Hello, Hiroshima! Despite some not fun excitement getting on the Shinkansen, the sun was shining when we arrived in this seaside city toward Honshu’s western tip. I’m pretty well-organized and I’m usually good at trip planning. This included having a nice clear plastic zip-top folder to organize our maps and tickets (I do this for…
One More Castle, Please!
Yushukan—Yasukuni Jinja
“We shall die in the sea,We shall die in the mountains.In whatever way,We shall die beside the Emperor,Never turning back.”~Otomo no Yakamochi “Saddened by the lossOf the precious livesOf so many of my people,I ended the war.It mattered not what became of me.”~Emperor Showa “When you receive word that I have been killed in action,…
Yatta! Japanese Baseball!!
Free Pocky with all seats today! Chris suggested a baseball game; Luke and Amber agreed that sounded fun. I bought the tickets (with help) from Lawsons. Tonight we settled into our seats in the Tokyo Dome nosebleed section to cheer on the Giants as they took on the Softbank Hawks. What an enthusiastic crowd!! Chanting,…
Tokyo Highlights
Luke and Amber gave me mostly free reign planning their trip. “Most of what I know about touring Japan is what I read on your blog, so I want to see that stuff,” Luke flattered me. How’s that for motivating? “You talk about fish markets; that sounds cool,” Luke added, followed by, “The Ninja restaurant!…
Dive Into a Rainy Day on Enoshima Island
Today’s forecast: rain rain rain. No problem—now that it’s warm and not raining continuously, rain can evoke Japan’s peaceful, atmospheric charm. We began our day with a quick visit to the Daibutsu (Kamakura’s Big Buddha), then continued on to Enoshima Island. It was getting toward afternoon and we hadn’t yet stopped for lunch. I had…
So Hungry I Could Eat a…
How would you complete that statement? I’m so hungry I could eat a…horse? Whale, perhaps? A plate of crunchy crabs in their entirety? Yes to all of the above! We started off the evening right with (cooked) Kobe beef sushi previously enjoyed with Hannie and Justin. Just as delicious as we remembered! The beef was…
Customized Kamakura
Yay! Luke and Amber are visiting from Texas!! This marks the second family unit to come see us in Japan. Thanks for coming, guys! They just moved into a new house and Amber is preggos—how’s that for a couple of troopers?? Kamakura is the first part of Japan Chris and I explored when we moved…