There were a lot of animal statues lining the road toward the temple.

The park had numerous shrines or possibly graves that looked quite old.

The local McDonalds delivery car.

Japan is known for its vending machines. I’ll try to capture as many different ones as I can along the way.

Cute cat art in a subway station.

The Hokkaido Jingu Shinto shrine entrance.

There’s a lovely park adjacent to the shrine.

Fall colors are just starting.

Soufflé pancake break! Unique from any other pancakes we’ve had before.

We toured the Sapporo beer museum.

It has some fun architectural touches.

Lots of beers made here over time sent all over the world.

Tasting at the end of the tour. I had a cold tea made of corn. It tasted like corn! It was not sweet. Very interesting!

In the museum gift shop they were selling these Pringles. We passed on this flavor.

But we did have lunch there at a restaurant where customers grill their food at the table. Hence the bib.

There is a cute coffee truck in a park near where we’re staying.

They have ironing boards for tables.

There are some fall colors starting in this park as well.

Apparently, special cakes for Christmas are very popular here. Places that make them are starting to take orders.

We visited an interesting park called Morenuma park with a man made mountain called Mt. More. This is the path we took up the hill.

View of another park feature, a glass pyramid, from the top.

The path we took down.

In central Sapporo is an Eiffel Tower looking structure called the Sapporo TV tower. We took the elevator to the top observation deck for a view of the city.

A vending machine specializing in merchandise related to a bird found only on Hokkaido.

Our first Ramen which was miso based.

The seafood market had the biggest crabs I’ve ever seen. They were enormous. They had a several foot leg span.

There was a lot of other seafood as well.

This was the music box museum which was 90% retail and 10% history. They had music boxes in every imaginable shape and size and price point with soooo many songs, all playing randomly together.

These are some of the examples of glass items we saw.

There was a super cute bakery that focused primarily on creations that incorporated rabbit themes.

Melons are very popular, as is soft serve.

Enticing ramen option.

We opted for a break with cakes and tea at a patesserie called Le Tao.. Strawberry cake and a Mont Blanc (Chestnut paste, cream and a macaroon like cookie).

Vending machine of the day: chicken dinner!

A fun roofline and street lights.

Cute art for the cat people ❤️

Art in the Onsen.

There is a striking red suspension bridge over the river that runs through town.

And some nice strolls in the woods to get to the bridge.

These were our desserts at lunch. Miso pudding and a cleaver custard with mango and passion fruit made to look like an egg.

An interesting fire escape in town.

More unique vending machines.

Bento boxes.

The park and fort from the top of the tower. It’s outlined by a moat in the shape of a star. There are apparently a number of these types of forts throughout the world.

Looking the other direction from the tower to Mt. Hakodate.

The fort.

Many rooflines.

Taking a soft serve break. Jessee got half and half vanilla and chocolate and I got melon. Yum!

More melon flavored snacks.

The Hakodate art museum is adjacent to the fort and had some examples of calligraphy in different styles.

Mt. Hakodate at sunset.

Our first sushi dinner.

At the fish market here there are many shops serving fresh seafood bowls. These are all very realistic versions in plastic as examples for customers.

Halloween themed mochi!

There are boat tours.

And fun paddle boats.

There are bridges that connect paths between the floating islands.

Mt. Hokkaido Goma-ka-take in the background.

There is a trail to the rim.

Lots of fall colors.

Some interesting flora.

A transportation option in the town supporting the park entry.

Like in the US, each park has a stamp that can go in a stamp book.

Our ride back to town.

Then we walked down one of the many paths to a neighborhood at the base.

Persimmons are in season.

A greeter outside a restaurant.

The neighborhood at the base of the mountain has historical importance. Hakodate was one of three ports that opened to westerners after Japan had closed itself off from foreigners. Folks from the UK, Russia and the US came to live here, mainly in this neighborhood. The architecture is different as a result and there are a number of churches which aren’t super common here.

Episcopal church.

Russian Orthodox Church.

Community center.

A number of streets slope down to the water with good views.

Who could resist the worlds second most delicious ice cream melon bread? Not us! Melon bread doesn’t have any melon in it. It’s shaped a bit like a melon and has a crispy crust! Shell and soft interior.

