We based ourselves in Daejeon for a history lesson: We went to see some remains of the Baekje Kingdom, around 18 BC to 660 AD one of the three Kingdoms of Korea, in Buyeo and Gongju. In the fortress of Buyeo, Busosanseong, the Baekje Army had somewhat of their own “300”: A Baekje army of 5000 man stood against 50.000 Chinese soldiers in 660 AD, and was only finally defeated in the 5th attack. There is a small shrine in honor of the…
Miyajima is a small island, just over half an hour by train plus a ten minute ferry ride away from Hiroshima. It’s home to the famous “floating gate”, several shrines and temples (Daisho-in must be one of the most beautiful temples we’ve seen so far, the location on the foot of the mountain, and so many little gems to discover, it’s just adorable) and Mount Misen, which is great hiking terrain. Like Nara, a lot of tame deer run around freely…
Out now, the new real-life version of Temple Run. Your mission: see as many temples, shrines, gardens and groves as possible in Kyoto and Nara. We gave it a try. Here’s what we found: Level one: The Southern Higashiyama Walk First challenge: Wandering around crowded Kiyomizu-dera. We won a bonus and got a free tour by three Japanese girls, students from Osaka who want to practice their English by guiding foreign tourists. We mastered the walk through pitch black Tainai-me-guri, and…
