Chasing Cherry Blossoms Mar/Apr 2023

[rbjhan]

Thanks for this and your previous report !
Very enjoyable.
Like the train transport themes and the ryokans.
I have done small parts of what you do but baulk at some of the roe and shellfish options.
You are brave to do this solo

Ah but I LOVE shellfish

Japanese trains, now that's truly envy of the world. Not fxx_king QFF

 

[rbjhan]

I wasn't done yet!
That was my last night in Kyoto and I really wanted to see one night illlustration.
Nijo Castle's night session was the last to close, so I ran all the way to metro station, caught one train just in time and got out at Nijojo-mae, kept running to the gate, staff were already calling for last entry...
Made it! 8:59 when I walked in


They were not just putting up some lighting...





It's called Naked Flowers.


Clearly some work went into designing this whole thing.




As for the actual cherry blossom...




This was in fact my first time in Nijo Castle...might need to visit again during the day...

 

[rbjhan]

The next day was moving day again.
There were some stories behind it though... Originally I was going straight to Tokyo after Kyoto. But I changed my flight from QF to SQ and the new one was two days later.
So I added one night in Tokyo and was looking for somewhere else. Shiga seemed to be the logical choice, Hikone is famous for late blooming cherry trees and I found a ryokan with good price...So here we go.

Spent the morning did some shopping in Kyoto, then lunch at my favourite fast food place Yayoiken.


Automatic rice refill machine! Yes this is a thing
Basically, in this restaurant they offer unlimited rice. Pre-COVID it was just a normal rice cooker and you do your refill as you would at home.
Now you get this like an auto drink machine Choose the amount of refill you want, hit the button, et voila!

 

[rbjhan]

Checked out of Kyoto hotel, ta-q-bin the big case to Tokyo and back to Kyoto Station.
The special rapid to Hikone took about one hour.
Just outside JR Hikone Station there's the tourist info office, I asked the nice lady there to call the ryokan to pick me up - didn't feel like murdering anyone with my Japanese again

Lobby


My room was on 5F, and this was the view from the hall.


My room however was much less impressive...


Hikone city view.

 

[rbjhan]

Public bath!
Picture is from hotel website.


There's a guest lounge on level 2, free drinks and beer provided.
And free view!


Going out for a walk.

 

[rbjhan]

Didn't book dinner, so I went hunting.
This was the main street next to the castle, however many shops were already closed. Looked like they mostly got day trippers coming.


In hind sight probably should have gone to Hikone Station area...

Anyways I found one restaurant specialised in Akita Hinai Chicken.
Yakitori


Oyakodon, delicious!

 

[rbjhan]

There was also some kind of night illustration going on and it was free.
However nothing fancy like Nijo Castle, it was just some lighting

Still very pretty ofc.








Back to the lounge, it was called 城見のテラス, so literally "The Terrace where you can see the Castle". Yeah that's the little blue thing there

 

[Quickstatus]

Now you get this like an auto drink machine

Is there a diet rice option

tourist info....
I asked the nice lady there to call the ryokan to pick me up

Is it common to be able to get the accom to pick up from the train station in JPN?.

 

[Quickstatus]

tourist info....
I asked the nice lady there to call the ryokan to pick me up

Is it common to be able to get the accom to pick up from the train station in JPN?

 

[rbjhan]

Is it common to be able to get the accom to pick up from the train station in JPN?

City hotels, generally no.
Ryokans, depends. The transport info will be clearly stated on their website though. Some run a fixed schedule shuttle bus, others can pick you up on request, etc. Many people in Japan travel by train so this is common.

 

[Tonz72]

Thanks for the wonderful photos and comments. I'm planning a similar trip for 2024

 

[rbjhan]

Thanks for the wonderful photos and comments. I'm planning a similar trip for 2024

Cherry blossom?

 

[rbjhan]

Breakfast the next morning. I very much prefer a buffet than the traditional Japanese breakfast...


Took another shot outside of the ryokan entrance, this time on ground level.
Honestly, they have the best location!


As you can probably guess, there's also boat tours running

 

[rbjhan]

Well this time I decided to join! Because the ryokan gifted me two tickets
Otherwise it was 1500 Yen for 45 mins.

Interior. Shoes off and be careful not to hit your head, don't ask me how I knew


Staff was very enthusiastic about the history of the castle, too bad I could only understand a little.

Nice to look at the sakura from a different angle.


Hikone Castle


And you know what, the most beautiful cherry blossoms were at the back of the castle.


And nobody came this way...


Oh this was totally worth it.

 

[rbjhan]

Had a quick lunch (Omi beef bento) in the park


The reason I was rushing? Hikonyan ひこにゃん (mascot of Hikone) was about to start his performance!

Want to know more about Hikonyan? Wiki here.

Oh he is very cute


Played a game with the audience and I by some miracle understood almost all of it


Naturally afterwards I went straight to the gift shop and bought a Hikonyan bag charm

 

[rbjhan]

Time to leave.
Instead of heading straight to Tokyo, I had a dinner planned in Nagoya to meet a friend.

Used my IC card to go from Hikone to Maibara, but then I realised I made a mistake. To use the Shinkansen transfer gate in Maibaba meant I had nowhere to touch off the IC card...hmmm...
Ended up asking help from the staff, bought new tickets starting from Hikone and he erased the entry record on the IC card.



The Kodama Shinkansen to Nagoya was very empty.


Did you guys hear about the JR pass price hike? 70% yikes...I don't normally buy the national pass but this is insane...

 

[rbjhan]

Met my friend at Nagoya Station and we were off to dinner.
He booked the restaurant, I had no idea what we were having until we got there.

Tempura!


I was busy chatting so only a few pictures.




Chose Tencha for rice dish.


Delicious!

 

[rbjhan]

Not using JR pass meant I can take the fastest Nozomi Shinkansen to Tokyo, 100 mins from Nagoya. (No stops between Nagoya and Shin Yokohama)
Even though it was late, train was quite full though. In a way I kinda understand why they hike up the price...


Booked the newly opened Dormy Inn Ginza. So new the flowers were still there.


My luggage was already in the room. I love ta-q-bin!


Simple room. (If you have seen my other TRs this might look familiar )


Got to the hotel around 10pm so I made it!

 

[Tonz72]

Cherry blossom?

Yes, that's the main attraction. Will fit in whatever else we can around it

 

[rbjhan]

Yes, that's the main attraction. Will fit in whatever else we can around it

Be flexible, pay close attention to the sakura news updates.
As long as you are willing to travel, there will always be flowers blooming somewhere!