Konichiwa 日本

My Mum and I have returned safely from an amazing 11-day tour of Honshu, Japan.  We've walked, sweated and eaten our way through some of the nation's most iconic highlights.  Since my first trip to Japan in 1998 I've had the privilege of visiting many of its famous sights.  This let me pull together a truly memorable itinerary for Mum while packing in a few new experiences for myself.

Over the next few weeks, I'll add links to the series of posts listed below.  Highlights to watch for include:

• Matsushima - one of Japan's three famous beauty spots, sadly inundated by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami
• Nikko - a mountain-side village that's home to some of Japan's most sacred shrines
• Tokyo - highlights from the world's most populous metropolitan region
• Mt Fuji - its iconic cone emerged briefly from the clouds during our time in the picturesque Fujigoko region
• Matsumoto - an iconic Samurai castle
• Osaka - home to the world's largest aquarium and the longest single-span suspension bridge
• Hiroshima - forever remembered as the world's first atomic bomb target
• Miyajima - Japan's sacred shrine island, another of the nation's three famous beauty spots
• Iwakuni - renowned for its iconic wooden arch bridge
• Kyoto - the nation's ancient capital filled with stunning shrines and temples
• Omiya - the heartland of Bonsai culture.

Phew!  No wonder I have more 2.8GB of photos sitting on my laptop! We also covered at least 3,500 kms by train. Thank goodness for the remarkable Japan Rail Pass. It's probably the only bargain you'll find in Japan. For less than $400 we enjoyed an itinerary that would have cost at least A$1,500 each had we purchased tickets individually.

Through these posts, I hope you'll enjoy our journey as much as we did. For those of you keen to replicate our adventures, here's an overview of our daily itinerary. With a little extra time I'd add a couple of days to include Nara and Himeji, plus a visit to the Tsukiji fish market in Toyko.

DAY	DATE	ITINERARY
1	4 Sept	Arrive in Tokyo. Skytree Tower.
2	5 Sept	Nikko
3	6 Sept	Matsushima
4	7 Sept	Tokyo sights. Train to Kawaguchiko.
5	8 Sept	Kawaguchiko & Mt Fuji
6	9 Sept	Matsumoto. Train to Osaka.
7	10 Sept	Osaka. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.
8	11 Sept	Hiroshima & Miyajima
9	12 Sept	Iwakuni. Train to Kyoto.
10	13 Sept	Kyoto
11	14 Sept	Kyoto. Train to Tokyo.
12	15 Sept	Omiya Bonsai Village. Fly home.