Japan

Antoine's view

Lost in translation: a journey to Japan is always an adventure, a challenge: Letf-hand driving , very few people speak a language other than Japanese outside the larger centers, often confusing traditions and gastronomy... But the journey is the more fascinating , and the country offers so many beautiful visions !

On Honshu, the largest island, taking the Shinkansen to the southwest, one finds Kyoto , Hiroshima (and the neighboring island of Miyajima with the famous " torii ") ; going west, the spectacular Mount Fuji area , and to the northeast, Nikko, lake Chuzenji, the Tohoku province, and the beautiful bay of Matsushima with its 260 islands.

I have not yet had the opportunity to visit the island 's northernmost Hokkaido , but it is said to be wonderful , albeit a little cold : polar ice reaches its north shores in the heart of winter.

We especially appreciated the two large islands to the south-west : Shikoku , south of the "inland sea" is the island of the 88 temples , connected by a traditional pilgrimage. Finally the island of Kyushu , as the greater part of the archipelago, shows a very rugged terrain ; the city of Nagasaki, despite its dark past, is beautiful a the season of cherry blossoms , the hanami ; Kagoshima, with its active volcano , is called the Japanese Naples ; and the Beppu area is known for its brighly colored " hells", or jigoku, dazzling hot springs ; and my secret place in the heart of Kyushu is the pretty valley of Kurokawa where, along a river , many hot springs feed the onsen ( baths ) of traditional inns, called ryokan.