Japan

Bamboo Ice Cave

Originally, I had only planned on spending one day and one night in Noboribetsu. But, while I was waiting for the bus to Jigokudani, I saw a flyer in the visitor centre for some snowshoeing tours in the region. One of the tours was to a Bamboo Ice cave that

Japan

Noboribetsu Jigokudani Valley

Jigokudani means "hell's valley" and it is commonly used in Japan to refer to an area where volcanic steam vents emit from the Earth's surface. At Noboribetsu city there is perhaps one of the most famous of these valleys along with many hot spring

Japan

Hokkaido in Winter

My next destination, after skiing at Shiga Kogen, was Hokkaido. I wanted to come to this most northern province of Japan to experience life in the snow, and in that regard it didn't disappoint. I spent most of my time in Sapporo, the capital, and the streets were

Japan

Shiga Kogen

Since I was visiting Japan in the winter, I had to do some skiing during my stay. This was one of the few things I planned before arriving and it was my first major destination after my brother left. My colleague told me about Shiga Kogen ski resort, it is

Japan

Snow Monkey Park

Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, the Wild Snow Monkey Park, is a really cool place to visit. It is located in the mountains to the north-west of Tokyo, really close to Shiga Kogen ski resort. My old house mate had told me about the snow monkeys and, since I was going to the

Japan

First Visit to Tokyo

Tokyo was the final destination that I would travel together with my brother in Japan. From here he was flying back to Australia while I would still have another three weeks to explore Japan. Together, we spent a few days in Tokyo, we went to a few of the famous

Japan

First Visit to Kyoto

Our next destination, after Himeji, was Kyoto, and we spent about two and a half days here. With limited time in Kyoto, we focused on some of the most famous temples and gardens. We joined a walking tour that went through some of the oldest and most traditional areas of

Japan

Himeji Castle

After Hiroshima we spent two nights in Himeji with the in-between day being our main sight-seeing day. The main attraction here is Himeji Castle, the largest castle in Japan and one of the most well preserved, dating back to Japan's feudal period. It's also known as

Japan

Hiroshima

We flew from South Korea to Japan, landing at Hiroshima airport. We were only spending one night in Hiroshima but arrived in the morning so we had two days to explore this city. On the first day we walked through the Peace Park and passed the Atomic Bomb Dome, then

South Korea

The Palaces of Seoul

On the first two days of 2025 I visited three of the five royal palaces in Seoul. We (my brother and I) spent the afternoon of new years day at the Gyeongbokgung palace, having slept in for the morning because we stayed up late on new years eve. The next

South Korea

DMZ of the Korean Peninsula

On the last day of 2024 we joined a tour of the DMZ between south and north Korea. We were part of a large group on a bus that could fit up to 50 people, and because of the military schedules, we had to leave Seoul at 6:40 AM.

South Korea

Seoraksan National Park

While staying in Seoul, we took the opportunity to visit Seoraksan National Park. This park is located near the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, in the north of the country, part of the Taebaek Mountain range. A friend of my brother's had recommended this place to us

South Korea

Seoul

I visited South Korea for about one week. It was the middle country of my planned trip (between Taiwan and Japan), and Seoul was the main destination. We arrived a few days after Christmas and left on the third of January, in the new year. At this point, Seoul was

Taiwan

Back in Taipei

I returned to Taipei to meet my brother, who was joining me on my travels of east Asia. Our plan was to spend about a week in each of Taiwan, South Korea, and finally Japan. Most of our time together in Taiwan was spent back in Taipei. I didn'

Taiwan

Sun Moon Lake 日月潭

On my way back to Taipei I had the opportunity to do a day trip to Sun Moon Lake. Originally, I was thinking of cutting this location from my itinerary to save on time. But a friend of mine who has visited Taiwan insisted that Sun Moon Lake was worth

Taiwan

Taiwan's North and South

While I was planning the itinerary for Taiwan, I noticed I would be close to both the northern and southern ends of the country. I thought a fun achievement would be to travel to the very northernmost point of the island and then to the very southernmost point and thereby

Taiwan

Kenting National Park

Kenting National Park is an awesome place to visit and it was so much better than what I was expecting. This national park is situated in the southernmost region of Taiwan. It has nice weather and nice beaches that make it a bit of a tourist destination, although the beaches

Taiwan

Tainan

Tainan used to be the old capital of Taiwan back when the Dutch, and then the Chinese, ruled the island. As such it is an old city with huge cultural significance to the island and it is seeping with history. It has many temples, a couple of old forts, many

Taiwan

Alishan Forest

Alishan National Forest Recreation Area is located in the interior mountains of Taiwan. It is sort of like an arboretum and conservation area combined, there are sections of carefully cultivated magnolias and cherry trees while other sections are a preservation of the native forests. There are extensive trails throughout the

Taiwan

Jiufen Mountain Town

Situated on the north west coast of Taiwan, about one hour by bus out of Taipei, is a small mountain town called Jiufen. It was a gold mining town during the Japanese colonial period and has now become a tourist hot spot with the establishment of some famous tea houses.

Taiwan

Arrival in Taiwan and Taipei

Starting in December I had an extended period of leave from work, so of course I decided to go traveling. For this trip my goal is to explore East Asia and my first destination is Taiwan. I will spend a little over three weeks in Taiwan before then going to

Rome

The final destination, in my big trip across Europe with my brother, was Rome. We both have an interest and appreciation for history so, when choosing our destinations for Europe, we wanted to make sure Rome was on the agenda. A big focus of our visit to Rome was seeing

Battlefields in Belgium

A few of the most interesting places I visited in Belgium were the sites of old historic battles. We only had a few days in this country and lots to see, with the main destinations being: Brussels, a couple World War I museums and sites, and the town we used

Pravčická Gate

From Prague we did a day trip to this natural sandstone arch in Czechia called the Pravčická Gate. It is situated in the north of the country, right near the German border. It was one of the top hikes recommended in Czechia and we were excited to explore it. I

Prague

We spent three days in Prague with two days to explore the city (the third day we went to Pravčická Gate). It is a wonderful old city with many beautiful and historic buildings. It is known as the city of a hundred spires because of the many old towers. We