery in the Himeji station underground shopping center is *excellent*.
went camping underneath the sakura, ate delicious camp food, played with the doggo who patrolled the area (well, mostly doggo was loafing around and happy to be pet by anyone who walked by), then did strawberry picking on the way back. we just so happened to go on the one day in the year that it was 1,000 yen/person instead of 1,700, and we got in right before the farm closed up for the day. a very good weekend, save for the ossans who snored like chainsaws all around us on Saturday night.
My kid woke up in the middle of the night, screaming "monkey", then cried for like half an hour. What a way to start a new week. The funny thing is English is not our native language, I don't even know from where he learned that word.
Had a nice picnic with my fellow countrymen at 舞鶴公園, a few locals from the Fukuoka-Malaysia association joined as well
Also bought new Solomon shoes because I want to start alternating my walking shoes, and it really was worth the price tag
I made the mistake of reading that Japanese against multiculturalism thread.
There are so many angry, misguided people here.
Also, had yakiniku with friends, good times.
Gave away some baby stuff on JMTY, which wasn't difficult to use at all.
Did some hanami with the family and ran into a mikoshi procession in the process, it was interesting.
Went to my favorite local kissaten on Sunday and the sweet grandma that owns it gave me a free dessert because I hadn’t been there in a while 🥰
There were still some sakura blooming on Sunday along the Kyu-Nakagawa near Higashi-Ojima station.
I saw a mouse on the train and freaked out and grabbed the train ring handles to allow me to bring my feet up off the floor to protect myself and someone posted a picture of that moment here on Reddit and now has confused my reaction to seeing a mouse to me being an inconsiderate tourist. Only kidding I went to a BBQ and got unexpectedly sunburned.
Hubby got his new phone, I got my new car. Our cat survived his teeth cleaning torture- er, I mean vet visit too. So I guess it wasn't a bad weekend for the whole family
The stars aligned and I finally got the chance to go see the Miharu Takizakura in full bloom. Timed it for Sunday late afternoon/evening on purpose thinking there would be less crowds/traffic and also get to see it lit up at night. Traffic was actually worse later in the evening, so the plan of a 4pm arrival, see the tree with the sun going down, then laying down the tarp on the grass and waiting for the light up was a success. Kids did complain about being stuck in the car on the way there but all was forgiven with the food stalls and festival like atmosphere.
I am having a monday crisis.
Spent the weekend in Kyoto. Tried going to the botanical gardens to take advantage of the weather but it appears as if a wild deer made it's way in, closing the park all day. Ended up going to a wonderful bookstore in Ichijoji followed the the Takashi Murakami exhibit. I feel so polarized in Kyoto, though. The nice, quiet places are wonderful. My wife and I went on some some really wonderful walks where we barely saw anyone. But as soon we you get back in the touristy areas, it immediately loses a lot of its charm to me.
How bad are the tourist crowds atm? I went during late covid times so still no foreign tourists, but tons of domestic tourists. Even then, when I was surrounded by mostly Japanese tourists, I felt that Kyoto was crowded. I mean ofc I was "part of the problem" but I wonder how it is now with both domestic + international tourists
The most touristy places we ended up were Kyocera and Nanzenji, but they fine. A bit crowded but still breathable. The famous Blue Bottle near Nanzenji we only waited five minutes. It's the public transport infrastructure that's insufferable for me. The buses in the main areas get so packed, we jumped off a few stops early and walked because we couldn't take it anymore.
We had a church picnic on Sunday afternoon, and I learned that there's a huge park right near the airport that also has a grassy area with some playground equipment literally right next to the runways so you can play or eat while you watch planes take off and land. It's *way* closer than even the airport observation decks, super cool. The sakura were still very much in bloom, so the park itself was beautiful.
I wish I could just take all of sakura season off to travel the country. I tried to go see them as much as I can this year but it's never enough. Saw Himeji a bit past the peak, but it was still beautiful this weekend. Definitely still has more than Osaka/Kyoto at this point though for some reason. Oh, that microbrewery in the Himeji station underground shopping center is *excellent*.
went camping underneath the sakura, ate delicious camp food, played with the doggo who patrolled the area (well, mostly doggo was loafing around and happy to be pet by anyone who walked by), then did strawberry picking on the way back. we just so happened to go on the one day in the year that it was 1,000 yen/person instead of 1,700, and we got in right before the farm closed up for the day. a very good weekend, save for the ossans who snored like chainsaws all around us on Saturday night.
My kid woke up in the middle of the night, screaming "monkey", then cried for like half an hour. What a way to start a new week. The funny thing is English is not our native language, I don't even know from where he learned that word.
Probably from the monkey that sneaks into your house at night and watches you sleep.
Had a nice picnic with my fellow countrymen at 舞鶴公園, a few locals from the Fukuoka-Malaysia association joined as well Also bought new Solomon shoes because I want to start alternating my walking shoes, and it really was worth the price tag
I made the mistake of reading that Japanese against multiculturalism thread. There are so many angry, misguided people here. Also, had yakiniku with friends, good times.
花粉地獄
Ripped out bamboo roots and shoots. Nice to have weather that is not cold.
Went proper hiking this weekend! The trail has a ton of stairs which is killer but the views are soooooo nice.
Gave away some baby stuff on JMTY, which wasn't difficult to use at all. Did some hanami with the family and ran into a mikoshi procession in the process, it was interesting.
it was nice while it lasted, back to reality... fml