Kurashiki

Called the Venice of Japan, Kurashiki is a walking city. The kurashiki river flows through it and has a few bridges like those in Venice. You can see people in a small boats, similar to Venetian gondolas, enjoying the views of the city.

It is a cute and quirky place, I saw an antique shop with hundreds of dog statues on the roof. It is also

dotted with many cafe's, traditional Ramen, Soba, Izakaya, and western restaurants. I saw a new swanky Hungarian goulash place, which seemed rare for me. There are several art museums, art shops scattered around as well.

I found an inspiring public space with cheerful flowers.

After a hearty meal of curry, I decided to walk to catch the Shinkansen to an island of Japan that I had never been to : Kyushu.

I read and saw pictures of the city of Kagoshima, which is about five hours train ride away. That is a good break to catch up on emails, blogging and work.