by Sharna Steer

One thing you must do in Japan is take advantage of the transport system! It is incredible just how far you can go in a couple of hours on their efficient transport. Here are a couple examples of my favourite places to go so far that are as short as thirty minutes to get to and as long as two hours.

My favourite place so far has been Kyoto. Kyoto is very accessible as it has many different train lines that arrive there. From my station, there are only two different trains which are very easy to navigate, that is until you are somewhat familiar with the train lines and the stations. Kyoto is so beautiful with all of the old and more traditional-styled buildings. The area that I really like visiting is the old-styled building streets that lead up to the temple Kiyomizu Dera. This place is only a short bus trip away and the buses are always on time, no matter the traffic! Since it is so easy to get to, you can easily do so much there within one day and not have to worry about getting up super early which is key to the uni student lifestyle.

Recently, I went to a beach in the Wakayama prefecture called Kada Beach. Since leaving New Zealand and especially Tauranga, I have been severely deprived of beaches, and the ocean and even missed the feeling of sand being everywhere – maybe not so much when it is all throughout your bag for weeks to come but still I missed the feeling. Kada Beach is one of the smaller ones in Wakayama, but it is so peaceful. You barely see anyone around the area at all so it is so relaxing after the hustle and bustle of living in such a highly populated city. What we did not account for was how small this town was because there was only one place to eat but still we thoroughly enjoyed our time. At home, I could barely justify taking two hours to get to a very small beach, however, with the directness of the trains it doesn’t feel so long as what a two-hour trip on windy roads in New Zealand are like. Also, they just have the cutest themed trains, such as this pink fish one we took from Kada Beach so it just makes it all the more worthwhile.