Vignettes of the World
My Travel Journal
After touring the Okochi-Sanso Villa, I made my way to the Jojakko-ji Temple, also in the vicinity. In terms of natural environ, the Jojakko-ji Temple brings to the large selection of temple visits in Arashiyama another kind of aura. The red foliage at Jojakko-ji Temple …
Along the theme of autumn foliage, I visited the Xianhu Botanical Park in Shenzhen a couple days ago. The day of visit is January 16, 2025. There is an admission fee of RMB 15 yuan for entrance between 8:00am and 6:00pm. The park is open …
The bloggers and photographers in Hong Kong have been raving about the red foliage that has lined up the public parks in Shenzhen. I jumped on the bandwagon and visited two parks. I first visited the Sihai Park in Shekou, then headed over to the …
I had limited time in the day. My reserved table at the Unagiya Hirokawa Restaurant would be up at 2pm, and I spent too much time at the bamboo grove. After some debate, I decided that I would see the Okochi-Sanso Villa, despite initial doubts. …
If you have only limited time in Arashiyama, I highly recommend three sites to visit: the bamboo grove, the Tenryu-ji Temple and the Okochi-Sanso Villa. After walking the bamboo grove, I entered the Tenryu-ji Temple via the North Gate. One dominant theme of the temples …
In my original planning, I envisioned spending one full day in Arashiyama’s most famous sites, including the bamboo grove, the Tenryu-ji Temple, Jojakko-ji Temple, Nison-in Temple and the Okochi-Sanso Villa. Those I have done on the first day indeed (and more). As it turned out, …
From the Kiyomizu-dera Temple I headed toward the direction of the Yasaka-jinja Shrine. I was quite tired, as in this day I have visited the Nijo Castle and have had to bear the cold at the Kiyomizu-dera Temple. I pressed on, however, as I wanted …
The adventurous lunch of the day was at a convenience store. I have long heard that the convenience stores of Japan serve up wonderful egg salad sando’s. And it certainly lived up to its good name. From the 7-Eleven, going on Matsubara-dori, was a gentle …
When I woke up on my first full day in Japan, I decided to ditch the Osaka Castle and head right on to Kyoto. I took the JR line to Kyoto from the Osaka Station, having to navigate the morning’s rush hour, and arrived in …
The plane touched down at Kansai Airport and I looked for the train ride to Osaka. The plan, originally, was to stay that evening in a hotel in Osaka, then the next morning I would see Osaka Castle before heading out to Kyoto. I saw …