There is no a lot notifications about it, but this is the view you will see when you’ll arrive to Miyajima island during these days.

On official Miyajima island website there is null information about this. At least on English version of website. But there are some pictures on their Facebook page. So follow them to see the latest updates.

Unfortunately this gate is on reconstruction from June 2019. It is expected to be reopen again just during Tokyo Summer Olympic games in August, 2020.

Of course you still can go to Miyajima island, as there many other things to do besides this gate. I just wanted to protect you from some disappointment.

Alternatives

Fortunately there are some alternatives if you still want to see floating gates.

1. Jinja shrine gate, Hakone

This gate probably is most accessible as most tourists are visiting Hakone anyway.

It is just in front of Jinja shrine on the lake shore in Hakone so there is no need for more detailed directions.

2. Shirahige Shrine gate, Lake Biwa

Another nice gate is located on the shore of Lake Biwa.

This shrine is located about 30 minutes walk from Omi-Takashima train station.

How to get to Omi-Takashima

It takes about 40 minutes to get to Omi-Takashima station from Kyoto and then about 30 minutes (3km / 2 miles) walk to the shrine from station.

This is screenshot from hyperdia site where you can check trains scheduler. Enter OmiTakashima (without hyphen) while entering name at hyperdia site.

3. Oouo Shrine gates

This shrine is away from most popular tourist routes. But it will be on your way if you are visiting Kyushiu island and especially Nagasaki.

Oouo Shrine gates’ located in the sea (Ariake sea). This is main difference from Jinja shrine and Shirahige Shrine gates which are located in the lakes. Oouo Shrine gates look different during low and high tide.

How to get to Oouo Shrine

You can drive or take a train to Tara. It is about 800 meters or 10 minutes walk from Tara train station.

It takes about 1 hour by train from Saga to Tara.

4. Sakurai Shrine Gate

This shrine is famous because of “couple rock” located in sea close to shore. Rocks (Meotoiwa) are tied with shimenawa rope and form a symbol of happy marriage.

The beach (Futamigaura Beach) is also one of Top 100 sunset beaches in Japan.

This gate is located in the West not far from Fukuoka, but it is not so easy accessible by public transport.

This gate is the only I haven’t visited yet so I can’t confirm information I found about public transport. Here route examples I found:

• take Showa Bus/Nishi-no-ura Line and disembark at ”Nishi-no-ura (Futamigaura Iriguchi)” and walk 23 minutes
• take Showa Bus/ Nokita Line, disembark at ”Imuta” and walk 30 minutes
• Take at train to JR Chikuzen Maehara Station, then take a Showa bus (No Kita Line) to “Iishida” bus stop and 30 minutes walk from the bus stop

Please comment bellow I you took any of these routes and succesfuly reached Futamigaura Beach.

I hope these recommendations will help you to enjoy your holidays in Japan. Please let me know if you find any other floating gates. I could include it into my list.

Photo credits:

• Jinja shrine gate photo – http://www.kotodamaya.com/hakone-jinja/
• Shirahige Shrine gate photo – https://www.facebook.com/roelhunting
• Oouo Shrine gate – 松永二三子 and アマチュアカメラマン
• Sakurai Shrine gate – Wikipedia

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Here are some links to help you prepare for your trip to Japan:

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Here are five perfect destinations for first-time solo travellers.

1. New Zealand

A good way to ease yourself into the travelling experience is to go somewhere where you speak the lingo! New Zealand is a fun, friendly place which attracts lots of adventurous tourists. Show off your wild side by exploring underground caves, plummeting through the air on a bungee jump or soaring through the skies with a skydive.

The small size of the country means it’s easy to get around. You can be in a stunning wild natural park one minute and a thriving city the next.

2. Iceland

If you want somewhere a bit closer to home, try an unusual European destination like Iceland. You’ll find that all the locals speak English, so it’s very easy to get around and organise your trip.

A long weekend break in Europe is a great way to get to know someone better and the bizarre volcanic landscapes and magnificent waterfalls make a great talking point!

3. Costa Rica

For an exotic beach destination, head to Costa Rica. It’s the most visited destination for tourists in Latin America, so you’ll have plenty of chance to meet other travellers during your stay. You can relax on peaceful beaches, trek through wildlife-rich mountains and explore ancient volcanoes.

Costa Rica is known for being one of the happiest places on earth and you’ll find that people are more than willing to chat and hang out.

