NAGOYA, NARA, KYOTO, TAKAYAMA, SHIRAKAWAGO, JAN 2014
Sometimes being out of town is a really tempting thing.
Fortunately I could take a few days off from work and fly to Japan for a break. I have never been to Nagoya, so it was not a bad idea to go to a new place instead of same place over and over again.
However, this time was a bit different. I was going to Japan with my Dad who has never been there before.
We stayed in Nagoya for seven days for its convenience of the transport to other places in Japan. So I decided to go to West side of Japan, Nara and Kyoto by taking Kintetsu rail.
And I was the guide for my dad as I have been to these two places around 7 years ago.
It is a great deal to purchase 5-day Kintetsu rail pass in advance in Hong Kong. It costs 3700 yen and it definitely worths more than the amount, especially the pass includes 3 vouchers of limited express train which original price of each ride is more than 3000 yen.
By using the pass, going to Osaka from Nagoya only takes around two and a half hours by taking limited express train. As Osaka is mainly shopping time for me not for my dad. So it was better to visit Nara Park, of course for the deers. And Kyoto, where the world heritage attraction is a must see for people who wants to experience the heritage of Japan.
Massive walking is needed for both places so it was a bit tough for my Dad as his leg is not okay for too much walking. As I expected that it was exhausting for him to walk for long hours in the freezing winter. We only went to one or two key attractions and returned to Nagoya in the afternoon. Most of the time sunshine was the encouragement of the trip which brought nicer photos and happier mood.
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| Nara Park |
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| Kyoto |
We also joined a one-day tour which organized by Yokoso tour to Takayama and Shirakawago.
Takayama is an old town famous for its old street with preserved historical architecture from edo period. Whereas Shirakawago is famous for the world heritage "gassho-zukuri" farmhouse village. The snow made the scenery even more magnificent even though it was super freezing, especially in the evening time. My hands were almost frozen when I was taking pictures.
And we walked up to the mid hill to see the lights on of the farmhouse but actually the best location to view the lights is at the top of the hill.
The special illumination of the farm house only happens a few days per year, mostly in the beginning of the year.
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| Shirakawag |
Please check out more pictures of my trip in my VSCO page here.
