#129 Hamamatsu, Japan

Hamamatsu is a city on the Shinkansen line about halfway between Tokyo and Osaka.

Ieyasu Kun at Hamamatsu Castle

It has a population of about 800,000 people. It is home to Japan's cutest mascot Ieyasu-Kun, and is famous for it's japanese eel unagi.

There are a number of attractions in Hamamatsu, the most apparent being the only skyscraper in Shizuoka Prefecture, Act Tower. For a small fee of around 500yen you can get a great view of all of Hamamatsu from the top.

Hamamatsu has a small castle, which was built by the famous shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa (who also inspired Ieyasu-kun!).

Hamamatsu is also sometimes known as the City of Music, and is home to the Yamaha world headquarters as well as a music museum.

However, most of the attractions are near a big lake called Hamana-ko.

About a one hour bus ride from the city, you can find many attractions such as Hamamatsu City Zoo, Flower Park, Kanzanji Onsen (hot spring), an amusement park, cablecar and boat rides.

One of the best times to visit would be during the Hamamatsu Festivall, which is held during Golden Week every year. There, at Nakatajima sand dunes, you can find different neighbourhoods take part in kite battles in the sky!

Hamamatsu has many hotels, so it is convenient as a hub for visiting other places in Western Shizuoka such as Kakegawa which has a castle and bird park, Kikugawa which is famous for it's green tea fields and Iwata which is home to the EcoPa stadium which hosts music concerts and sporting events.

Access

The Shinkansen from Tokyo takes either 1.5/2 hours and costs 7,700 for an unreserved seat. There is also a 4 hour highway bus from Shibuya/Shinjuku for 3,800 one way or 6,700 return.
From Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport it's about a 2 hour direct bus for 3,200.
From Osaka it's either 1.5/2 hours and 8,400 for an unreserved seat.

View of Hamamatsu city from Act Tower

#106 One week to Japan

Well, it's actually five days until I depart Ireland, but my first official day there is next Monday.

Here's where I'm at;

Packing
I just finished packing today, after a few trial runs last week. Basically, I threw in the clothes and stuff I wanted to bring and weighed the cases to see roughly how much space I had. I actually had quite a few kg left in each case which was a great surprise, so I gathered more clothes to put in. Earlier today I packed the cases again and the weight is perfect, happy days! Packing four days in advance basically means I can sleep easily for my last few days in Ireland, and spend it hanging out with family and friends instead of panicking and stressing about it the day before.


Flight details
We're flying Dublin - London, then London - Tokyo with British Airways. They have one free 23kg check in bag, carry on hand luggage and then also a handbag or briefcase. I think 23kg check in is a tiny allowance for moving around the world for a year, but thankfully they only charge €75 for another 23kg bag, so I've got 46kg total, plus a carry on bag and a handbag.

As an interesting side, you can check out what the onboard movies, tv shows etc will be on your flight on your airlines website before you travel (I think most airlines do this). For BA, it's here: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/entertainment/in-flight-entertainment

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka

Excited to announce this is the exact place I'm going! It's a city of about 800k people, situated on the bullet train line and halfway between Tokyo and Kyoto, about 1hr 30mins from each. The bullet train is expensive, and I can get a bus to Tokyo for much less but it takes like 4-5 hours. Overall, Hamamatsu seems to be a good location for travelling easily around Japan.

Tying up loose ends

There are things to do before leaving your home for any length of time. I decided to get my laptop fixed - it's been overheating and I felt it was easier to get it sorted before I go. I threw out a lot of clothes I hadn't worn in the past year or so (well, gave them to charity shops). I cleaned my room! I'm meeting up with some old friends this week. I guess it just depends on the person what needs to be done.