4. Japan

Japan is very tourist-friendly and easy to get around, so not knowing the language won’t hold you back from exploring all the amazing things the country has to offer. A lot of Japan is made up of verdant hills and towering mountains, like the famous Mount Fuji. But Tokyo is a place like no other, with its futuristic lifestyle coupled with stunning shrines, temples and parks for cherry blossom viewing.

5. USA

America has something to suit everyone and, as everyone speaks English, it won’t be hard to make new friends! Rent a car and take a road trip or hop on a bus and backpack along the coast.  Spend a weekend in iconic New York city, visit infamous natural phenomenon like the Grand Canyon or party spots like Las Vegas, you won’t find it hard to create an amazing travel experience to suit your taste.

If you’re a first-time traveller going solo, you may feel nervous and apprehensive about going away. As long as you’re sensible, pay a lot of attention to your safety and pick the right travel location, you should come back with amazing memories of a fantastic trip. Try out one of these destinations for the chance to meet interesting people around the globe. 

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To be honest I am not big lover of aquariums or zoo. My preference is to see animals in their natural environment.  According to the study done at Okinawa aquarium whale sharks live for only average 16 months in captivity. Naturally they can live up to 70 years. So personally I probably won’t be visiting any of these aquariums and would prefer to swim with whale sharks again or just go for whale watching tour.

7. Polar Ocean World, Qingdao, China

According Wikipedia it should be two whale sharks at Polar Ocean World, but I didn’t find any other sources confirming that and on their web page did see only pictures of Beluga whales, but nothing about whale sharks.

6. Yantai Aquarium, China

Yantai Aquarium is another aquarium with no much information, except huge concern from conservationists as there are 5 whale sharks in very tiny 27 meters by 16 meters (88 feet by 52 feet) aquarium.  It is hard to imagine 10-15 meters (30-50 feet) long adult whale shark in such “box”.

5. Kenting National Museum of Biology and Aquarium, Taiwan

At Kenting National Museum of Biology and Aquarium there is aquarium called The Open Ocean Aquarium. There is no information about measurements except it is largest aquarium in Taiwan and besides 13 dolphins it features one 16 meters (52 feet) long whale shark.

4. Ioworld Aquarium, Kagoshima, Japan

Because all official information about Ioworld Aquarium is in Japanese it is hard to find precise numbers. According online reviews the aquarium isn’t too big and presentations are in Japanese, but it is not crowded and features single whale shark.

3. Kaiyukan Aquarium, Osaka, Japan

The largest tank “Pacific Ocean” in Kaiyukan aquarium is 9 metres (30 feet) deep and holds 5.4 million liters (1.4 million US gallons) of water.  Besides whale shark you can see Manta ray, Bluefin tuna, Spotted eagle ray in the “Pacific Ocean”.

2. Churaumi Aquarium, Okinawa, Japan

The main tank at Churaumi  Aquarium called the Kuroshio Sea, holds 7.5 million liters (1.98 million US gallons) of water.  When the aquarium was opened in 2002 it had largest acrylic glass panel in the world measuring 8.2 by 22.5 metres (27 by 74 feet) with a thickness of 60 centimetres (24 inches).
There are 3 whale sharks in aquarium at the moment.

1. Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, US

At Georgia Aquarium is located largest tank in the World. Ocean Voyager holds 24 million liters (6.3 million US gallons) of water and was specially designed to house whale sharks, the largest fish species in the world.  At the moment there are 4 whale sharks in the aquarium and can watch them live on web cam or … you can swim with whale sharks in aquarium. A swim is guaranteed and you don’t need to worry about sea sickens.

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View Top places for cherry blossom viewing in Japan in a larger map

The list is in alphabetic order. You can just pick one which one is closer to your location by looking to above map. So, lets start.

• Himeji Castle

  When: Early April
  Castle is in walking distance from Himeji station. There are hundreds of cherry trees at castle grounds. Free admission to the outer castle grounds.

  

   

• Hirosaki Castle

  When: Late April to early May
  Over 2500 cherry trees with picnic areas, boat rental, trees illuminations at night.

  

   

• Kema Sakuranomiya Park, Osaka

  When: Early April
  Admission free entry. Almost 5000 cherry trees along Okawa River for several kilometers.

  

   

• Philosopher’s Path, Kyoto

  When: Early April
  Admission free entry. Path along canal between Ginkakuji and Nanzenji Temples lined by hundreds of cherry trees.

  

   

• Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo

  When: Early April
  Close to Shinjuku Station. Entry 200 yen. This park is very popular between locals and it can be very busy, but you will love it and atmosphere in the park.

