Roving Sun – Here and there but not quite everywhere!

We visited Washington, DC in the morning today to see the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. It was, unfortunately, well past peak bloom.

Today is New Year’s Eve! After breakfast at the 名古屋マリオットアソシアホテル Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, we visited 妙厳寺 Myōgon-ji, more commonly known as 豊川稲荷 Toyokawa Inari, in 豊川 Toyokawa to the southeast of Nagoya. We returned to Nagoya in the afternoon and visited 大須 Osu, the shopping district around 大須観音 Osu Kannon and 万松寺 Banshō-ji. We had a late lunch and lots of snacks before returning to the Marriott to end the last day of the year.

After breakfast at the 名古屋マリオットアソシアホテル Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, we ventured south to visit the 伊勢神宮 Ise Jingu, the holiest of all the Shinto shrines. We visited both the 内宮 Naiku and 外宮 Gekū and also spent some time having snacks and lunch before returning to Nagoya for dinner.

After breakfast at the 名古屋マリオットアソシアホテル Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, we headed out to visit 名古屋城 Nagoya Castle… which was closed for the Japanese New Year holiday! We ended up walking around it before having the local 味噌煮込みうどん miso nikomi udon for lunch nearby at 山本屋 Yamamoto-ya. We then visited 熱田神宮 Atsuta-jingu before spending the rest of the afternoon and evening around the 栄 Sakae district and オアシス２１ (Oasis 21). We had dinner in the area at 矢場とん Yabaton, a local chain that specializes in the local 味噌カツ miso katsu dish.

Upon waking up at the 名古屋マリオットアソシアホテル Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, we headed upstairs to the lounge for breakfast where we also saw the sunrise. We took the train over to 岐阜 Gifu and ascended to 岐阜城 Gifu Castle via aerial tram and a short walk. After, we had lunch and visited 正法寺 Shōhō-ji to see its Great Buddha Statue before walking around 岐阜公園 Gifu Park. We ended our visit in Gifu with a walk through the historic 川原町 Kawaramachi before returning to Nagoya for dinner.