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Annie Dillard Was a Real One: The Woman Who Understood That Seeing the World Is Not the Same as Understanding It

Annie Dillard spent her life examining the extraordinary mysteries hiding inside ordinary existence. Her passing reminds me that the greatest writers don't simply teach us how to read the world. They force us to confront how little of it we've actually bothered to see. There is something profoundly unsettling about losing a writer who spent her entire life reminding us that everything was temporary in the first place. It's almost as though death, that arrogant bastard, decided to interrupt a conversation about its own inevitability. And in the case of Annie Dillard, the irony is particularly cruel because few writers understood the strange relationship between life, suffering, beauty, and mortality quite like she did. Annie Dillard died on September 15, 2026, at the age of 81. The world lost a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, an extraordinary essayist, a fearless intellectual, and a woman who possessed the increasingly endangered ability to look at something ordinary and reco...
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4 Tourist Destinations Close to Tokyo

 


If you are planning a trip to Tokyo, you will want to take advantage of being so close to so many other touristic destinations. Out of these many destinations, the four below certainly stand out and you're about to find out why!

#1: Nikko

Nikko is a city in Japan with a population of just under 90 thousand people as of 2015. From Tokyo, Nikko is around 150km away and takes just under two hours to get there in a car. If you rather travel via train, which is another available option, it will also take around 2 hours to arrive. However, you avoid the chaos of traffic and similar. The cost to travel via train is around $45, which is equal to 5000 of the local currency in Japan. Nikko features some of the nicest water scenery across Asia and includes Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji.

#2: Osaka

Osaka is the second destination on our list. With a population of 2.6 million, this city has lots to offer tourists, including Universal Studios (Japan), Osaka Aquarium, and the Osaka Castle. The distance between Tokyo and Osaka is larger compared to the transit between Tokyo and Nikko. With a distance of 500km, in just 3 and a half hours via the train from the Tokyo Station, you can make your way to Osaka at a rate of $140 (15000 local currency). While you can choose to drive, it will take 5 to 6 hours to arrive and taking the train is the most convenient travel method in this case.

#3: Kyoto

Kyoto is relatively close to Osaka, and as a result, is only a few kilometres closer to Tokyo than Osaka. Once again, traveling via train, you can arrive in Kyoto in around 2 hours and 45 minutes after traveling a total distance of 457km. A one-way train ticket to get to Kyoto from Tokyo is available for $132 (14400 local currency). As this city is also large in population with 1.5 million habitants, you can find some of the nicest tourist attractions in Japan, including Kinkaku-Ji, Arashiyama, and at last, the Nijo Castle, which is one of the favorites of those who have visited the area before.

#4: Nara

Another city near Osaka and Kyoto is Nara, with a population of 360,000. You can access this wonderful city using the train for $141 (15350 local currency) from the Shin-Omiya Station. What makes Nara stand out from the crowd is the fact that it was previously the capital of Japan and has many of Japan's historical buildings and monuments, which will be sure to amaze you.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know four destinations to consider adding to your "Must-see" list, you have a great idea of what you can expect to find on your trip to Japan and that there is much more to see than Tokyo itself. Japan is filled with exciting scenery and attractions and that you will need a long time to explore everything it has to offer! If you do make it to these destinations, you will be sure to enjoy it.

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