On my recent trip to Nara, I was lucky to visit Kinatei, a cosy vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant serves Japanese and Chinese style vegan dishes, and everything is homemade and organic. I got off at Kintetsu Line’s Nara Station and did a little sightseeing before coming, so the walk was a bit far.

Approximately 11km east from Nara Park, lies an ancient trail called Yagyu Kaido. This track once served as pilgrimage for mountain Buddhists, a form of mountain asceticism during the Nara and Heian period, therefore many historical sites, monuments, and ruins of the time remain here barely touched.

A lot of the big video game companies such as Nintendo and Sega originate from Japan and some of the finest gamers of all time come from Japan. Kansai sees a lot of visitors from all over, and some of those want a place to relax and game for a bit. This is a guide for those traveling to or living in Kansai and want to experience Japanese gaming culture at its finest.

Japanese people are known to have followed Sangakushinko; a type of animism during ancient times which mountains are worshiped as gods, and Mt. Katsuragi was most certainly one of which people of Nara considered it as their sacred icon.

Starting in the third century and continuing through to the early seventh century, these tombs were constructed for the imperial family, nobility, and the powerful.

Anyone who has been living in Japan for any length of time knows of the friendly, decades-old, rivalry between Tokyo and Osaka – Tokyo built Tokyo Dome for baseball games and as a concert venue. A few years later Osaka Dome opened to great fanfare. Tokyo negotiated with the Disney Corporation and opened Tokyo Disneyland. Not wanting to be outdone, Osaka brought Universal Studios to Japan.

Known as the Temple of Flowers, Mimuroto-ji sits amidst an expansive garden that offers a wonderful array of plants and trees coming in to bloom at different times throughout the year.

Okura Beach is relatively short in length. However, great picnic areas, a children's park, beautiful view of Awaji Bridge, and most importantly, opportunity to make and enjoy barbecue meals make it an attractive beach for anyone.

Calling all bunny lovers! This shrine is a must visit if you’re planning a stop in Kyoto. Just a few blocks east of the bustling Heian Shrine lies the far more peaceful Okazaki Shrine. Once you make your way inside, you’ll quickly see why it’s become a popular place.

So, without further ado, here’s my suggested local route for traveling from Osaka to Tokyo, with some suggested pit stops along the way.

The area to the west of Kyoto main station has gone through major changes in recent years. Ume Koji Park has seen the construction of the popular Kyoto Aquarium, the upgrading and renovation of Kyoto Railway Museum, a new café in the park and new children’s playground. These changes have brought in many more visitors to the area and because of this, a new station has just opened between Kyoto and Tambaguchi, Ume Koji Nishi Kyoto.

Nowadays, Kitano-cho or Kitano streets or usually called as Kitano Ijinkan-gai (北野異人館街) is an area where several western heritages were left. Unlike many places in Japan, strolling around this area brings us to a different old-western atmosphere. There were 300 houses of foreigner houses before which was deteriorated by war and just 30 left with less than 20 houses open for public.