Things to do in Osaka – The Instant Ramen Museum

Photo by JanneM on Flickr

Stacey loves her ramen. I on the other hand, do not. During week long hiking trips of my youth I feasted on little more than instant porridge in the morning and instant ramen for lunch and dinner. By the seventh day I had instant ramen coming out my ears and I had developed a strong loathing for the stuff.

Can you imagine my excitement when Stacey suggested we visit the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum in Osaka?

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Nara – the Forgotten Capital of Japan

Photo by tochis on Flickr

When planning their trip to Japan, most people include Tokyo and Kyoto on their itinerary under the assumption that they will be covering the ever-fascinating contrast between new and old in Japan. They often overlooked, however, is the charms of the forgotten Capital of Japan – Nara.

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Anime Map of Japan

A friend just drew my attention to the Japan National Tourism Organization’s anime map to Japan. It lists some of the famous locations throughout Japan that have been depicted in various anime series. Well worth checking out if you’re a big anime fan!

Photographing Kinkaku-ji in the rain

We recently had a chance to revisit Kinkaku-ji (The Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto. You may recall the post I did in 2009 about photographing this amazing place.

So with a better camera this time around, I was excited about capturing some great images. Unfortunately, the weather had different plans.

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Photographing Sakura in Kema Sakuranomiya Koen

As promised, we’re back with part 2 of our Osaka sakura tour. This time we walk through the Kema Sakuranomiya Park.

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Japan’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Recently, while I was reading a photography book about Japan, I stumbled across a list of Japan’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. I thought it would be a great idea to run down the list with you.

So here is a complete list along with a bit of information on every site in Japan that has been classified as a World Heritage Site.

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Japan Castle Explorer

I saw this really cool site tweeted last week, the Japan Castle Explorer.

The website lists all the most famous castles of Japan and allows you to click on each to find out information like who built the castle, which clans owned it as well as plenty of photos. Best of all, it’s laid out on a map of Japan, so you’ll know where each castle is located.

Top 5 Ryokan in Japan

As promised during our introduction to the Japanese ryokan, we’re back with a rundown of some of the best ryokan in Japan.

Ryokan can certainly vary in quality and price. And when it comes to top ryokan, you will definitely be paying a top price for a quality. With so many great ryokan to chose from, we tried to pick a few of the best from different locations throughout Japan.

So here is our top 5 picks for Japanese ryokan!

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A Stroll Through Ritsurin Koen

Continuing our look at the top 5 Japanese gardens, this week we’ll take a stroll through the city of Takamatsu main attraction – The Ritsurin Koen

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A Stroll Through Kenrokuen Garden

As part of our ongoing series of the best gardens in Japan, today were going to take a stroll through Kanazawa’s premier treasure – Kenrokuen Garden.

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