Photo by Angela Xu
By Angela Xu
This summer, I went to Japan for my summer break, making it the third consecutive year I had traveled to Japan. The years before, I mostly visited tourist spots, which were fun, but also crowded. On this trip, we decided to tour more hidden cities. This year, it was only me and my mom, and we travelled throughout Japan for about a month, heading to places we had never been to before.
Photo by Angela Xu
Kamakura, which is south of Tokyo, was one of our first stops on the trip, and we headed to this iconic temple with a fish pond. This temple, called Hase-dera, is known for having a huge wooden statue. Unfortunately, we didn’t head over to see the huge wooden statue. I did, however, walk around the gardens and came upon a cave, which was dark and had rooms for praying inside. This temple contained many hidden surprises in every single corner.
We also went to another temple at a different location, in an area called Enoshima. At this one, there was a long shopping street before heading to a mountain. It was steep, and at the top of the mountain was the temple where you either had to climb or pay to use the escalator which took you to the top. I paid for the escalator and found myself at the top of the mountain, which had many activities. The wooden signs in this photo are all wishes made by visitors. They were mostly wishes made by people for their family or their relationships with others.
Kamakura was mostly full of temples, but if you weren’t interested in them, there aren’t any other things to do. However, it is a beach town, if you want to see beaches.
Photo by Angela Xu
Just south of Kamakura in Shizuoka prefecture, Tokko-no-yu is a small village renowned for its hot springs. The oldest and most sacred onsen in its area, it has a rich history with legends about the village. I learned that one of the onsens was supposedly off limits for any one to bathe in, because only the gods were allowed to. I did go into a public bathhouse there, which was strange to experience. It was communal and different from anything in America. The water there is all extracted from the ground, so it is hot. There was also a temple nearby, with fresh hot water to rinse your hands and mouth before praying.
Photo by Angela Xu
Next, we went to Nagoya, a city famous for its breakfast tradition and Toyota cars. This bookstore at the Nagoya Noritake Aeon Mall is also at the former location of the factory of Noritake, a dinnerware company. The factory was changed into a museum.
While I was in Nagoya, I went to Sakae, a shopping district that was the most lively part of Nagoya, with bustling streets full of shopping, eating, and activities. I went to Yabaton, a famous miso katsu restaurant, and also bought some Bape, which is cheaper in Japan. There was definitely more to do there, because the more popular activities in the city were there. The Fuji Nagoya Science Museum was also there, and it had many locals, who probably visit the museum on weekends. When I went inside, there were a bunch of experiments inside which explained about different science topics, such as water. Continue reading
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