The japan visits

Taking in its many temples, historical sights, and awe-inspiring river run, it’s here where

we also find our new love for soft Japanese cakes. We also make the perfect day trip to

Nara, where deers can freely sniff your crotch. Next, we explore the Gifu Prefecture, spending

a peaceful week in the Japanese countryside. Gifu has a bit of everything: Geothermal foot

spas, immersive waterfall hiking, traditional streets, and an entire village built without

any nails insight. We then wind down in luxury at a Japanese Ryokan, where the food’s presentation

is on a whole other level. And it’s here where we witness the breath taking scenes

that belong to the Japanese Alps. If you’re new here, we make travel movies from around

the world, hoping you might just find your next holiday inspiration. This is probably

going to be a long one so sit back, relax and enjoy. This is Suitcase Monkey making

its epic return to Japan.

We were lucky to land right as full bloom crept around Tokyo. The cherry blossoms here open about a week

before Kyoto, which we’d be heading to tomorrow. This meant we would be ahead of the blooms

for much of our upcoming trip. My favourite thing about cherry blossom season isn’t

simply the sakura themselves, but the festival atmosphere it brings out in everyone and Ueno

Park is a great place to experience this. For more information on how to best predict

the unpredictable cherry blossom, I’ve done a whole video, just on this one topic.

(Loud Guitar Rock Music)

If you’re in the area, somewhere I would definitely recommend to visit at is Ameyoko.

This busy open air market is where street food cohabits alongside clothes, souvenirs,

cosmetics and more. Coupled with its neon glow and bustling energy, this place truly comes to life at night.

(Rock Music continues)

After a few trips up and down its streets, we found this small

restaurant for our first proper sit down Japanese meal. With stomaches full we headed back to

our hotel for some much needed sleep, ready to start our next 5 days in Kyoto.

(Upbeat music)

Following check in we had a wander into central Kyoto and along the way, on some random back

alley, we stumbled across this little gem of a cafe. Rocca and Friends Papier Kyoto

was where our innocent romance with incredibly well presented Japanese snacks began. With

this cute, hand crafted stationary shop upstairs, the ground floor delivers a collection of

sandwiches and smoothies. And this flawlessly presented tray of goodies was a treat not

only on the eyes but on the taste buds themselves. I really love this Japanese version of western

dishes, where the food is seemingly cut with a samurai sword and are always incredibly

light and soft on the palette. Believe me when I say that this will not be the last

time you see a shot of a well cut delicacy in this video.

Much more than Tokyo, Kyoto lends itself to being discovered on foot and it’s a great

way to get acquainted. Being the emperors’ residence and capital of Japan from 794 to

1868 means Kyoto is filled with important historical shrines, temples and monuments.

Coupled that Kyoto largely escaped devastation during the Second World War, means its natural

beauty and tone feels refreshingly authentic.

(Upbeat gentle music continues)

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Built in the late 15th century for the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, The Ginkaku-ji was constructed

as his retirement villa.

Besides the Pavilion itself, the grounds are known for its intricate

gardens, and this perfect 2 meter high cone is built entirely out of sand.

Taking roughly

40 minutes, the circular walk around moss gardens, picturesque bridges and vistas of

North-East Kyoto is a peaceful one. And if my purpose built retirement home is anything

like this, I’ll certainly be doing well.

(New music, guitar picking, gaining in speed throughout)

Kiyomizudera, literally meaning Pure Water Temple, is one of Japans most celebrated.

The largest building here, known as the main hall is most famous for its sizeable wooden

stage that stretches out, offering sweeping views of the gardens below. Currently closed

for renovation, the whole stage is made entirely without nails and has stood strong for 4 centuries

despite hundred of natural disasters. There is a popular Japanese saying “to jump off

the stage at Kiyomizu”. The English equivalent to this would be to “take the plunge”.

This refers to an Edo-period tradition that if you were to jump off the stage and survive

the 13-meter drop, your wish would be granted. During this period, of the 234 jumps that

were recorded, 15% of those who tried did not have their wishes honoured. The practise

was eventually prohibited in 1872. Despite the wooden stage being under construction

when we visited, the site of its major landmarks lit up above the nights sky is still a stunning

site and a must visit in Kyoto.

