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General Discussion / Another trip to Japan
« on: December 05, 2019, 03:35:16 pm »
I went on a 2-week trip to Japan recently and really enjoyed it. The main purpose of traveling at this time of year was to see the fall colors, and they were brilliant! Mostly maples (momiji) that ranged in color from green to yellow, orange, various shades of red, and almost purple. Ginko and cherry trees also added to the color with their own leaves turning yellow and red. Cities visited included Tokyo, Kawaguchiko, Kyoto, Uji, Nara, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Osaka. The most spectacular show of color was on the island of Miyajima, which was somewhat of a surprise since it is the furthest south and theoretically should be changing later than places more north.
I visited two pet cafes, a cat cafe in Akihabara, Tokyo and a Shiba Inu cafe in Kyoto. Interestingly, they had different pricing models. The cat cafe had a base fee plus a charge for every 15 minutes spent in the room. The dog cafe had a set price for 30 minutes in the room, after which time you were asked to leave. Both offered unlimited drinks that were available from vending machines; coffee, tea, beer, sodas, water, juice drinks. I only had one coffee at each place, so clearly the drinks were secondary to the experience. But those cats and dogs were certainly adorable and live luxurious and spoiled lives!
Another interesting place I'd highly recommend is the machiya Starbucks (yes, Starbucks) at Ninenzaka, Kyoto. It is located in a renovated machiya wooden building on a narrow street between Kiyomizudera and Yasaka Shrine. They have an inner garden and tatami mat rooms for enjoying your coffee in a traditional Japanese setting.
I was going to post some photos, but I noticed that my "free" Photobucket account no longer allows free photo sharing! Anyway, I would encourage everybody to visit Japan, and if you need an excuse, go for the Olympics in 2020.
I visited two pet cafes, a cat cafe in Akihabara, Tokyo and a Shiba Inu cafe in Kyoto. Interestingly, they had different pricing models. The cat cafe had a base fee plus a charge for every 15 minutes spent in the room. The dog cafe had a set price for 30 minutes in the room, after which time you were asked to leave. Both offered unlimited drinks that were available from vending machines; coffee, tea, beer, sodas, water, juice drinks. I only had one coffee at each place, so clearly the drinks were secondary to the experience. But those cats and dogs were certainly adorable and live luxurious and spoiled lives!
Another interesting place I'd highly recommend is the machiya Starbucks (yes, Starbucks) at Ninenzaka, Kyoto. It is located in a renovated machiya wooden building on a narrow street between Kiyomizudera and Yasaka Shrine. They have an inner garden and tatami mat rooms for enjoying your coffee in a traditional Japanese setting.
I was going to post some photos, but I noticed that my "free" Photobucket account no longer allows free photo sharing! Anyway, I would encourage everybody to visit Japan, and if you need an excuse, go for the Olympics in 2020.
