My exchange semester in Japan

I will share my experience throughout my exchange Semester in Japan on this site. The goal is to compile a list of interesting travel and sightseeing spots. I will also include some interesting facts or historical background information such in a way that this page could be seen as a short wiki with some personal sitenotes. Also take a look at My Traveldiary in Japan in which i described my time in Japan in a more personal manner.

0. Compilations

Compilation: Garden and parks in Tokyo

Compilation: Garden and parks in Tokyo

This is a compilation of gardens and parks. There are certainly more worth seeing but i will share my impressions…

Compilation: Viewpoints of Tokyo

Compilation: Viewpoints of Tokyo

This compilation lists some places which promise to provide a nice city view. The ratings are my personal opinion and…

1. Tokyo

The metropolitian Tokyo actually consists of many wards which in turn consists of many cities which were historically merged after the end of World War II. These wards have an individual administration and town hall. The following posts shall give you a small summarized overview on the different wards and their potential sightseeing spots. This content is  not comprehensive enough and only covers spots i actually visited and believe to be worth mentioning.

Ward: Taito

Ward: Taito

In my personal opinion Taito is the best wards out of all wards in Tokyo, though of course i might…

Ward: Minato

Ward: Minato

Minato is located in the south of Tokyo and is home to various embessies and domestic companies such as Honda,…

Ward: Shibuya

Ward: Shibuya

Shibuya is probably one of the more famous wards in Tokyo. Hearing that name, one of the world’s most busy…

Ward: Shinjuku

Ward: Shinjuku

Today the in the west located Shinjuku ward is the commercial and administrative centre of Metropolitian Tokyo. A variety of…

Ward: Chiyoda

Ward: Chiyoda

Seen as a wide green area on google maps in central Tokyo is the Imperial Garden and together with the…

Ward: Bunkyo

Ward: Bunkyo

Bunkyo (文京) uses the Kanji for culture (文) and capital (京) and indeed has some very fancy aristocratic gardens and…

Ward: Chuo

Ward: Chuo

Formerly known as the downtown area of Edo-Tokyo and main commercial center, the Chuo Ward continues to build on this…

Ward: Meguro

Ward: Meguro

Meguro is more of a residential area in the South West of Tokyo.  Contrary to its name, Meguro station is…

Ward: Koto / Edogawa

Ward: Koto / Edogawa

These two wards are located east from central Tokyo across the Sumida river (Koto) and further east across the Arakwa…

2. Specials

Spots or Topics i deemed to deserve an extra posts with a more in depth explanation or trivia.

Tohoku Sandai Matsuri

Tohoku Sandai Matsuri

The Tohoku region is located north from the Kanto region. There is a very unique week called the Sandai Matsuri…

Fushimi Inari

Fushimi Inari

If you wander around Japan for a while you will realize that there are a lot of smaller shrines which…

Gotokoji Temple

Gotokoji Temple

The Manekin Neko – beckoning cat – has many different stories of origin. The most popular story takes place at…

Asakusa

Asakusa

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Asakusa grew as an entertainment district. However after the World War II it lost…

Ueno

Ueno

Ueno is a district in the Taito ward and the area where i used to live during my exchange semester.…

Diary: Tokaido Trail

Diary: Tokaido Trail

The Tokaido trail is a historic path connecting Kyoto and Tokyo along the coastline. It consist of 53 stations and…

3. Trips

Possible one day trips around Tokyo which you can do at the weekend.

Trip: Kawaguchiko and Fuji-Q Themepark

Trip: Kawaguchiko and Fuji-Q Themepark

The most iconic picture of Mt. Fuji is probably the one where you can see a pagoda in front and Mt. Fuji in the back…

Trip: Hiking Mt. Takao

Trip: Hiking Mt. Takao

Mount Takao is a 1 hour train ride away from Tokyo and is therefore the nearest and most easiest accessible mountain around Tokyo. There are…

Trip: Nokogiriyama and Nihonji temple

Trip: Nokogiriyama and Nihonji temple

The Nihonji temple area is a big temple complex at the 330 meter tall Nokogiriyama mountain. Although the opening hour states that it is only…

Trip: Nikko and Chuzenji lake

Trip: Nikko and Chuzenji lake

The corresponding diary and impressions can be found here. Nikko is a city around 140km north from Tokyo however when you talk about going to…

Trip: Climbing Mt. Fuji

Trip: Climbing Mt. Fuji

Mount Fuji is THE mountain in Japan. It is 3776 m tall, is surrounded by flat land and has this particular snow cap which makes…

Trip: Ashikaga flowerpark

Trip: Ashikaga flowerpark

Wisteria trees are beside cherry trees a very popular kind of plant in Japan. You can see those and many other flowers in the Ashikaga…

Trip: Okinawa

Trip: Okinawa

Okinawa is an island southwest from the mainland and was the former Ryukyu kingdom until 1879. It was a very important strategical location during World…

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Trip: Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone

To complete this list of short trips around Tokyo the destinations of Yokohama, Kamakura and Hakone should be mentioned here as well. I only passed…

4. Kyoto

I grouped Kyoto’s sights in 4 different areas which can be used as a baseline for a day to day itinerary plan.

Kyoto – central

Kyoto – central

This post describes the sightseeings north from Kyoto station, west  from Kamo River and east…

Kyoto – east

Kyoto – east

This post will cover the Higashi-Yama area South from the Gion district and east of…

Kyoto – northeast

Kyoto – northeast

This post covers the area north of the Gion area / Higashiyama station. Heian Shrine…

Kyoto – west

Kyoto – west

This post will mostly cover the Arashiyama area which has a lot to offer on…

Kyoto – Vibes

Kyoto – Vibes

This post includes some images which depicts Kyoto’s atmosphere and which i couldn’t categorize in…

Trips: Osaka, Nara, Nagoya

Trips: Osaka, Nara, Nagoya

This is definetely not extensive enough but i still want to outline some of the…

5. Reviews

Monthly reviews and thoughts while being abroad.