October is one of the most pleasant months for traveling in Japan as the weather remains warm, but is not hot and humid anymore. Trees begin turning colors in the northern regions and higher elevations.

Japan Bus online ticket purchase

Aps for Japan and travel: JA Sensei - learn Japanese

Talking Translator - fun not sure how well it translates

Japan Official Guide

Japan Guide Facebook

Takayama

Free Wi Fi Takayama

Tea Ceremony

Nature: Utsueshijuhattaki Falls Hirayuotaki Fall

Higashiyama Walking Course

Kumano Kiso Road

Flea Markets Kyoto We plan to visit the flea market at Toji Temple.

Kyoto Jidai Matsuri , (Kyoto Prefecture) (My sister and I ran into this on our way back to out hotel after our yoga class. )

Oct. 22, 2015

Held every year on October 22, this Festival of the Ages is a fantastic way to see history reenacted by actors in period clothing representing famous and common figures, portable shrines, horse-drawn carriages, etc., representing each era of Kyoto's 1,200 year history and adorned with decorations of each particular era. Costumes and ornaments are painstakingly hand-crafted by Kyoto's traditional artisans. The festival begins at the Old Imperial Palace and ends at the Heian Jingu Shrine. This is a beautiful glimpse of old Kyoto history in all its glory. It's almost like visiting a museum!

For more information, please visit here.

Kurama Fire Festival , (Kyoto Prefecture)

Oct. 22, 2015

Held at the same time as the Jidai Matsuri, this is a more intimate, local festival, and should definitely be experienced if you are in Kyoto. The Fire Festival is a traditional village festival in the rural city of Kurama which is nestled in the northern mountains of Kyoto. It is held at the Yuki-Jinja, a shrine that is located on the way to the Kurama-dera temple located along the mountainside and hovering over the town. At nightfall, children holding small pine torches parade through the town and are followed by adults holding immense torches also made of pine weighing over 175 pounds which they also parade through the town streets.

Afterwards, two portable shrines are carried through the streets for a rousing climax to the festival. Earlier in the evening, watch fires are lit simultaneously in front of many homes so the whole town comes softly aglow before the raucous parade begins.

The festival is said to reenact the scene of the enshrined deity at Yuki-Jinja being greeted after traveling from the Kyoto Imperial Palace to Kurama.

For more information, please visit here.

Kyoto

Lessons - cooking, tea ceremony, ikebana, etc.

Tools:

Currency calculator http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html

http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/nohibus_english201304.pdf - highway bus