  

   

• Yoshinoyama

  When: Early to mid April
  Mount Yoshino is very famous for cherry blossom viewing. There are approximately 30,000 cherry trees on the mountain.

  

It is six but not five spot, but I think more choice is better
Check this list if it is still not enough for you.

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Are planning trip to Japan? You should buy Japan rail pass for your trip.  If you read previous post about travel cost in Japan you already should know that big part of your travel budget will be spend on any kind of transport in Japan. But by buying Japan rail pass your saving would be significant. You can save about 30-40% by using JR pass instead of buying train ticket each time you want to go somewhere.

You can just check online the prices for the routes you are interested if you already have your trip to Japan itinerary ready. The best site to do it at hyperdia.com. This site links routes of all public and private railway companies in Japan and it is best to plan you trip. Important to know the JR pass is not valid on “Nozomi” and “Mizuho” bullet trains (shinkansen) so you should uncheck check box on route search screen for these trains as it is shown in picture below:

Here is table with train schedule during my Japanese adventure:

Train tickets in Japan consist of two parts – route fare and seat fare.
Route fare is a constant value on that route while seat fear depends on which train you are taking (shinkansen or express), are you reserving ticket in advance(reserved, unreserved or sleeper car).

In my case full journey on railway could cost ¥44790 for unreserved seats or ¥46340 with reserved. You don’t need reserve tickets for local trains, but you will need to make reservation for raiding shinkansens as I missed one train because I didn’t have reservation and was no seat available when I showed up in train station. So by my calculation I would need to spend ¥46340. By todays currency exchange rate it would be 600USD. But..I saved almost 250USD because I bought Japan rail pass in advance.  You can do the same.
There are two types of JR pass – ordinary and green. The green pass is like first class ticket, but seats on ordinary class cars were very comfortable and enough space for my legs, so I don’t know any reason why should pay more for. 7-day ordinary JR pass costs ¥28300, while the same duration green pass costs ¥37800. JR passes are 7-day, 14-day and  21-day duration so you need to plan in advance to make most of your rail pass and to know which kind of pass to buy.

It is very important to know you must buy Japan Rail Pass before your arrival to Japan. Actually you are buying not pass itself but exchange order and while in Japan you must turn that order to one of the JAPAN RAIL PASS exchange offices with your passport to get JR pass. At the time of exchange you can specify the day you want to start to use your JR pass.

Exchange Orders for Japan rail pass can be purchased only from JR authorized sales offices and agents. The list can be found here.

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It won’t be big surprise for you if you have been traveling in countries like Russia as you could see similar toilets there too.
Don’t worry if you afraid you don’t know how to use it.  In most public toilets you’ll find both (Japanese and Western) style toilets. In hotels there are Western style toilets so won’t be any problems to use it there.
It was another main issue with public toilets in Japan. Toilet paper usually is not provided in public washrooms. Paper towels or dryers are not always available too. So always carry paper tissues with you in case you’ll need to use public toilet.

Check here for instructions how to use Japanese style toilet.

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Is it very expensive? Cherry blossom season is coming in Japan and a lot of people would love to visit Japan, but afraid it can be very expensive.

Actually it is not so expensive. Except transport. I want o list expenses I had on my 10 days/9 nights visit to Japan. It was couple years ago and prices probably are up now, but it still can be good for orientation.

Currency exchange rates you can find at XE.
In Tokyo I had where to stay, so it didn’t cost anything, but in Hakone and Hiroshima I think it is possible to find cheaper accommodation to keep average price at ¥2000 per night
I didn’t include souvenirs or some snacks to this list, but that doesn’t cost much.
As you can see the price for 10 days visit would be around 1200USD/900EUR, but more then half of it is price for transport and JR pass saves at lot. It would be even more expensive without it. If you are staying in one place and not alone as I was (you can save on accommodation) the price will be half of this and that won’t look so expensive.

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But what is best time to go where?

It depends what you want to see and how many things you want to see.

If you are up for cherry blossom viewing, so it is much easier to find out what is best time to visit Japan.

Of course the time can be different each year, but usually cherry blossom bloom from late March until end of April.

Here are average dates from previous years to make your planning easier http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_when.html.

The time also can vary depending to which place you are going because Japan is not such small country after all. Here is a list of top 5 most popular places for cherry blossom viewing with best time to do it in that place. Have a nice viewing. It is really wonderful experience.

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