The Best Side Trip From Osaka: Okayama

When people decide to take the plunge and travel to Japan, they start planning their trip with what to see and what to do when over there. Many people, especially those who will be going for the first time, make plans to only go visit the big three: Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto with a possible pit stop to Nara. Nothing is wrong with this travel plan. I even did this travel plan the first time I went to Japan (no regrets). But once you have already become familiar with these places, where else do you go?

There are so many places in Japan that are worth visiting. Out of the many places to choose from, may I suggest Okayama.

Buying a Kitchen Knife in Japan

In my household, my husband is the cook. It works perfectly because he actually likes cooking and I'm pretty bad at it. So we have this agreement in our house that he does the cooking and I do the clean-up after. Work for me! So when we went to Japan in November of 2016, he knew he wanted to leave the country with a Japanese chef knife. Yes, I'm talking about one of those huge, sharp knives that I'm terrified of chopping my finger off with.

Exploring Nara, Japan

Nara Prefecture is south of Kyoto and east of Osaka Prefecture. We'll be talking about the city of Nara today. It is an ancient city, as it used to be Japan's capital. It's a small city but still significant for it's history and tourist attractions.

When planning your trip to Japan keep in mind to stop by Nara. It's a stop on almost every guided tour in Japan. It won't require you to be there all day, probably just a few hours, so you won't have to book another hotel. Nara is a great day trip to take. To reduce travel time you'll want to travel to Nara from either Osaka or Kyoto, as those are the closest. When traveling to Nara, get off at Nara Station. From the station you can walk to the one place I'm recommending you to visit, and that's Nara Deer Park.