Usha's Odyssey

On one of our early trips to Kyoto for a conference, a doctor friend of ours invited us to Kagoshima in Kyushu. That’s the southernmost major city on Kyushu island. It is situated close to a bay. In the center of the bay is a volcanic island named Sakurajima. It is an active volcano and from time to time when it erupts city of Kagoshima is covered with dust. We were lucky - this didn’t happen during our stay. During our stay our friend took us to this island and we walked aro

First time we went to NARA in 1978 when we went to Kyoto in a group. It was a day trip from Kyoto.  Japan's first permanent capital was established in the year 710 at Heijo, the city now known as Nara.  Nara is a treasure trove of history and natural beauty, offering some of the most unique sights in Japan.  Nara is one of the oldest capital  Nara Periods (538–794) : Japan's first capital was established in Nara. Heian Period (794–1185) : The capital moved to Kyoto. Political

Also called Seto Inland Sea. I had a great fascination to travel across Inland Sea of Japan. It is also known as the Seto Inland Sea. It is a body of water that separates three of Japan's main islands: Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. It is an important and historically significant maritime area, known for its calm waters, scenic beauty, and numerous islands. The Seto Inland Sea stretches approximately 450 kilometers from east to west, and it is connected to the Pacific Ocean thr

Hakone is a place not too far from Tokyo. It is a very popular place for people of Tokyo to go for short holidays.  Hakone  is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, less than one hundred kilometers from Tokyo. Famous for hot springs, natural beauty and the view across Lake Ashinoko of nearby Mount Fuji. Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo. Our first visit to Hakone was in 1978 when we wen

Nagano Prefecture is located in north central part of Honshu island. It became famous when winter olympics were held in 1998. The games took place in surrounding mountains of Hakuba and Karuizawa. And in mountains of neighbouring  prefecture Yamanouuchi. As I heard from people a special track of rapid train Shinkansen was laid down from Tokyo to Nagano city to make it convenient for international sports people to reach there. A chance invitation by a Doctor who had attended m

For anyone going to Japan, Mt. Fuji or Fujisan as it is popularly called in Japanese, is a big attraction.  Mount Fuji is a solitary peak and is not considered part of any specific mountain range within the Japanese Alps.  Mount Fuji is a distinct and iconic mountain with cultural and symbolic significance in Japan. Mount Fuji is easily accessible from Tokyo and other major cities. The Fuji Five Lakes region and Hakone, a hot spring resort area, are common bases for those wan

I am going to write about a few of my favourite destinations in Kyoto. Most of the sightseeing in Kyoto is Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines. These places are always surrounded by gardens. Kyoto's gardens and Sanmon gates  are deeply connected to the Zen Buddhist traditions, offering serene environments designed to inspire reflection and mindfulness.  Gardens Dry landscape gardens are associated with Zen temples. Ryoan-ji is the most famous garden Strolling gardens - desig

Japanese name for Cranes is Tsuru. In India they are called Kunjar in National language. In Japanese culture cranes are considered messengers of peace. It is a symbol of longevity and good fortune because it was thought to have a life span of a thousand years. Tsuru  are also monogamous, therefore, often used for wedding decor.  An example of this is seen on formal wedding kimonos, and the  uchikake , a decorative kimono that goes over the actual kimono, where beautiful image

During our visits to Saku General hospital, where we went at least 3 times, we had a chance to explore surrounding attractions. Nagano Prefecture in the centre of Japan’s Honshu island, is known for its mountains. One of the attraction is Karuizawa. Sitting around 1000 metres above sea level, Karuizawa enjoys a notably cooler climate. It is a popular destination for people from Tokyo being located on Shinkansen route with only 2.5 hours ride. It offers a cool alpine air of

Whenever I talked to friends in Japan about sightseeing, they would ask me if I have been to Shiretoko? I had not much heard about this place but seen a short documentary about it at Nehru center courtsey Japanese consulate. In the documentary what I remembered was seeing an old lady collecting seaweeds along the beach, which is a favourite Japanese food. The beach was barren. The next scene I remember was showing grizzly bears roaming on the beach. The stark isolation of th

During our several visits to Kyushu we went to Nagasaki only once.  We went to Nagasaki as a young doctor whom we new very well had shifted to Nagasaki University to complete his thesis. He invited my husband to give a lectureWe flew in from Kansai airport and arrived early morning. The airport was located on one of the islands. And our friends took us to the main island where the city is located. We went to Nagasaki on a very short visit. Reaching Nagasaki from Osaka where

Whenever we were in Kyoto we went to several interesting towns. Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture. To...

During our frequent visits to Japan, only once we had a chance to go to Okinawa. Okinawa islands are located south of Kyushu island. Okinawa became famous after Second World War. Besides Hokkaido, Tohoku, Shikoku and Kyushu, Okinawa is the 5th island of Japan. And it is the smallest island. A group of Islands forms Okinawa prefecture. They are further divided into 3 groups. Yaeyama Islands, Miyako Islands, and Okinawa islands. Okinawa Island is the biggest among them and the

Daisetsuzan National Park, also known as Taisetsuzan, is a large national park located in the central part of Hokkaido, Japan. It...

My first visit to UJI. I had never heard of this small but famous town located halfway between two historical cities – Kyoto and Nara. During our stays in Kyoto, it was my regular plan to meet my old Japanese friend Madame Matanosan Ozumi from Maizuru. She spoke good English. She always brought along one of her friend Machikosan who also spoke English . It was like a “ Day out for me “. They made plans for us to visit some very interesting spots around Kyoto, followed by lun

In the year 1999 we went to Japan twice. Earlier we had been there in August to visit a few hospitals. But in late November we went again...

The Japanese Alps refers to a series of mountain ranges that traverse the main island of Japan. These mountain ranges are divided into...

While we were in Maizuru we had a car available for our use. So over weekends we used to drive around to interesting places. Our earlier...

After visiting the lake district we reached Hakodate by train. We had a doctor friend in this city. He received us and took us to our hotel.  In those days there was no Shinkansen trains available from Hokkaido to Tokyo. We stopped for an overnight  break as we were doing a long journey by train from Hokkaido to finally reach Narita Airport with a stop over to visit Toshiba factory on the way. All the trains went through an underwater tunnel and stopped at Aomori on the w

Our very first visit to Sapporo in Hokkaido was in 1995. Hokkaido is the Northern most island of Japan. We had gone there to attend a...