Travel plans/Spring 2017

From WikiDotMako

This is for the ohanami trip.

Schedule

3/25-30: Tokyo (started blooming 3/21)
3/30-31: Fukuoka (start blooming 3/22)
3/31-4/2: Shikoku (start blooming 3/25)
4/2-4/4: Kyoto/Nara (start blooming 3/30)
4/4-4/5: Gifu? TBD -> Tokyo
4/6: Home

Tokyo

Fukuoka

  • 3/30: Leave early in AM; go to Fukuoka-shi for our first ohanami at Maitsuru Koen; take a shinkansen back to Kitakyusyuu to check in; Yozakura at castle (~21:00); get food and maybe onsen
  • 3/31: walk around Mojiko if we have time; TOTO Museum (opens at 10AM); head out (see below)
  • To stay: TBD
  • To do:
picnic at Ogura Castle in Kitakyusyu
visit TOTO Museum
visit Mojiko "retro": maybe skip if we want to go somewhere else on 3/31 like Itsukushima.
visit Maitsuru koen: note this is in Fukuoka-shi while the others above are in Kitakyuusyuu

Shikoku

  • 3/31 afternoon: take a train to Hiroshima; eat okonomiyaki; take a train to Mitoyo-shi; Yozakura at Asahi Sanrin Koen
  • 4/1: Hike up Shiudeyama; picnic; take a train to Kotohira; onsen
  • 4/2: Hike up Kotohira shrine; picnic; head out (see below)
  • To stay: TBD (weekend, so book early)
  • Mitoyo-shi in Kagawa for Shiudeyama: best spot in Shikuko, it seems.
  • Near Mityo-shi in Kagawa for Kotohiragu: famous shrine for having many stairs. Also, good onsen
  • Mitoyo-shi in Kagawa for Asahi Sanrin Park
  • Takamatsu-shi in Kagawa for Ritsurin Park: we've been there. More udon time?

Kyoto/Osaka/Nara

  • 4/2 afternoon: udon stop in Takamatsu; head to Osaka; Yozakura at the castle or the park
  • 4/3: Go to Nara; hike up Yoshinoyama; come back to Osaka for yozakura
  • 4/4: Stop in Kyoto for Maruyama koen; head out (see below)
  • Maybe stay in Kyoto or Osaka and make day trips?
  • To stay: TBD
  • Kyoto
Maruyama koen
  • Osaka
Osaka Castle
Banpaku Park
  • Nara
Yoshinoyama
1000 year old tree?
Hasedera? 1000 sakura trees.

Gifu or Yamanashi (or skip this and spend an extra night in Kyoto etc)

  • 4/4 afternoon: go to Kofu-shi or somewhere around there to check in; take a train and hike up to the old tree; come back for onsen
  • 4/5: head back to Tokyo; maybe in stop in Saitama for more trees?
  • Those two trees are regarded as one of the oldest and best sakura trees in Japan:
  • Neodani Usuzumi Sakura: in Gifu.
  • Yamataka-Jindai Sakura: in Yamanashi; a bit out of the way but doable. Lots of onsen in a nearby town.


Tokyo Places

Bars:

  • Y & M Kisling - 7th floor in Ginza, very upscale
  • Anthem Bar (Ansemu) in Ginza - 3.71
  • Bar Bennfiddich (Absinthe Bar) - 9F Yamatoya Building, 1-13-7 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku - 3.67
  • Bar ODIN - Excellent for shochu and cocktails - Two locations in Yebisu and Ginza - 3.64
  • Kamiya Bar - Asakusa - Famous for an herbaly Japanese brandy.
  • Star Bar - Ginza and Kyoto - High-end formal cocktail bar, very famous, very pricy
  • Ishino Hana - Classy Place in Shibuya - generally requires reservations, ¥500 cover