Susan Spann's Blog, page 2

Nakasendo Day 5: Fukiage to Fukaya (Post Towns 8-9)

On January 26, I woke up before dawn to walk the fifth segment of my ongoing long hike from Tokyo to Kyoto on the old Nakasendō (known as the Kiso Kaido or Kiso Road before Tokugawa Ieyasu reorganized it and renamed it the Nakasendō during the early 17th century).

Nakasendo Day 4: Okegawa to Fukiage (Post Towns 6-7)

On January 11, I headed back out to Saitama for the next leg of my ongoing walk of the Nakasendō from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Nakasendō Day 3: Urawa to Okegawa (Post Towns 3-6)

On January 4, I picked up exactly where the Day 2 hike left off, in the former post town of Urawa, in Saitama Prefecture. The early part of the hike was urban, flat, and cold–the temperature was close to freezing (especially when the wind blew), and the sun didn’t give much warmth. About an hour into the walk, I reached Ōmiya–once a major post town, and now a large city (that’s also home to the first northbound shinkansen stop outside of central Tokyo–and passed the entrance to Hikawa Jinja, a Shintō shrine with hundreds of years of history. The route

Nakasendō Day 3: Urawa to Okegawa

On January 4, I picked up exactly where the Day 2 hike left off, in the former post town of Urawa, in Saitama Prefecture. The early part of the hike was urban, flat, and cold–the temperature was close to freezing (especially when the wind blew), and the sun didn’t give much warmth. About an hour into the walk, I reached Ōmiya–once a major post town, and now a large city (that’s also home to the first northbound shinkansen stop outside of central Tokyo–and passed the entrance to Hikawa Jinja, a Shintō shrine with hundreds of years of history. The route

Nakasendō Day 2: Itabashi to Urawa (Post Towns 1-3)

Last weekend, I continued walking the Nakasendo, an early 17th century travel road that once connected Edo (now Tokyo) with Kyoto–for much of the route, along a much older road called the Kiso Kaidō. (You can find photos from the first hike, from the starting point at Nihonbashi to Itabashi-juku, here.) On the map above, the Nihonbashi, in Tokyo, is the large white dot on the right side of the frame. Today’s hike started at the next dot along the red line (Itabashi), and took me through the next two former post towns: Warabi and Urawa, where I finished for

Nakasendō Day 1: Nihonbashi to Itabashi

A new year and a new adventure! On January 1, I started hiking Japan's historical Nakasendō travel road, which I'll travel all the way from Tokyo to Kyoto (in segments) this year.

Come With Me to Walk the Nakasendō!

n 2025, I'll be walking the entire length of the historical Nakasendō, a travel road that connects Tokyo to Kyoto through the mountains that run through the center of Japan's main island.

Would You Try It: Pineapple Coffee

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Kyoto, looking for breakfast before meeting some friends in Gion. I found a great little independent shop called Nōen, about halfway between Gion-Shijo Station and Yasaka Jinja, on the south side of the street (the official address is 571 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0074). It looked busy, but I decided to go inside and see if they had a seat available. Fortunately, they were just clearing a place as I walked in. There were tourists at a couple of the tables, but the customers were about 80% Japanese, and most of

Hidden Super Mario Underground in Kyoto!

Last weekend, I popped down to Kyoto to see some friends who are visiting Japan from overseas. After spending Saturday afternoon at Nishiki Market, we split up so I could check into my hotel before meeting up again for the evening illumination at Tō-ji (one of my favorite seasonal light-ups in Kyoto). I decided to take the underground passage to the metro, but didn’t expect to see this on the walls along the way: Both sides of the underground hall were covered in floor-to ceiling murals that made the tunnel feel like walking through a Super Mario game. I’m not

Chimes and Lotus: Summer in Ueno Park

In mid-July, author friend Jonelle Patrick and I headed over to Ueno Park to see the lotus in bloom on Shinobazu Pond, just before the start of the Ueno Natsu Matsuri (Summer festival). Lotus blossoms open early in the morning, and close before noon, so you need to get up early to catch them at their peak. We arrived at the pond before 9 a.m., and walked around to the place where the festival setup was going on. The stands were still under construction, but the hundreds of furin (風鈴)–Japanese wind bells–were already hung and chiming away in the breeze.