Kyoto Railway Museum

Trains make up a very integral part of life here in Japan, and there are plenty of train museums to go around. During a trip to Kyoto, we decided to take the plunge and go full train mode and learn a bit more about railway history and see a visiting celebrity!

Kyoto Stone Museum: Why You May Have Visited Without Knowing

If you’ve every visited Kyoto, there’s a very high probability that you’ve visited this museum and even looked upon its exhibits without being fully aware that you were. Confused? So was I until my eagle eye spotted the clue that would bust this case wide open!

Projection Mapping at Nijo Castle

I’ve seen a castle or two in my day, but Nijo castle was the one that got away. In March, I was fortunate enough to be able to see the projection mapping that has decorated the castle at night for years. It happens seasonally, sometimes in the summer, but this time in the spring. It […]

Gekkeikan Sake Museum

Gekkeikan is a very popular sake brand in Japan, and near Kyoto in Fushimi, you can visit a very nice little museum they’ve put together to show visitors the process of making sake, a bit of sake history, and an exhibit dedicated to the history of the Gekkeikan brand.

Kinkakuji: The Golden Pavilion

In Kyoto, there are many beautiful places to visit. Almost too many for the history and religion buffs to do in a single go, to be honest. One of the most splendid sites to partake in on a clear, sunny day has to be Kinkakuji, a pavilion of gold on a still lake.

Fushimi Inari

When you see those glorious orange tori gates Japan is famous for, one site stands out among the rest for its sheer number: Fushimi Inari, just south of Kyoto proper. There’s a lot of history and culture packed upon this mountain shrine, ready to be unpacked by the willing traveler.

Kiyomizudera: Waters and Blessings

Let’s be real: Kyoto can really be overwhelming with the number of shrines and historic places nestled within its boundaries. There are just so many to see that in order to draw in pilgrims, visitors, and those lucrative tourist moneys, each shrine or temple needs to have something to draw people in. It isn’t necessarily […]

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Kimono Forest

Whenever you see beautiful pictures from Kyoto featuring bamboo shoots soaring into the sky, chances are they were taken at the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. There’s also a little know forest of fabrics just on the way known as the Kimono Forest. Braving the unbearable Kansai heat, my wife and I set out to take a […]