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Insulated drink bottles

The 3 drink bottles we take when travelling

I use a Thermos insulated drink bottle every day because I prefer to drink water cold. It was high on my packing list because our trip was during Summer. It keeps the water cold for hours, even on very hot days.

We bought 2 additional insulated drinking bottles to use for coffee. Sometimes they were also used for iced green tea. They were Thermos brand, double walled, stainless steel and hold 470mls. With a jar of instant coffee and sachets of crema milk (always available and useful when there was no refrigerator) we had coffee with us every day.

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Happo-en Garden Tokyo

View over a gate into Happo-en Garden Tokyo

A Tokyo garden worth visiting

Happo-en Garden in Tokyo was a place we were keen to visit.

I had read several articles describing Happo-en as a quiet garden of great beauty. As it was walking distance from the Teien Art Museum, we combined it with a look at the Institute for Nature Study (an area of indigenous vegetation) and easily had our day planned.

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Japanese gardens to visit

Garden in Japan

Choosing which gardens to visit in Japan was one of the most exciting and frustrating parts of planning our trip to Japan. We have included a list below of some of our favorites.

Having careers in horticulture and a life-long interest in plants both in their natural environment and in gardens, it is not surprising our first overseas trip was to Japan. This is a country immersed in gardens - a country where gardens are an important part of everyday life.

A love of nature is evident in the smallest house block in Japan where a tree or shrub carefully pruned and shaped might include other elements such as water, moss or stones, creating a place of peacefulness and beauty. Or the unexpected public garden discovered amongst city buildings, beautiful parks immaculately maintained and Botanical gardens. Many temples and shrines also include stunning gardens worth visiting in their own right.

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Kabuki Theatre

Kabuki Theatre actor

In a tear inducing moment of Christmas 2017 our daughters gave us a cash voucher to spend on a ‘unique Japanese experience’… a thoughtful and generous gift which really tugged at our hearts!

After considering various options- sumo wrestling, sushi classes, kimono dressing, ninja training etc- we decided that a visit to a Kabuki theatre would be more suited to our tastes. Although we are not regular theatre goers, we do enjoy the opera, and had read that Kabuki was like opera without the singing. Apart from knowing it involved costumed actors with white faced make-up, we knew little about Kabuki theatre.

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Teien Art Museum Garden

Pruned and supported Pine iat Teien Art Museum

We were eager to see some Japanese gardens. One of the first days spent in Tokyo started at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum garden. The driveway leading in was lined with trees, Azaleas, Camellias, ferns and pruned shrubs. A verdant planting of layers and textures.

In front of the Museum the drive circled an oval bed, covered with lawn and plants manicured into low mounds. It was a stunning sight, a garden of pruned shrubs setting off this Art Deco building which was the former residence of Prince Asaka.

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Japan is unique

A cloud-pruned shrub at Onshi-Hakone Koen

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In Japan, beauty is everywhere you look. Kindness from a stranger, a small vase arrangement left in the bedroom of our Kyoto house, cloud-pruned trees and shrubs on every street.

Cloud-pruning is not wide-spread in Australia. Plants are usually high-priced, available to be kept in pots or as a garden specimen. It was overwhelming to see pruning using these methods as standard practice.  Trees, shrubs, private and public gardens, street trees.

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Melbourne Cup

One of the sadly frustrating realities of holidays is that you can’t see and  do everything on your list.

We wanted to watch a game of local rugby, having read about Japan’s strong domestic competition. Unfortunately, no games were scheduled during our stay…maybe next trip?

Another wish was to attend a horse race at the famed Tokyo racetrack but again we were thwarted by scheduling. Continue reading “Melbourne Cup”

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Travel tips and money saving ideas

Most of us only have a limited time on holiday – whether its 1 week or 2 months.

It is very easy to lose part of your day. Not planning ahead is the main cause.

Here are some travel tips and money saving ideas to help get the most from your holiday. Also have a look at How to prepare for your trip to Japan for further information.

As much as possible, plan where you are going, how to get there and how long it will take. It doesn’t always run smoothly but most of the time it will help.

These are some other time-savers

Insulated drink bottles

I use an insulated drink bottle every day because I prefer to drink cold water. This was high on my packing list as our trip was during Summer.

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Tokyo touchdown

After a 10 hour overnight flight, we landed mid-morning on a drizzling Narita day, still not quite believing that we were actually in Japan. Our JAL flight was a pampered delight, the crew seemed to really care about our comfort and wellbeing. We didn’t know it then but this was our first experience of Continue reading “Tokyo touchdown”

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