Mark Does Japan: The collection
1 February 2026 Filed in: Travel
The blog sucks to try to read in order since it is shown newest post first and the permanent link ids don’t increase in a simple sequence so here’s a list of links to the posts, but first an approximate map of my trip (most of it on trains except for two day tours in a taxi). I effectively flew into Asahikawa in Hokkaido (it was a domestic flight from Haneda), and flew out of Haneda.
My route for the trip in orange and hotel stops in cyan.
- Day 1 & 2: Travel to Asahikawa
- Day 3: Lazy post flight day in Asahikawa
- Day 4: Taxi tour around Biei region
- Day 5: Day trip to Cape Soya
- Day 6: Transfer to Sapporo and University of Hokkaido Gingko Avenue
- Day 7: Hill of Buddha and Mt. Moiwa Ropeway
- Day 8: Hokkaido Museum and the Sapporo Beer Museum
- Day 9: Transfer to Otaru and orientation
- Day 10: Otaru Art Base museums
- Day 11: Day trip to Kutchan
- Day 12: Final museum in Otaru and transfer to Hakodate via Kutchan
- Day 13: Goryokaku Fort and the train ticket machine
- Day 14: Hiking Mount Hakodate
- Day 15: Transfer to Hirosaki, via the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of the Lighthouse
- Day 16: Second taxi tour, Lake Juniko – Takayama Inari Shrine – Tsuru no Mai Bridge
- Day 17: Hirosaki Castle and Park (with an Apple Fair) and the Apple Orchard Railway to Owani
- Day 18: Hirosaki, Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art, Kongozan Saisho-in, and Hirosaki Neputa-no-Yakata Museum
- Day 19: Transfer to Shin-Aomori and the UNESCO World Heritage Sannai Maruyama Site
- Day 20: Transfer to Aomori, Nebuta Museum WA RASSE, and then onto Oirase Gorge
- Day 21: Hike the length of the Oirase Gorge with some additional photos
- Day 22: Rainy day in the Oirase Gorge
- Day 23: Trains to Matsumoto
- Day 24: Matsumoto: Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, and the Matsumoto City Museum of Art
- Day 25: Matsumoto Castle
- Day 26: Transfer to Kanazawa via the Kurobe Gorge
- Day 27: Lazy day in Kanazawa, National Crafts Museum, preferctural Museum of History, and Kaga-Honda Museum
- Day 28: Kanazawa, Samurai district, the Omicho Market, Kanazawa Castle Park and Kenroku-en
- Day 29: Kanazawa, Geiko day, visit the three districts and have a tour & performance at a teahouse
- Day 30: Transfer to Himeji
- Day 31: Day trip to Ashya for a visit to the Yodoko Guest House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
- Day 32: Himeji Castle
- Day 33: Transfer to Takamatsu via Naoshima
- Day 34: Takamatsu, Ritsurin Garden
- Day 35: Transfer to Hiroshima via Okayama and Koraku-en
- Day 36: Miyajima
- Day 37: Transfer to Iwakuni, Kintaikyo Bridge
- Day 38: Day trip on the Nishikigawa Seiryū Line (no stop at Seiryu Miharashi Station sadly)
- Day 39: Transfer to Nagasaki, Mt Inasa
- Day 40: Nagasaki, Peace Park, Urakami Cathedral, Dejima, Oura Cathedral, and Glover Garden
- Day 41: Transfer to Hakata, Fukuoka Art Museum
- Day 42: Day trip to Kagoshima and Sakurajima
- Day 43: Hakata, Kushida Shrine, Contemporary Art Museum, Shofukuji before N700S to Tokyo
- Day 44: Lunch with a friend in Ginza
- Day 45: Day trip to Enoshima and Kamakura using Shonan monorail
- Day 46: Tokyo autumn leaves in Ueno Park and Imperial Palace East National Gardens and observatory in Shinjuku
- Day 47: Depart for home via an afternoon in Hong Kong
Added extras