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Past Peak Bloom at the Tidal Basin
We visited Washington, DC in the morning today to see the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. It was, unfortunately, well past peak bloom.
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Ohori Park to Umi no Nakamichi, Fukuoka
After waking up at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, we went out to have ramen for breakfast before walking to the castle ruins in 舞鶴公園 Maizuru Park. We then visited the foggy 大濠公園日本庭園 Ohori Park Japanese Garden and then walked through the rest of the park. After, we visited 福岡タワー Fukuoka Tower and took a ferry across Hakata Bay to 海の中道 Umi no Nakamichi before taking the train back to Hakata.
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Dazaifu
In the morning, we walked from the Grand Hyatt over to the Nishitetsu Fukuoka Tenjin Station to take the train to 太宰府 Dazaifu. We had lunch at a special Ichiran restaurant featuring auspicious five sided bowls and longer 59cm noodles. After, we walked through the tourist shopping street on the way to 太宰府天満宮 Dazaifu Tenmangu. We walked through the large shrine before visiting the 九州国立博物館 Kyushu National Museum nearby. We had some snacks on the way back to the train station before returning to Fukuoka for a sushi dinner and Amaou Strawberries.
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Kagoshima
After waking up at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, we took the Shinkansen down to 鹿児島市 Kagoshima and then a local train to Sengan-en Station. From the station, we had a fantastic view of 桜島 Sakurajima, a nearby active volcano that was spewing an ash cloud at the time! We visited the nearby 仙巌園 Sengan-en and had lunch there. We visited 城山公園 Shiroyama Park before having dinner and returning to Hakata.
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Hakata
After checking out of the Courtyard in Kyoto, we took the Shinkansen to Hakata on the island of Kyushu. We visited the 櫛田神社 Kushida and 住吉神社 Sumiyoshi shrines and had some ramen before checking in to the グランド ハイアット 福岡 Grand Hyatt Fukuoka at キャナルシティ博多 Canal City Hakata. Later in the evening, we watched Canal City’s water and light shows behind the hotel.
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Mount Hiei
After waking up at the Courtyard, we headed over to 瑠璃光院 Ruriko-in for its fall special viewing event. We then ascended 比叡山 Mt. Hiei by funicular and aerial tram. Atop the mountain, we visited the ガーデンミュージアム比叡 Garden Museum Hiei and various buildings of 延暦寺 Enryaku-ji. We descended by funicular to the east and returned to Kyoto by train. In the evening, we attended a special night viewing at 智積院 Chishaku-in.
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Kiyomizu-dera and the Heian-jingu
After waking up at the Courtyard, we headed over to Kiyomizu-dera to see the fall foliage and the special viewing of the garden at Joju-in. We then had gyukatsu for lunch and headed over to Heian-jingu to take a look around the shrine and garden. We ended the day with excellent parfaits at Gion Tsujiri before walking back to the hotel via Nishiki Market.
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From Dulles to Kyoto
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Departing From Geneva
After breakfast at the Crowne Plaza Geneva, we checked out and took the hotel’s shuttle to Geneva Airport. After spending some time at two airport lounges, we flew on United Airlines back to Dulles.
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Leaving Lyon
After our final morning at the InterContinental Lyon, we checked out and revisited the Roman theatres, which were closed for wind when we visited earlier on this trip. After, we had lunch at Bouchon Tupin before catching a train to Geneva, checked into the Crowne Plaza, and had dinner in the city.
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Here and there but not quite everywhere!