Category: Uncategorized
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Hakone – Kowakien Mikawaya Ryokan
Hakone is known for its Ryokan and Onsen. Ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. Many have been in business for over 100 years. Onsen are essentially hot springs with baths. Our Ryokan had a private Onsen. Our room had pretty much all the amenities you would expect in a hotel room. This room was a…
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Hakone – By land, sea, and air
Friday, September 6th. One of the things Corrine and I both really wanted to do was stay in a traditional Japanese inn, called a Ryokan. Hakone was about an hour and change outside of Tokyo and is renowned for it’s Ryokan and Onsen, think hot spring baths. hakone station There was a service desk specifically…
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Jiro dreams of burgers
On the way back from Kappabanshi, the kitchenware district, Corrine and I were pretty exhausted and getting hangry. We passed by this place on the way back to the train station. Jiro Craft Burger and Grill. We decided to give it a try. The signage was top tier. They had an English version of the…
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Ueno Zoo
swapping Nagano for Ueno. Nikko was such a great adventure, but it was a bit exhausting. We changed plans a bit. Originally we planned to go to Nagano, but switched it up and stayed in the Tokyo area and went to the Ueno Zoo. Corrine was rather excited about the aye aye on her ticket.…
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Nikko – Bridges, Shrines, and Mausoleums
For our second full day in Japan, we decided to go to Nikko, home of several UNESCO world heritage sites. On the way, we got our first bullet train experience. It was very clean, very timely, and very fast. Coming out of Nikko station we were greeted with this wonderful view of the town and…
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Electronics, Cat cafes, and Ramen
Our first full day in Tokyo! I had some specific errands I needed to run. I wanted to pick up some binoculars, some sort of zoom lens for my phone camera, and, most importantly, a sim card for my phone so I could connect to local cellular networks. This quest ended up becoming a comedy…
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An exercise in human suffering and perseverance
I am not sure you can walk away from a 15 hour flight followed by another 4 hour flight and feel good about the experience. In the words of Huey Lewis, sometimes Bad is bad. Aside from the stark differences in the forced caste system of flying economy vs business class vs first class, the…
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Dawn of the final day
Flights are set, hotels are booked, and itinerary is planned out. Tomorrow, Corrine and I will leave for a trip more than a decade in the making. A trip to Japan to see the sights, eat the foods, appreciate the history, and maybe, even practice the language a bit. Previously scheduled for 2020 to celebrate…
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