Our trip in Japan was planned to be mainly around Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, to cover the basics. But after so much city time, we actually wanted to be surrounded by nature. We’ve rented a car and got a cute little Japanese machine – so called kei car.
And since on our first trip by car, we gave more money on pay tolls than on the actual car and gas, we decided to take the route without tolls. Spoiler: it was a mistake. The road was so slow, crowded, and it felt like endless ride through town.
Lesson: the gps always tells the amount you’ll spend on tolls so calculate wisely.

Our first destination was Yoshino mountain, considered a hidden gem for cherry blossom watching in spring time. It was serving equally majestic autumnal colors. It was raining which was adding more to the overall ambience. The Kinpusen-ji temple is UNESCO protected sight and in this period there were anniversary celebrations. Since we went off season, it was not crowded at all. The city felt like a movie, as if time has stopped.
After we finished the sightseeing we sat for a coffee in KR Kaffee, very nice hosts, calm atmosphere and amazing views. Perfect for cloudy timelapse in front of your eyes. Can imagine how this place looks in spring.

We continued towards our accommodation of the weekend, Nemu resort in Mie Perfekture, till we reached it it got dark, and since it is in isolated place, there was not much to do except use the offers of the resort (which if you are tattooed or the weather is bad are a bit limited).

I signed up for morning yoga in japanese. The views were better than the yoga, but it was acustomised to all levels. Then I made a walk around the premises of the resort, you are allowed to go everywhere except in the luxury Amanemu part. At times I was wondering is this still Japan or did I end up in a heavenly tropical island?

For breakfast we’ve decided to leave the premises, and see our options, the closest one on walking distance was Kakuremo cafe they had banana bread and bibimbam we took both and they were great.Everything done by the owner in front of you.
Our excursion for the day started with a visit of the Futamiokitama Shrine, or the married stones one of the holiest places for newly weds before their ceremony.
Apart from the shrine and a few eateries along the shore, there isn’t much in this area, so most of the people are spending their time in Toba, the home of the cultivated pearls, famous fishing town, where the main attraction is the Toba aquarium and the Mikimoto Pearl Island.

We skipped all the sightseeing things and headed to the Toba market, and then to the eateries area, that was right next to the train station. All of them have the same offer more or less, so whichever has free table go for it, I think it was one of the most local experiences here. Our luck was on Ama-goya Chisato.

The plan was to ride along the furthest point on the peninsula, on the way we stopped at Mugisaki Lighthouse, it remind me a lot of the Scottish Islands, without the sheep part. Off topic I was always mesmerized by the cleanness of Japanese toilets, and there was even one here, at almost end of the world and it was spotless.

We ended the visit to Azurihama Beach, next to which there was the most peaceful camping spot, and I felt truly jealous of everyone that got to spend the night here, no matter the fact there was tsunami signage all around.
This night’s dinner was done in Lawson and we’ve tried almost everything that we “saved for later” on this trip.

Our last day on this excursion started with the most beautiful sunrise my eyes have witnessed. The battery was one picture before calling it off, and I am so grateful that I was not lazy to get out of the bed at 5AM.

The first stop of the day was Yokoyama Viewpoint, there is a cafe, visitors office where you can learn about the things to see and the nature in this region, little hiking trail across all the viewpoints, and amazing view on the Ago Bay.

The hotel for the night was In Sakurai, one our away of Osaka, and we planned to get there, by stopping on the interesting places along the road. Spoiler most of them were closed or not serving food in the time when we arrived. The views were however amazing, like in movies and cartoons, the road took us through tiny passages in the wood, and we finally found an open spot. And it was a great one. Drive In in Soni. Wow the views, wow the food, everything amazing, and zero crowds. Even though I must admit it made me wish to come here in full bloom and full season, and it definitively strengthened the wish to explore Japan even more.

Not far from there was the next stop, giant tree with a shrine Hitozato Kyoboku the tiny road leading to it was full of beautiful red flowers. As we were approaching Sakurai we were seeing nice sunset and were looking forward to wrap up the day in the beautifully designed hotel, with room huge for Japanese standards.

On the way back we saw that taking the toll road saves us 1 hour and it would cost us only around 6 euros instead of 2 hours and 40 minutes so we opted for the fast route, it is important not to make the same mistake twice. We left our car at Osaka Central station even though smarter move would have been to have it on the shinkansen station, unfortunately those cars are rented faster. The time in the Japanese cities was amazing, many wows and many first times and tries, of food culture and activities, but going to nature made me want to return to the country as soon as possible. Wherever you are explore the nature around.