20 full days in Central/Western Honshu

[glg20]

Well, I'm back home after an amazing 3 weeks in Japan. I had so many great experiences there that I can't think of one specific experience that surpassed others by a long shot. Some highlights that come to mind are (order doesn't matter):

1 - Miyajima Island
2 - Okunoin graveyard on Mount Koya, especially walking there by myself with nobody around at night. One of the most magical and surreal places I've been to and probably will ever be in.
3 - Various restaurants I've eaten in. The Kaiseki dinner at Iwaso, The tasty sushi packs at the grocery store and other tasty bento box meals, Okonomiyaki meal in Hiroshima, various Yakitori eateries, The Manchinro Honten Chinese restaurant in Yokohama Chinatown, The New York Grill restaurant at the Park Hyatt and many more.
4 - Osaka aquarium
5 - Hotels/Ryokans that were an amazing experience were the Iwaso Inn on Miyajima Island, The Ekoin Buddhist Temple on Mount
Koya, The Hyatt Hakone resort, The Park Hyatt hotel in Tokyo.
6 - Japanese women and their fashion taste.
7 - Japanese hospitality towards guests and their willingness to help a gaijin.
8 - Japanese train system, best in the world hands down.
9 - Helicopter ride during dusk over Tokyo.
10 - Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo in the morning.
11 - Sensory overload in Akihabara electric town in Tokyo at night.

And many more...

It will take some time to go over the 1500 photos I took during my trip, not to mention the 30+ hours of video footage. I will post pics though, I promise.

I'd like to thank everyone who has posted suggestions/tips prior to my trip.

[glg20]

Originally Posted by samurai007

What did you think of Koya-san? And you didn't, by any chance, stop for lunch or something in Hashimoto, did you?

By the way, you passed within a few feet of where I lived in Japan... just after Hashimoto station, the train does a wide turn before crossing a bridge, and my apartment was right there, next to the tracks.

I remember Hashimoto station, I switched trains their on the way up the mountain. I didn't stop there for lunch though. It took a while to get there. I was wondering during my stay how it is to live right next to the train tracks?

Koya-san was beautiful and an amazing experience. Cold though in the morning while going to attend the morning budhist prayers. Okunoin graveyard was one of the highlights of my trip.

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by glg20

I remember Hashimoto station, I switched trains their on the way up the mountain. I didn't stop there for lunch though. It took a while to get there. I was wondering during my stay how it is to live right next to the train tracks?

Koya-san was beautiful and an amazing experience. Cold though in the morning while going to attend the morning budhist prayers. Okunoin graveyard was one of the highlights of my trip.

First train of the day always rumbled past at 5:30 AM, shaking the building and rattling my single pane sliding glass balcony door, waking me up for the first month. I eventually learned to sleep through it most days, but then I developed the problem of sometimes sleeping through my alarm clock too, which was not as loud as the train and rattling door... Living just a few blocks walk to the station was convenient though.

I completely agree about Okunoin, it's one of my favorite places in Japan. The O-bon festival there is great, as is just walking through it on a misty morning at sunrise.

[glg20]

I've posted a few videos of my trip to Japan. As much fun as it was making them, it brought back fond memories of my trip.

I can only hope that these vids will convince people to go experience Japan for themselves.

YouTube - Flight to Tokyo from Los Angeles

YouTube - Landing in Japan

YouTube - Welcome to Tokyo Japan

YouTube - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY0SffI3Wl0

YouTube - "Lost in Translation" on Park Hyatt hotel window

YouTube - Shibuya Crossing - Tokyo

YouTube - Returning to Tokyo