A first breath in Madrid: The launch of my gap year With a sigh of relief, I embarked on my year-long gap year. Starting with…
Now I can solve the mysterious riddle. There will be a sabbatical, from October ’23 to September ’24. My work contract will be set to…
Next stop on my sabbatical journey in Japan, I had the pleasure of staying in Matsushima, one of Japan’s most scenic destinations. This small city…
Kanazawa, besides the Castle and Nagamachi (Samurai) district, also offers a glimpse into the past, especially Japan’s rich Edo period history, with its traditional teahouses…
Nagamachi District in Kanazawa, also known as the Samurai District, is the place where you can immerse yourself in the samurai history of Kanazawa. Nagamachi…
Visiting Kanazawa without the castle would be a no-no – Kanazawa Castle, a significant historic symbol and part of the cultural heritage of Japan, was…
Near Sakaiminato is Matsue, a city with some hidden gems in history and culture, nestled in Shimane Prefecture and well worth a day’s visit. The…
Other short trip from my Hiroshima base was Iwakuni. Most notable are Kintai bridge and and Iwakuni Castle, residence of Kikkawa clan near Mt. Yokoyama. You get…
Miyajima, or Itsukushima, is one of the most prominent tourist hotspots in Japan. Especially the Itsukushima shrine with his iconic O-torii gate has surely been…
After Kyūshū and Beppu, the next stop was in the Hiroshima Prefecture, which was – (not) surprisingly – Hiroshima. Hiroshima will always be connected to…
Next station after Okinawa was Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Kyushu. Beppu is famous for his Onsen, a group of hot spring system, 2nd large in volume,…
As part of my trip to Okinawa I visited the Churaumi Aquarium and Expo Park (Wikipedia) in the middle/northern part near Motobu. Impressive the huge main…
In 2019, I took a longer trip to Japan, 6 weeks to be exact. I’ve been to Japan several times, but always as a business…