We visited Japan for the first time, last Summer. This second visit felt a long time coming. But we have finally arrived: September 2019, in Tokyo.
A typhoon went through Tokyo a few days before we landed. Our flight was very good, no turbulence or heavy rain. However when we landed at Narita Airport, we disembarked on the runway and were bused to the arrivals area.
Before arriving in Japan, we read a lot of articles about places to visit. One that jumped to the top of our list was Aoyama Flower Market in Tokyo, a flower shop with a cafe. The photos showed beautiful flower displays and creatively displayed food served in a cosy area dripping with plants. This was a place we had to visit!
Kyoto Botanical Gardens are located north of the city.
There are thousands of plants and many different areas to discover within these gardens which are one of the oldest in Japan. Founded in 1924 and displaying 12,000 plant species from Japan and other countries, you can wander through garden areas of Roses, Bamboo, Hydrangeas, Japanese Iris, Lotus and European style plants.
One of the transport options we chose on our first trip to Japan was hiring a car.
We looked at several remote areas when planning where to go. It is a small but highly populated country and it looked like travelling between cities would be easy with the JR Rail Pass. A car, however, would give us the opportunity to escape crowded cities and see the countryside, as well as freedom to explore areas where public transport access was limited.