A popular Hakodate burger chain. The clown is a bit scary but people love it.

So we gave it a try.

Old warehouses along the waterfront have been repurposed for retail and restaurants.

Mt. Hakodate and the observatory in the background.

Lots of brick maintenance here.

Fishing boats.

Love the decorative manhole covers. The squid is the mascot for Hakodate.

And comfortable!

The rainy view that wasn’t the tunnel.

The train stations have bento boxes to buy for your meal on board. They are specific and special to each station.

Aomori hosts the Nebuta festival with amazing lanterns. These are on display in the train station.

Aomori is also known for their delicious apples and orchards. Apple juice even has a dedicated vending machine in the train station.

For one of our initial meals we went to a fish market where you buy tickets used with any vendor to then buy fresh fish to put on rice. It was super fun. So much variety!

Aomori has a busy waterfront with impressive bridges.

And no city is complete without a uniquely shaped observation tower!

The city mascot.

A sun break.

Sampling the Apple products. Apple and sweet potato tart and apple and cream cheese tart.

The focus of the floats is on famous people from the past and mythical beings.

We also went to the art museum. The first 4 gigantic paintings are backdrops for a stage for a ballet called Aleko that was produced in the 1940’s in New York. They were painted by Marc Chagall.

Another giant piece is a statue called the Aomori dog. Maybe sad that it’s having sprouts for dinner.

Smaller pieces.

Pie and tea break!

A cute minibus shuttle from the art museum back to the train station.

We had a fun dinner at an atmospheric restaurant with lanterns both outside…

And inside.

I love the snow on just one side of the tree trunks.

A video of the view from the front of the bus. A tunnel of leaves and snow.

There wasn’t any snow in the gorge at the lower elevation.

We walked along the trail next to the river for several hours.

Our lunch break spot.

There were many gorgeous waterfalls.

Some fun flora.

The trail mascot (the shape of Aomori prefecture I think).

Sunset and alpen-glow on the fresh snow as we headed back over the pass.

A truly special place and amazing day.

These are train snacks on another train with assigned seats. They are rice triangles. One with tuna and mayo in the middle and one with kelp and sweet soy sauce in the middle. Perfect travel food.

Did the house or the tree come first?

Pot sculpture.

Fun street light.

Our first day in Nikko we went to Edo Wonderland. It’s a theme park focused on the 250+ years of the Edo period of great prosperity and peace. They kindly provide a shuttle bus as it’s a bit out of town.

There are impressive buildings, many of which are theatres that have shows throughout the day.

The shows are historical but also incorporate humor and audience participation. They are completely in Japanese so we didn’t always know what was happening but they were fun nevertheless.

This was a play about politics.

This was a play about Geisha.

This was a magic show with water.

There was a really fun ninja performance that unfortunately didn’t allow photos.

As part of Halloween, some of the employees were dressed up as supernatural beings called Yokai.

There was also a parade with the Geisha group.

Video of parade below.

All the other employees were in period dress including this group of ninjas.

Attendees can opt to also dress in period clothing for the day. I love this modern day Samurai dad…

There were spiritual aspects.

And fun crafts and art.

And hungry Koi and natural settings.

And food like these mochi balls.

And we grilled our own rice crackers.

There were many experiences on offer like swordsmanship, ninja training, archery, indigo dying, etc. It was a fun day and we learned a lot about this period of Japanese history.

Apparently there are bears in the area!

The shrine and statues overlook a river.

There is a lot of moss and mushrooms.

We also visited one of the prior residences of the emperor that is now a museum and exemplifies 3 architectural eras. Below is the room where the emperor worked with a desk and chair.

There are over 160 rooms and lots of views to the gardens outside.

Some of the sliding doors feature beautiful paintings.

And there is intricate metal work throughout.

A shrine along our walk dedicated to rabbits.

Bonsai for sale.

Daikon just harvested hanging from a neighbor’s car port.

Strawberry pound cake.

Mailbox embellishment.

Funny neighbhood sign.

I love the decorative manhole covers.

Goju-no pagoda.

Rin-noji temple.

Sake containers.

Each has a distinct label.

