Yes it is - and it is even more amazing in person. I copied these directions from GaijinPot We had a car -- would highly recommend driving if possible as the public transportation options are a bit limited in Nagato... And if you do go -- make sure you head to the fish market at Shimonoseki -- Sort of like Tsukiji used to be....

BY TRAIN

Take the JR Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima station (4 hours) then take the Shinkansen to Hakata and disembark at Asa station (1 hour). From here take the local train bound for Mine but get off at Magatoshi (1 Hour), then take another local train bound for Shimonoseki, but get off at Nagato-furuichi station. From here it is only a 20 minute taxi ride.

BY BUS

From the Chugoku Expressway, take Prefectural Route 240, Route 316 and Prefectural Route 66 to Nagato Yuya Tsuru. (1 hour)

Okayama Castle ( with balls! ) ( and the Korakuen garden)
 

Hi,

The next day after my trip to Miyajima island , I took the Shinkansen to Okayama ( first stop from JR Hiroshima station on the fastest Shinkansen in 40mins) for the castle and korakuen garden ( Thursday of Golden Week). The Korakuen garden is beautiful and a little unusual as it had large english style lawns also

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fab6732962.jpg
Okayama Castle with inflatable & tied down balls . From posters it looked like the Castle and the Korakuen garden are lit up at night during May & June

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...513a16465a.jpg
View from the top of Okayama Castle to the Korakuen garden across the river. Peach boats in the river ( as well as swan and rowing boats ) available to rent


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2a9f034872.jpg
Path in the Korakuen garden

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9946ff43f2.jpg
View from the top of the hill in the korakuen. Carp on the lake are lit up at night during May & June i think


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1499515812.jpg
View across the lake with Okayama castle in the distance

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5bad5b8f02.jpg
Turtles sunbathing on the rock!


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4a3aef1b7b.jpg
The hill with beautiful clear water


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0390cf860e.jpg
A beautiful side view of Okayama Castle from a viewing point at the far end of the Korakuen. It was nice and secluded and with picnic tables. Path on the other side of the fence is outside the garden


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dfefb92159.jpg
More garden

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6bc8c4afd1.jpg
one of the halls by by the entrance gate

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b12a488f9d.jpg
Hello from Okayama!

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6c43f3c5c0.jpg
The Okayama tram

Regards

TBS

@ bpe,

Thank you for the suggestion & photos.

Hiroshima Sankeien Garden May 2023
 

Hi,

This garden is only 5 mins walk from the Hiroshima Airport terminal and apart from people feeding carp by the entrance, I was the only one in the garden. It was a wonderful experience

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...acb3ef21cd.jpg
Sankeien garden

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...01ddbfc51d.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0af11dc425.jpg
View of the Garden from a bench outside the rest house on the hillside. Control tower and terminal building visible. Airport hotel to the left behind the tree. However at the lake level you cannot see anything so hard to imagine you are 5 mins walk from the terminals. Paths ,mostly ok for small wheeled carryons ( a few stone steps where you had to lift your carryon but not too bad. Also lots of streams,small waterfalls and shaded stone paths- beautiful


Regards

TBS

Some images from Atami
 

https://photos.smugmug.com/Asia-AU-N...DR-Edit-X2.jpg


https://photos.smugmug.com/Asia-AU-N...328-HDR-X2.jpg


https://photos.smugmug.com/Asia-AU-N..._152745-X2.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6de019e35b.jpg
Matsumoto Castle (松本城)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c4d2329f43.jpg
Naoshima Art House Project - Kadoya (家プロジェクト 角屋) - Sea of Time '98 by Tatsuo Miyajima

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...90cf9e4610.jpg
Naoshima - Kabocha Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama. Recently restored after being washed away and suffering major damage from a typhoon

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...14bafa7d85.jpg
Shodoshima - View of Angel Road (エンジェルロード) at low tide from Yakusoku no Oka Tenbodai (約束の丘展望台)

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...950cf5a04b.jpg
Itsukushima Jinja Shrine Torii Gate (厳島神社鳥居) at low tide

[MENTION=49295]KI-NRT[/MENTION],

Good to know that the PUMPKIN is back in action.

I get a kick out of (usually) random artwork dotting Tokyo's peak urban landscape
 

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b87aa8ef02.jpg
One of these days, I will make a map of the oddities.

Totally agree - here’s one for you….


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f8643dfc0.jpeg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc5e985d11.jpg


Three Benches, Étude No 1, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, 2023.
Many more photographs from my Japan photography project can be viewed here.

Have your photos been exhibited in Tokyo recently ? I seem to remember seeing them last year at a gallery in Roppongi (across from Sony Music).

Neat! Where in Tokyo is this? It's awfully familiar.

Here's one that might be slightly easier to locate (in a building lobby):
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aa590e6549.jpg

I took it one of my runs on the Sumida-gawa terrace. I'm pretty sure these restrooms are in the Asakusa area near the river...

It wasn't me; I have yet to exhibit my work outside of the US.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...97c9b5df98.jpg
I waited for an hour to snap the above photo when there were fewer people around.:p

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7a23bbbca0.jpg