Something else which should be on your bucket list, is a visit to Pontocho,

arguably the most atmospheric street in all of Kyoto. Best visited in the evening, this

narrow alley is crammed with restaurants on both sides, and offers a palpable sense of

history. Even if you don’t plan on eating here, it’s well worth a wander. It was actually

Chiaki’s birthday today so with a mixture of celebrations, alcohol and the location,

this became our most expensive meal of the whole trip by a long shot, but it was certainly

worth it.

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(Upbeat Pumping music)

The Fushimi Inari Shrine is an important Shinto Shrine, a short bus or train ride away from

central Kyoto. The shrine is dedicated to Inari, which is the Shinto God of rice, and

this explains the foxes watching over the entrance, since they are thought to be Inari’s

messenger. This 230 metre walk up Mount Inari is a relatively easy one and the 5,000 Torii

gates you’ll pass through makes it an incredibly unique experience.

Something that isn’t

often realised, is that each of these gates have actually been donated by a person or

business. Walking through, you’ll see kanji that means donated or offered, and on the

reverse, you’ll see the name of the donator and the date it was offered.

Upon reaching the top, you’re treated to a view of the city and a relatively quicker

path back down to the start, taking around 90 minutes altogether.

(Beat music finishes, playful guitar picking begins)

Back in Kyoto station lies another thing I love about Japan. The fact that their train

stations are destinations in themselves. Underneath all the trains and chaos, lies department

stores and chaos, and more food than you can comprehend. Just look at the presentation

of these bakeries and food stalls, they’re enough to make Kings Cross Station look like

an absolute s*** hole! With this, this and this, all vying for our sweet tooth attention,

we took the sensible route and visited one of the many sit down underground restaurants

instead. And yes, this Katsu was as crisp, light and succulent as it looks.

Back in downtown Kyoto, we wandered around its main shopping area

(Record scratch, music stops)

(Silence)

and still with a lusting for something sweet, we hunted down this little bad boy. This was

truly where our flirtatious romance with Japanese cakes got a little serious and some might

even say, naughty or forbidden.

(Slow gentle piano music)

Hopefully you remember our Shogun friend from earlier. Well now it was time to see the building

that was designed after, the Kinkaku-ji or Golden Pavilion. This was Yoshimitsu’s other

The top two floors are completely covered in a thin layer of gold, or gold leaf. With

the mirror pond below, bouncing back its reflection, it is a striking image. The original temple

dates back to the 1400’s but was sadly burnt down by a fanatic monk in 1950. The temple

that stands here today was rebuilt 5 years later. This is one of THE images of Kyoto

and because of this, it will almost certainly be crammed with people so it’s best viewed

as early or late as possible.

(Gentle wavey music)

On the outskirts of western Kyoto, Arashiyama is a pleasant, peaceful district. It has a

more open air feel to it and makes for a great half or full day retreat from the city centre.

After arriving into the main station, all the popular attractions are just a short walk away.

Tenryuji is often ranked as the number 1 temple in all of Kyoto. Built in the 14th century,

most of its original buildings have been lost in fires or wars and then rebuilt. On the

contrary however, its landscape gardens have survived throughout, so appear in their original

form, making it the most impressive Japanese gardens of our trip.

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After crossing the bridge, and a 20 minute uphill hike later, you’ll arrive at the

Monkey Park Iwatayama. This area is anything but a zoo, in that you are stepping into the

natural habitat of 100s of wild macaque monkeys. It makes for a nice change

when the humans are the ones inside the cage feeding the animals on the outside.

Overall, I’d really recommend this district as a place to visit. The main high street

was probably my favourite window shopping street in all of Kyoto and it has a really

nice relaxed vibe to it. Even the train station is super cute with these tiny pink trains

and this modern art instalment right next to the platform, leading to some serious Insta

posing.

Now, if there is one thing I have been bashed for in the comments before, it was eating

this tasty sushi snack whilst on holiday in… Greece! It seems that eating a non local dish

is forbidden when travelling. Well to re address that balance, every few days whilst in Japan,

I like to enjoy some European cuisine as there’s only so much fish, noodles and rice that I

can handle.