This tree was 400 years old when it was brought to this temple several hundred years ago. It gets lots of support.

Some lovely colors.

So much moss!

Freshly harvested Daikon hanging on a neighbor’s carport.

Neighborhood shrine.

Lots of cats are incorporated into signage.

Cheesecake and matcha latte break.

Little jars of pudding/custard.

Super cute and quite delicious.

We visited the Zenkoji temple complex. This was a small building on the path up that I stopped at to admire the persimmon tree.

There is a story about a raccoon dog who became a monk to bring a lantern to the temple. These statues are related to the story.

The gate to the temple. It was a national holiday in this day, Culture Day, so likely a bit busier than normal. A lot of visitors!

The temple.

The top of an incense burner at the temple.

Amulets that visitors use to write wishes on. They are uniquely designed at each temple.

A war memorial with the ashes of millions of people inside.

Leaving the temple.

We ducked out of the rain to visit the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum which had an exhibit of Higashiyama Kaii. His art is beautiful! The piece below was a practice version of a mural he painted in the imperial palace. It covers a huge wall.

Smaller versions.

His trees reflect the amazing fall colors we’ve been seeing.

A different artist using woodblock, also focused on fall.

There are so many cartoon creature worlds we’re unfamiliar with that have stores filled with related merchandise.

And cute food like these sponge cakes with chestnut dipping sauce.

Fountain floaty baubles.

The Nagano manhole cover design.

A monkey mascot.

The Macaque monkeys are native to most of Japan. In this area, the park puts out food to attract them and have built them a hot spring pool to soak in when they are cold in the winter. They choose when to be in the area and typically live higher up in the mountains. There were dozens in the park area on this day.

This is their soaking pool. Pretty deluxe in terms of scenery.

Larch trees. One of my favorites!

People can also soak in nearby pools in this complex. The monkeys are free to join in if they want.

Some gorgeous fall colors along the way.

Apple turnover break!

Sunset from the bus window.

The carp on the roof are supposed to ward off fire.

A friendly Samurai greeter.

Samurai suit of honor.

The castle grounds was hosting a Chrysanthemum competition. These were huge!

These are chrysanthemum plants trained into bonsai over one season. They were gorgeous.

Castle visitor stamps.

After the castle we went to a miso factory. We took a tour and had lunch. The company president, who is the 6th generation of family ownership, gave the tour. The large metal pot was used for boiling soybeans up until the 1990’s.

First year miso cedar vats. The miso, which is soybeans, rice bran and salt, ferments for 3 years in a series of vats.

And is put in this delicious ice cream.

Miso soup makings, dashi bouillon and miso paste. This is the best miso soup I’ve ever had.

The Matsumoto art museum has a permanent Yayoi Kusama exhibition. She grew up there. It’s an amazing exhibit but largely doesn’t allow photos so there are just a few.

A couple other paintings in the museum that I liked.

As usual, there are unique man hole covers.

And vending machines.

It was a great place to stroll around.

Creative drainage.

Lovely garden with a persimmon tree.

Statue of a frog reading a book.

Sunset colors from the train station.

The uppermost shrine is known for the avenue of huge hundreds of year old cedars that line the path. They are impressive!

There are a couple of guardians at the gate.

A beautiful beetle along the way.

Tori that lead up to and away from a small shrine along the route.

This lake is known for the beauty of the reflections of scenery on still days. It was a bit breezy while we were there.

Larches!

And a lot of maples of different hues.

The middle shrine.

Soba (buckwheat) noodles and tempura for our post walk dinner. Yum!

Below the castle is a shrine.

The castle houses a collection of Samurai armor.

A neighborhood shrine with lots of foxes inside.

Unique use of umbrellas.

I love the moss on the ties of this fence.

Perfectly coated!

We crossed a river on our way to the port area of Odawara and spotted this heron.

Restaurant/market in the port area.

We came across a shave ice place where rather than shaving ice, they shave frozen fruit. It’s served with a small container of condensed milk to pour over it. We got peach and strawberry. It was delicious!

A couple more unique vending machines.

We haven’t seen many building murals in Japan. \240This is the first.

They have some fun interactive pieces.

The most fun was this stained glass tower.

With a spiral staircase up the middle inside.

