Japan - In Shinkansen we trust

Across the country from west to east, visiting Shimonoseki, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Osaka, Kyoto and Takayama before finally arriving in Tokyo.

  • Ride the bullet

    Time to board the Shinkansen, the high-speed train with speeds up to 300 km/h.

    Kokura train station

  • Way of the exploding fist

    Miyajima has been worshiped as a divine island since ancient times. The shrine was built on the seashore where the tide ebbs and flows. First built in 593, then rebuilt in 1168.

    Torii gate at Miyajima island

  • Master of magic

    A sushi overdose is unavoidable during a visit to Japan. This man prepared amazing dishes.

    Having sushi at Sushi-tei, Hiroshima

  • Epicenter

    The exhibition building with a beautiful green dome was completed in 1915. In 1945 the first nuclear bomb to be used against mankind detonated 580 meters above it.

    A-bomb Dome, Hiroshima

  • Southbound

    I hope this is the right one.

    Taking the tram in Hiroshima

  • Shogun cribs

    The construction of the castle was completed in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the infamous founder of the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan for 300 years.

    Nijo castle in Kyoto

  • A moment of reflection

    Nishi Hongan-ji temple

  • Easy living

    Staying at a traditional ryokan means wearing yukata robes and sleeping on futons on the hard tatami mats.

    Staying at a ryokan in Kyoto

  • Waterfront

    Takano river in Gion, Kyoto

  • Silence is golden

    Nobody will notice if I scratch off some of the gold.

    Rokuon-ji Temple in Kinkaku, Kyoto

  • Hands up

    The Kaji-bashi bridge across river Miyagawa has two funny statues, a bronze recreation of art by Yoroku Taniguchi from the Edo period.

    Takayama