It’s February, so we suspect that love might be on your mind. Maybe you enjoy Valentine’s Day in all its hearts, cards, and candy glory. Or perhaps for you, romance is more of a year-around vibe. Either way, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that Japan has you covered. From sacred temples with love-inspired backstories, to otherworldly environments that you’ll have to see to believe, there are plenty of places scattered throughout the country that will leave you swooning. Whether you’re planning a special Valentine’s date with your significant other, or just looking to treat yourself right, read on to learn more about a few of our favorite romantic spots across Japan.
Because we had to miss Hiroshima due to my terrible impulse spending … we took a train to Nara. Last time we visited Nara it was cold and rainy — today was lovely. 🥰 AND WE GOT TO SEE PLUM AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS! 🌸🦌✨
Covered a lot of ground — and also food wise today!
Started the day with eggs … in the form of ramen. Ippudo ramen but it was missing something… still good but I just wanted some shichimi or some spice 😭🌶️ Also, I ordered a "bottle" of asahi and it was HUGE!!
Before we left, I came across a Tokyu Hands store and I havent been in one of these since they rebranded to just "hands". So, of course I had to go and suss their stationery and kitchen sections. (The best!!)
I came out with about $50 of stuff from a soy sauce dispenser, a coffee spoon and about 8 packs of stickers. :)
When we got to the station, we bought some Lindt Chocolate in some interesting flavours like Macha, Popcorn, Cheesecake and Sakura. Of course, to eat on the train.
When we arrived in Nara, I remembered why I said I wanted to come back. Its so serene and peaceful and just one of my favourite places. We walked up the street towards the park to see the deer and found a capsule/game arcade which we took a pokemon purikura and Ben hated it! Then he found a great Panini place and outside there were so many puppies, including one in a handbag. I die!! The panini was heaps good too!!
When we were in Nara Park with the deer, there were some early blossoms on the trees. They were super pink and so cute! It was a nice surprise considering the Cherry Blossoms dont usually come out until late March/April. So these were most likely plum blossoms.
Then we hoofed (Deer pun) to Osaka and straight to Dotonbori where I wanted to eat a little bit of everything. Starting with some Kushikatsu and some Japanese Omelette called Tonpei which I was scared for but was actually really good!!
We walked through the shrine in Dotonbori (which I have just googled and its called Hozenji if you wanna go check that area out, its cute!!) and there were cats running around, stealing the show.
After that, Ben wanted MEAT so we went to find a BBQ on the river but it was busy so they took us to their other restaurant and we had Kobe Beef and vegetables on the grill. It was good food, and so reasonably priced. 🔥🥩
The train we caught back to Kyoto was so pretty. It was all wooden and dark maroon. So classy!
When we got back to the hotel, it was time to pack so we finished all the beer and stuff we had in the fridge (which was mainly cheese!!) the cheese selections over here are the best 🤣 But I wasnt ready yet -- I went out to go and find another Pork/Soy/Wasabi Onigiri because that was one of the best things I ate this time!!