Video below…

View from the top looking down on a hot spring foot bath.

And foliage

Looking down the spiral staircase.

This was a kids play area.

With a super cool net play scape.

A few sculptures.

Cool bamboo.

Trippy final piece.

Then a train to Gora.

Then a cable car up.

After a quick walk through Gora park.

Then Ropeway number one to the Owakudani station at the top of a volcanic crater.

And the first view of Mt. Fuji!

And a curry lunch

Then ropeway # 2 down to Ashi Lake.

Where we caught a lift on a pirate ship across the lake.

And saw almost all of Mt. Fuji.

And some beautiful sunset clouds.

Then our last bus back to Odawara. Quite a circuit!

Our changing room.

The shower and soaking pool.

Snacks that we got at the train station. The packaging here is great.

We had Inari Sushi and little sweet adzuki bean filled Mt. Fuji shaped cakes.

Signs of harvest around the Onsen.

Pretty little arrangement.

A Shinkansen speeding by in this video as we were waiting for another one.

Unique vending machine in the train station that juices apples on demand.

The first Osaka manhole cover.

Osaka castle. It’s impressive!

A lot of gold embellishments.

Amazing stonework.

A huge moat.

And very well maintained and pruned trees!

There is also a shrine next o the castle.

Holiday lights starting to appear.

Looking over to the observation tower.

This is the first room we entered off the main pathway in the museum. It was my favorite. Photos don’t really do the exhibits justice so there are a few videos.

Lots of projections.

Lots of incorporation of mirrors.

Lots of interactive things.

A cool tree outside the museum.

The tower at night.

The 11 stories of stairs at the train station lit up at night.

The Darumas come in many shapes and have various expressions. Pilgrims purchase a one of the larger figures which don’t have pupils in their eyes initially. The pilgrim colors in the right pupil and writes a personal goal (one short term to be accomplished in the next year and one long term that the short term goal feeds into) on the figure. When they accomplish the goal they color in the other pupil, bring the Daruma back to the temple and leave it \240as an offering.

It seems as though the smaller Darumas already have their eyes completed and pilgrims write a wish/goal on the figure and leave it at the temple.

There are thousands and thousands of Darumas all over the grounds. My understanding is that at the end of each year they are collected by the monks and burned in offering and the year starts fresh.

There were some lovely fall colors.

And fall fruit including persimmons and quince.

This is the Osaka Tenmangu shrine close to the end of the arcade.

Jessee has been wanting to try Omarice, basically a fried rice omelet. It didn’t disappoint.

The Dotonbori area of Osaka is known for its neon and nightlife. There’s a lot going on here!

A local specialty is spheres made of batter, scallions, and octopus cooked in cast iron molds.

There are a lot of interesting buildings!

We topped off the day at another TeamLab exhibit. This one is an outdoor night light experience at a local botanical garden. It was really lovely.

These orbs were the only crossover with the indoor TeamLab experience in Kyoto. They change colors when moved and also emit sound tones.

Video below.

The night was super still so there were fun reflections on the waterin the garden.

These were larger softer orbs. They also changed colors when pushed and emitted tones.

Video below.

A very cool forest parade with a variety of creatures. Video.

Pond lanterns.

Possibly my favorite exhibit. Taking the inflated noodle concept to a whole new level. So simple and so mezmerizing. Both are videos.

In addition to the phoenix’s there are some great faces incorporated into the beam ends.

The back of the 10 yen coin.

The temple is next to a river with some lovely bridges across.

The man hole cover design in Uji.

Curious wood statue.

Persimmons.

Lots of treats in Ugi including this stick with confections.

And lots and lots of matcha. Not a traditional preparation but we enjoyed matcha lattes.

Matcha product vending machine.

I love the matcha pancakes highlighting the phoenix statues on the temple roof.

So many options!

Sunset from the train station.

Our train back to Osaka.

I love the bright green!

Treats we brought back for dessert. Matcha pudding, pancakes filled with red bean paste and chestnut, a fruit paste confection.

Christmas decorations are in full swing here. They had hot chocolate, Gluwine, pretzels, etc. on offer.

The view back down to Kobe.

There is a glass house with tropical plants.

