Next pay check...

I'd like to ride on the Hokutosei Train from Ueno to Sapporo.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/cassiopeia/hokutosei/

Wow in Waseda, Tokyo

I fell in love with this building. The details are fabulous in the entrance way. I wonder what the rest of the interior is like.

View from Tokyo Tower

The views are great especially from the bar below the observation deck.

Arashiyama [嵐山] by Tram.

This week Arashiyama [嵐山] is being lit up at night.

When I go to see it I'll be using one of these:


If you are keen to use the trams, you might be interested to know you can get an all-day pass for 500 yen. This means you can jump on and off anywhere between Shijyo Omiya [四条大宮], Kitano Hakubaicho [北野白梅町] and Arashiyama [嵐山].
The all-day tickets can be bought at the main stations listed above.
You can also get an all-day ticket for 300 yen more which includes a rental cycle at the Arashiyama [嵐山] end for 2 hours.
If you want to go to 'eigamura' [映画村] you can get an all-day ticket for 2,200 yen which includes the entrance fee.
However you get to Arashiyama [嵐山], at the end of your day I recommend you go to the Arashiyama Tram Station.
1) You can see the trams:) and
2) for a small fee (whether you have a pass or not) you can soak your feet at the 'ashi-yu' [足湯]


Please note: the trams do take more time to get to Arashiyama [嵐山] so a lot of people including myself use the alternatives (Hankyu [阪急]/JR/city buses) when they want to go straight there.

Osaka Retro

Hi there.

Just a wee post about a walk around the retro buildings of Yodobayashi (in Osaka.)

Until I did this walking 'tour' I thought Osaka was just a busy sprawl. Now I've done it I know there are places to get away from the hordes and enjoy retro buildings, coffee (or tea if that's you), and greenery.

At the Osaka Tourist Info Center-I went to the one just outside Osaka JR station-I picked up a map and paid 500 yen to rent an ipod nano with the spoken guide (-you can download both the map and the spoken guide at the URL below but please note everything's in Japanese.)

I walked down Midosuji to Yodoyabashi and then started the tour.

Towards the end I enjoyed a coffee break at the cafe (Kitahama Retoro Biru) pictured below:


A good three hours later I returned the ipod nano to the Tourist Info Center totally happy that my idea of Osaka had been changed.

For people confident in Japanese use the URL to get more details :
http://www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/machiaruki/

For others, either get a friend confident in Japanese to look at the above with you or pick up a map at the Tourist Info Center and use it to guide you round. The staff at the Center can tell you where the starting point is.

Chionin Lit Up

Went to see this temple last night. I've been here during the day before but always to the gate and main hall. This time I saw most of the complex-it's amazing. Definitely worth the visit.