Hanging Out With Ninjas in Iga-Ueno

One place I loved on my trip to Japan in November 2008 was Iga-Ueno, specifically the Ninja Museum. Iga Ueno is near Nara in the Mei Prefecture. It is a little bit tricky to get to, but only in that you have to swap trains a couple of times. The way we got there was: From Osaka we took the JR Yamatoji Line from Namba to Kamo – in the mornings direct trains to Kamo depart from Namba, but...

My Future Home: – Himeji Jo

Install some central heating and furniture and I think I’d be happy to call Himeji Jo home. Our day at Himeji was our first, and perhaps with the exception of Hakone our only really cold day. A real chill to the air, and windy too. It didn’t help walking down drafty corridors with our shoes off. After our time in the castle we enjoyed a hot chocolate from a vending machine, and I...