Miyajima Island and Itsukushima Shrine are two of my favourite places to visit in Japan. Miyajima is located in the beautiful Seto Inland Sea close to the city of Hiroshima. The most famous landmark on the island is the large red torii gate which appears to “float” at high tide. (more…)

The one thing I had never managed to do in Japan despite numerous attempts over the years and many visits is to see Mount Fuji. On our recent two week trip when the weather was beautiful every day, I was so hopeful of seeing Mount Fuji from the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka for the first time ever (the weather had always been bad every other time) but I failed yet again. (more…)

Back in 2012 on my last major trip to Japan, I wrote a blog post called How to Exchange Your Japan Rail Pass at Narita Airport which became one of my most popular and searched for posts on this blog. So it seemed only right on my recent trip to Japan in October 2018 when we flew into Haneda Airport in Tokyo, to write another post with all the latest information. (more…)

When spending any time travelling in Japan, a Japan Rail Pass is a necessity. The savings that can be made are quite extraordinary if making several trips on the Shinkansen. A seven day pass just about pays for itself by doing a return trip from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka so any other trips you then make on the pass are a bonus. (more…)