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In Maruyama Park there was the ski jump stadium for the 1972 Sapporo Olympics. We walked through the park, it was a really nice park. We walked for a while until we got to the ski jump course, the course was so high. The ski jump course was called Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium. In the 1972 ski jumping event the Japanese had a clean sweep of winning the gold, silver, and bronze medals. The gold went to someone named Yukio Kasaya. Talk about home court advantage!
Dad has really got to work on his ski jumping. Unfortunately nobody was handing out free gold medals. Victory for me!
We took a chairlift to the top of the ski jump hill and it was such a good view of Sapporo. This photo shows how far up the top really is. The hill after you jump is so steep. Link
Here is another photo of the view from the top. Sapporo is a pretty big city, it has 1.952 million people and is 1,121 km². When we were at the top we were pretty tired from our walk from the subway station to the hill but it was definitely worth it. 
This is the way down on the chairlift. I call this photo “Feet in Front of Sapporo”. The chairlift was pretty steep. On the way down you really could see how steep it was. The chairlift was very fun and since we had a coupon it was a very good price. We were under budget today! 😀
This is Denise and my Dad on the chairlift. Denise looks so cute in her sunglasses,😎.Luckily we were not in car 13, we were in car 53. 
This is a photo of the hill from the bottom.I wish you were allowed to climb the hill. After we were done going up and down the hill we took the bus to the station and then took the subway back to Odori station.
We went to this huge stationery store called Central Daimaru Fuji. It was so cool, you could fill up a little jar with mini erasers and they were so cute. Denise and I were treated to them by Mom and it was only 378 yen ($4.55).
This is the downtown neighbourhood of Sapporo. The neighbourhood is called Susukino. Our Airbnb is in a quiet alley south of Susukino. 
This is the major intersection in Susukino. There were so many advertisements for different things from Coke to Karaoke. 
We decided to have ramen for dinner so went to a place called Ramen Alley. In Ramen Alley there were 17 ramen restaurants. It was so hard to choose which one to eat at but eventually we decided to go to one called Teshikaga. A pretty standard way to order at a small ramen restaurant is by a ticket machine. You insert your money, press what you want and out comes a ticket. You give the ticket to the chef and then he or she makes what you ordered. Sapporo is nicknamed “The City of Ramen”.
I ordered the Shio Ramen (salt broth), it was really good! It was definitely a great day in Sapporo. Signing off till next post, bye!
Trying to max out the value of our Japan rail passes we’re moving from the southern island of Kyushu all the way up to the northern island of Hokkaido, but we broke up the trip with a few days in the Japanese Alps and one night in Nagano. Before doing a bit of reading for this visit I hadn’t thought about Nagano since the Olympics and had no idea where in Japan it was (kind of in the middle on the west coast). Apparently I’m not the only one: 
But while we were here I remembered watching those games pretty clearly in the McGill dorms with the failure of the nhl’ers to medal (no Wayner in the shootout?) and the Ross Rebagliatti glory and scandal. This was also around the time I had my first cafeteria date with this cute girl from Toronto. She only managed 3rd here in weightlifting – that pocket Hercules is virtually unbeatable:
Yesterday we took a train from Matsumoto Station to Shin-shimashima station. After we got off the train we boarded a bus that took us to Taisho Pond. There was supposed to be a really nice 3.5km walk around the pond but unfortunately it was closed due to snow. Luckily, there was also another walk to a smaller but still pretty pond. Kamikochi has the 3rd and 4th highest peaks in Japan.
Before continuing on the bus that would take us to the next trail, we took in the view and took a few photos of the beautiful scenery. It was hard to believe that there was snow because it was 15 degrees Celsius and we hadn’t encountered snow on our trip yet. It was only snowing because we were in the mountains, there is no snow at all in the cities or towns.
Here is another photo of Taisho Pond. We got on the bus and got to the station and ate a little bit while we waited for Melana, John, Soren, and Annika to arrive. When they arrived we ate a little more and then we were ready to go on the walk to Myojinike pond.
This is Denise, Annika, Soren, and I on the Kappa Bashi bridge. Our family and their family happen to be going to the same places and we have met up with them 4 times. Soren also has a blog, here is a link to it. 
This is a photo of a mountain from the path. The walk was really peaceful and it had pulchritudinous scenery. There is so much snow in this photo. When the mountain was covered in snow in the winter it would have great skiing opportunities. 
