Holiday

Why Osaka and Kyoto?

Having been to Tokyo and the surrounding highland areas, a trip to the southern part of Honshu would be refreshing.

From hindsight, it was probably a safe bet. Intuitively, it did not seem alright to travel close to Fukushima vicinity. Being cautious was a right move. A couple of months after we returned from Japan, reports of radioactivity resurfaced.

We did not want to take the easy way out by joining a package tour. This meant familiarising with places of interest and foreign names. But DIY free and easy tours requires planning before and during the trip. When you gather more information or the unexpected crops up, the schedule has to be altered.  Being flexible and easy going helps. It's a holiday, not a marathon. On balance, it was an enjoyable trip. We did it!

The timing could have been better. We were in the middle of hot summer. Except some cloudy and drizzly days, sweltering heat and high humidity was the order of the day. However, that also meant there were vacancies at pretty good hotels before the peak season from late August to early October.