So today, it was Italys turn. This small restaurant was literally ran by one man and one man only.

We later learnt he had spent some time living in Europe and wanted to bring back the cuisine

he loved so much to his home country. The result was this super tasty spread which I

enjoyed so much, I’m happy to shout about here in exchange for some “I can’t believe

you had a pizza in Japan” comments that are sure to follow. What can I say? I’m

a European man, who just craves some local flavours from time to time. But the owner

was so nice, he even took and printed our photo as a take home souvenir. And going the

extra mile, 2 days later, he randomly drove passed us in his car, making sure to catch

our attention with a yell and a wave. Now that is service.

(Funky, quick tempo, jazz music plays)

Today we would be taking a direct train almost an hour outside of Kyoto. Nara is within easy

reach of both Kyoto and Osaka, making it the perfect day trip from either. Nara was Japans

first capital, but only held this spot for 70 years before moving to Kyoto. Due to this

foundation, Nara offers an abundance of arts, museums, shrines and temples. Despite this

historical surrounding I found myself in, nothing interested me more than to watch a

man repeatedly slap some food.

(Man shouting)

So, what’s going on here is the making of mochi, a traditional soft and chewy sweet.

The pounding and flipping smashes the glutinous sticky rice so as to create the perfect texture

for eating. Apparently, the shouting helps with the timing - so basically don’t mallet

smash my hand whilst I’m screaming.

Walking out into Nara Park is like something I’ve never experience before. Home to almost

1,400 wild deer, this 2 and a half square mile is what Nara has become famous for. Legend

has it that back in AD768 a God travelled to Mount Mikasa on a white deer and thereafter

they were considered sacred. Killing one was actually punishable by death until the 1940s,

where deer were stripped of their sacred status but still remain protected.

Seeing everyone else getting all the attention, I started to feel left out. However, there

are numerous stalls nearby, all selling deer crackers so I was excited to feel like the

most popular boy in school. But as I turned around, excited, crackers in hand, I found

myself heading towards a field of deer apathy, and was reminded of the harsh realties of

childhood fame. Then, much like school itself, after cracking a joke or two, I finally had

a friend approach me, then life was once again, worth living. Me, Steve, Dave, Bob and Rupert.

Back together again. And then. As quickly as it began, I had run out of jokes.

Alone again.

It is fun though watching all the people who are super comfortable with them, and those

not so much. Something the astute deer have learnt over time is to bow out of respect

to their potential feeder. This was something I had read about but it was amazing to see

happen over and over again, and even made myself feel like a little tingly inside.

(Imposing but gentle piano music)

Todaiji is one of Japan's most famous temples, playing a significant role in the countries

history. It actually became my personal favourite Japanese structure due to its breathtaking

scale, something that my camera here just doesn’t do justice to. Until recently, its

main hall held the record as the world's largest wooden building. Sitting inside, the Great

Sitting inside, the Great

Buddha here is Japans largest bronze statue rising 15 meters in height.

Another popular attraction inside Todaiji is this wooden pillar. At the bottom sits

this hole which is the size of the Great Buddah’s nostril. It is believed that those who can

crawl through this tiny hole will receive enlightenment in their next life. Unsure about

the possibility of reincarnation I decided to hedge my bets and patiently stood in line.

After fail number 1, we regrouped, de-clothed and went for another go. I do at this point

want you to take note, of the massive height difference between myself and my peers. But

before I knew it, we were ready again for another try, hoping for a better tomorrow.

YES!

(Smattering of applause)

Overall, I think Todaiji is a must visit temple when in Nara. It’s size and scale really

did take my breath away. And like all good attractions around the world, you exit through

the gift shop.

For the rest of the day, we wandered around Nara’s beautiful streets and took in some

food along the way. This really was a perfect side trip from Kyoto and exhaustion started

to creep in during our return journey home. We would be up early however the next morning,

for what would become my single favourite activity during our entire trip.

(Slow uplifting piano music)

(Inspirational piano music swells and builds)

With only an afternoon and evening still remaining for our time in Kyoto, we still had a couple

of things we hadn’t seen. If you remember on day 1, I mentioned we would be ahead of

the Cherry Blossoms whilst in Kyoto, due to its later blooming date. Well, 5 days later,

they were starting to catch up, and it was for this reason that we had left the Keage

Incline for our final day here. This disused cargo railway line becomes incredibly popular

during sakura season and it makes for a great leisurely stroll down the tracks.