This is a beautiful photo of a river that we took a break at to have a snack. We saw some monkeys on the other side of the river. Nobody else was really there so we practically had the river to ourselves. When we finished the hike we took the bus back to Shin-shimashima station and then got on the train back to Matsumoto…
Yesterday evening we arrived by train to Matsumoto. We walked from the station to our hostel, Matsumoto Backpackers. Denise and Mom unpacked our stuff while Dad and I went to a grocery store to get dinner groceries. When we got back we were all very hungry so we devoured our dinner. The next morning we did some schoolwork and then headed to the Matsumoto Castle. The Matsumoto Castle is considered one of the two best castles in Japan along with the Himeji Castle. When we got to the castle there was a free English tour guide. We wanted to learn about the castle so we took the tour. This is a photo of the main castle tower, it was really beautiful.
There were 6 floors in the castle but it was disguised so it looked like there were only five. This is a hole that they used to shoot enemies in the battle period. The square holes (like the one shown above) were used for muskets while the rectangle holes were used for bow & arrows. They are called sama. When enemies were climbing the castle, samurai warriors would drop rocks or boiling water on them through special openings called ishiotoshi so they would fall . So cruel!
When we got to the 6th floor there was a great view of the surrounding area. It was really pretty. Hard to imagine that 500 years ago it was in the midst of battle. The moat around the castle was super wide but not that deep, I probably could of stood in it without my head going underwater.
This is the view from one side of the castle, I am pretty sure south, but I can’t be sure. The view was great from all directions but I thought the two photos above were the best. Unfortunately sakura (cherry blossom) season was at its end in Matsumoto. It would have been prettier if there were a lot of sakura out, but there were still a few and it was still pulchritudinous. ☺
This is Denise and I looking out of a window on the 4th floor. This window was shaped like a flower petal because flower petals are considered good luck. I think this is a really nice photo, good job Mom! 
When we got out of the castle we took a photo with a warrior, although he didn’t have samurai armour, too bad. 
These are some sakura leaves floating on the castle moat. It was so pretty I couldn’t resist taking a photo of it. 
This is a photo I took of my parents. Matsumoto Castle is considered a national treasure because it is one of the only original castles that hasn’t burned down and been re-built. The castle is black and white because it is made of mud walls and wood walls. The wood walls are painted with black lacquer while the mud walls are covered with white plaster, although the wood does look more like navy blue in this picture. The castle walls are made of mud and wood because mud is good at withstanding attacks from enemies and fire, while wood is good for withstanding earthquakes which happen very often in Japan.
On the top of the castle there are two mythical fish called shachi. The shachi are considered protection against fire and appear on all castles and many temples. They are believed to spout water to prevent fires from burning. One shachi is male and the other is female. The male and female shachi represent Yin and Yang. The male is Yang which is white and represents light, while the female is Yin which is black and represents darkness. You will never find a lone male or female shachi, they always come in pairs. Can you spot the shachi in this photo?
Yesterday we took a train from Nagasaki to a train station called Tosu. We switched trains at Tosu and we got on a train to Yufuin. We didn’t know this but apparently the train to Yufuin (Yufuin No Mori) was considered the best train in Japan. The seats were comfy and there was nice scenery, they also gave Denise and I captain outfits to dress up in and take a photo. Don’t we look so cute? 
Here is Denise, Dad, Mom, and I in our train seats with a Yufuin No Mori sign. The train was probably the nicest train we have been on. Also, it was free because we bought 21 day Japan Rail Passes which give us unlimited train rides for 21 days. 
When we got to Yufuin, we walked from the train station to our Japanese Inn, Pension Yufuin. When we got there we checked in and got into robes and put on slippers. Our host was very nice. 
Our room was a traditional Japanese tatami room with futons instead of beds. It was cool staying in a traditional tatami room. After we unpacked we decided to go to the family onsen. There were two onsens, the outdoor one had hours for males and hours for females, while the indoor one was for families so we could all go together. Onsen are natural hot springs that are really hot, they are supposed to help with health. You go naked in onsen.
We decided to try the family onsen so we could all go together for our first onsen experience. The most important rule for onsen is that before you get in the onsen you have to get really clean. You are supposed to do a really thorough cleaning with a lot of soap and water before you get into the onsen. The onsen was so relaxing and I loved it.
This is our traditional Japanese room in Pension Yufuin. We had a great sleep in our room and I would rate Pension Yufuin an 8 1/2 out of 10, if you are in Yufuin I would definitely recommend Pension Yufuin.
This is the outdoor onsen, it was so hot that I couldn’t even put my whole body in, I could only put my lower body in. It was really nice and peaceful to bathe in the outdoor onsen. The onsen was for all of the people staying at the Inn but we were the only ones in the onsen both times we went. 
