Skiing on Grouse Mountain is a fantastic option if you live in Vancouver and want to reach a ski-hill with very little effort. It is incredibly easy to get up to the Mountain on public transit and on clear days you’ll be treated to fantastic views of Vancouver and the Burrard Inlet. Marc and I wanted to try out all the Ski Resorts on Vancouver’s North Shore, so last weekend we finally had a chance to explore Grouse Mountain with…
Can you think of anything more quintessentially Japanese than meeting a maiko or geisha in Kyoto? Well, what if I told you that many of the maiko you see when you wander around Japan’s ancient capital are not actually professional artists, but tourists who have had a maiko makeover for the day. Japan is a great place for dressing up (they call it cosplay) and it’s totally possible for non-Japanese folks to get involved in the fun! Most of the…
I’d like to introduce you to a truly fantastic hike through a gorgeous Japanese town, up to a ruined castle, past ancient carvings aaaand then a pretty amazing Indian-style temple. Takatori is a beautiful town in the countryside, about an hour south of Nara city. The town was first populated by a group of people that moved north from Tosa (in Shikoku). They built Japan’s highest mountaintop castle in 1332, and it was only abandoned two and a half centuries later….
Hasedera Temple (長谷寺) has to be one of Nara’s prettiest temples, and I have not even visited it at the prettiest time of year! This temple is another one of the places that is super famous to Japanese people, BUT very few foreign tourists bother to trek South of Nara city, so most people miss out on this gem! Now, there isn’t much of a hike to get to this temple. It is only 15 minutes walk from Hasedera station….