Fireworks

I played a little with (Macromedia) Fireworks today…

Izushi

Izushi is a thirty minute bus ride from Kinosaki. It’s another small town dubbed “little Kyoto”, complete with a canal, a dozen or so shrines, wooden houses and shops selling Japanese snacks and wares. To the south, there is a small hill with a path lined with flaming orange torii gates that lead to an aged, half-demolished castle, from which one can get a nice view of the town and surrounding rice fields. Thick redwood-like trees abound, and there is the constant bird-calls of hawks black kites (see edit) that circle above.

Izushi is most famous for soba, which are noodles made from buckwheat. There are many restaurants specialising in soba; one could be forgiven for thinking it’s all there is here. I spent only a few hours in the town, but would love to return in another season.

Kinosaki

Kinosaki is a small town close to the Japan sea about two and a half hours from Osaka by slow train; it’s famous for its hot springs. It is a great place to visit if you have the time.

You need to stay for the night, enjoy at least one of the half-dozen public hot springs, relax in yukata at a Japanese traditional inn, take a stroll through the streets in geta (wooden footwear), and most importantly, enjoy a banquet of crab in the comfort of your own tatami room.

Add to that: go for a hike in the nearby hills, peruse some of the souvenir stores selling wooden crafts, gawk at the prices for fresh crab on sale along the streets, eat tamago-onsen (soft-boiled egg made with hot spring water) and take a short bus to any of the nearby towns competing with Kinosaki for tourists.

It’s a good way to spend two free days in the winter. A touch of snow would have made my visit on Boxing Day a bit more charming; instead there was rain and overcast skies. But the crab was absolutely delicious. It’s a fun spot for any photographer.