Escaping the Kotatsu

There is another method of surviving the Japanese winter that is more expensive than the kotatsu, but also a lot more interesting; just go somewhere warmer. You don’t even have to leave Japan, just go to a different bit that has better weather than where you live. Traveling in Japan is pricey, but it’s nowhere near as expensive as attempting to leave Japan for a vacation. Gotsu is near the Sea of Japan, so while it’s at the southern end of Honshu, it’s also on the northern coast. The southern, Inland Sea coast is a much more sheltered and temperate area, making it a great day-trip destination, even in the winter.

Some Japanese friends took me to Hiroshima a few months back, and while it was cold and snowing in Gotsu, it was gorgeous once we got through the mountains and down to Hiroshima. It got even better once we made our way over to Miyajima, an island just off the coast of the city that boasts the largest torii gate in Japan.

It is actually part of a shrine called Itsukushima-jinja, a scenic place connected by multiple wooden boardwalks, and surrounded by water when the tide is in. From there, the gate appears to be far out in the water, and the whole place is aptly called "the floating shrine". Tough luck for me the tide was mostly out, so I visited the land-locked shrine and the standing-in-the-shallows torii, but it was still nice. It snowed on us all the way home again that evening, but for the few hours we were there we could stroll around in the sunshine with our coats open, feeling warmer than we usually did in our homes.

I escaped again in March, this time to Yokohama. It was a business trip, so I didn’t get to do much sight-seeing, but it was nice to get out of the conference center and be able to walk around in the evening. Spring obviously arrives early there, as it was much warmer than Gotsu, and many trees were in bloom.

My big hotel by the big ferris wheel.

The even bigger Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan.

I’m not really sure what this is but it looks neat.

Despite being part of Tokyo, Yokohama actually reminded me of a nicer version of Vancouver. The tall, shiny office buildings, shopping malls and hotels make it feel like a big city, but it is also full of parks, trees, and is on the waterfront. And since it’s in Japan, it’s perfectly safe, with attractive, well-lit, tree-lined streets completely devoid of homeless people and rubbish. Well, I saw one piece of litter during my four days there, so I took a picture of it. My kind of place.