le tour de burt

Snow Monkey

So I left off with Neil’s promise to head out to the outdoor onsen in Yudanaka, I can confirm that on a very cold, snowy winters evening we headed out from the warmth of the ryokan to our private outdoor onsen (hot spring bath). It was beautiful as the sun slipped away and all the lights of the local towns lit up in the valley below us, surprisingly we were very warm outdoors – the water was scorching hot, and the indoor sauna, well, I can’t imagine hell even gets that warm!!!

It did round off a perfect day though – we had spent the afternoon in the snow monkey park, perfect powder, snow falling and monkeys lazing around in their own onsen – it was magical…..

We left the snow and hit the culture vulture city of Kyoto, with its beautiful temples, shrines and oh my god, real life geisha and maiko (apprentice geisha) – they were fabulous, waddling down the Ponto-cho alley in full kimono….I was in awe!!!

What came as the big surprise of the week though was Hiroshima, with its beautiful Peace Memorial Gardens, the sombre atmosphere at the A-Bomb Dome and the hectic nightlife around the Okiyinama eateries (sort of a pizza/pancake/noodle combo). Neil and I even ventured into the karaoke booths, were I, oh yes I, tone deaf burton sang her little heart out to the likes of “Iris” (well it had to be done) and if I dare to admit it, “I’m a barbie girl”…..Oh yes, I also learnt origami, and made paper cranes and a butterfly at the hostel we were staying at – lets just say Neil had to be very patient with me!!

We day tripped to Mayijima from Hiroshima, this island houses the floating shrine and tori gate that is one of the most photographed views in all of Japan….it didn’t let us down, perfect views out to the floating gate, the deer wandering around and lovely little maple leaf shaped cakes filled with chocolate and cream for us to munch on (lots of shops give away tasters….yummy).

From Hiroshima we head to Nara – will keep you posted of our travels!