Japan 2018 Fall Foliage Tour

From Tokyo, we travelled by express train to Matsumoto, a city with views of the Japanese Alps, which were snow-capped and beautiful when we arrived. Apparently, Nagano Prefecture, in which Matsumoto is located, is one of the most desirable parts of Japan to live, we were told, because of the quality of life and freedom from catastrophic weather as well...

I am head over heels in love with Japan. I don’t know why this happened now rather than the first time I visited this most excellent country four years ago. But I am now irrevocably smitten. I cannot stop saying how wonderful Japan is. I have been in a perpetual state of admiration ever since I set foot in...

The moment we arrived in Himeji from Hiroshima we could see the famous 14th century “white heron castle” also known as the “snow castle”, which is a Unesco Cultural Heritage site and regarded as a national treasure in Japan. It is not very castle-like in the English tradition. It is more like a beautiful pagoda with elegant curving roofs and...

My next garden tour will be an exclusive 13-day adventure to Japan to see spectacular fall foliage colour, visit picturesque temple sites, famous and historic locations as well as enjoy seasonal festivals and other cultural highlights. If you've never been to Japan, this is the perfect tour for you - rich in content and diversity, safe; well-planned; professionally guided and designed...

The Meiji Shrine in Shiibuya was only a short ride from our hotel in Shinjuku. Unlike yesterday, the sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly. It was a delight to gently strolled through the dappled woodland leading to the Shinto shine. We saw the impressive, towering torii gate, the tradional Shinto gateway indicating that as we move towards the...

The ANA flight from Vancouver to Tokyo leaves at 3 in the afternoon, which means with the 17 hour time change, you get into the Japanese capital at 6 pm the following day. This is perfect because by the time you get through customs and make the ride into town from Haneda Airport, you have just enough time for a...

Before going to Japan for the second time, I have been practising my origami skills. I love the way a simple square coloured piece of paper can be magically transformed by a series of crisp folds into an object of surprising elegance and beauty. In Japan, I am hoping to learn a few more paper-folding skills. But in preparation, I have...

For our last full day in Kyoto, we started by visiting the bamboo forest and Tenryu-ji Temple (Temple of the Heavenly Dragon) in the Sagano district. The temple dates back to 1339 but the site had been the location of a temple going back even further to the 1200s. The weather could not have been better for our visit: Sunshine but...

We came to Owakudani, also known as the “boiling valley”,  an active volcanic area of Hakone, south of Tokyo, to see Mt. Fuji from a boat on Lake Ashinoko, a crater lake formed by the volcanic eruption in 1170. However, the weather did not cooperate and clouds obscured the shy mountain and we were forced to entertain ourselves with other...