There were still some flowers in the garden hanging on into fall.

Kobe ultimately meets up with Osaka. From up high it appears as one giant city.

Kobe had a lot of great utility hole covers.

The loop bus for tourists looks like a trolley.

There is an observation tower.

The waterfront is part entertainment and part working port. There are great pathways throughout.

We stopped for drinks and chips to see the sunset at a bar with a view.

Quick video below. Don’t mind the exit sign arrow reflection in the glass. 😜

Lit up buildings at night.

Doorman robot. Love the hat! We’ll call him Leonard for all the Only Murders in the Building fans.

Kobe has one of the largest Chinatowns in Japan.

And to cap things off we tried Kobe steak prepared right in front of us.

A fun train seen on the way back to Osaka. Cats!

We also saw the first cat cafe of the trip.

We went to 5 different restaurants with different local foods. The first was fish.

We had giant sumo bowls of sake.

Then chicken wings and lemonade.

There were also udon and gyoza and skewers of fried foods including a fried mochi ice cream ball.

There is a lot of fun and big signage including this tribute to a local chef who was known for always being angry.

There are also amusement park type games like archery and throwing ninja stars.

Lots of neon.

And of course a tower!

The mural on the ceiling at the base of the tower.

The view of the neon street from the top of the tower.

It’s a happening place!

After the temple we headed to Arashiyama and the bamboo grove there that has become a tourist destination. But first, lunch! A Wagyu dog and rice porridge.

There is a river and park next to the bamboo grove where people can rent boats and paddle around.

There is a nearby temple as well with its own pretty garden.

The bamboo is impressive.

There is an art installation if kimono fabric in illuminated poles at the train station.

The temple complex from the hillside above.

Temple guardian.

Some sights between the temple and the Philosophers path. Rickshaws are available for hire!

Sake containers.

The Kyoto utility hole cover.

Potato tornado break!

Sweet shrine plaque.

The canal that the Philosophers path runs along for about 2 kilometers. It’s in a residential neighborhood and pretty mellow. Not huge crowds. Lots of shops and cafes.

Cherry tree leaves. This must be gorgeous and packed in spring when they are blooming.They run along the whole way.

Ducks!

Fungus!

A Heron fishing.

A Shrine along the way is focused on animals, especially mice.

Sunset at the end of the path.

Dessert at Kura sushi, the conveyer belt sushi place that somewhat recently opened in Bellevue. Highly recommend for all the Washingtonians. It’s fun.

All the lanterns at the temple probably look impressive at night lit up.

There was a garden as well with lots of cherry trees and a couple Ginkgo trees as well.

The other temple we visited, Namba Yasaka, has a super unique building in the shape of a lions head.

Other sights walking around include these go-carts that people rent and drive around while dressed like caracters. I’d heard of this being a thing in Tokyo but apparently Osaka too.

This is an impressive multi-story rooftop garden at a shopping center.

Another fancy utility hole cover.

Fun restaurant facades.

We couldn’t pass up Strawberry mania!

We had ice cream immediately.

And other treats after dinner where we’re staying.

There were some great utility hole covers along the walk. Yuzu is an important crop in the region and the Minoh mascot has a yuzu head.

Fun train decorations on the way back.

There’s a cheesecake here which is very popular. We stopped and got one on the way back to our lodging. Below are ones just out of the oven.

The box.

The cheesecake. It’s more like a soufflé. Very light and fluffy and eggy. Definitely worth trying!

Their phoenix guardian.

Love the small islands in the pond.

Some lovely fall colors.

There was a peaceful tea house with indoor and outdoor seating.

We sat outside and enjoyed matcha and a sweet.

Then went out for ramen 😀

Sunset from the train ride back to Osaka.

Translation on this sign isn’t clear but it’s cute!

Delicious coffee place with a Hawaiian name. It means finished work. The time after work has ended and social fun can begin.

I think this is the type of gourd that if allowed to dry becomes a loofah sponge. It was big!

A really wonderful soba lunch we had in the neighborhood we were staying in. One woth soup and one with tempura.

Treats we brought from the golden temple. Beautifully packaged as always.

Treats at a bakery across the street from where we were staying.

Holiday origami at the grocery store.