Kurashiki (倉敷) has a preserved canal area that dates back to the Edo Period, when the city served as an important rice distribution center. In fact, “Kurashiki” roughly translates to “town of storehouses” in reference to the rice storehouses.
Many of Kurashiki’s former storehouses are now museums, boutiques and cafes. The Ohara Museum is the most impressive of Kurashiki’s museums, exhibiting a large collection of works by famous Western artists. We didn’t go in, but admired the statues on the outside.
The entire area looks like it could be a film location for a historic Japanese drama. Apparently the city has removed power poles to try to make the area appear more historical.
Unfortunately due to the cold winter the trees along the canal haven’t blossomed yet but it was still charming and we saw lots of “gondoliers” taking tourists out for a spin on the boats. The boat tour only takes 20 mins and relatively inexpensive (500 yen). There was a moment of excitement as a bird flew closely past one of the boats.
Mention Japan, and a lot of people will associate it with Shinkansen (bullet trains). Trains of various kinds are a major mode of transport both within and across cities.
Nikko is a small town about 2 hours from Tokyo that is famous for the UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of a complex of shrines, temples and shogun mausoleums.
In recent years, Akihabara has become infamous not only as a place where you can buy cheap electronic goods but an epicentre for Japanese otaku culture.
Chris Tham is a co-founder of Visual Voyager Pty Ltd, the Principal Voigtländer Ambassador for Mainline Photographics and a Workshop Instructor for Mainline Photo Academy.
She brings over 35 years of experience as a photographer to her role, starting with a Yashica rangefinder belonging to her dad, joining the Photography Club in school, and developing her own photos.
More recently, Chris has been taking photos during her travels, and as a result has experienced some of the most interesting places in the world.
Chris focuses on nature, street, and urban architecture subjects in her photography.