With a taste for nature and all things pink, we wandered over to Maruyama Park, Kyoto’s

most popular park for cherry blossoms. Also filled with important temples and shrines,

it was a beautiful place to just relax and reflect on everything we had done so far.

For dinner, we went to this busy little place where bookings are recommended. Their speciality

is Okonomiyaki which is a pan fried dish containing batter and cabbage. Okonomiyaki means “to

one’s liking” so there are different takes on the dish around the country, with Osaka

and Hiroshima leading the way. One ingredient that often raises eyebrows in Japan are these

bonito flakes, or Katsuobushi. The heat coming from the food causes them to dance, making

for a rather odd sight.

Before leaving the bright lights of Kyoto, we thought it would be a good idea to end

our time here as we had begun. I cannot tell you the joy that this cake was about to provide.

They really are impossibly fluffy and light.

We were saying goodbye to Kyoto but were super ready for a change of atmosphere as tomorrow

we would venture north towards the Japanese Alps and countryside.

So far, our trip has taken us to fairly well known, well trodden Japanese hot spots. To

get the full picture however, I would seriously recommend taking time to explore the Japanese

countryside. So what follows for the rest of this vlog, will hopefully show you a different

side of Japan with some inspiration to get a little or a lot off the beaten path. Over

the next 6 nights we would be staying in 3 different hotels, all within an hour of each

other and all within the Gifu Prefecture. And so we started our new journey, in Gero.

Gero is on Onsen town that during the Edo period was considered one of the top 3 in

all of Japan. Geros’ small town atmosphere mixed with encircling mountains makes it feel

open yet protected at the same time.

Due to its abundance of volcanic activity, there are more naturally occurring hot springs

in Japan than anywhere else in the world so you are spoilt for choice.

For visitors, Onsens normally mean getting completely naked in front of strangers and

then pretending that’s a normal thing to do. Gero of course has onsens but what makes

it different are its geothermal foot spas, dotted around the entire town. So armed with

a local map, we went on the hunt. And only 5 minutes from our hotel, we had already struck gold.

In total over the next few hours we visited 5 different foot spas; this fancy circular

one which was incredibly hot, this one stuck outside a shops front door, this more secluded

one we later discovered in our hotels courtyard and the most grand of them all, this one here.

Situated under the main bridge for the town, this was the largest and most popular.

Whilst planning this trip, we realised we were near a huge stretch of land holding 216

waterfalls, all of which were over 5 meters in height. Not wanting to pass on the opportunity,

we organised a countryside hike with a company called Hida Osaka Falls. We met our local

guide, Jun at the Hida-Osaka Train Station and began our waterfall trek. Although our

tour was mainly in Japanese, English tours can be arranged to take you through some awesome scenery.

(Orchestral music building)

We eventually discovered that Jun was in fact the Japanese version of Bear Grylls, knowing

every inch of the land. Pointing out various signs of wildlife, from ants gnawing through

leaves to signs of boar, turning nature into drinking cups, and convincing me it was a

good idea to eat this leaf. And then Jun casually pointed out these bear claw marks. We were

(Horros music effect!)

We were now deep inside bear country and this single piece of discarded railway is meant to alert

the bears so they will stay away. Of course, it did cross my mind we were simply just informing

the bears we were ready to be eaten.

Juns’ passion and pride shone through and you could see his genuine excitement to share

stories of his home town. His care for us went beyond our expectations and if you’re

in the area, I recommend you check out their website. Depending on the time of year, you

can also enjoy a wetter version of this trip and even experience frozen waterfalls surrounded

by untouched snow. If you’re interested in arranging a trip for yourselves, I’ve

linked all the details to Hida Osaka Falls in the description below.

Takayama lies one hour north of Gero and its’ old town is a beautiful time capsule of yesteryear

Japan. Although Takayama can stand firmly on its own feet, it also acts as a convenient

gateway to other attractions around Northern Gifu. Historically, the town grew in importance

when it became synonymous with highly skilled carpentry and quality timber which can still

be seen today.