This is Mount Yufu. Our inn had great views of it and free spring water from it. Mount Yufu is 1,583.3 m tall. After we checked out we took the train Yufuin No Mori to a place called Kurume, then we switched to a bullet train that took us to Osaka and then we took another bullet train to Nagoya where we will stay one night before going to the Japanese Alps.
Evan and I were lucky to visit Koyasan about 10 days ago. It is a plateau situated about 2 hours south of Osaka in Wakayama and it is surrounded by 8 mountain peaks. The 8 peaks are significant as the lotus flower has 8 petals and the seated Buddha is usually pictured on top of a lotus flower. To reach Koya, you take a train to Gokurakubashi and then a steep cable car up the mountain. When we arrived at the cable car station we were excited to see that a new cable car had just been installed one month prior. There were lots of banners celebrating the new vehicle and it made our steep climb a little less nerve wrecking. As an added bonus there was a promotion to collect stamps at important sights around Koya and then hand in your stamp passport for a collectible pin, naturally a fun perk for Evan and a great souvenir for me to bring Denise.
A little reading on Koyasan will tell you that Kobo Daishi, the founder of the Shingon Sect of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, chose this place for the first temple in the 9th century when he threw a dagger/fork from China where he was studying and it landed here. If you don’t go for fantastical legends, it is also pretty easy to see why Kobo Daishi chose such a serene and beautiful spot. Today Koyasan is the centre of Japanese Buddhism with more than 110 temples and this cemetery, Okuno-in, at the eastern end surrounded by tall cedars. There are over 200 000 tombs here, some that date back over 1000 years, and their moss covered stones blend into the natural environment. Important Japanese Buddhists have their remains or a piece of their remains (a lock of hair) buried here, as it is said to the be the place where the Buddha of the future will come to Earth. The 2km through Okuno-in to Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum is a spectacular walk. Many pilgrims take this route as it is considered the most holy place in Japan. They offer meals to Kobo Daishi daily and leave them on the steps to his shrine. And if you do like fantastical legends, it is said that Kobo Daishi is not dead but has simply been meditating in his tomb for 1200 years waiting for the arrival of the Future Buddha when Daishi will awake and interpret the heavenly message!
After our visit to Okuno-in, Evan and I took the bus to the town centre of Koyasan and entered the Kongobu-ji temple complex. This is the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism today and while the temple itself was impressive, Evan and I loved the Banyutei Rock Garden on the temple grounds most. It is Japan’s largest and has 140 granite stones that are arranged to represent two dragon protectors rising out of a sea of clouds. It is a beautiful spot to sit and reflect and in fact we saw a monk doing just that as we passed by.
On our walk to the next temple complex, we passed by another unique sight- a Japanese gas station. This has nothing to do with Kobo Daishi or the spiritual way but who knew that gas pumps could be suspended from the ceiling? We witnessed a driver or two pulling them down to fill up and smiled to ourselves as Japan is full of unexpected quirks like this.
At the next complex, Garan, we particularly enjoyed visiting Konpon Daito – a massive, bright orange pagoda. No photographs were allowed inside but it housed yet another impressive Buddha and intricately painted wooden pillars that were originally done by Kobo Daishi but have been repainted over the years. 
Finally our stroll took us to the western end of Koya. Here stands the 25m high Dai-mon Gate marking the entrance to Koyasan. The current version of this gate is surrounded by towering trees and was re-built in 1705. It seems that many of these immense wooden temples, pagodas and gates have been destroyed by fire and repeatedly re-built over the centuries in the image of the previous structure thus history is kept alive.
To the left of the gate, stood the women’s entrance to Koya. Until the late 1800s women were not permitted to enter the temple grounds. I am not always as awe inspired by the historical attitudes toward women as I am by the ancient architecture. These orange torii mark the path around Koya that women were required to walk to reach Nyorindo (the women’s worship hall) and it was about 2 km long. I convinced Evan to begin the walk with me but at the end of a long day we ended up doubling back to take the bus to the cable car and begin our journey home.
A few days later the whole family headed out for a day at Miyajima Island, just a short train and ferry ride from Hiroshima. It is famed for the imposing orange torii (gate from the human to spiritual world) that marks the entrance to the Itsukushima-jinja temple. We read that the torii appear to be floating at high tide, but they looked pretty settled to us. Nevertheless the structure’s size and history made it a sight to see. It stands almost 17m tall with massive tree trunk pillars.
