When we landed in the US after a 14 hour flight from Seoul, we had been awake for 18+ hours, and had another 8 hours to endure at JFK before our final flight home. Since we were flying from Terminal...
Blog posts from Japan 2019
South Korea: Seoul, day 3 – Seouljo, Gangnam, street food, two hour hotel transfer
After a filling breakfast at the hotel, we started the day on the Seouljo – a 1km long repurposed road made into an unexpectedly pretty raised botanical garden. We also scoped out an alternative...
South Korea: Seoul, day 2 – Changdeokgung, Ihwa Mural Village, korean bbq, Blacklist
Today was our full day for exploring and while I wanted to see 'all the things', I knew our energy levels would accommodate only one palace, so Changdeokgung was my choice. Entry to the grounds was...
South Korea: Seoul, day 1 – Cheonggyecheon and breweries
Our first order of business after landing at Gimpo was finding the train into the city. We found an ATM and got out some cash so we could purchase the one-way ticket to Seoul Station and our TPass...
Japan: Osaka, Day 2 – Minoh Falls and small whisky bars
At this point in the trip we were longing to experience some nature so when the sun came out on Wednesday we looked at public transit to Minoh (Minoo) Falls. Apparently, there was a delay on one of...
Japan: Osaka, Day 1 – Dotonbori
The 30 minute train trip from Kyoto to Osaka was easy and our hotel was just a short three-block walk from the Nippombashi station. We dropped off our bags with the friendly staff at the front desk,...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 3 – Fushimi Inari Taisha, Higashiyama, Yakitori, Hot Springs
Even though our feet were pretty worn out at this point of the trip we couldn't skip the 3.5 km hike through thousands of painted orange gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha. Many people suggest going...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 2 – Daigoji Temple, Konchi-in Temple, Tonkatsu, Bar Cordon Noir
A visitor is spoiled for choice in Kyoto when it comes to temples, so after eliminating a few options that seemed expensive or were partially under construction, we landed on Daigoji. It's located...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 1 – Imperial Palace, Higashiyama Jisho-ji, SferaBar Satonaka
After our short trip from Hamamatsu we arrived at the Kyoto station, where we sought out the two-day travel passes. With those in hand we took the subway up two stops to shave off some walking time...
Japan: Rugby World Cup, South Africa v. Italy
We got to Tokyo Station early to sort out the JR tickets and then wandered through the downstairs food court area to look for some lunch options. Picked up a half bottle of cava, two pastries and a...
Japan: Tokyo, Day 3 – Senso-ji, Ueno Park, Ramen Street
Today we started north, starting with a subway ride to Senso-ji temple. From the station, the walk to the temple is lined with shops and restaurants, and can get very busy. The temple grounds were...
Japan: omakase dinner at Sushi Harumi
While planning for this trip, I was looking up affordable places to try an omakase dinner experience. Omakase is translated as "I leave it up to you" and features a chef preparing multiple courses...
Japan: Tokyo, Day 2 – Harajuku, Meiji Shrine, Robot Restaurant
Eric had scoped out a pancake place in Harajuku for breakfast, but unfortunately Rainbow Pancake was closed (first Wednesday of the month - seriously?) so we ended up at Deus ex Machina for pizza...
Japan: Tokyo, Day 1 – Shinjuku Gyoen, Golden Gai, Shibuya
After a good night's rest in a bed that wasn't on a plane, we woke up with the sun, procured travel cards and headed over to the Shinjuku Gyoen (Imperial Garden) to eat our purchased breakfast...
Japan: getting around – buses, subways, and trains, oh my!
During our trip planning I did a ton of research on the JR Pass as lots of travel sites recommend it. The 7-day pass would have been the best option for us but at 29,650¥ (~$273 USD) it's not cheap....
Japan: long layover in NYC
Our flight up to New York on Jet Blue was smooth and left on time. After landing, we were slightly delayed getting off the plane due to jet bridge issues but thankfully we were in no hurry. Uber and...
Japan: Overview
Way back in 2011 we had flights booked for a spring trip to Japan. Of course, that was the year they had the infamous earthquake & tsunami, so our flights were eventually canceled, and somehow...
Memory Monday: Japan and South Korea manhole covers
One of my favorite things about travel is discovering art in unexpected places. I photographed these artistic manhole covers in Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Osaka, Minoh, and Seoul. It's worth slowing down and...
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)