Need help in where to Visit in these two locations in Japan

ndwgolf

ndwgolf

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Neil Williams
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Morning guys

Me and my wife are off to Japan again in May for a 7 days photography bonanza. I have already booked the hotels which are 3 nights in Osaka, 3 nights in Hiroshima and the last night back in Osaka. My question is where would you guys recommend we should visit while staying in these locations?.

Last year we went to Kyoto, Mount Fuji and Tokyo so no need to re visit them again even though we had a fantastic time in each of those places.

What we are hoping to shoot is street and landscape photography and also take in the must see places as well.

Any help or pointers would be much appreciated
 
I love Japan, spend a lot of time over there. I haven't been towards Hiroshima yet though so I can't recommend anything there but I'd recommend you check out http://www.japan-guide.com as it has tons of info.

For Osaka, If you want to see attractions I'd recommend you get the "Osaka Amazing Pass". I'd say get the 2 day pass as that gives you a bit more time to relax. You get access to tons of attractions in Osaka, and It gives some access to metro trains.
http://www.osaka-info.jp/osp/en/ for more information. I'd recommend planning ahead where you want to go, I managed to do 12 of the attractions but you only need to do like 5 before it pays off. Some are great for cityscapes like the Umeda Skybuilding. Theres also 2 boat trips, I did one of them and got some nice photos from it (The one which goes around the bay area) although I didn't think they were quite good enough to upload.

Although its on the Amazing Pass, I would recommend not going into Osaka Castle. Visiting the Osaka Castle park is a must but going inside the castle was a huge disappointment. It's not really a castle, but a museum which just looks like one. If you go to Osaka Castle Park on a weekend you will find tons of Japanese people. Most having BBQs, some unicycling, some in cosplay etc.

Umeda Sky building is awesome at night (but also nice in the day if you can't fit a night visit in).

Osaka also has the tallest building in Japan, the Abeonbashi Terminal building. You have to pay to go to the top floor, I advise going early as queues can get long. I didn't pay as the queue was too big, instead I went in side the stores and went up as high as we could go for free. Views were nice but not the best for photography as we couldn't go close to the windows, so next time I'm going early to get up the top.

Around Osaka for Street photography, there's Dotonbori. Go at night, and you will get some great steet photography, and food. Plus the river view is nice, and you can take some nice photos if you take a tripod with you. It merges into some other places which are good for street photography as well.

Outside of Osaka, there is Nara. Its a deer park so not necessarily awesome for landscape but I have seen some nice landscapes of that area before. There is also Minoo Park. Never been but heard good things, Google it to see if you like the landscape/waterfall there.

If I think of anywhere good for landscapes, I'll post again.
 
Wow fantastic Alison. Thank you very much for taking the time to point these places out. I will definitely check them out and will hopefully be able to post up some nice pictures when I get back.
 
Alison another forum member on the Leica forum recommend Takayama instead of Hiroshima so I booked this;
This is what I have booked;


Wednesday 13th May Day 1 Osaka staying in the Mitsui Garden Hotel Osaka Premier….booked already

· Sightseeing in Osaka

Thursday 14th May Day 2 Osaka staying in the Mitsui Garden Hotel Osaka Premier….booked already

· Sightseeing in Osaka

Friday 15th May Day 3 Takayama Staying at the Hotel Associa Takayama Resort booked already

· Train from Osaka to Takayama

· Sightseeing in Takayama


Saturday 16th May Day 4 Takayama Staying at the Hotel Associa Takayama Resort….booked already

· Sightseeing in Takayama

Sunday 17th May Day 5 Kanazawa Staying at the Hotel Mystays Kanazawa ….booked already

· Leave hotel early and take a bus to Shirakawa spend most of the day in Shirakawa-go sightseeing

· Take another bus to Kanazawa


Monday 18th May Day 6 Kanazawa Staying at the Hotel Mystays Kanazawa ….booked already

· Sightseeing in Kanazawa

Tuesday 19th May Day 7 Osaka

· Half day more in Kanazawa

· Train to Osaka

Night in Osaka staying at the Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport booked already


Home
 
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Just been making some inquiries about taking a taxi from Takayama to Kanazawa stopping off in Shirakawa for a few hours photography and they want around 200 quid........... Is it me or does that sound a wee bitty expensive?
 
I enjoyed both Takayama and Hiroshima, but seeing as you've booked Takayama I won't comment on Hiroshima :)

I've been to Takayama twice, the first was in 2010 and then again last summer. In 2010 it didn't seem like it was a popular tourist spot; we didn't see any other foreigners, however last year it was filled with foreigners (well it was noticeable compared to 2010). They may have been there for the Takayama hand-held firework festival though.

There's a lot to photograph in Takayama, temples, traditional buildings, mountains, cult sites of worship, old traditional buildings, one funny statue, and the food!

You can see most of Takayama in a day, but if photographing then take your time and enjoy the two days.

Mountains near Hida Folk Village
IMG_0719s.jpg



Worldwide HQ of Sukyo Mahikari, Takayama. They offer a free saucer of sake on exiting the building. Quite a creepy atmosphere inside but quite cool to have a quick look.
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You must try Hida Beef, it's expensive but it's the best beef I've ever eaten.
IMG_20140808_195606801.jpg

https://www.google.com/maps/place/郷...2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x8ddc0f51af3c9c88

Things to do in Takayama:

Eat Hida Beef
Try Takayama Sake (there's 8 sake breweries in Takayama all within a 1 mile radius, see if you can try them all like I did :))
Visit Hida Folk village
Walk the 10 mins from Hida Folk Village to Sukyo Mahikari it's an experience
Try sake icecream with real sake in it, there's one icecream shop that serves it with a warning not to drive afterwards!
There's a few big temples in Takayama, one of them 'cheat' with the goshuin and use ready-made goshuin.
There's two markets in the centre of Takayama the morning market is the bigger of the two.
Try and find the 'Golfer' statue (Hint: it's near the Hida-Beef restaurant) You'll know you've found the statue when you see it :) Not many locals seem to know of it though.


Kanazawa

I visited there last year also, very nice place to go. The main place to see in Kanazawa is Kenrokuen Garden, it's one of the best gardens in the whole of Japan. Other places to visit while there are the food market, Kanazawa Castle, and the 21st Centuary Museum of Contemporary Art (I didn't think I'd like it but was pleasantly surprised.

Kanazawa Station - the entrance is shaped like a Torii Gate.

IMG_0728s.jpg


Kenrokuen Garden
IMG_0772s.jpg


And if you are wondering what a Goshuin is...http://justburrus.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/signed-and-sealed-memories.html
Not my blog but it explains Goshuincho very well.

As for taxi from Takayama to Shirakawa, the distance is 48km each way and the taxi driver will probably wait for you the whole time so you're paying for his wait time too no doubt. Both places are in the middle of nowhere :) When you're in Osaka make sure to try Osaka Okonomiyaki
 
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