We quickly made our way through the busy tourist streets to the entrance of the Misen Ropeway. This trip consisted of two consecutive cable car rides that take you close to the summit of Mount Misen. We bought one way tickets as we had read that the walk down was less taxing than the walk up and was a great way to spend an afternoon.
At the top of the ropeway we picnic-ed and took in some vast views of the Seto Inland Sea. We were able to look back to Hiroshima and the many islands around it. The scenery reminded us of the Gulf Islands and felt a little like home.
Thirty minutes later and just as the observation deck was closing, we made it to the top of Mount Misen 535m above sea level. The 360 views from the summit were worth the hike and a lone cherry blossom tree completed the iconic Japanese panorama. After drinking this is, we began our descent. Although I was the one who pushed us to hike, I was also probably the one who suffered the most from our 2 hour downhill trek (I guess 40 + year old knees may prefer climbing up than down!). 
We passed a few others on the path but had it mostly to ourselves as the sun sank lower in the sky. Just before we reached town, we passed Daisho-in, a temple where Kobo Daishi is believed to have meditated for 100 days when he returned from China before founding the temples at Mount Koya. It was neat for Evan and I to see another location attributed to this Buddhist scholar and the setting rivalled Okuno-in for serenity. Maybe we aren’t the spiritual devotees Kobo Daishi clearly was, but we appreciated his choice of zen settings.
Back at ground level, the sun was setting and we were able to walk right up to the orange torii and appreciate the grand structure up close. A spectacular close to yet another scenic day. Being able to wander on some of the paths that have been travelled for years by those seeking calm and guidance, we count ourselves very lucky indeed.
2 days ago we took a Shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka to Hiroshima. When we got to Hiroshima we took the tram to Tate-Machi Station and from there we walked to our guesthouse and we unpacked. After we were settled in, we walked to a ramen restaurant to have dinner. I got ramen and gyoza and it was really good, my parents also got ramen and they had some sake. When we got back to our guesthouse we went to sleep. The next day we woke up and had some cereal for breakfast. After breakfast we walked from our guest house to the Hiroshima Peace Park. When we were walking through the peace park it was kind of sad all the bad things that happened when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The first thing we did in the park was visit the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Memorial Museum. We got an audio guide so we could learn more about the terrible event. It was really sad seeing all the bad things that happened. There were some really sad images that were shown in the museum, some of them made me feel like I wanted to cry. 
These are the two bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was called Little Boy and the bomb dropped on Nagasaki was called Fat Man. Fat Man is the one on the left while Little Boy is on the right. These models show the size of the bombs compared to the size of a human. Fat Man looks stronger but Little Boy killed more people. Little Boy killed 90,000–146,000 people while Fat Man killed 39,000–80,000 people. It is so sad.
This is a watch that stopped at the exact minute the bomb exploded. Another very sad story that they told in the museum was about a little boy named Shinichi. Shinichi loved to ride his tricycle all the time. Shinichi was riding his tricycle the moment the bomb exploded and he unfortunately died. Shinichi’s father Nobuo buried Shinichi in their backyard with his tricycle and then he dug it up and donated it to the museum. Here is a link to a photo: 
After the museum we walked to the Children’s Peace Monument. I don’t know if you know the story of Sadako Sasaki, if you do not you should read a book called One Thousand Paper Cranes. The monument is a concrete base with a statue of Sadako Sasaki holding a paper crane at the top. 
This is the Genbaku Dome, commonly referred to as the Atomic Bomb Dome. The architect of the dome was a Czech guy named Jan Letzel. Little Boy exploded directly over the Shima Hospital, which was very near to the Genbaku Dome. Because the explosion was almost directly above, the building was able to keep its shape.
At the game they sold foot long french fries! I was wondering how they make them, do you have any ideas? We also had fried squid and edamame beans. 
In the end the Carp lost 6-2 which was pretty disappointing. I blame it all on the first pitcher who could not throw a single strike, the Swallows got all of their six runs while he was pitching in the first two innings. It was definitely an emotional day.
After I went with mom I got to go again with dad and I was so excited to do it again. The ride did not make dad feel so good.🤢 Below is Hagrid’s Hut.
After Forbidden Journey, my mom and I went on a little roller coaster called Flight of the Hippogriff. It was just a little coaster and I do not think it was worth it for the 20 minute wait.
First we went to a bamboo forest called Arashiyama. Arashiyama is on the outskirts of Kyoto. Kyoto is like a bowl in the middle of a mountain range, downtown is the middle of the bowl but most temples and other sights are closer to the mountains. Arashiyama is in the west mountains. Arashiyama was very pretty but there were so many people, you had to stop pretty often because people were taking pictures of their family or friends. Arashiyama was very nice but if you are going to go there DO NOT go on a weekend, a Monday, or a Friday or it will be jam packed. 
