At the Summit Park Station of Mount Gozaisho, a big map of the hiking trail and places to visit helped in guiding me where to locate the sightseeing lift.
When I got there, I got really scared of riding the lift. I already knew that there was no belt because I saw the picture in their official website but I was not prepared that it was a steep downhill ride, at least from my POV.
Quite an early start for my Day 6 in Japan to be able to explore Mount Gozaisho in the morning. I was so excited to reach the summit but at the same time, a bit scared on how cold that morning will be. Problems of a tropical country citizen. Haha!
Got off at Kintetsu-Nagoya Station after the Ise-Shima daytrip and before reaching the exit of the building, one of the elevators grabbed my attention. THERE IS A ONE PIECE MUGIWARA STORE IN NAGOYA!!!
I was greeted by a big space dedicated to Roronoa Zoro, my favorite character! Apparently, November was his birthday month so they had that special space for him.
I was so happy that I got to do the ama hut experience, especially with Ise ebi (Ise lobster) in season. The highlights of this experience were getting to eat seafood that were freshly caught by ama and conversing with ama divers, with the help of an interpreter.
I was undecided which tour company to pick between Osatsu-kamado and Hachiman. But the deciding factor was the free direct shuttle bus offered by Hachiman.
Despite the tiring walks from the previous days, I was still excited for this day trip because I would be going back to Ise Jingu.
During my previous visit, there were few people around because it was a weekday and we reached the place at around 8AM (read it here). But this time, it was a Sunday and already 10AM so there was a huge crowd of locals already.
Finally the day to explore Nagoya – hello Day 4! This was more of a shopping day though so don’t expect cultural or technological tours. 🙂
In the morning, I went to Osu Shopping District and went around different anime shops such as Geepress, Mandarake, and Yellow Submarine.
Last stop for Day 3 was Korankei, which is considered as one of the best autumn spots in Chubu region. The place is very famous for momiji matsuri (autumn leaves viewing), and it is estimated to have about 4,000 maple trees of 11 types. Also, autumn night illumination is held every year from 5PM to 9PM wherein performances are held and lots of food stalls are set up.
The bus ride from Senmi Shikizakura no Sato to Obara Fureai Park was about 15 minutes.
When we reached the park, I decided to follow the other locals and found food stalls. Perfect for my hungry tummy since I only had an onigiri for lunch. I checked out all the stalls and since it was very cold (less than 10C), I bought kishimen. Yay for my hiragana skills because I was able to read the stall’s food!
Ever heard of sakura blooming during autumn? Well, that is not a fantasy because there is a place in Japan where this happens. The town is called Obara, which is popular for shikizakura (四季桜 four-season cherry blossoms), and not too far from Nagoya.
My destination for this trip was the Senmi Shikizakura no Sato — farther than the more popular Obara Fureai Park.
I was really looking forward to wearing a kimono since that is part of my bucket list. Despite previous trips in Japan, it was not a top of mind activity due to the extreme cold weather (winter and early spring).
One of the popular kimono rental shops in Kyoto is wargo and I chose their branch in Gion as they have a bigger selection of kimono designs and it was the area where I wanted to go around while in kimono.
