Category: Japan

M: Miyagi Zao Fox Village

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Whilst in Japan recently we had the experience of a life time. We spent the morning in the world’s only fox village, according to the road signs. It can be found in the Zao mountains above the township of Shiroishi. It was winter in Japan at the time of our visit and the Zao mountains are over 1800 metres and are active volcanoes. The area also boast some of the highest annual snowfall in the world.

The fox village is over 30 years old and houses over 100 foxes. There are 6 types of foxes here – red foxes, silver foxes (the black ones), blue artic foxes, white artic foxes, platinum foxes as well as cross foxes. My favourite foxes are still the white artic foxes although the platinium and black foxes fascinated me as I had never seen them before.

They live in a fenced open area and have little fox house to sleep or rest in. Otherwise they move around freely doing what foxes do. They played. There were several fights. Some slept. Some appeared to hump each other. Others rolled around in the snow. They are very comfortable living this life while hundreds of visitors walk around with them taking many photos of them. We are warned on entry not to get too close or pat them as even though they are very cute they are still wild animals and will bite. If the foxes came up to us we were told to keeping moving.

You can only feed the foxes from one place. It is like a big hut that is off the ground with viewing platforms all around. The foxes know that this is where they can get food and many would get underneath to beg, jump and look cute to get some food. It was fun to pick your favourite fox then attempt to throw the pellets well enough that your fox could catch it in his/her mouth. You had to be strategic as there were definitely some pushy one who would try and steal the younger foxes food.

As you first enter the village there is a petting area where you can pay to cuddle a fox. Many people lined up for this experience, we just watched their enjoyment form the side.

If ever you have the time I would recommend visiting this special place. It was easy to get to via the bullet train and taxi and not speaking Japanese wasn’t a problem.

Blogging From A-Z: U is Universal City Walk Osaka

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Universal City Walk Osaka is the all-American style shopping mall outside of Universal Studios. I loved this area. It was filled with shops and restaurants that we didn’t have in Australia. Choosing a place for lunch was a challenge. We eventually decided on TGI Fridays and we were not disappointed. After lunch we enjoyed exploring Hard Rock Cafe and taking a trip down memory lane.

The entrance to Universal Studios made us wish we had an extra day in Osaka. So when we return, we have promised ourselves that we will go through the gates.

Blogging From A-Z: J is Japan Rail Pass

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We loved our Japan Rail Pass (JR pass). For anyone who isn’t aware, a JR pass is a rail pass that gives you unlimited travel around Japan. It is valid for a specific number of days ( 7, 14, 21). You must purchase your JR pass in your own country before travelling to Japan.

To chose the number of days you need your JR pass for, think about your itinerary. We were travelling around Osaka for the first few days so we didn’t validate our JR pass until we wanted to take our first long trip on the shinkansen. For us, this was to Hiroshima. To get value from your JR pass you need to be taking a few big trips to offset the initial cost. After that, the sky is the limit. Once validated our JR pass also covered most of our local travel around Osaka.

When my husband and I had traveled to Tokyo for the last week of our holiday, we both became sick with flu like symptoms. I was okay for my long awaited day at Disneyland. However, I was sick the next day at Disney Sea. I could hardly stand up. Ironically I liked the long queues to some of the rides as I got to rest. By the next day, neither of us had any energy for sightseeing, so we decided to change our plans. Instead of exploring Tokyo, we decided to use our JR pass and travel to country Japan. It was perfect.

The trip on the shinkansen each day took about 2 1/2 hours each way and we then spent approximately 4-5 hours slowly exploring the city. As we had two days left in Japan we visited Matsumoto and Nagoya. We chose these cities because of their castles. Without our JR pass this would have been a very expensive. Instead our JR pass was a lifesaver. We loved exploring regional Japan from the comfort of our train seats.

Blogging From A-Z: I is Itsukushima

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A 10 minute ferry ride from Hiroshima, in Hiroshima Bay is the special island of Itsukushima. It is seen as a scared island. Itsukushima means island of worship and from ancient times the whole island was worshiped as a god. For this reason we were told no-one is allowed to give birth or die on the island.

Visitors are welcomed to the island by the Floating Torii Gate. An ancient Shinto shrine that marks the entrance to Itsukushima Shrine. Both were deliberately built on piers to give the appearance and feel of walking on water. The true success of this look is because the Itsukushimi Shrine and Floating Torii Gate were built where the tides rise and fall. This is said to have been done to make it easier for the god. In 1996 this area was also added as a World Heritige Site. It is also listed as a Japanese National Treasure.

When we visited The Floating Torii Gate it was very low tide which meant that we could walk all the way out and fully investigate the Torii Gate. As I had never seen a Torii Gate before I found this fascinating. It was truly sensational standing beneath it and looking up at this enormous ancient structure. I noticed thousands of coins that had been in cracks in the pier for good luck over the years.

Unfortunately, our visit to Itsukushima was time limited so we were not able to explore inside the Itsukushima Shrine or climb the beautiful Mt Misen.

For me another fun thing about the island was the deer roaming freely about because they are deemed sacred. I had never seen so many deer up close in their natural surroundings. They were very curious and calming.

Blogging From A-Z: H is Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb Dome

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Taking a day trip to Hiroshima’s atomic bomb site was on my bucket list when we visited Japan. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I would feel but I thought it was important to connect with this turning point in history.

When we got to the bomb site, I was surprised at how peaceful it was.

Hiroshima was bombed on the 6th August, 1945 during World War 2. This building is all that remains of that tragic day. Known as the Atomic Bomb Dome, it was originally a grand promotions hall until the atomic bomb exploded 600 metres above it and 160 metres away.

In 1996, the Atomic Bomb Dome was added to the UNESCO world heritage listing as a remember to the world of the dangers of atomic bombs and the importance of peace. The Atomic Bomb Dome is surrounded by an amazing peace park as a reminder to everyone to never let this happen again.

Blogging From A-Z: A is Asahi Brewery

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Due to technical complications I am 3 days late to start this years A-Z challenge but I will start anyway and see how we go. Here’s hoping we can catch up by next week.

 

Beer is important in both Australian and Japanese cultures. So, it’s no surprise that when we went to Japan for my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding, our families bonded at the Asahi Beer Factory in Osaka.

The free tour was interesting and taught us how beer is made, bottled and packaged.  I loved the colourful display of old beer cans and bottles from around the world.

However, the real fun came when the brewery tour ended and the beer drinking started. We had 20 minutes to drink 3 freshly brewed beers of our choice if we dared. Challenge accepted. No problem.