After dropping our bags off at our hotel, we headed over to the morning market. Running

parallel to the Miyagawa River, this quiet market caters to both locals and tourists alike.

Most interesting of all was this latte served inside an edible cookie cup which you

could then top up with cream. And then this unique tasting Tamaten, which is like the

outside of an omelette mixed with the inside of a marshmallow. Both a sweet and savoury snack.

The old town itself is probably Takayama’s main attraction however. A set of streets,

beautifully persevered from the Edo Period, crammed with shops, food stalls and sake breweries.

Walking through these streets makes you really feel like you’ve stepped back in time, albeit

with a bunch of other people wearing futuristic clothing. I plan on doing more videos about

Gifu and Japan in general so if you’ve come this far, please subscribe with the notification

bell checked, to catch them when they’re released.

Rounding off the day, we visited my overall number 1 Japan dining experience, making it

a must visit when in Takayama. Seated at the kitchen counter was an experience in itself

with the only chef being the perfect showman and it was great to see him wield his magic

in front of our very eyes. With all other support coming his mother, they ran a tight

ship and the owner spoke to his diners in English, Japanese and German. It is strongly

suggested you pre book here, since we saw many people being turned away. It was also

a really well priced meal considering the huge quantity and quality we enjoyed.

Top notch.

- "Two Kilometres"... - "OK"

Shirakawa-Go is a real, lived in mountain settlement about an hours drive from Takayama.

Famous for its traditional gassho style farmhouses, their steep thatched roofs are said to resemble

hands meeting in prayer. Built entirely without nails the roofs are designed to withstand

large amounts of snow and have successfully done so for over 250 years.

"So we've just checking in to the Onsen Hotel.

There's about 5 minutes of instructions to figure out all the rules and things that we can do here

But we will be doing lots of that tomorrow.

At the moment, I have a bag with a mini towel in

Because inside the hotel there's another foot spa thing.

We're just gonna relax in the hotel with our foot spa.

(Slow relaxing music, horns playing)

Booking a traditional Japanese Ryokan is a perfect relaxing way to end a jam packed 2

weeks. We were now an hours drive East of Takayama in a town called Okuhida. And on

our second day here we woke up to this which made our countryside getaway even more magical.

Given that Okuhida is famous for its Onsens, we made sure to book somewhere that wouldn’t

disappoint. So this became the best onsen experience I’ve ever had.

The great thing about Japanese Ryokans is the food that is usually included with the

price. They provide the most elaborate, presentation heavy, 12 course meals you’ve ever sat through,

making both dinner and breakfast feel like an event. They are also one of the best ways

to sample authentic Japanese dishes you probably won’t find in Wagamama.

"I approve of this hotel!"

(Piano music that builds)

Our main reason for staying in Okuhida was the

Shinhotaka Ropeway, buried at the foot of the Japanese Alps. Taking you up the Hotaka

Mountain Range, includes Japan's third-highest peak.

There are 2 ropeways here and the first carry you upwards over 200 meters.

The second ropeway is the main attraction, however, being the onlydouble-deckerr gondola

in Japan. Offering one of the highest elevation gains in the country, you’ll climb 800 meters

in a matter of minutes, elevating you to an altitude over 2000 meters.

(Powerful beat music)

(Gentle sentimental piano music fades in and continues)

After getting acquainted with the view, we found a footpath that would ultimately lead

you 9 hours to the next mountain. It only took 10 minutes however to feel completely

alone and as far removed from anything as we had been on this entire trip.

(Footsteps)

Nothing else but footsteps and silence.

(Silence)

(Sentimental Piano music swells)

Being up this high in Japan and indeed high on Japan itself,

I think this is a fitting place to end our story together.

After all the blossoms,

temples,

wildlife,

cakes,

and people...

...Japan continues to surprise us.

(Gentle piano music slows and fades)

Hello friends! Can you believe that during this trip, I shot over 4,500 different videos

clips? And can you also believe that I only used 1000 of them in this vlog? Well, this

is my way of saying that I have so much more to still share about Japan, so keep an eye

out for future videos. We make travel movies from around the world, not just Japan .