Wandering Fel

At this point of the tour, I feel that I somewhat join an Amazing Race competition instead of leisure tour. Why is that the case? Well, as you may have heard or aware, temples in Kyoto are popular amongst tourists, especially temples like Fushimi Inari and Kiyomise Dera. To be informed that we basically only have 45 minutes top to (1) make our way to the temple (2) take picture of cherry blossom (3) check out stores along the temple street is basically kinda crazy. Especially with this kind of crowd that we were dealing with. 

Ohaiyo gozaimasu! My mom and I have been talking aboutn taking family trip to Japan for I don’t know how many years and it finally came into realisation in 2018. I suppose part of the push factors is because mom and bro have gotten their Indonesian e-passport and hence, applying for visa to Japan has become a breeze to both of them. It’s not really the case for me though, the holder of non e-passport. I still have to apply for visa at the embassy and with no job on hand at the moment, I was kinda worried that my visa get rejected (especially since I apply for the visa in Singapore instead of my home country, Indonesia). But turns out I can still get a visa (albeit, 15 days, but who cares) to Japan even though I’m unemployed. Woohoo thanks God! 

Yoyogi Park is one of Tokyo's largest city parks. It has a pond and forested areas. Yoyogi Park is also a famous spot during spring for hanami (re: picnic under the cherry blossom trees). Since it is located near to Meiji Shrine, we visited Yoyogi Park first thing in the morning before we continued our walk to Meiji Shrine. Entrance to Yoyogi Park is free.

If you walk deeper into the garden, there is a glass house inside Shinjuku Gyoen. The garden houses cactuses and a lotus pond. It kinda gives the same vibe as the Flower Dome that we have in Gardens by the Bay, Singapore. There is no additional fee charged for the entry to the glass house in Shinjuku Gyoen. 

Shinjuku Gyoen is my 2nd most favourite cherry blossom spot in Japan. Nakameguro is the first in my list for its beautiful cherry blossom spot. As Shinjuku Gyoen is located near to my accommodation in Tokyo, JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Shinjuku, we visited the park on the last day of our stay there. 

If you are into Japanese castles, you must not miss out Osaka Castle as one of your places to visit in your itinerary. One glance at the direction of Osaka Castle and you will think why the moat is so deep and the castle walls like so thick. 

If you enjoy walking, Osaka Castle grounds provide a nice walking path from Osaka Castle Park to the castle. A lot of people, young and old, tourists and locals alike enjoyed an afternoon walk the where we came. 

The second city that we visited in Japan after Kyoto was Osaka. Reason being it's located at merely 15 minutes distance by shinkansen (re: high speed rail). Osaka has a pretty good weather when we visited the city in the last week of March. Blue sky, cool breeze, love it! We only had three days and two nights in Osaka and hence, there is not much time to waste. After putting our luggage in our hotel in Osaka, we quickly made our way to the first stop in Osaka, Osaka Castle. In order to reach Osaka Castle, you need to walk for approximately 15 minutes from the nearest train station, Tanimachi 4-chrome station. There is a map right at the exit of the station leading to Osaka Castle. But for easy guidance, first, you must see this traditional-hut-look-alike right after you exit the station.