We didn’t fall in love with Hokkaido at first sight, as we did with the rest of Japan. It is the most isolated one of the main Japanese islands, has the weakest traffic connections, isn’t as organized and efficient as the rest of Japan, its trends in tourism are old-fashioned, simply- everything isn’t as you would expect from Japan.

Even though my Last Year’s Favorites is an annual post that I intended to write at the beginning of each year, last year saw it in February- now, it’s April, but this kind of post seems more convenient than ever.

The last stop of our ten-day road trip around Japan was the town of Okayama- which was our base for exploring the island of Naoshima. Naoshima was a lucky discovery because of Yayoi Kusama’s iconic pumpkin and Okayama was a lucky discovery because of Naoshima, as the closest town that offered moderately priced accommodation.

Kobe was the fourth stop of our Japan road trip, chosen as a midpoint between Iga and Okayama, alluring because of its alleged seaside vibe all the guides talked about.

I’ve been building up expectations for Iga and Shigaraki ever since we booked our trip to Japan in January last year. I expected it to be pottery heaven, picturesque yet unspoiled by tourism.

The second stop of our Japan road trip was Nagoya, unassuming town according to guides- but, as we learned by experience, nothing in Japan is unassuming.

In spring, we visited Japan again. Even though Japan was never really a place I dreamed of visiting before our friends moved to Tokyo and invited us to stay, what we experienced there was so intoxicating that we wanted to deepen that experience, or at least re-live it.

Deciding on what to visit in Kyoto in just a day can be overwhelming, so we simplified things by heading to eastern Kyoto and simply wandering around Nanzen-ji temple complex. A walk from Keage Station to the temple grounds is a romantic one- it starts with an abandoned railway track lined with cherry trees, where we were not the only ones taking photos of the blossoms.

Osaka ended up on our itinerary as a more affordable solution to staying in Kyoto, whose temples and shrines we wanted to visit in the peak of the cherry blossom season. We stayed in Osaka for 4 nights, making day trips to Kyoto and Nara, but ultimately we got to enjoy the city more than we expected, considering it our temporary home, and deciding on first soaking in the atmosphere and then sightseeing when we felt like it.

Have you ever heard of Kanazawa? A small Japanese town on the shore of the Sea of Japan, with a population of about 500.000? I haven't, until I started planning our trip to Japan, and it turned out to be one of the sweetest surprises and highlights of our trip! It caught my attention when I read that one of Japan's three most beautiful landscape gardens was actually in Kanazawa, 3 hours train drive west of Tokyo.

Chrysanthemums' scent-

In the old town of Nara,

Many ancient Buddhas.

-Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

If I imagine cherry blossoms' scent instead of chrysanthemums' scent (we visited Nara in early spring after all), this poem by 17-th century haiku master paints the picture I have of this town perfectly. It is a picture of the temples and shrines surrounded by thick forest, deer wandering the grounds of Nara park, colorful array of spring blossoms, and the tranquility presiding over it all despite the constant buzz of tourists and worshippers.