11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 07 – Okayama – Korakuen

My planned itinerary before actual departure was to spend one day in Okayama, and another in Kurashiki. For the former, the places I’d be checking out would include the Korakuen Garden, Okayama Castle, Yumeji Art Museum, Ishizekicho, and Tenmaya Mall.

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 06 – Itsukushima

It was well that I placed the Mt. Misen ascent and descent as the first activity of my trip to Itsukushima. It started drizzling from noon time, and though it wasn’t full-blown rain, it would have made the trail that

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 06 – Itsukushima – Daishoin Trail

This is my first experience in mountain trekking, with an easy mountain to boot. And I’m only descending! There are three trails that go up and down Mt. Misen, each with different lengths and things to see along the way.

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 06 – Itsukushima – Momijidani Park

In my past trips, I routinely made it a matter of personal discipline to go through, select and process the pictures I take, and write posts commenting on my itinerary experiences each day.  A sort of real time account if

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 02 – Fukuoka – Sunset at Fukuoka Tower

The walking tour finished at the Hakata Traditional Craft Museum, after which I made my way back to Canal City for lunch @ Ichiran Ramen – on Miwako’s recommendation in fact. I’ve not heard of this Ramen chain before this.

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 02 – Fukuoka – Walking Tour – Kushida Shrine – Hakata Traditional Craft Center

Very close to the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum is Kushida Shrine. And again, I got lucky as there was a newly married couple at the Shrine who’d apparently just finished their rites, and were having their pictures taken. The tour

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 02 – Fukuoka – Walking Tour – Tōchō-ji – Hakata Machiya Folk Museum

Next stop was Tōchō-ji (temple), which boasts a 10.8m tall statue of Buddha, and a walking path beneath the statue that depicts the various parts of the afterlife according to the religion. Photos couldn’t be taken in the interior, so

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 01 – Fukuoka – Exploration

The city of Fukuoka is easily walkable, and I certainly did a good deal of it on the first day of the trip. By the time my legs had pretty much given up any more walking at about 6:30PM last

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 01 – Fukuoka – Castle Ruins

A third place of interest is the old Fukuoka Castle Ruins. The start point of the park that the ruins is located in – Maizuru Park – is about 6 minutes away from Ohori Park and an easy walk, but

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 01 – Fukuoka – Ohori Park Japanese Garden

Ohori Park is decent, but the real gem is the Japanese Garden tucked in the south-eastern corner of the park. Most visitors to the park itself won’t visit this quiet spot, and possibly also on account too that there’s a

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11 Days in Chūgoku & Kyushu – Day 01 – Fukuoka – Ohori Park

The outbound flight from Singapore to Fukuoka Airport was uneventful, and almost totally free from any kind of turbulence even. Oddly though, the inflight breakfast was pretty awful and bland: or maybe I should have opted for the Japanese menu

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