When to travel to Japan

People often ask me when I think is the best time to travel to Japan.

That answer depends on your tolerance of the weather.

I don't tolerate the heat too well so personally I could think of nothing worse than travelling around in summer in 30 degrees with high humidity levels.

I have two favourite times for travelling through Japan.

The first is winter. The sky is a perfect blue, the sun warms you up just enough and I'm yet to experience rain! I love the cold crisp air cooling me as I explore castles, temples, gardens and more. Yes it can get pretty cold, but so long as you have good quality walking shoes, woolen socks, durable pants (jeans), woolen jumpers and jackets then you will be fine. Winter in Tokyo is not that cold. I have never been freezing and the average temperature I have experienced during the day would be around 8-12 degrees. When you get to places such as Takayama, Kanazawa or Nakanojo, then a beanie, scarf and gloves will be required! But it is still blue skies in these places (when its not snowing) which makes all the difference in the world. I also think its more fun rugging up against the cold of winter than sweating it out in summer!

Me in Kanazawa in winter where a beanie, scarf and gloves are required!

My other favourite time to travel is spring which of course is Cherry Blossom season. Apart from the obvious beauty the Cherry Blossoms bring to this time of year, the weather is also fantastic for travelling. The days are cool, but are starting to warm up to where a thin jumper is all that is required during the day. The mornings and evenings can still be quite crisp, but with all the walking around that gets done looking at the cherry blossoms, you warm up pretty quickly.

Spring time in Japan! Cherry blossoms, blue skies and picnics!

Autumn is also a great time to travel through Japan, much like Spring, where the weather is cool, but sunny. The highlight of Autumn is the stunning colour changes of the trees. The colours range from bright yellow through orange to deep red. 

Autumn brings beautiful deep red leaves.

Japan has distinct seasons with features for each one which are all spectacular in their own right.

I love Japan at any time of the year but spring and winter are a lot of fun.

When is your favourite time to travel and why?

G  

Doors and Gates!

One of my Japanese obsessions is the doors and gates that are found throughout Japan.
There is nothing of equal here in Australia, mainly due to the fact that we have never had Emperor's or Shogun's or feudal lords with castles and surrounding gardens.

I love not only the sheer size of the doors and gates (most of them are just huge and intimidating), but the details found on each door or gate. The doors to temples are usually more ornate with metal decorations and the castle gates are usually more formal with crests and giant locks found on them. Some of the doors are plain wood left to weather and age superbly by the elements however there are some temples which have red doors and gates which contrast so well the the sometimes subdued surroundings.

The first two photos below are from Meiji Jingu shrine and I saw these on my very first day in Japan during my first trip.

The following red door is to an inner courtyard of a shrine in Nara. What was found inside the courtyard was one of the oldest wisteria trees in Japan which inspired poetry recorded some several hundred years ago. This in itself is awe inspiring, knowing that scholars were writing poetry about a beautiful tree which had sprouted from the ground before Australia had been colonised.

The next gate is one found in Nijo Castle in Kyoto. This gate separates one section of the castle grounds to another. I just love the criss-crossed inner panels and the imposing height of the gate.

Castle doors are quite another thing. They are truly on a grand scale as they were originally built to protect those found within and had to withstand possible sieges.

The next photos are from Himeji Castle (about and hour on the bullet train from Kyoto). What I love most about these types is that they are really doors within gates. As I walked through them, I imagined seeing the immense gates closed to have only the much smaller doors opened to messengers bringing news of some battle being fought by feudal Lords.

Aren't these just fantastic? Each door is unique with details different to the next. What is even better is the fact that you actually pass through many of the doors and gates directly where ordinary people, officials, feudal Lords and even samurai may have passed.

What do you think of the doors and gates?

What do you like most about them?

G



                                                         

Planning a trip to Japan?

Planning a trip to Japan?

Not sure where to start?

Need help with your itinerary or just want some ideas?

Email me at japaneseobsessiontravel@gmail.com or post here and I can make suggestions or help write you an itinerary to get the most out of your holiday.


G