Here is us at Arashiyama. I think I would rate Arashiyama a 7 out of 10. 
Here is me in Arashiyama Park. Arashiyama Park, (not the bamboo grove that is in the park) was very pulchritudinous and also had some cherry blossoms. I would say if you are in Kyoto, you should definitely check out Arashiyama. After Arashiyama we had a picnic lunch in a park called Maruyama-Koen which translates to Maruyama Park. Unfortunately we did not take any pictures there so I can’t show you it. I did find a link to a site about Maruyama-Koen. 
After Maruyama we went to a shrine called Fushimi Inari Taisha. Fushimi Inari Taisha is a shrine with a pathway of orange gates that make a path that goes for kilometres. Fushimi Inari Taisha is very famous and you can buy a gate and when you buy a gate your name gets engraved on it. 
Here are some more orange gates in Fushimi Inari Taisha. The big gates are more expensive then the small ones. Fushimi has 10000 orange torii (gates).
This is a bamboo forest in Fushimi Inari Taisha. It had less bamboo then Arashiyama but it was better because there were only a few other people there. All the bamboo stalks had travellers names and love notes scratched into them, one said Evan!
Today we went on a train to Kobe, the train was about half an hour. When we got to Kobe we went to a sake museum called Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum. We learned the process of making sake and then at the end we dressed up and took this photo. My Mom and Dad got to try 5 different kinds of sake in little cups. 
After Hakutsuru we took the train to downtown Kobe where we went to an observation deck on the 24th floor of Kobe City Hall. It was cool because we were there for sunset. The light in this photo is pretty cool. Okay, maybe I added a filter to it. 🙂
This is the view from the other side of the building. I made it black and white, it looks like a photo from the old days. 
After the observation deck we walked to an earthquake memorial but I do not have any pictures to show you. In the park where the memorial was there was a fountain that did a really cool light-up show. After the memorial we went to a burger place that serves burgers with patties made out of Kobe beef. We were going to get Kobe beef steak but it was too expensive so we went for burgers instead. The burgers were great! The patty made from Kobe beef was so delicious. This is Denise having the first bite of her burger.
This was my reaction to the first bite of my burger. We had a great time in both Kyoto and Kobe.
Yesterday as a day trip we went to Nara. We got on an express train from Osaka to Nara, the train ride was about 30 minutes, not too long. When we got off the train we got a map of the area and then we walked in to Nara Park. Nara Park is where all of the sights are. If you didn’t know, Nara is famous for having a lot of deer. Wherever you walk there is always deer walking around hoping that you will feed them. You could buy crackers to give the deer but we did not because we saw some deer getting a little aggressive if you had food and did not give it to them. Nara is also famous for having the largest wooden structure in the world, it is called Todai-ji. Nara is also famous for having the largest Buddha statue in Japan. 
In Nara Park there were a lot of trees and that made it really pretty and a good place to walk around. It was a nice sunny day and we had a great time.
This is Todai-ji, the largest wooden structure in the world. Todai-ji had a harsh life, it was rebuilt twice after being destroyed. Todai-ji was originally built in 728 AD!! Todai-ji was pretty big.
This is Daibutsu, the biggest Buddha statue in Japan, Daibutsu resides in Todai-ji Temple. Daibutsu is 14.98 m (49 ft 2 in) in height and its ears are 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in) long.
Here is another photo of Daibutsu. Daibutsu is huge!!
This is another statue in Todai-ji, it is really old. I think it is a really cool statue, I like the colour of it.
There is a 50cm wide hole in one of the big wooden pillars. It is said that if you can get through it then you will have good fortune and good health for the year. Mom, Denise, and I got through, for Denise it was a walk in the park, I could do it pretty easily but it was a little hard, Mom struggled a lot to get through.
Here is one of the deer in Nara, they did not look like they were treated that well. Here is a link about why there are so many deer in Nara: 
We went to the Wakayama Hill in Nara Park and it was a great view of all Nara. We got to go up to the top of the hill and it was beautiful.
There were some deer on the hill. A lot of people were getting their wedding pictures done on the hill too.
This is us at a five-story pagoda, it was really beautiful for sunset. 
We also went to a shrine called Kasuga Taisha Shrine. It was established in 768 AD. Kasuga Taisha is famous for its many stone lanterns that line a path that goes through the shrine grounds. There were so many stone lanterns. After sightseeing we went to an Udon restaurant and then took the train back home.
From Away 