Justin Schultz

Jul. 18, 2023 (edited)
[Image1]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image2]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image3]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image4]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image5]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image6]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image7]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image8]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image9]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image10]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image11]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image12]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image13]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image14]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image15]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image16]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image17]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image18]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image19]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav
[Image20]Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before hav

Was in Sapporo over the weekend for an errand and had enough time to stop by a few places before having to leave.

Took a walk through Nakajima Park early in the morning and saw a turtle and a heron relaxing by one of the ponds. There were also a bunch of ducks enjoying breakfast in the grass nearby.

Also managed to stop by Hokkaido Shrine and and the Sapporo Beer Museum, both of which were very cool. I really liked the architecture of Hokkaido Shrine, and it was fun reading the signs to read about the different emperors that had visited the shrine and in what year.

The beer museum was fun as well. Learning about all the history was really cool, and seeing the different advertisements used throughout the years was pretty neat as well. Ended up buying matching cups and I got a shirt as well.

Hokkaido Shrine and the Sapporo Beer Museum are definitely two of the best spots to visit in Sapporo if you ask me.

I would have liked to visit Shiroi Koibito Park as well, but they were already closed by the time we were able to visit, so I guess that’ll have to wait for next time. Was a great time overall.

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Aug. 18, 2023
Went on a trip to Matsumoto during the Obon holiday. We arrived Friday and our first stop after checking in at our hotel was Matsumoto Castle. The statue in the first photo is of Banryu Shonin (播隆上人). Apparently he was a Buddhist monk and prominent mountaineer during the early 1800s. I thought it was interesting so I took a photo of it. Matsumoto Castle was really incredible. I think it's definitely one of the most beautiful castles in Japan. If I had a better camera, I would have been able to take some nicer photos, but I'm pretty pleased with the photos I took, despite having taken them from my smartphone. The inside of the castle was really awesome and I spent a lot of time looking at all of the different exhibits showing the weaponry used on the battlefield, etc. Most of the exhibits have English and Japanese too, which is nice if you don't speak Japanese but are interested in learning about the history of the castle. On Saturday we took a bus to Kamikochi. The bus to Kamokochi took about an hour longer than expected as there was a lot of people going there for the Obon holiday. The views were really incredible, and compared to the city of Matsumoto, the area was a nice cool temperature. One of the other bridges near Kappa Bridge (河童橋) was probably like 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the Kamikochi area too. We hiked from Taisho Pond (大正池) to Kappa Bridge in about an hour. It was pretty good exercise and totally flat, so pretty much anyone can enjoy the walking trails. There are a lot of scenic views along the trail from Taisho Pond to Kappa Bridge, and some of the views of the water were just magical. I wasn't able to capture just how beautiful the place is with my photos, but it's really gorgeous. Once we got closer to Kappa Bridge we started seeing a lot of monkeys walking around too, which was kind of neat. Apparently their population is increasing in the area because people keep feeding them, so make sure not to do that if you visit. On our last day in Matsumoto we decided to check out some other spots in town, and ended up visiting Nawate Street, a nice little shopping street with some cool shops and cafes. We got some ice cream and sat down by the river running through the town and relaxed for a bit. After that we headed up to Joyama Park (the last photo). The walk to the park was pretty long with how hot it was outside but the view from the top was pretty incredible. It was a nice way to end our trip. I think Matsumoto Castle and Kamikochi are definitely some of the best places to visit if you're sightseeing in Matsumoto, so definitely make some time to visit them.
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May. 14, 2023
Went to Fukushima over the Golden Week holiday. On our first day we took a bus to Ouchi-Juku and had a great time looking at all the buildings and different shops. The negi soba (soba with a large leek) is famous there so my girlfriend ended up ordering that. She said it was a bit difficult to eat, but fun and tasted great. We also ended up trying a variety of different snacks in the area. The Age-Manju (deep fried manju) was really tasty and we actually ended up getting again later. I was able to take a photo from the famous photo spot at Ouchi-Juku as well (photo #4). I only have an iPhone camera, so the quality isn't the best, but I'm happy with how it turned out. On the way back from Ouchi-Juku we returned via Yunokami Onsen Station and so we got to use the footbath that was attached to the station. It was a really great way to rest up after walking for so long. The station itself was also really photogenic, so I snapped a couple photos from the platform and between the railroad tracks. The hotel we were staying at for the night was in Aizu-Wakamatsu and on the way we found a nice little shop with a large akabeko cow outside and the staff was kind enough to take a photo of us with it. For dinner, we went to a place called Sassa (左雨) and had a really great time. We ended up talking to the owners for a bit and they were super nice. It was also the best tonkatsu I've eaten in my entire life. It was cooked tp perfection, and the dressing that came with the salad and cabbage matched perfectly with it. We probably ended up eating way too many fried foods but it was all really tasty. The next day we visited Tsuruga Castle. The castle was quite cool, but it was a bit more crowded than Ouchi-Juku. Considering it was Golden Week, it wasn't much of a surprise. Either way we had a great time. We started off going for a boat ride around the moat (I got my daily exercise in, as I was rowing the whole time lol). After that we went up into the castle and were able to see a view of the city from the top which was pretty cool. There were also live performances going on in the field in front of the castle which were fun to watch. At that point it was about lunch time so we went over to the row of food stalls (photo #16) and grabbed a bite to eat. There were shops selling all sorts of goods as well, so we spent some time window shopping. After Tsuruga Castle, we went to Oyakuen Garden (御薬園). We ended up sharing a green tea by the pond and relaxing for a bit which was nice. There were a lot of koi inside the pond and a variety of birds flying around as well, so the atmosphere was very relaxing. Photo #20 is supposedly the best view in the garden (it was written on a sign) so I snapped a photo of it. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it was a really incredible view. All in all, we had a really amazing time in Fukushima, but we definitely would like to visit again, as there's a lot we didn't get to do still. I really wanted to try an akabeko workshop but we didn't get the chance, which was a bit disappointing, but we still had a lot of fun, so I can't complain. I definitely recommend visiting Aizu-Wakamatsu if you have the chance!