An Essential Honshu Photo Blog

Posted on by Tyler Palma
Maiko

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Looking through all of the tours on the Inside Japan Tours website, I began to realise how hard it would be for me to choose a tour if I wasn’t leading them. There are so many fantastic places in this tiny country and every single one of them is completely different from the next. Still, I can say that one of my favourites is undoubtedly ‘Essential Honshu’….although the tour is now called, ‘Classic Japan’ staying at beautiful ryokan in Takayama and Kamikochi national park.  The cultural experiences are no less special!

By far the best pictures from this tour were the ones out at bars and restaurants, sitting around the campfire, dressed in yukatas… but, in an effort to protect the anonymity of an amazing group of individuals, I have refrained from posting those. Instead, here are some of my personal highlights from the last two weeks.

My 14th climb to the top of Mt. Fuji was as magical as all the others. Yes, there was some rain…. well, lots of rain. But it was worth it for the night time views of the surrounding area. Beautiful!

 

It is hard to stop and slow down when there is soooooo much to see. But every once in while it’s worth spending a half an hour in a Japanese cafe.

 

This is said to be one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan. You won’t get any arguments from me! (especially if you happen to be looking around sunset with a beer in your hand… ahhhh)

 

The bullet trains all look amazing from the outside but the Sakura is definitely the best on the inside. Why? you ask. Draft beer on the trolley cart. Yep, pretty nice. Could life get any better?

 

Some people like Kiyomizudera more than others. But I can promise you that the more times you visit the more you appreciate what an amazing monument this is. My 50th visit. オメデトウ！笑

 

This guy was clearly in charge. He couldn’t be bothered with the other monkeys or all of us silly humans trying to take his picture. Although, I will say that I liked him more this afternoon than I did the following morning at 5am when he and his mates were jumping on the roof of my cabin and squealing. Or was that Andy??? We shall never know.
In the heat of summer its tempting to want to get away from it all. What better place than Kamikochi? Views like this during the day, BBQ’s during the night. Ahhhhh.
Walking through the woods in Kamikochi…

Trying to cram two weeks of amazing experiences into a handful of photos is impossible. The above represent only the tiniest fraction of the great experiences that I was able to enjoy with a fantastic group from the UK and Australia. I thank you all for coming to Japan and truly hope that our paths cross again!

Tyler

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