Osaka Castle

The Osaka Castle is an impressive piece of architecture sitting on top of a vast land platform bordered by sheer walls. Surrounding the majestic castle there was a moat. If you are feeling… Continue reading →

Izushi Castle

Izushi Castle, sitting on top of a hill, is a quiet town with historical relics and a Shinto shrine. The old houses remind visitors of the times in the Edo period where the… Continue reading →

Ten Panoramas – Cherry Blossoms Edition

B&W Bears are back to upload the final updates to the Cherry Blossom series! Due to heavy stress at work, our blog has suffered from a wide gap between the previous post and… Continue reading →

Toys Nostalgia

Cherry Blossoms Trip Part VII The Arima Toy Museum is located next to the Arima Hot Springs (有馬溫泉) in the northern suburbs of Kobe, Japan. Behind Mount Rokko (六甲山), the Arima Hot Springs… Continue reading →

The Temple & the Deer – Cherry Blossoms in Nara

Cherry Blossoms Trip Part Six Nara (奈良), in ancient Japan, used to be the imperial capital, during the times conveniently known as the Nara period (AD 710-784). Those were the days long before… Continue reading →

Kobe Nightscape – 10 times the beauty!

Kobe the seaport is the place to go for night scenery in Japan – you may say why it is not Tokyo or Osaka for such purpose. Perhaps this post can convince you!… Continue reading →

Bridge in Heaven

Cherry Blossom Trip Part 4 See previous posts: Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto, Scenery by the Moon Crossing River & Japanese capital of food in Osaka Overlooking the Miyazu Bay in the northern suburbs… Continue reading →

Dotonbori in Osaka – Eaters’ Paradise

Cherry Blossoms Trip Part 3 This is a break from the “Cherry Blossoms Trip” series, which previously featured the Hanami festival in Kyoto and the scenery at Arashiyama. I have never been to… Continue reading →

Hanami – Cherry Blossoms at Kyoto

Cherry Blossoms Trip Part I Hanami (花見, literally “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. We travelled to the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe district in Japan to view the impressive sight of… Continue reading →

The Moon Crossing Bridge at Arashiyama

Cherry Blossoms Trip Part 2 This is the second in a series of ten posts of our trip to the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe district in Japan in the season of Hanami. Click here to visit… Continue reading →