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...
Blog posts from Tokyo
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: 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...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Colombia (Feb)
Wilmington, NC (Apr)
Asturias, Spain (May)
Galicia, Spain (Jun)
Galway, Ireland (Aug)
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina + Brazil (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Doha, Qatar (May)
Bristol + London, UK (Jul)
Long Island, NY (Jul)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
day trips from Bologna (Oct)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
Greensboro, NC (Nov)
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London + Manchester, UK (Dec)