Woohoo. Off to Japan again!
In February 2019 we left for our first visit to Japan. It was a fabulous trip, including skiing in Hokkaido with Alastair and his mate Simon, a range of astounding gardens at the start of the cherry blossom season, a walk on the Nakasendo, the blossom season in Tokyo, and of course the delicious food and lovely people.
We couldn't wait to get back the next year, preferably for autumn to see the gardens in a different season, and to do another self-guided walk. Then Covid struck...
Once Covid was more settled, we tried to get back for autumn 2022 on our way home from our return to Europe. By the time Japan sorted its reopening, it was too late for us to get flights and a walk arranged, so we gave it away for 2022.
Early 2023 and we were still keen to return. We hummed and ha'ed for a while, but bit the bullet and decided to book a mid-spring return with another self-guided walk, this time on the southern island of Kyushu, with the aim of also catching the peak of the azalea flowering.
When we enquired about available dates for the walks, we found our preferred walk was already full, but we put our names down anyway, and almost immediately got a cancellation for early April - good for the azaleas. But the airfares for early April turned out to be horrific, so we were forced to cancel our new walk booking. A week later some more dates opened, this time coinciding with reasonable airfares, so we were on our way!
This trip we flew Fiji Airways - with a near 24-hour stopover each way in Fiji, but that gave us the opportunity for a cheap night near Nadi airport and a bit of time out at the pool or beach. OK by us. Then off to Narita, Tokyo and a 2-week Japan Rail Pass to allow us to visit Nagoya, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and then down to Kyushu before our walk. All but Kyoto will be new to us, and Tokyo and Kyoto have so much to see that a return will be great.
Our walk this time is 6 days self-guided on the Kunisaki Peninsula in NW Kyushu. More remote and rural than last time, and with onsens each night it should be lovely.
Heading back north with a 1-week rail pass, we stop for a couple of nights near Okayama, then return to the old town of Kanazawa which was one of 2019's highlights, and finally back across Japan via Takayama to Tokyo. We will see a lot of new things, revisit a few favourites, and do another 3 good day-walks apart from the Kunisaki one.
We are especially looking forward to the azaleas in three of Japan's top 5 gardens, the trains, the excellent food, and perhaps a modicum of shopping - perhaps some little handbags at a shop we found in Kyoto, and some more little Japanese bowls from an antique shop in Kanazawa.
We were very much in two minds about returning, but now it is all sorted and boked, we are so looking forward to it. Japan is weird and wonderful, surprisingly reasonably priced if you go about it right, and super interesting.
We've done a lot more reading and documentary-watching, so have a far better understanding of Japan than last time. Can't wait to get back!
