Saga (佐賀市, Saga-shi?) is the capital of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyūshū, Japan.

Every fall Saga holds the “Saga International Balloon Fiesta” in the dry riverbed of the Kase River. A quarter of the visitors are from Saga. The number of all visitors was about 15 million in 2005. Balloonists from many countries enter this event.

On October 1, 2005, the city merged with the towns of Morodomi, Yamato and Fuji (all from Saga District) and the village of Mitsuse from Kanzaki District to form the new city of Saga. With this creation, the city became neighbors with the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture. On October 1, 2007 the towns of Higashiyoka, Kawasoe, and Kubota were incorporated into Saga, further expanding its borders. Although it is the capital of Saga Prefecture, it can be said to be within the Fukuoka metropolitan

Some interesting points to note while visiting the city would be the Saga Castle. A rare ancient architecture where the castle was built on plains instead of a hilltop and is surrounded by walls instead.

Also, the Saga International Balloon festival is an internationally garnered event where balloonist from all over the world gathered to showcase various caricatures and creative hot air floaters to grace the sky. It is one of the most interesting events in the world. It is usually held between Oct 30 to Nov 5 every year.

Saga City’s website (Japanese)

It’s always better to see the country by foot. If you’re not too jet lagged that is.

A case point of view on traveling to Akihabara district; where you can find all your electrical needs :P

The Takayama Festival is held twice a year in Japan in the city of Takayama - once in Spring (14-15 April) and Autumn (9-10 Oct). It is ranked as one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan and should not be missed if you are ever in a nearby city. The history of the festival is rather vague, covered by centuries of tradition. But in the basic sense, since the festival is celebrated twice a year in Spring and Autumn, one can safely base it that it celebrates the start of cycle (spring = growth, new beginning, etc) and the end of the cycle (autumn = death, return, change).

Takayama Yatai

How to get there:

Hanami time in Himeji Temple, Kinki:

Here’s a geisha performance in Pontocho, Kyoto. Add that into your list of things to see when you visit Kyoto.

The Shimokita Peninsula (下北半島 Shimokita-hantō) is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshu, stretching out towards Hokkaido.Shaped like an axe pointing west, the peninsula has a thin “axe handle” connecting the mountainous “axe blade” to mainland. The coasts maintain a thin scattering of population but the interior is as remote a region as you can find in Japan. The largest population center is the drab town of Mutsu.

No matter how you look at it, Shimokita is a long way from anywhere.
By air

The closest airports are in Misawa and Aomori; from there you’ll have to take a train or bus. Misawa has direct service to Tokyo and Osaka; Aomori also has direct service to Nagoya and Fukuoka.
By ferry

Higashi-Nihon Ferry offers service from Hakodate on Hokkaido to Oma at the northwestern tip of the peninsula. There are between two and four services per day, depending on the season. Drivers and bikers are encouraged to make reservations in advance, especially in high season.

Shimokita Kisen offers service from Wakinosawa to Kanita, crossing Mutsu Bay.
[edit] By train

The JR Ominato Line from Noheji (on the Tohoku main line) travels up the axe handle to Mutsu. Direct Shimokita rapid service trains are available from Aomori and Hachinohe (the latter being the northern terminus of the Tohoku Shinkansen line from Tokyo). The private Shimokita Kotsu Railway stopped running in 2001.
By bus

Direct buses run from Tokyo to Mutsu, taking over 10 hours in the process.

A little video downtown Shimokita:

Niseko (ニセコ町, Niseko-chō?) is a town located in Abuta District, Shiribeshi, Hokkaidō, Japan. Although in Japanese, Niseko principally refers to a municipal area, overseas, the name has come to refer to a wider area of ski resorts encompassing Hokkiado’s Mount Yōtei and Annupuri ranges. It is one of the most famous ski resorts in Japan known for it’s powder light snow and spectacular mountainous outback.

Niseko is comprised of seven ski areas, in order of size:

* Niseko Mt. Resort Grand Hirafu, centered around the village of Hirafu is perhaps the best known field but is actually part of the neighbouring Kutchan township.
* Niseko Higashiyama is the less popular neighbor of Hirafu but has the best front valley skiing.
* Niseko Annupuri is hit with the strongest winds and worst weather in the area, causing occasional closures.
* Niseko Hanazono
* Niseko Moiwa
* Niseko Weiss

Niseko also has back-country ski-courses that are unofficially on the maps. To the furthest right of Annupuri lies Sannozaka, an area prone to avalanche but with high quality snow. To the far right of Hirafu lies Higashi One, also prone to avalanche but with a challenging back-country terrain. Near the lower half of Hirafu is a forest route called Strawbery Fields, which is perhaps the most famous run in Hirafu. Climbing Mount Yōtei also provides back country skiing.

Hirafu is the perhaps the most foreigner-friendly resort thanks to the many Australian skiers and snowboarders who have been frequenting their slopes. The town is like a western town within Japan where all menus are in English and imported food items are in abundance.

Because of its northern location, Niseko is fed by weather streams that come from Siberia rather than from Eastern Japan. The resort experiences a consistently high and light snowfall. The snow is not as dry as other areas in Hokkaidō, but the volume is high, with the average snow depth in March reaching 351cm.

Niseko was named as the world’s second snowiest resort in December 2007 with annual average snow fall of 595 inches (15.11 metres)/ First place went to the Mt Baker Ski Area in Washington State with 641 inches.

Niseko resort

My favorite time of the year, Cherry Blossoms viewing! It’s the only time when the whole world feels like a fairytale and you don’t even need to shovel it :P

I found some viewing times and forecasts for Hanami, so refer to it and get ready for a nice picnic with family and friends at your favorite Cherry Blossom location. I got the forecast from here:

Location Opening Estimated Best Viewing
Tokyo March 23 March 29 to April 7
Kyoto March 26 April 1 to 10
Aomori April 23 April 29 to May 6
Sendai April 8 April 14 to 21
Niigata April 7 April 13 to 20
Nagano April 12 April 18 to 25
Kanazawa April 2 April 8 to 16
Nagoya March 23 March 29 to April 7
Osaka March 26 April 1 to 10
Nara March 28 April 3 to 12
Hiroshima March 27 April 2 to 11
Fukuoka March 26 April 1 to 10
Kagoshima March 29 April 4 to 12

Facts about Mount Misen you should know about:

Mount Misen (弥山, Misen?) is the holy mountain on the holy island Itsukushima in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan.

Mount Misen is within the World Heritage Area of Itsukushima Shrine.

Mount Misen, around the island (Seto Inland Sea) and all of the island are within Setonaikai National Park.

There is the primeval forest in the foothills on the north side of the mountain.

There are many buildings and gates of the temple of Daishō-in in the foothills on the north side of the mountain.

There is Momijidani-Kōen (紅葉谷公園, Maple Valley Park?) behind Itsukushima Shrine.

Mount Misen is famous for the place that was visited by Kūkai in the year 806, the 1st year of the Daidō era.

From the ancient times, a lot of people visit this mountain because of their religious piety.

View from the top of Mount Misen:

Useful links on Mount Misen
Japan Guide
Miyajima Ropeway
Setonaikai National Park